Based on Hogarth's series of prints, "The Rake's Progress" combines the eighteenth century with the twentieth. The highly individualized set of this production, designed by David Hockney, reflects perfectly the "spikiness" of the music, combined with…

Mozart's 'Don Giovanni', "the opera of all operas", as E.T.A. Hoffman once called it, is a work with many meanings. Peter Hall and Bernard Haitink's interpretation of the Mozart cycle was enthusiastically received at the Glyndebourne festival.

Glyndebourne's 1978 production of Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" received as much critical acclaim for the imaginative David Hockney sets as for the operatic performances. Hockney emphasised the magical and mystical qualities of one of Mozart's best…

Sir Peter Hall's outstanding Glyndebourne Festival Opera production of "Fidelio" remains remarkably faithful to the way Beethoven intended the opera to be. He managed to inject fresh excitement and suspense into "Fidelio", providing a perfect…

Mozart's "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" is best loved for its memorable music and lively wit. The opera tells the story of the efforts of a Spanish nobleman to rescue his betrothed who is held captive against her will in a Turkish harem.

A series of recitals by the master pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy at a new peak in his career. Both his audiences and the critics have been aware in recent years of new dimensions in Ashkenazy's playing. This may stem in part from his broadening…

These two programmes were recorded live from the Amerikahaus, Munich. In Vol. 1, Gulda plays Mozart's Sonata No. 4 in E flat K282, and Sonata No. 9 in D K311. In Vol. 2, he plays Mozart's Sonata No.12 in F K332, Sonata No.14 in C minor K457…

A series of recitals by the master pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy at a new peak in his career. Both his audiences and the critics have been aware in recent years of new dimensions in Ashkenazy's playing. This may stem in part from his broadening…

Schwetzingen is a tiny town near Heidelberg which has a famous palace with magnificent gardens, not unlike those at Versailles. The Schwetzingen Festival is held every Spring in the palace and commissions a small-scale opera for the palace's…

Vladimir Ashkenazy has had a particular affection for the music of Rachmaninoff throughout his professional life, and his performances have long had the ring both of authenticity and of deep commitment. This is not surprising in a Russian-born and…