Sarah Urwin Jones Journalist, Writer, Broadcaster

Sixteen-month-old Oscar encountered his first live opera, in Scottish Opera’s Baby O project. And he liked what he heard. Continue reading ››

Taking its inspiration from the intimate, sociable gatherings of musicians who premiered and played Schubert’s music in his short lifetime, the third UK annual Schubertiad in Perth (next stop, the Highlands) might have been a little less cosy than those that Schubert led — 700 is hardly your average drawing-room capacity, even among the most moneyed of 19th-century patrons — but its wonderfully resonant concert hall and familiar line-up of quality soloists underlined that this was a weekend of music worth travelling for. Continue reading ››

Cathie Boyd’s Theatre Cryptic deals in “music to be seen, not just listened to”, but despite Boyd’s ability to hunt out interesting musical collaborations, these two monologues showed just how tricky it is to get the balance right. Continue reading ››

Since 1708, Handel’s pastoral masterpiece — you can positively hear the sheep frolicking — has been heard in more versions than you could dunk in a vat of sheep dip. The most recently rediscovered, Mendelssohn’s 1829 version of Handel’s “definitive” 1743 score, graced the Usher Hall on Sunday night. Continue reading ››

Greyfriars Kirk is taking the festival’s Enlightenment theme with single-minded precision, focusing on Bach’s cantatas. Continue reading ››