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Scoop
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Bach Musica NZ Present An Evening Of Mozart And C.P.E. Bach In June
Join the renowned Bach Musica NZ, New Zealand's leading combined choir and orchestra, at the Auckland Town Hall on Sunday 22 June for an evening of exquisite performance with Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor & C.P.E. Bach's Magnificat. The June concert welcomes young award-winning pianist, Madeleine Xiao, as soloist in Mozart's famous Piano Concerto in D minor. Madeleine began learning the piano at age five. At just 16, she went on to study a Bachelor of Music at the University of Auckland. She won 3rd place at the National Concerto Competition in 2023 and received the Royal Overseas League Pettman Scholarship in 2024. In the second half of the concert, Bach Musica NZ's chorus and orchestra present the 45-minute glorious Magnificat by C.P.E. Bach, the gifted son of J.S. Bach. They are joined by vocal soloists Joanna Foote (soprano), 2024 Lexus Song Quest winner Katie Trigg (alto), Taliai Fifita (tenor) and Edward Laurenson (baritone). This concert is conducted by Bach Musica NZ's Music & Artistic Director, Rita Paczian. 'Mozart and Bach will forever remain two of the greatest composers, and that includes the gifted son Carl Philip Emanuel. His Magnificat is magnificent!' says Paczian. Bach Musica NZ also continue their popular workshop series, with their Sight-Reading Workshop on Saturday 17 May and Singing Workshop on Saturday 1 November. All ages and skill levels are welcome. "Bach Musica NZ offers a great shout of joy. With a lively Rita Paczian on harpsichord, surrounded by her string players, Bach's Gloria opened with a high celebration and ended with another, chorus and full orchestra giving their considerable all." – William Dart, NZ Herald Bach Musica NZ's full programme can be found here: Mozart Piano Concerto in D minor & C.P.E. Bach Magnificat Sunday 22 June 2025 at 5pm – Auckland Town Hall Tickets are available via Ticketmaster. Rita Paczian Conductor Madeleine Xiao Piano Joanna Foote Soprano Katie Trigg Alto Taliai Fifita Tenor Baritone
Telegraph
15-02-2025
- Telegraph
Tartan ribbon on toilet rolls? This Edinburgh hotel is full of clichés
Let's start with the really good stuff. I haven't enjoyed service this superb in a long time. Whoever's in charge of HR at Red Carnation Hotels deserves the day off, and a raise. 100 Princes Street in Edinburgh is the group's first property in Scotland and blessed with brilliant and charming staff. They are all as good as the view of the castle across the gardens, which is now the best in the city. When I arrived, I sat on a leather club chair in the Wallace bar to get checked in and stared at the medieval landmark looming over Princes Street Gardens like a Disney villain's lair. Instant dopamine. What a vista. Now for the rest. 100 Princes Street may have a fairly low-key entrance on what has become one of the saddest shopping streets in the city (although the new Uniqlo has perked it up a bit), but once inside, the black paintwork, black marble, and absurdly heavy black doors with Captain Nemo brass detailing is overwhelming. There's a ton of flashy LED strip and back lighting, and there are murals going up the staircase that depict the kind of international travels that members of the Royal Overseas League, who once gathered in the building, would have gone on. Early reports of the hotel suggested it was going to be 'inspired' by Alexander McQueen, but I saw no evidence of this. There's a lot of tartan here, but none with the MacQueen clan pattern. 100 Princes Street looks like a private members offshoot of Wetherspoons. Which is fine, in a way. Think it through: mass appeal and a huge success. Hundreds of yards of tartan fabric have been attached to the walls in an often-wonky fashion. There is an abundance of fake plants and flowers, as well as paisley textured leather, green velvet, and those wooden tables with green leather tops and faded gold borders that you find in junk shops. My parents had a nest of them in Penge when I was growing up, and I still associate them with 1970s acid-trip carpets, shell ashtrays and no bookshelves. Elsewhere, the sofas that seem opulent at first glance are all a bit DFS clearance sale, and someone has decided that each individual toilet roll and hand towel in the building must be tied up with tartan ribbon. Which is truly unhinged. As is the choice of not-quite-Comic Sans font for the TV menus. When I first arrived at the hotel, I was shown to the gargantuan Archibald Signature Suite, which definitely inspired a 'wow' when I walked in. But the vent for the air conditioning in the room has been covered by a giant wardrobe with a row of antique blue chemist's display bottles on top of it. The temperature was stifling. Nothing could be done to lower it effectively. I moved to a Junior Suite higher up the building with a less dazzling castle view, but air that I could actually breathe. These things all usually get ironed out of course, as they should be – that first suite is £2,565 a night before breakfast (continental is £28 on top and cooked an ambitious £35). I was surprised that more isn't made of the view with the bar and dining room. Calling the Wallace a restaurant is a bit of a stretch. It's more of a lounge where you can have a panini, fish and chips – or haggis bonbons. There is an accomplished wine list that goes into four figures, but not much in the way of food to warrant ordering from it (rather good wines are also available by the glass for around the £16 mark). They were out of oysters when I dined, so I asked for green olives to nibble. They arrived heated. Twice. Later on, my cheese was served fridge-cold. The waitress was bewildered and assured me she was on a mission to rectify everything for future diners. My steak was OK but came resting on a piece of paper branded with the hotel logo, on top of the plate. Is this a new Instagram thing? If it is, let me tell you, dead cow juice and a steak knife make that arrangement swiftly unphotogenic. Edinburgh is one of the best cities in Europe for food. 100 Princes Street is missing a trick. If there was a mini version of, say, the Palmerston up here with this view, it would be sensational. As it is, I enjoyed chatting with the waitress way more than I normally would and felt a prolonged good feeling as I watched the sunset while drinking chardonnay. But let's not end on that. Let's end on some more really good stuff: the hotel uses sporrans for the do not disturb signs. Which is inspired, and as brilliant as tartan ribbon on toilet rolls is not. Doubles from £410. There are two fully accessible rooms. For more information see 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 3AB (0131 287 3100).
