Music Criticism & Journalism

Writing about music has been as important to my professional life as researching it. For four decades I have written reviews, interviews, essays and reports on an extraordinarily wide range of musical subjects, from medieval chant to the newest contemporary compositions. Journalism has never been a diversion from my academic work; it has been another way of exploring music through close listening, careful observation and critical reflection.

Read some of my online reviews here.

Whether reviewing a première, interviewing a composer or reflecting on a concert or opera, I have always tried to ask the same questions that shape my scholarly research. What is the composer or performer trying to achieve? What makes a performance distinctive, and how does it communicate? How does a work relate to the traditions from which it has grown, and what are its historical and contemporary meanings? These questions matter just as much in a newspaper review or magazine article as they do in a scholarly essay or chapter.
Over the years I have contributed hundreds of reviews, feature articles and reports to a wide variety of publications. I currently write for Classical Music Daily, whose online archive includes over 200 of my articles and reviews. Many of my contributions have appeared in Tempo, focusing on contemporary music, festivals, conferences and recordings. I have also written for Musical Opinion, International Piano, Piano Journal, The Strad, The Musical Times, Jewish Renaissance, The Wagner Journal, Arietta, and other journals, as well as newspapers like The Jewish Chronicle, The Times Literary Supplement and The Independent.

In reviewing live performances, I strive to convey the ambience and immediacy of the event: the thrill of being there, the spontaneous inspiration of an artist or group, the shared energy of a conductor and orchestra. In opera reviews, I explore the power of a production, the singers’ tonal control and characterisation, and the dramatic impact of staging and design. Throughout my writing, I aim for a literary style that combines intellectual depth with immediacy and accessibility.

Contemporary music has been a particularly important focus of my reviews, interviews and articles. Following living composers and new compositions over many years has allowed me to observe changing musical styles, aesthetic debates and emerging generations. My reviews have explored the work of figures as diverse as John Adams, Luciano Berio, Harrison Birtwistle, Elliott Carter, Tansy Davies, Peter Maxwell Davies, Steve Reich, Michael Nyman, Roxanna Panufnik, John Tavener, Judith Weir and Iannis Xenakis. Writing about less familiar composers also offers the opportunity to introduce readers to music that deserves wider attention. One of the privileges of journalism is precisely this opportunity to champion work that has not yet entered the established repertoire.

Interviews have provided another particularly rewarding dimension of my writing. Speaking directly with composers offers insights that no score or programme note can provide. Conversations with composers such as Simon Bainbridge and Shulamit Ran have reinforced my belief that criticism is most valuable when it begins by listening sympathetically to the composer’s artistic intentions before offering an evaluation.

My interests as a reviewer extend beyond contemporary music to opera, chamber music, orchestral performance, festivals, recordings, books and musical scholarship itself. Alongside reviewing performances by outstanding musicians, I have frequently reported on academic conferences and study days that have helped shape musicological debate.

As founding editor of Arietta, Journal of the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe, I aim to bring scholars and performers into conversation through articles and interviews that bridge academic and practical musicianship. I have also explored newer forms of online media, including podcasts and recorded conversations such as ‘Conversations on Zoom’ (COZ). Although the media continue to evolve, the underlying purpose remains unchanged: to communicate thoughtfully about music and encourage attentive, informed listening.

After several decades of writing, I remain interested in the ways music creates meaning and how that meaning can best be communicated to others. Journalism offers the immediacy of responding to performances, events and discoveries, and the privilege of sharing insights with a wide and eager readership.