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Articles by Michael Stuart

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About Michael Stuart

After university, Michael spent twelve years working for MELODY MAKER before going freelance. He claims to keep doing it because it is all he knows. More Posts

Glyndebourne

This month I was elevated in status from associate to full membership of Glyndebourne. Initially my reaction was ‘What ‘s the big deal? ‘ – apart from an increased sub? However with the letter they sent me a Short History of History of Glyndebourne by Michael Kennedy. Reading the story [...]

September 29, 2023 // 0 Comments

Music Review: Hackney Diamonds (the Rolling Stones)

The Rolling Stones have now been together for sixty years – of the “originals” (Brian Jones) died aged 27 in 1969 and another (Charlie Watts) died in 2021 aged 80. On 26th July Mick Jagger turned 80, a milestone that Keith Richard will also pass in December if he makes it that far; the other [...]

September 7, 2023 // 0 Comments

Robbie Robertson – R.I.P.

Time passes, we all get older – and then we die. Today I want to pay a small tribute to Robbie Robertson, the humble Canadian who played a fundamental role in the development of rock music through his association with Bob Dylan and others from the 1960s onwards and who passed on 9th August at the [...]

August 15, 2023 // 0 Comments

Isata Kanneh-Mason & the Proms

The Proms are a welcome and regular feature of the British summer. They are experimental and a platform for new and younger talent but not too woke-ish. Last Sunday I watched on the TV a prom featuring Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky. The virtuoso pianist for the Prokofiev piece [...]

August 9, 2023 // 0 Comments

Elisir d’Amore/Glyndebourne

Although not a massive cricket lover I was caught up in the national fervour of the Ashes. We followed on the radio TMS driving to Glyndebourne and on arrival I found a quiet bench and listened to the drama on my portable radio. Fortunately England got the job done some 20 minutes before the [...]

July 10, 2023 // 0 Comments

Don Giovanni/Glyndebourne

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s  Don Giovanni purports to be opera buffa (light comic opera) but there is a dark side: the killing of the Commendatore, father of Don Giovanni’s (Amdrey Zhilikovsky) latest quest Donna Anna (Venera Gimlieva), and the predatory nature of Don Giovanni himself. The [...]

June 25, 2023 // 0 Comments

Jeff Beck – RIP

Time stops for nobody but sometimes a passing touches upon fond memories and thoughts. The overnight news that guitarist Jeff Beck, 78, had died suddenly after contracting bacterial meningitis has come as a considerable shock. In all forms of popular instrumental music – classical, jazz, [...]

January 12, 2023 // 0 Comments

Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul/Prom Concert

A tribute was paid at a Prom concert at the Royal Albert Hall to Aretha Franklin by vocalist Shelea backed by the Jules Backley Orchestra. It was broadcast live on Radio 3 and BBC 4 last night. The obvious difficulty to overcome is that  however good the singer paying the tribute – she is [...]

August 27, 2022 // 0 Comments

On musical tastes and one’s place in time

Over the past week or so – nothing to do with my editorial duties I hasten to add – I have chosen to watch specific items featuring popular (rock) music on the television for my own enlightenment and/or pleasure. I have blogged previously upon my view that, in many respects – whether we like [...]

July 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Last night at the Queen Elizabeth Hall I attended a concert given by the Orchestra of the Age of enlightenment (OAE) conducted by Sir Andras Schiff, who also played the piano. The OAE play historic instruments and the piano was a Graf pianoforte. I spent Wednesday evening in the company of a [...]

June 10, 2022 // 0 Comments

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