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Auckland's iconic skytower seems to have sprung a reed - now we just need someone with the lungs to play it...
Tarja
On the Main Stage
Hellfest Open Air - Day 3
11th edition
Clisson, France | 19/06/2016
Live report on MusicWaves
Philippe Bareille
La musica può donare delle ali ai vostri pensieri e illuminare la vostra anima di una luce eterna.
[Platone]
Bulgarian Mirouslava Yordanova (Mezzo) performs part of Verdi's Requiem at the Llangollen International Music Festival 2013.
BlueOrange Club-by ini Inaka and Gitu Aura, Mise en Scene by Tralala Loordes and ini Inaka, Music selected by Grady Echegaray, May6-2017
2010.8.19 Thu.
This is my viola made in Valletta-Malta, 1904.
Today is "classical music's day" in japan. I need to practice more...
Edinburgh’s Usher Hall stands proud in Festival Square, crowned with the bold yellow banner of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) — now in full swing. A Grade A-listed concert hall opened in 1914 and gifted to the city by whisky distiller Andrew Usher, this curvaceous classical venue has long been one of Scotland’s premier stages for orchestral, operatic, and vocal performance.
The EIF, launched in 1947 to uplift post-war Europe through the power of the arts, has grown into a world-renowned cultural event. Distinct from the Fringe, the EIF focuses on curated excellence: opera, classical music, dance, and theatre of the highest international calibre. In this year’s edition, themed “The Truth We Seek,” global artists interrogate our world through bold performances — from Mahler to modern ballet, and Bach to boundary-breaking theatre.
Here, the Usher Hall plays its leading role once again — where truth is amplified by acoustics, and every crescendo echoes with meaning.
🇫🇷 L’Usher Hall d’Édimbourg se dresse fièrement sur Festival Square, orné de la bannière jaune éclatante de l’Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) — désormais lancé pour l’édition de cette année. Salle de concert classée de catégorie A, inaugurée en 1914 grâce au mécénat du distillateur Andrew Usher, ce bâtiment néo-classique accueille depuis plus d’un siècle les grands noms de la musique et de la scène.
Créé en 1947 pour rassembler les peuples d’Europe après la guerre, l’EIF s’est imposé comme l’un des festivals artistiques les plus prestigieux au monde. Contrairement au Fringe, il privilégie une programmation rigoureuse : opéra, musique classique, théâtre et danse au plus haut niveau international. Le thème 2025, « The Truth We Seek », explore les vérités humaines à travers les performances — de Mahler aux créations contemporaines.
Dans ce temple de la musique, la vérité vibre entre les colonnes — portée par chaque note, chaque souffle, chaque silence.
BlueOrange Club-by ini Inaka and Gitu Aura, Mise en Scene by Tralala Loordes and ini Inaka, Music selected by Grady Echegaray, May6-2017
Se abrieron las puertas y el espacio se llenó de músicos. La Usina del Arte había cambiado su carácter... La orquesta del bicentenario se reunía a ensayar. Oh, perfectas casualidades.
Song of the Day: Alt-J - Taro
Final Bow – Scottish Opera’s La bohème, Theatre Royal Glasgow
A full-stage curtain call following Scottish Opera’s vivid revival of Puccini’s La bohème, set against a richly textured 1920s Paris backdrop by director/designer duo Barbe & Doucet. This poignant and beautifully staged production captures both the heady spirit and stark hardships of Bohemian life — all within the cobbled alleys, shuttered shopfronts, and flickering cafés of Montmartre between the wars.
Puccini’s beloved opera remains a cornerstone of the repertory for good reason: its themes of love, poverty, illness, and loss continue to resonate across generations. Here, the story is brought to life with cinematic flair and striking visual detail, from clown parades and puppet shows to late-night café scenes, matched by expressive lighting and period costume design that feels as nostalgic as it is alive.
At the heart of the performance is Hye-Youn Lee, reprising her role as Mimì with heartbreaking clarity, her voice soaring with both fragility and strength. Mario Chang makes a memorable Scottish Opera debut as Rodolfo, hailed as a “born bel canto tenor” by the New York Times, with warmth and lyricism in every phrase. They are joined by a first-rate ensemble: Roland Wood as the painter Marcello, Rhian Lois as the flamboyant Musetta, Edward Jowle, Callum Thorpe, and Jamie MacDougall — each adding depth and colour to the opera’s bustling community.
Conductor Stuart Stratford leads the Scottish Opera Orchestra with sweep and precision, guiding the emotional arc from youthful exuberance to tragic stillness.
Staged in Glasgow’s elegant Theatre Royal — the oldest theatre in Scotland and the company’s spiritual home — this La bohème is a masterclass in operatic storytelling: accessible, stylish, emotionally resonant, and true to Puccini’s enduring vision.
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Salut final – La bohème, Scottish Opera au Theatre Royal de Glasgow
Un hommage vibrant à l’opéra de Puccini dans cette production somptueuse signée Barbe & Doucet, transposée dans le Paris des années 1920 — un univers visuel riche où se côtoient ruelles pavées, boutiques closes et cafés animés.
Ce chef-d’œuvre romantique trouve ici une nouvelle jeunesse, incarné par Hye-Youn Lee (Mimì) et Mario Chang (Rodolfo), accompagnés d’un superbe ensemble vocal. Mise en scène inventive, costumes d’époque, lumières expressives : tout contribue à rendre hommage à la magie poignante de La bohème, entre rires, larmes, amour et solitude.
Sous la baguette de Stuart Stratford, l’Orchestre de Scottish Opera fait vibrer chaque note avec élégance et intensité.
Une production inoubliable dans le cadre majestueux du Theatre Royal de Glasgow.
251/365
As always, my love for classical music prevails over my love for any other genre.
I am currently learning to play Clair de Lune on piano (the original, not the simplified version) and it's hell, but I much prefer learning songs that are hell for me that I absolutely adore rather than songs that I don't enjoy as much that are easier. Actually, I can't be motivated to practice piano if I don't have a huge ongoing project behind a few other simpler pieces. Last year I took the year to learn Moonlight Sonata, and this year I'm working on Clair de Lune. I don't think it'll take me the whole year, but it will if I have to neglect my practicing due to schoolwork.
Today was the first day of school! It's nice to be a sophomore instead of a lowly freshman :) I had my AP US history class, and I can even venture to say that I just might survive the whole year of this course. Sophomores aren't supposed to take AP's at my school and I'm determined to make it through. Besides, if I don't get through it, I can't take AP Euro next year, which means I can't take Anthropology senior year :( I don't like messing up my schedules.
Classical music, though. I love it.
I always think that my interpretations of things sound a lot different than professional recordings. I don't know. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? All the notes are right, rhythm is correct, timing, etc. But somehow, I always like my versions better. My Moonlight Sonata is sooo much more dramatic than regular recordings. My Clair de Lune (though not finished yet) is not as much different from professional work than my Moonlight Sonata, but it's different. I think I'm just so invested in these pieces that I put a lot of emotion into them, especially since music and photography are my emotional outlets. When I play Moonlight Sonata, I feel like Beethoven is right there. And I feel like he wrote it for me...
Is that weird?
Excellent concert at Rochdale Music Society last Saturday: Jill Kemp, recorder virtuoso accompanied by Aleksander Szram.
Jill showed me how modern recorders have keys to enable a wider tonal range to be covered.
BlueOrange Club-by ini Inaka and Gitu Aura, Mise en Scene by Tralala Loordes and ini Inaka, Music selected by Grady Echegaray, May6-2017
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