MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
Farewell to Harry
BEN LUNN pays tribute to Accrington-born giant Harrison Birtwhistle – but wonders if working-class kids today have the opportunity to explore music that he did
ON APRIL 18, the Accrington-born giant and musical hell-raiser Harrison Birtwistle passed away. To say he was one of the largest voices in British music is an understatement.
His music has had a resonance and reach which can only be compared to a few other British composers — namely Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten.
The broad outpouring of sadness at his passing, combined with numerous hilarious anecdotes and stories, shows his connection to the world around him was as large as his music.
More from this author

BEN LUNN draws attention to the way cultural expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in the UK are being censored by Israeli-sponsored lawfare

BEN LUNN reports from a new music festival in New York, and singles out a breathtaking composition that protests directly against femicide in Mexico

The centenary of his birth is a chance to assess the remarkable combination of Marxism, activism and modernism in the works of Luigi Nono

As the debate around voluntary euthanasia returns, we now have some seriously disturbing evidence from those places where it has become recently legalised to convince us that Britain is not ready, argues BEN LUNN