Culture vulture

Tra Nguyen (piano)
At the 1901 Arts Club, Exton Street, London

A tiny shoebox-shaped salon with a Steinway grand piano at one end; heavy gold curtains, and chairs upholstered in plush red; the strains of Waterloo Station in the background: the 1901 Arts Club is an intimate, nostalgic venue. Schubert, Schumann and Raff – not spot on datewise, but at home in this intimate settting – were on the programme, performed by the thoughtful, warm and moving – if not always dazzling – pianist Tra Nguyen.

Nico Muhly • Owen Pallett
Barbican, London

I’m clearly not New-York-kooky-cool enough for this ‘alternative-classical’ evening. Missy Mazzoli’s sea-inspired orchestral opener washed right by me; Owen Pallett’s Violin Concerto had its hypnotic moments; Nico Muhly’s Cello Concerto: piquant, energetic, but shouldn’t composer John Adams get a credit? And all those fabulous musicians left underused by the song-led second half, which became more hyperactive teenage-boy-in-a-bedroom exploring sounds than anything more profound.

Death of Klinghoffer
ENO, London 

John Adams’s opera tackling the true story of a disabled American Jewish man who is pushed overboard by Palestinian terrorists, hijackers of a cruise ship. Controversial for giving both sides of the story, the London premiere only took place this year, 11 years after the world first saw it in Brussels. Yes, I agree it’s an important work, it’s important for composers to tackle tough, contemporary subjects. But where was the drama? It might be more in the Passion or oratorio tradition than an operatic one, but JS Bach’s two Passions are gripping and compelling. There was snoring in the seat next to me at ENO.

Into the Abyss
Watershed, Bristol 

Another controversial subject: the death penalty. The always-fascinating filmmaker Werner Herzog turns his telling eye to this thorny matter, exploring a case of triple homicide. He’s anti the penalty, so am I. Yet this was a well-balanced documentary, and it was hard not to believe the woman, whose brother was a victim, when she said, somehow, on his murderer’s death, there was a sense of closure. Disturbing.

In Darkness
Watershed, Bristol

Too many dark films lately: this is another film based in truth, the story of Polish Jews who end up hiding in the sewers, kept alive by one man. A shocking story, but somehow the film was less than the sum of its parts.

The Kid with a Bike
Watershed, Bristol

Beautifully made, superbly paced film from the Belgian Dardenne brothers. A young boy, Cyril, is rejected by his father and sent to a home. Cyril asks a local hairdresser to look after him at the weekends, and a poignant relationship unfolds, bringing hope in the face of violence and the human capacity to inflict cruelty. Unsentimental and clear-eyed. One of the best films I’ve seen this year.

Aurora Orchestra
St George’s, Bristol

The youthful, dynamic orchestra-of-the-moment on tip-top, ear-opening form. Strauss’s Metamorphosen was the showstopper: rich, heartfelt and turning those note-spinning passages into something inexorable and devastating. Mozart’s grave C minor Adagio and Fugue opened the concert; his chic Parisian symphony followed the Strauss. Bernstein finished it all with a flourish.

King Lear
Tobacco Factory, Bristol

Shhh. Don’t tell anyone. This was the first time I’d ever seen Shakespeare’s King Lear. (Spoiler alert.) The Earl of Gloucester’s eyes are gouged out?! Unbelievably gruesome. After a slow first half, the Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s cast picked up the pace, giving a moving, grim performance.

Death’s Cabaret
Bristol Old Vic 

I liked the unusual concept: two halves featuring first a mini-concert by a string quartet, who then, in the second part, play in a ghost story told by a single narrator, who also stars as a solo cellist. Shame then that the story was so cliché-ridden. Distinctly un-spine-chilling.