The Proms - Number 53

Hadrian - Empire and Conflict

The British Museum really know how to put on an exhibition. This one was appropriately set in the Reading Room - a structure based upon the Pantheon - a building re-constructed by the

subject of this collection of exhibits from the time of the Emperor Hadrian. And he was a truly remarkable man.

The Proms - Number 35

The programme was Elgar's In The South; Vaughan Williams' Piano Concerto; and Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade, performed by the BBC Philharmonic under the baton of Vassily

Sinaisky. This is a very competent, if unexciting orchestra and I didn't find that the conducting was particularly inspiring, but both the Elgar and the Rimsky-Korsakov is so uplifting that the music just shines through. I'm sure pianist Ashley Wass did a grand job with theVaughan Williams, but I'm not surprised this is not a regularly performed piece. There is always a difficulty with modern music - the romantics had it right - melodies and soaring notes, but in the twentieth century composers tended towards virtuosity - and that alone is not enough. Rating overall: 6/10

The Courtauld Cezannes at Somerset House

An exhibition of some of the Cezannes held by the Courtauld Collection - including not only some famous oils, but water colours and sketches by the great French late 19th Century painter - part of the impressionist group of artists. A great plus is that this exhibition is free on a Monday morning! What I really enjoyed about this (small) collection of Cezannes was the mixture and contrast between the various periods of Cezanne's artistic career - and it was terrific to see how some of his pictures were built up from sketches, through outline watercolours to the finished large scale oils. I liked all these pictures tremendously, even if the paintings of people were a touch out of proportion! You got a great feeling for the lives of these people, and the pictures of Provence just exude a feeling of heat. Rating 9/10