Damp Fireworks in Stirling

Even for those familiar with the favelas of Caracas, ending up on a stretch of waste ground in the middle of a council estate in Raploch must have been a bit of a teeth-grinder. At least there would have been sun in Caracas – and an audience. Here, beneath the glowering Stirling Castle, a couple…

The Lost Romantics

Resurrecting the second division 19th century composers. In his opening number, the eponymous Mikado in Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta sings of the music-hall singer who attends a series of ‘masses and fugues and ’ops / By Bach, interwoven / With Spohr and Beethoven, / At classical Monday Pops.’ Yes, Ludwig (or Louis as he called…