Interviews, Q&amp;As and feature articles<br />

'In a country of marvellous communicators': violinist Katherine Hunka on life with the Irish Chamber Orchestra

'IN A COUNTRY OF MARVELLOUS COMMUNICATORS' Violinist Katherine Hunka on life with the Irish Chamber Orchestra

The ICO's leader/sometime music director for 18 years shares the wonder of life in Ireland

As a musician I spend so much time on the road that a day spent at home is a rarity. And now, with the restrictions we all face, and concerts an impossibility, I am becoming a keen gardener and making a lot of soup. It is also a time of reflection. There is nothing like being told to stay at home to make you think about how home came about, particularly when it’s abroad. My 20-year-old self would never have dreamt of anywhere other than my home city London as base.

Theatre Lockdown Special 5: A solo show for the ages, Ibsen refreshed, and yet more frolicsome cats

THEATRE LOCKDOWN SPECIAL 5: A solo show for the ages, Ibsen refreshed, and yet more frolicsome cats

From a much-traveled one-man play to a continent-spanning National Theatre premiere, the theatrical week offers plenty so savour

No one can accuse the gods of streaming of failing to cast a wide net. That's even more so with an array of streaming opportunities over the next week that ranges from Off West End Ibsen given a second chance to shine to an online encounter with, yes, The Encounter, and, should you wish, with its protean creator and leading man, as well.

Little Richard (1932-2020) - sexuality, spirituality and rock'n'roll's gospel roots

LITTLE RICHARD (1932-2020) Sexuality, spirituality and rock'n'roll's gospel roots

An appreciation of the late star's unique artistry

The day that Little Richard’s death was announced, my friend the soul singer PP Arnold wrote on her Instagram feed, of a “sanctified boogie-woogie piano style that was just electric”. She went on, recalling first hearing the man’s undiluted craziness: “I loved it when he did that "ooo" thing after the “Tutti Frutti aw Rudi” bit that sounded like one of the high soprano sisters in church”.

Book extract: Minor Detail by Adania Shibli - III of III

Extract III of III - I keep driving, past barren hills

At the end of an exhausting day's driving punctuated by disappointments and false leads, the narrator finds herself back at the Israeli town of Nirim where she spends the night. Slipping off early in the morning, she first fills her eyes with the view of Gaza on behalf of her colleagues who grew up there and now live in the West Bank. Driving south, she stops at a cluster of houses that might be a forgotten village.

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Theatre Lockdown Special 4: Little-known Lloyd Webber, prize-winning Shakespeare, and starry David Mamet

THEATRE LOCKDOWN SPECIAL 4 Little-known Lloyd Webber, prize-winning Shakespeare, and starry David Mamet

In an ever-busy week, the Donmar and Finborough join the online bustle

Has anyone else noticed how fulltime this streaming thing has become?  Those who were of a mind to (and who never slept) could find enough cultural output to satisfy 24/7, especially if one adds to the free offerings that crop up by the week the ongoing back catalogue made available on sites such as Marquee TV or Digital Theatre, and the like.

In memoriam Dmitri Smirnov (1948-2020) - a personal tribute by Gerard McBurney

IN MEMORIAM DMITRI SMIRNOV (1948-2020) -  a personal tribute by Gerard McBurney

Much-missed composer-polymath remembered by a colleague and friend of 35 years

November 1979… and a small group of Soviet composers (dubbed the "Khrennikov Seven") unexpectedly found themselves the targets of a boorish public assault by that once infamous General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers, in a speech at the organisation’s Sixth Congress in Moscow, describing them as “pretentious… pointless… sensation seeking… noisy filth… a so-called ‘avant-garde’…” Dima and his wife, Lena Firsova, were among that seven, along with Denisov, Gubaidulina and others. Their offence?

Book extract: Minor Detail by Adania Shibli - II of III

BOOK EXTRACT Minor Detail by Adania Shibli - II of III

Extract II of III - I call the author of the article

The second half of Minor Detail is narrated in the first person by a young Palestinian woman who reads an article about the rape and murder of the captured girl. When she finds out the crime took place exactly 25 years before her birth, she determines to visit the archives to find out as much as she can about the girl and the case as possible – but for that, she needs to travel out of the West Bank. The journey is not far in miles, but as a Palestinian it is not straightforward.

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Book extract: Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

BOOK EXTRACT Minor Detail by Adania Shibili

Extract I of III – a challenge of leadership

The first half of Minor Detail is set in an Israeli military camp in the Negev desert in August 1949, during the conflict celebrated as the War of Independence in Israel and a year after the mass expulsion mourned as the Nakba in Arabic in which around 700,000 Palestinians permanently fled their homes. It follows a senior military officer in charge of reconnaissance. After days of searching among the dunes, his patrol eventually comes across a group of Bedouins at a spring.

Classical Music/Opera direct to home 9 - musicians start cautiously reuniting

CLASSICAL MUSIC DIRECT TO HOME Soprano Lise Davidsen among musicians cautiously reuniting

Selective socially-distanced gatherings in Bergen, Berlin, Birmingham, Oslo and Prague

It seems like a different world when the Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle gave a full concert to an empty hall as the world began to go into lockdown. Now, on continental Europe at least, orchestral musician plus the occasional star conductor and soloist(s) are cautiously reuniting in smaller numbers, though still as yet without a live audience.