Alexandra Coghlan
@alexandracoghlan.bsky.social
Classical music journalist. Author, Carols From King's, Ebury, 2016.
Reposted by Alexandra Coghlan
The new issue of Gramophone has arrived, in which @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social and I reassess the Giulini Don Giovanni:
January 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM
The new issue of Gramophone has arrived, in which @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social and I reassess the Giulini Don Giovanni:
Lovely arc of a programme from Riot Ensemble: joyous sonic assault from Anna Meredith, maximalist madness from Alex Paxton, and a drifting cool-down from Eden Lonsdale:
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
Riot Ensemble review – from meditations to mariachi in new music of maximal difference
The new music group’s engaging programme of works by Corie Rose Soumah, Anna Meredith, Alex Paxton and Eden Lonsdale moved from the swaggering to the subtle
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Lovely arc of a programme from Riot Ensemble: joyous sonic assault from Anna Meredith, maximalist madness from Alex Paxton, and a drifting cool-down from Eden Lonsdale:
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
We talk more about the murders than the music, but Gesualdo shocks on pure aesthetics in the Gesualdo Six's effective new staging. Plus Rattle's Makropulos Affair: www.thetablet.co.uk/arts/a-sound...
A soundscape to shock: murder, harmony and immortality - The Tablet
But the murders (of his wife and her lover) are perhaps the least interesting part: disposing of an unfaithful spouse was par for the course in 16th-century
www.thetablet.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 12:08 PM
We talk more about the murders than the music, but Gesualdo shocks on pure aesthetics in the Gesualdo Six's effective new staging. Plus Rattle's Makropulos Affair: www.thetablet.co.uk/arts/a-sound...
My lovely friend and very talented sound-designer and composer Max Pappenheim has created the first of a new series of podcast ghost stories - beautifully produced, scored and v atmospheric. E Nesbit's deliciously creepy The Mass for the Dead kicks it off:
open.spotify.com/episode/2jWa...
open.spotify.com/episode/2jWa...
The Mass for the Dead
open.spotify.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:52 PM
My lovely friend and very talented sound-designer and composer Max Pappenheim has created the first of a new series of podcast ghost stories - beautifully produced, scored and v atmospheric. E Nesbit's deliciously creepy The Mass for the Dead kicks it off:
open.spotify.com/episode/2jWa...
open.spotify.com/episode/2jWa...
Gosh Peter Moore is good... A new trombone concerto and a sunny Mahler 1 from Yamada & the CBSO: www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
CBSO/Yamada review – Moore’s trombone adventures into Fujikura’s sonic oceans
Dai Fujikura’s elusive trombone concerto was given its UK premiere by Peter Moore, who made its colours and textures sing; a persuasive but perhaps too sunny reading of Mahler’s first symphony followe...
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Gosh Peter Moore is good... A new trombone concerto and a sunny Mahler 1 from Yamada & the CBSO: www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
First review of the year from me: a bracing start to the season from the National Youth Orchestra: www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
Shimmer review – National Youth Orchestra welcome the new year in bracing, stylish style
In a programme of early 20th- and 21st-century music, it was in the contemporary works that the new cohort of teenagers were most impressive
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:37 PM
First review of the year from me: a bracing start to the season from the National Youth Orchestra: www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
Michael Church, @jessicaduchen.bsky.social and I all chose our Top 10 classical events of 2025: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
The 10 best classical concerts of 2025
Classical music is strapped for cash and moral support – yet the creativity and determination in the face of that deserves several very loud cheers
inews.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Michael Church, @jessicaduchen.bsky.social and I all chose our Top 10 classical events of 2025: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
The highlights of classical music in 2025 from @theartsdesk.bsky.social team of critics:
Festival threads and outstanding one-offs in abundance in #Bestof2025: CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERTS - the year's choice @davidnice.bsky.social with @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social @robertbealemcr.bsky.social @bernardhughes.bsky.social @boydtonkin.bsky.social & more www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
December 30, 2025 at 11:10 AM
The highlights of classical music in 2025 from @theartsdesk.bsky.social team of critics:
The Tablet asked its critics to talk about the art that means Christmas to us. Here’s me on Finzi, Lucy M Boston and Alison Uttley:
December 24, 2025 at 6:43 PM
The Tablet asked its critics to talk about the art that means Christmas to us. Here’s me on Finzi, Lucy M Boston and Alison Uttley:
Last review of the year from me. A seriously lush launch-programme for a seriously starry new chamber music festival. Jansen, Sitkovetsky, Quatuor Ebene, Soltani, Grosz, Ridout and more: www.theguardian.com/music/2025/d...
Beare’s Chamber Music festival review: string supergroup dazzle with Schubert, Strauss and Schoenberg
The likes of Janine Jansen, Timothy Ridout and Kian Soltani were part of a starry lineup giving this London audience a taste of heaven on earth
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Last review of the year from me. A seriously lush launch-programme for a seriously starry new chamber music festival. Jansen, Sitkovetsky, Quatuor Ebene, Soltani, Grosz, Ridout and more: www.theguardian.com/music/2025/d...
Reposted by Alexandra Coghlan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou (The Guardian)
On Saturday evening, soprano Barbara Hannigan performed works by John Zorn, Messiaen and Skryabin with pianist Bertrand Chamayou in a concert described as 'lyrical, primal, ravishingly beautiful' by Alexandra Coghlan for The Guardian 💫
On Saturday evening, soprano Barbara Hannigan performed works by John Zorn, Messiaen and Skryabin with pianist Bertrand Chamayou in a concert described as 'lyrical, primal, ravishingly beautiful' by Alexandra Coghlan for The Guardian 💫
December 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou (The Guardian)
On Saturday evening, soprano Barbara Hannigan performed works by John Zorn, Messiaen and Skryabin with pianist Bertrand Chamayou in a concert described as 'lyrical, primal, ravishingly beautiful' by Alexandra Coghlan for The Guardian 💫
On Saturday evening, soprano Barbara Hannigan performed works by John Zorn, Messiaen and Skryabin with pianist Bertrand Chamayou in a concert described as 'lyrical, primal, ravishingly beautiful' by Alexandra Coghlan for The Guardian 💫
Who else could sell out John Zorn and Messiaen on a Saturday night? Mesmerising ***** concert from Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou theguardian.com/music/2025/d...
@theguardian.com
@theguardian.com
Hannigan/Chamayou review – strange and beautiful musical magic
Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou were exhilarating in John Zorn’s monumental Jumalattaret; a beautifully intimate performance of Messiaen’s Chants de Terre et de Ciel completed the evening
theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Who else could sell out John Zorn and Messiaen on a Saturday night? Mesmerising ***** concert from Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou theguardian.com/music/2025/d...
@theguardian.com
@theguardian.com
My top picks for UK classical & opera in December (festive and non) for the I Paper: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
The best classical music to book in December, from Handel's Messiah to Hitchcock
The festive season offers plenty of musical delights, seasonal or not - here's our pick of the finest
inews.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 10:46 AM
My top picks for UK classical & opera in December (festive and non) for the I Paper: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
The I Paper asked me to get opinion-y to mark the anniversary of Les Mis: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
I'm a classical music critic - Les Mis is as good as most great operas
I may be cancelled for saying so, but the West End's longest running musical, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, would make Puccini proud
inews.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 8:14 AM
The I Paper asked me to get opinion-y to mark the anniversary of Les Mis: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Some thoughts on Katie Mitchell's operatic farewell - the Royal Opera's Makropulos Case: www.oper-magazin.de/kritiken/auf...
Die Sache Makropulos, Royal Opera House | OPER!
Um Endlosigkeit geht es in Janáčeks Die Sache Makropulos, und darum, ein Ende machen zu können. Das tut auch Regisseurin Katie Mitchell, die sich mit dieser Inszenierung in Covent Garden von der Opern...
www.oper-magazin.de
November 13, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Some thoughts on Katie Mitchell's operatic farewell - the Royal Opera's Makropulos Case: www.oper-magazin.de/kritiken/auf...
Any Glyndebourne Members at the Open Day tomorrow (8 Nov) do consider coming along to my lecture on The Birth of Opera. There will be naughty aristocrats, musicological scandals, bags of Monteverdi, and a little help from my friends Sarah Lenton and Martyn Bennett
November 7, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Any Glyndebourne Members at the Open Day tomorrow (8 Nov) do consider coming along to my lecture on The Birth of Opera. There will be naughty aristocrats, musicological scandals, bags of Monteverdi, and a little help from my friends Sarah Lenton and Martyn Bennett
When I think about what contemporary opera can and should be - and whether "contemporary popular opera" could ever be a thing, I always think of Dead Man Walking: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Dead Man Walking is modern opera at its finest - and it's cheaper than the West End
The story of a nun's friendship with a death row murderer was long overdue a UK run, and ENO are just right for the job
inews.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 10:12 AM
When I think about what contemporary opera can and should be - and whether "contemporary popular opera" could ever be a thing, I always think of Dead Man Walking: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
How do you present Bach’s cantatas in a way that honours their original Lutheran context without making a contemporary audience sit through an hour-long sermon in a cold church? The OAE's Bach, The Universe & Everything is back: www.thetablet.co.uk/arts/celesti...
October 19, 2025 at 11:27 AM
How do you present Bach’s cantatas in a way that honours their original Lutheran context without making a contemporary audience sit through an hour-long sermon in a cold church? The OAE's Bach, The Universe & Everything is back: www.thetablet.co.uk/arts/celesti...
What does English National Opera's
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
ENO takes a risk with its first Manchester show – but it pays off
Britten's Albert Herring is a bold choice to open their new chapter, but this cracker of a show proves the relocation might just come off
inews.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
What does English National Opera's
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Reposted by Alexandra Coghlan
I too have read this book for review. V interesting to see @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social’s take on it - lots we agree on. My review out on @theartsdesk.bsky.social shortly
Robin Holloway's Music's Odyssey is certainly an epic. I took the journey and lived to tell the tale
@spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/robi...
@spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/robi...
Robin Holloway lambasts some of our most beloved composers
Irreverent, outspoken and unfailingly opinionated, with knowledge as broad as his vocabulary, Robin Holloway is exactly the person you’d want to sit next to at a concert. The warmest of interval chard...
www.spectator.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 8:19 AM
I too have read this book for review. V interesting to see @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social’s take on it - lots we agree on. My review out on @theartsdesk.bsky.social shortly
Robin Holloway's Music's Odyssey is certainly an epic. I took the journey and lived to tell the tale
@spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/robi...
@spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/robi...
Robin Holloway lambasts some of our most beloved composers
Irreverent, outspoken and unfailingly opinionated, with knowledge as broad as his vocabulary, Robin Holloway is exactly the person you’d want to sit next to at a concert. The warmest of interval chard...
www.spectator.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Robin Holloway's Music's Odyssey is certainly an epic. I took the journey and lived to tell the tale
@spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/robi...
@spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/robi...
Reposted by Alexandra Coghlan
'Much more fun than a Classical biopera might sound' ★★★★ GIUSTINO #LinburyTheatre @royaloperahouse.bsky.social - Gods, mortals and monsters do battle in #Handel's charming drama - @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social enjoys a stylish account of a slight opera theartsdesk.com/opera/giusti...
Giustino, Linbury Theatre review - a stylish account of a slight opera
It’s a good year to be Handel-lover. No sooner have summer runs of Rodelinda (Garsington) and Saul (Glyndebourne) finished than we’re into autumn and Opera North’s Susanna, Giustino at the Royal Opera...
theartsdesk.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:39 AM
'Much more fun than a Classical biopera might sound' ★★★★ GIUSTINO #LinburyTheatre @royaloperahouse.bsky.social - Gods, mortals and monsters do battle in #Handel's charming drama - @alexandracoghlan.bsky.social enjoys a stylish account of a slight opera theartsdesk.com/opera/giusti...
Tenderness and intimacy from @etopera.bsky.social new Rape of Lucretia: www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-...
The Rape of Lucretia: intimate and tender
Read our review of The Rape of Lucretia: Robin Norton-Hale’s new production for English Touring Opera pulls the audience close
www.thestage.co.uk
October 6, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Tenderness and intimacy from @etopera.bsky.social new Rape of Lucretia: www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-...
"A fascinating experiment" - review of Bushra El-Turk's Oum: A Son's Quest for his Mother @thestage.co.uk www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/oum-...
Oum – A Son’s Quest for His Mother review at the Barbican Hall: Engrossing
Read our review of Oum – A Son’s Quest for His Mother at London's Barbican Hall. Bushra El-Turk and Wout van Tongeren’s opera is never less than engrossing
www.thestage.co.uk
October 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
"A fascinating experiment" - review of Bushra El-Turk's Oum: A Son's Quest for his Mother @thestage.co.uk www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/oum-...
Ahead of the Barbican's Arvo Part at 90 exhibition, I explored the blanched sonic world of Estonia's greatest living composer: www.thetablet.co.uk/arts/arvo-pa...
Arvo Pärt at 90 - The Tablet
Who is the world’s most performed living composer? According to statistics, the answer is John Williams: classical music’s commercial king of Hollywood. No
www.thetablet.co.uk
October 2, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Ahead of the Barbican's Arvo Part at 90 exhibition, I explored the blanched sonic world of Estonia's greatest living composer: www.thetablet.co.uk/arts/arvo-pa...