Entries by Jessica Peng

London Borough of Culture Showcase – Sunday 2 April

Wednesday, 15 March, 2023 in /by

Sunday 2 April Free performances from 2-6pm Fairfield Halls __________________________________ As part of the opening weekend celebrations for Croydon’s year as London Borough of Culture we’re hosting a free afternoon showcase in the public open spaces of Fairfield Halls featuring local talent from across Croydon, including choirs, sea shanties, solo performances, dance groups and bands. […]

Mendelssohn and his Birkenstocks

Friday, 27 January, 2023 in , , /by

(Other shoe brands are available) In his early twenties, Felix Mendelssohn did what most of us dream of doing and packed his bags, donned his Birkenstocks, waved goodbye to his home country Germany and set off on a grand tour of Italy. He spent nine months as a proper tourist: seeing the sights, speaking the […]

The Secret History of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto

Monday, 19 December, 2022 in , /by

1. A tale of two procrastinators You may know the story about Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1787). He procrastinated the overture and ended up staying up late the night before, kept awake by his wife pouring him drinks. The ink was still wet when the musicians received the scores the next day. However, such was his […]

A Deep Dive Into Handel’s ‘Messiah’

Monday, 28 November, 2022 in , , /by

Quick: name a choral piece! Did you say Handel’s ‘Messiah’? It’s one of the most famous pieces of classical music ever, but how much do you really know about its origins and history? We asked Thomas Allery, organist and harpsichordist, some questions about the original ‘Messiah’ and its influence today. Read on to be enlightened […]

The Significance of Hiawatha

Wednesday, 7 September, 2022 in /by

It is hard to consider Coleridge-Taylor’s masterwork The Song of Hiawatha, the first part of which LMP will be performing in October, without reference to the spectacular performances that were for many years an annual London ritual. Such performances, with their clear overtones of cultural appropriation and the doctrine of the “noble savage”, would be […]