ballet – Martin Stringer Quartet

A Night at the Ballet

There is not nearly enough modern dance and ballet outside of London. Here in the Midlands, we have the Birmingham Royal Ballet and then various touring companies that may come to Malvern, Wolverhampton, the Hippodrome in Birmingham or elsewhere. Unless you are on the various mailing lists or know where to look it is veryContinue reading “A Night at the Ballet”

Shostakovich, Leningrad and Ukraine

I first heard Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony at about the age of twelve, played by the Halle orchestra on one of their seasons of concerts in Sheffield City Hall. I was absolutely bowled over, particularly by the first movement and when visiting Bedales, the public school attended by Princess Margaret’s children, as part of a schoolContinue reading “Shostakovich, Leningrad and Ukraine”