Are You An Orchestra Nerd?

Declared “a resounding triumph”, George Palmer’s new operatic adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel Cloudstreet, produced by the State Opera of South Australia, had the audience rising to its feet. Read the review.  

 Sir Neville Marriner, founding director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields orchestra turned 90 earlier this month. Believe it or not he apparently was beaten for ‘over- gesticulating’! He looks back on his career in this interview with Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian.    

What is the secret of the enduring appeal of the music of JS Bach?! Even of you don’t like his music, the complexity of his writing, his output and his role as an innovator are unparalleled.  Pianist James Rhodes claims that Bach takes us into a “fourth dimension of existence.” Read more from BBC Culture.