9 d. ago Strauss, Dvořák and Glazunov album review – packs a dramatic punch

Bamberger Symphoniker/Hrůša(Accentus Music)Jakub Hrůša’s absorbing treatment gives life to three late-19th-century works reflecting on the notion of heroismThis absorbing release on the Leipzig-based Accentus label is a reminder that the Royal Ballet and Opera’s new music director, Jakub Hrůša, has for the last nine years excelled in orchestral music as chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony. The programme juxtaposes three works composed in the final decades of the 19th century, each reflecting in different ways on the notion of a hero, or what is meant by a hero’s journey.A Hero’s Song was Dvořák’s final tone poem, a 20-minute micro-symphony in which intrepid determination gives way to mourning, martial conflict and finally hope. It’s full of amiable melodies and, in Hrůša’s hands, it packs a dramatic punch. It’s followed by a compelling discovery: Glazunov’s symphonic elegy To the Memory of a Hero, composed when he was 20. Advancing with sombre tread, and boasting a pair of insta...

Events

9 d. ago Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection review – test your might in this brutally brilliant fighting package

The latest instalment in Digital Eclipse's Gold Master game series focusses on Mortal Kombat, and it does a extremely great job preserving the gory fighter's classic games.

Politics

1 week ago Wolfbox automotive tech review: are its jump packs and air dusters worth it?

Wolfbox is fast becoming a go-to brand for affordable automotive tech. We test its jump packs and air dusters to find out if they live up to the hype

Politics

2 w. ago As Sydney Sweeney's boxing biopic Christy is trashed by critics, BRIAN VINER's review reveals whether she's the victim of a leftie backlash or her performance is really on the ropes

Christy packs a strong dramatic punch, as every boxing film should. Unfortunately, the blow lands below the belt.

Events

3 w. ago Review: BleeqUp Ranger sports camera glasses pack a lot into one device

Powered by a Snapdragon chip, the Ranger uses AI to keep your video nice and stable,

Politics

3 w. ago The Chair Company review – an office rage comedy packed with massive, stupid laughs

Tim Robinson is hilarious as a man hellbent on taking down a negligent chair manufacturer in this cringe caper full of roaringly good slapstickMeet Ron Trosper, a faithful office grunt in small town Ohio. Ron works for a company that builds shopping malls, and their latest one is the first for which Ron has been made project lead, despite some of his superiors’ misgivings. Today is his big day. He’s giving a speech at the launch!Ron is the creation of Tim Robinson, the former Saturday Night Live writer/performer who reinvented the American sketch show in 2019 with I Think You Should Leave. In a new half-hour, eight-episode series that starts as a workplace comedy before sprawling into mystery/thriller territory, his alter ego is a stock Robinson character, a variation on the textbook comic protagonist who has to bear the burden of being the only sane man in every room. Ron is genuinely beset by absurdity, misfortune and other people’s idiocy and selfishness, but always manages to re...

Society