Proms 2022: everything you need to know
The one that shows the triumph of art over adversity Prom number TBC, July 31 Canadian-Ukrainian musician Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts the newly formed Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra whose…
Did the Culture Recovery Fund actually work?
On July 5 2020, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, unveiled the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF), a one-off investment in the UK arts industry to help it weather…
10cc deliver an irresistibly tuneful reminder of how weird 1970s pop music really was
This wasn’t exactly the full 10cc. With only one original member on stage, it was arguably more like 2.5cc. But veteran songwriter Graham Gouldman’s note-perfect facsimile of…
Ed Sheeran proves once again that all you need is guitar, voice, and brilliance
Ed Sheeran is a pop star who stands outside of time and trends. It is genuinely astonishing how one man can still mesmerise a modern, 21st-century audience…
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark treat the Royal Albert Hall to a masterclass in passionate, pioneering pop
“This might have some resonance,” offered Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark frontman Andy McCluskey to the Royal Albert Hall, by way of introduction to Walking on the…
Handel’s Messiah on a grand scale may be ‘wrong’ – but who cares?
Nothing in classical music catches the spirit of Christmas quite as well as Handel’s Messiah. Which is ironic, as the piece isn’t about Christmas at all. It…
Romeo and Juliet, review: Polunin finds his redemption, but Cojocaru’s the star
From the Putin tattoo to the drug-taking and homophobic comments, Sergei Polunin – the “bad boy” who sensationally quit the Royal Ballet in 2012 – has become…