Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik

Russian pianist, Alexei Lubimov, defied Moscow authorities by continuing to play.  Picture: Telegram / Getty By Sophia Alexandra Hall, ClassicFM @sophiassocials   Police broke up a concert in Moscow which featured music by the Ukrainian composer, Valentin Silvestrov.  A concert in Moscow by Russian pianist, Alexei Lubimov, and Russian soprano, Yana Ivanilova, was broken up by police last night. The performance, titled ‘Songs against the times’, featured works by  Franz Schubert , and Ukrainian composer, Valentin Silvestrov. Police arrived at the Moscow cultural centre, DK Rassvet, to break up the concert. Almost every member of the audience had their phones out to record the unfolding situation as police entered the room. The policemen walked onstage to stand next to Luminov as he played the piano, and told him to stop. However, Lubimov, who was playing the final bars of Schubert’s Impromptu No.2 Op.90, defied the authorities’ wishes and continued playing. ...

Harrison Birtwistle, ‘giant’ of contemporary classical music, dies aged 87.  Picture: Alamy By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London   Harrison Birtwistle was one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary classical composers. The groundbreaking British composer Harrison Birtwistle, who won international acclaim for his 1972 composition  The Triumph of Time  and 2008 opera  The Minotaur , has died aged 87. Birtwistle’s publisher Boosey & Hawkes confirmed that the composer died at his home in Mere, southwest England on Monday 18 April. No cause of death was given. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra described Birtwistle as a “true musical colossus” whose “music shook the Earth”. Birtwistle wrote in a plethora of musical forms, including chamber pieces, operas and one film score,  The Offence  (1973) starring Sean Connery, and had works staged by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House and English National Opera. His ope...