Rebecca Franks

BBCNOW/Sheen review — Peter Moore is the superman of the trombone Moore, the youngest member of the London Symphony Orchestra in its history, is now on a mission to make us love an underrated instrument — as this Cardiff concert revealed

www.thetimes.com/article/3529...

Magical sounds, stained glass wonders and the genius of Small Prophets Trying to brighten up February…

open.substack.com/pub/wordsonm...

Jacob Collier: Coldplay, Stormzy and my mission to get teenagers singing The seven-time Grammy-winning musician, and friend to the stars, wants to spread harmony with a new BBC Get Singing campaign

My first interview of the year - and it’s one to raise the spirits.

www.thetimes.com/article/867f...

Anna Lapwood review — the TikTok star unleashes Bristol’s Britton Organ Bristol’s mighty instrument has been silent since 2018. Now after a £1million restoration it has been relaunched by the organist who is a hit on social media

www.thetimes.com/article/8997...

When are these organizations going to be held accountable? The problem is ALWAYS the enablers; in this case, it is systemic organizational tolerance that begins with the conservatories.

The classical music scene is a cesspool of misogyny and racism.

Read Elayne Jones' Little Lady With a Big Drum.

“I am talking about the experience of misogyny and sexism. Across the 30 or so operas I have directed, I have never had a working process free of sexism.”

It's not a shock that a genre with so much sexism and misogyny would lead to working environments with sexism and misogyny, but having had furniture thrown at you as a woman director is still jarring

Katie Mitchell: ‘I’m retiring from opera because of the misogyny’ After 30 years, the distinguished director is bowing out. She talks about feeling unsafe, being screamed at — and having furniture thrown at her

Katie Mitchell: ‘I’m retiring from opera because of the misogyny’.

www.thetimes.com/article/9d2c...

😂 Thank you!

Can a concert cure my insomnia? Max Richter’s eight-hour lullaby Sleep marked its 10th anniversary with a giant sleepover. Rebecca Franks packed her pyjamas and snuggled down for the night

Can a concert cure my insomnia? I went along to Max Richter’s overnight Sleep concert to find out.

www.thetimes.com/article/a760...

Alexandre Kantorow — from damp Olympic hero to Proms piano star The French star dubbed ‘Liszt reincarnated’ played a Steinway in the rain for the Paris Games. He talks about the Proms, being mentored by the banned conductor Valery Gergiev — and his love of Marmite

Super Alexandre Kantorow interview by @rebeccafranks.bsky.social in today's Times. He really is a fabulous pianist and the prospect of his Saint-Saëns 5 at the BBC Proms this weekend is something to relish: www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...

Aldeburgh Festival review — magical Strauss and five-star Sibelius Tenor Allan Clayton was superlative in Britten and Sakari Oramo conducted a sensational performance of Sibelius Fifth in concerts that you can stream from home

Sibelius, Strauss and the summer solstice at the Aldeburgh Festival:
www.thetimes.com/article/0a9c...

The bad pun I didn’t have space to mention? ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ Groan.

Wahnfried review — the Wagner family feud in a Succession-style drama This high-energy UK premiere at the Longborough Festival picks over the legacy of Richard Wagner with a mix of acerbic satire, absurdist theatre and harrowing history

Absurd and satirical: Wahnfried gets its UK premiere at Longborough. My review for @thetimes.com here:

www.thetimes.com/article/594d...

Travelling very slowly by train to Manchester for work and trying to pretend I’m in #Raceacrosstheworld to make it less frustrating

Thank you, Mark. They really are - it’s been great to have an excuse to revisit them.

Elgar is the soundtrack to VE Day celebrations — this is his story Land of Hope and Glory is almost an unofficial national anthem, but there was much more to the composer than his flair for pageantry and pomposity

The other side of Elgar or, as the print version puts it, Behind the tache! Some thoughts on Elgar for @thetimes.com today

www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...

Forget Bolero — this is the Ravel masterpiece you need to see To mark the French composer’s 150th anniversary, London Philharmonic is reviving Daphnis and Chloé — this time with added acrobats

"For balletgoers the evening will be a chance to hear a monumental, ravishing score liberated from the opera house pit"
www.thetimes.com/article/8fcf...

You know me, Mark! 😂

First time I’ve been told in the comments that I’m killing classical music though…

Lang Lang review — exhilaration and exaggeration from the great showman The adored pianist offered thrills aplenty even if the flourishes sometimes got in the way of more considered musical ideas

Lang Lang was in town last week - and I’m glad I got to hear him play:

www.thetimes.com/article/e594...

Lang Lang review — exhilaration and exaggeration from the great showman The adored pianist offered thrills aplenty even if the flourishes sometimes got in the way of more considered musical ideas

Lang Lang was in town last week - and I’m glad I got to hear him play:

www.thetimes.com/article/e594...

Swoon...💖
I've been looking forward to this weekend's Ólafsson concert at the @wigmore-hall.org.uk for months now. I'm happy to hear him play absolutely anything, but the Goldberg Variations is always such a treat!

Just what the doctor ordered for my post-book fairs recovery programme.

He played like a dream!

Vikingur Olafsson review — a stunning five-star piano marathon After a last-minute programme change from late Beethoven to JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the superstar Icelandic pianist delivered a breathtaking performance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Vikingur Olafsson’s Bach last night: www.thetimes.com/article/7e9b...

Image from Words on Music Substack

open.substack.com/pub/wordsonm...

Thanks Mark! He was a lovely interviewee.

Classical music’s new stars: how young pianists are taking over the world A new generation is attracting millions online and selling out concert halls. What makes Mao Fujita, Yunchan Lim and more so special?

This is a lovely read. In @thetimes.com, @rebeccafranks.bsky.social meets Mao Fujita: www.thetimes.com/magazines/cu...

These folks have never *ever* believed in freedom of speech, or freedom of any kind but the freedom to amass levels of wealth that are cataclysmic to organized society.

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BBC NOW/Hoving review — an orchestra out of control Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade’s new piano concerto was a disappointment, with the orchestra drowning out the piano, while the conductor Emilia Hoving gave a broad brushstrokes performance of Grace Williams’s...

A new piano concerto missing the most important ingredient:

www.thetimes.com/article/d6ad...