Category Archives: Cultural Matters

L’heure espagnole

Posted on March 25, 2021 by leslie

L’heure espagnole Reviewed by David Truslove ‘My only mistress is music’, Maurice Ravel once remarked. Considering he was a private, even secretive composer who avoided relationships, his comic opera L’heure espagnole, with its central good-time girl, offers a rare glimpse … Continue reading →

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ENDNOTES, March 2021

Posted on March 4, 2021 by leslie

ENDNOTES,  March 2021 In this edition: Elgar’s Italian maestro. Stuart Millson recalls conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli. When Worcestershire’s Edward Elgar emerged from what has been described as provincial obscurity into the realms of the European romantic mainstream, it became clear that … Continue reading →

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Sappho of Lesbos

Posted on February 4, 2021 by leslie

Sappho of Lesbos by Darrell Sutton The isles of Greece! the isles of Greece Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace Byron Byron had a strong affection for Lucan’s Pharsalia. His attachment to … Continue reading →

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ENDNOTES, January 2021

Posted on January 4, 2021 by leslie

ENDNOTES, January 2021 In this edition: Stuart Millson’s Wagner The twilight of the gods, the violence and feuds of the great characters of The Ring Cycle, the exploits of knights and Die Meistersinger of mediaeval Nuremberg – these are some of … Continue reading →

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A Christmas Story

Posted on January 1, 2021 by leslie

A Christmas Story by ILANA MERCER Described by one critic as “one of those rare movies you can say is perfect in every way,” “A Christmas Story,” directed by Bob Clark, debuted in 1983. Set in the 1940s, the film … Continue reading →

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The Gods of Ancient Greece

Posted on December 7, 2020 by leslie

The Gods of Ancient Greece Albert Henrichs, Greek Myth and Religion: Collected Papers II, Ed., Harvey Yunis, De Gruyter, 2019, Pp.i-xxxvi, 1-606, reviewed by DARRELL SUTTON Albert Henrichs (1942-2017), Eliot Professor of Greek Literature at Harvard University, was unselfish with … Continue reading →

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ENDNOTES, December 2020

Posted on December 4, 2020 by leslie

ENDNOTES, December 2020 In this edition: opera arias sung by Ermonela Jaho, Art of the Mandolin, choral music from Keble College, Oxford and Clifton Cathedral. Reviewed by STUART MILLSON We bid farewell to 2020, the year of Coronavirus in which our … Continue reading →

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ENDNOTES, November 2020

Posted on November 9, 2020 by leslie

ENDNOTES, November 2020 In this edition: Saint-Saëns and Henrique Oswald, Piano Concertos; Piano music by contemporary Iranian composers, Farhat and Tafreshipour, reviewed by STUART MILLSON A stream of elegant, late-romantic melody this month, courtesy of the SOMM label – which brings … Continue reading →

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Gathering Storms

Posted on October 28, 2020 by leslie

Gathering Storms  by Stuart Millson In 2002, the late Albert Finney starred in a film for television, directed by Richard Loncraine, about the “wilderness years” of Winston Churchill. With Vanessa Redgrave co-starring as his devoted wife Clementine, The Gathering Storm … Continue reading →

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Lives of Others

Posted on October 17, 2020 by leslie

Lives of Others by Bill Hartley One of the earliest examples of biographical writing is Plutarch’s Lives. Someone said that when it came to the amount of space he devoted to his subjects, Plutarch got it about right. For example, … Continue reading →

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