Music and madness have ever been allies: the composer, Robert Schumann, born 200 years ago this June, is our otherworldly tiptoeing genius plagued by celestial harmonies and voices from beyond the grave. It is surely no coincidence that his music ripples eternally through the filmscapes of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Willow’.

‘You’re doing what?’ said my friend incredulously as if I were off for a week of Georgian Nose Whistling. It was horn-playing, Vienna-horn playing, Vienna horn playing in the wilds of Scotland. Along as the photographer, my eardrums were girded, my inner vegetarian locked up.

For the first time famous photojournalist Ed Kashi's award winning 'Curse' exhibition comes to London. Fiona Halliday previews and considers the issues.

Oil could and should have made Nigeria one of the richest countries in Africa and yet the Niger delta suffers from what economists call ‘the resource curse’ where the abundance of natural resources that should generate wealth bring only corruption, exploitation and violence.

The Vienna Philharmonic roadshow dropped by the Barbican for 2 nights last week led by the irascible octogenarian, Lorin Maazel, conducting sans score. Fiona Halliday however is puzzled by all the girls on stage...

The forces of darkness and uncertainty marshaled at the ENO one last time before the sugar fest of Christmas starts to rain down a cinnamon plague of sicky froth, pantomimes and Handel’s Messiah-on-ice on our heads.

The list of supernatural operas – ‘The Flying Duchtman’, ‘Der Vamypyre’ ‘Der Freischutz’ and ‘Bluebeard’s Castle’ - make the Saw movies look about as exciting as slipping into a coma.