Wolf Hall

Thomas Cromwell era il figlio di un fabbro di Putney. Un uomo capace di redigere un contratto e addestrare un falco, di disegnare una mappa e sedare una rissa, di arredare una casa e corrompere una giuria. Architetto machiavellico del regno di Enrico Vili e artefice dei destini della dinastia dei Tudor, il protagonista del pluripremiato romanzo di Hilary Mantel emerge qui in tutta la sua contraddittoria umanità…

It would be natural to assume the spawning ground for American blues music, Memphis Tennessee, would serve as the fuse that lit the explosion of what many regard as the artistic zenith of the Blues as a pure original art form. It was during the decade from 1945-55 when a seemingly endless line of shouters and honkers etched their culture into the American landscape.

EMI’s prestigious ‘Great Recordings of the Century’ series has featured a host of celebrated conductors, singers and instrumental virtuosi. Why, you may think, should an issue pay tribute to a "mere" accompanist? However, as I pointed out recently when comparing two recordings by Hans Hotter of Schubert’s Winterreise, a perceptive accompanist can make all the difference. In that instance, the perspicacious accompanist whose contribution to one of the two versions made it a clear winner, was Gerald Moore, the musician celebrated here.

Valentina Lisitsa, a stunning virtuosic pianist, has become the first classical musician to achieve fame via YouTube, emulating Justin Bieber s achievement in the pop world. Having amassed an impressive 43 million views on her channel, Valentina is now in the unique position of going straight to one of the world s leading concert venues for her central London debut. The self-made virtuoso who has achieved all of this on her own without the help of a manager or promoter has now leapfrogged even the world s most revered and long-established pianists and thrown the traditional concert hall route out of the window. Having already booked the 5000-seater Royal Albert Hall in which to perform, Valentina was today in London four weeks ahead of her June 19th date to undertake her own concert promotion. As a thank you to her current online fans Valentina is determined to make the concert a fully digital and interactive experience by inviting fans to vote online to decide what she will play and by fully streaming the concert live via YouTube for those who can t travel to London. This level of online digital interaction is a first for a solo classical concert.