Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik: Maddy Shaw Roberts

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Thursday, April 13, 2023

Classic FM Live 2023 at the Royal Albert Hall: photos from our night of operatic hits

12 April 2023, 21:27 | Updated: 13 April 2023, 11:55

Soprano Danielle De Niese performs with the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Picture: Matt Crossick

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Explore all the photo highlights from Classic FM Live on 12 April, when we filled the Royal Albert Hall with lights, fireworks and the greatest hits of opera.

Classic FM Live with Viking returned to London’s Royal Albert Hall on 12 April 2023 for a sparkling night at the opera.

World-renowned soprano Danielle De Niese, star American baritenor Michael Spyres, and boy treble Malakai Bayoh, took to the stage to sing enduring operatic melodies – from arias ‘Habanera’ and ‘Nessun dorma’, to great opera overtures by Mozart and Verdi.

Opening with Carl Orff’s monumental ‘O Fortuna’ from Carmina Burana, the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus were our ensemble and choir for the evening, performing music from Carmen, La Traviata, Madame Butterfly and The Marriage of Figaro under the baton of Paul Daniel.

Explore our selection of photo highlights below...

Welcome to the stage – the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus!
Conductor Paul Daniel leads the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Picture: Matt Crossick
Your hosts for the evening, Alexander Armstrong and Myleene Klass...
Alexander Armstrong and Myleene Klass host Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Picture: Matt Crossick
Superstar soprano Danielle De Niese performs ‘Habanera’ from Carmen
Danielle De Niese sings ‘Habanera’ from Carmen. Picture: Matt Crossick
Danielle De Niese with Agustín Lara’s thrilling ‘Granada’
Danielle De Niese with Agustín Lara’s thrilling ‘Granada’. Picture: Matt Crossick
American baritenor Michael Spyres delights with Rossini’s ‘Figaro’ aria
Michael Spyres delights audience with Rossini’s ‘Largo al factotum’. Picture: Matt Crossick
Maestro Paul Daniel leads the English National Opera Chorus
English National Opera Chorus led by Paul Daniel. Picture: Matt Crossick
Michael Spyres entertains with vocal acrobatics in ‘Figaro’ aria
Michael Spyres entertains with vocal acrobatics in ‘Figaro’ aria. Picture: Matt Crossick
Glorious Mozart and Verdi overtures from the English National Opera Orchestra
Mozart and Verdi overtures from the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Picture: Matt Crossick
Michael Spyres brings the house down with Puccini’s ‘Nessun dorma’
Michael Spyres sings Puccini's aria 'Nessun dorma'. Picture: Matt Crossick
Boy treble Malakai Bayoh makes his Royal Albert Hall solo debut
Malakai Bayoh sings Handel at Classic FM Live. Picture: Matt Crossick
Paul Daniel congratulates Malakai on his performance and standing ovation!
Paul Daniel gives Malakai Bayoh a fist-bump. Picture: Matt Crossick
English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Paul Daniel
English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Paul Daniel. Picture: Matt Crossick
Michael Spyres and Danielle De Niese duet on Verdi’s ‘Drinking Song’
Michael Spyres and Danielle De Niese sing Verdi’s ‘Drinking Song’. Picture: Matt Crossick
Chorus and audience sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the star soloists!
Michael Spyres and Danielle De Niese embrace at Classic FM Live. Picture: Matt Crossick
Confetti rains down for a grand finale from the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Picture: Matt Crossick

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Learning to play piano may help people cope with depression and anxiety

Ingolf Wunder - Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2

A beautifully sleepy rendition of Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major.

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Playing the piano benefits your brain in a multitude of ways, according to a new study…

A new study has found that playing the piano improves the brain’s ability to process sights and sounds, and can boost your mood.

Researchers at the University of Bath placed 31 adults in a randomised control study, and separated them into three groups: music training, music listening, and a control group.

Beginner pianists with no prior musical training undertook weekly, one-hour piano lessons over a period of 11 weeks. The second group listened to music for an hour, while the third used the time to read and study quietly.

After just a few weeks, the beginner pianists reported significant improvements in recognising audio-visual changes in the environment and reported less depression, stress and anxiety.

One of the authors, Dr Karin Petrini said: “We know that playing and listening to music often brings joy to our lives, but with this study we were interested in learning more about the direct effects a short period of music learning can have on our cognitive abilities.”

Beginner pianists took 11 weeks of one-to-one lessons, and reported less depression, stress and anxiety. Picture: Alamy

For the beginner pianists, the weekly lessons began with 20 minutes of finger exercises, followed by 40 minutes of studying pieces on the 2017-18 ABRSM piano Grade 1 exam list.

They were taught the following pieces, in order: William Gillock’s A Stately Sarabande, Classic Piano Repertoire (Elementary), J.C. Bach’s Aria in F, Verdi’s ‘La donna è mobile’ (from Rigoletto), Bryan Kelly’s Gypsy Song: No. 6 from A Baker’s Dozen and, finally the traditional American folk song, ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’.

Participants learned to play the songs one at a time, moving onto the next in the list once they had an accurate grasp of the first.

By the end of the 11-week period of musical training, the participants had reduced depression, anxiety and stress scores.

The benefits also reached beyond music, with those who had piano lessons reporting that their audio-visual processing had become more accurate across non-musical tasks. They also displayed greater accuracy in tests, where asked to conclude whether sound and vision ‘events’ occurred at the same time.

Evan Le performs stunning Mozart Piano Sonata

Petrini added: “Learning to play an instrument like the piano is a complex task; it requires a musician to read a score, generate movements and monitor the auditory and tactile feedback to adjust their further actions.

“In scientific terms, the process couples visual with auditory cues and results in a multisensory training for individuals.

“The findings from our study suggest that this has a significant, positive impact on how the brain processes audio-visual information even in adulthood when brain plasticity is reduced.”

The results, published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, show that those who learned the piano improved their ability to process multisensory information – an improvement which was not found in the music listening group or the control group.