Howard Smith

'His writing shows perception, depth and humanity' - Fanny Waterman

Howard Smith is a British journalist, adjudicator, editor and photographer, internationally recognised as an authoritative music and travel writer. For some years he was a senior interviewer/writer, TV and arts critic with the then Dominion/Sunday Times in Wellington, New Zealand, later becoming the sole leader writer for the China Mail in Hong Kong.

From the mid 1970s until 1987 he worked for Thomson Regional Newspapers (TRN) in North East England, writing extensively on arts, travel, and news background topics. Subsequently, from his base in Minneapolis, MN, USA, he provided copy for a variety of outlets throughout the American mid-west.

From the mid 1990s he worked for APN in New Zealand, also occasionally supplying stories for the major dailies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. At the same time he supplied notes for the NZ International Festival of the Arts and articles for The Listener, North & South, the Sunday Star-Times and major dailies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Since the dawn of the 3rd Millennium he has been on assignments in Hatsukaichi, Japan; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Noumea, New Caledonia; Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Pacific Russia; and Uralsk, Kazakhstan.

For three years he broadcast for Arrow FM Radio (New Zealand) and lectured in specialist journalism at Whitireia Polytechnic, just outside Wellington. He is a regular contributor to Music & Vision.

VISIT HOWARD SMITH'S WEBSITE, ISLAMEY.COM

M&V articles about Howard Smith

Site seeing - Islamey and friends - discoveries and re-discoveries, with Keith Bramich

Music & Vision articles by Howard Smith

Murray McLachlan plays music by Shostakovich and friends. '... an outright triumph for the label and for McLachlan.'

Songs by Gregg Kallor. 'Go to the top of the class.'

Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. '... vital technical flair ...'

Jonathan Dove's 'The Adventures of Pinocchio'. '... considerable merits on display ...'

Wendy Warner's interpretations of Popper and Piatigorsky. '... sovereign music-making deserving of the highest accolades.'

Chamber music by Robert Schumann. '... the performances suffer from a worrying anemia ...'

Van Beinum conducts Mahler. '... a tad less frenetic ...'

James Tibbles plays J S Bach. '... worthy of widespread international recognition.'

Historical English Christmas music. '... sheer "joie de vivre" ...'

Carols from Westminster Abbey. '... gravity-defying buoyancy.'

Music for unaccompanied violin. '... searching performance ...'

Washington Symphonic Brass. '... a programme deserving of sustained applause and huge admiration.'

Music for violin, cello and piano. '... beautiful, technically accomplished playing ...'

Latin music from Quartet San Francisco. '... constantly alive to dynamic nuances and lyrical subtleties ...'

Rachel Barton Pine's tribute to Maud Powell, welcomed. '... irresistible artistry ...'

Jennifer Larmore sings Barber, Berlioz, Ravel and Britten. '... a compelling disc ...'

Music by Mozart and Mendelssohn. '... a truly idiomatic performance ...'

Baroque music for cello. 'An exemplary CD ...'

New Zealand Opera's 'Eugene Onegin'

Music by Gershwin for piano and orchestra. '... commendable drive and clarity.'

Steve Davislim sings Vierne and Chausson. 'I cannot think of higher praise.'

A sampler from Cedille Records. '... top quality standards.'

Howard Smith was at the last Vector Wellington Orchestra programme engineered by Christine Pearce

J S Bach organ sonatas. '... an immensely satisfying conclusion.'

Music for bassoon, harpsichord and double bass,. '... an outright "tour de force".'

Beethoven from The Nash Ensemble, welcomed. '... a class of its own.'

Howard Smith attends New Zealand's Music Fair of Japan 2009

Red Priest's 'Nightmare in Venice', entertains Howard Smith. '... irrepressible, chic ...'

Schnittke and Ginastera from the Choir of St Ignatius Loyola. 'Not quite what one might expect.'

Chamber music by Marjan Mozetich. '... "Hymn of Ascension" stood out for its power and cogency.'

John Hardy's 'Blue Letters from Tanganyika'. '... colorful, filmic, and open to pleasurable listening ...'

Rossini's 'Italian Girl in Algiers'

Howard Smith comments on Alberto Portugheis' recent publication

Debussy transcriptions. '... these alternatives are never less than striking ...'

Kurt Masur and others conduct Mendelssohn. '... too often short on graciousness, charm or buoyancy.'

Benjamin Britten folksong arrangements. '... this release is worth several times it's weight in gold.'

Maxwell Davies' Naxos Quartets 9 and 10, applauded. '... much to admire ...'

Music for horn and orchestra. '... stunning breath control and consummate understanding ...'

A new recording of Schubert's 'Winterreise'. '... Steve Davislim and Anthony Romaniuk have earned a place among the highest achievers ...'

Mozart works for clarinet. '... Paul Dean demonstrates his exemplary fluency ...'

Boston String Quartet's 'Xibus'. 'What all this signifies is not at all clear.'

A recital by Lin Jiang and Benjamin Martin. '... superbly performed.'

Songs with orchestra from Deborah Riedel. '... a bounteous seam of unfamiliar, wholly blissful vocal gems ...'

Choral music by Randall Thompson. '... performances and recording are exemplary throughout.'

Andrew Violette's Sonata for unaccompanied violin

The Icicle Creek Piano Trio. '... rhythmically brisk, considered performances ...'

The Sleeping Beauty. '... utterly enchanting ...'

Choral and orchestral music by Arthur Honegger. '... strikingly performed by Welsh forces ...'

Piano music by Frank Bridge. 'A standing ovation for Mark Bebbington ...'

Tangos and fantasies. '... good in parts.'

Music by Bazzini. '... Hanslip brings it off with suitable aplomb.'

Kristallnacht remembered

Corigliano sets Dylan. 'Titanic, zealous stuff.'

Derek Jarman's 'War Requiem'. '... cutting room virtuosity.'

Tim Hugh and Olga Sitkovetsky at London's Wigmore Hall. '... breathtaking musicianship captured my attention ...'

Howard Smith was at Janácek's 'Jenufa' in Wellington

Music by Spohr, Rolla and Kalliwoda. '... seasoned insights and faultless empathy.'

Halida Dinova plays Brahms, unreservedly recommended. 'A truly distinguished performance and recording ...'

Piano music by Ahmet Adnan Saygun. '... unfailing rhythmic clarity and beautifully controlled dynamics ...'

John Suchet's 'The Treasures of Beethoven'

Rachmaninov's Vespers. '... marvellous tonal exactitude, pellucid control, superb diction ...'

Kevin Sullivan's 'Magic Flute Diaries'. '... a "rag-bag" of special effects and Mozartian absurdities ...'

Chamber music by Roger Smalley. '... the performance may be regarded as definitive.'

Bach, Mozart and Beethoven from the Vector Wellington Orchestra

Hansel and Gretel in New Zealand

Forgotten music by Saint-Saëns. '... a performance of avowed committment.'

Quartets by Evans, Glass, Antheil and Herrmann. '... wholly engaging ...'

Modern American music for violin and piano. '... commanding fire and finesse ...'

Puccini's 'La bohème' at New Zealand Opera

A concert by the Amici Ensemble, renjoyed

Works by Respighi. '... impressively alive to each facet of Respighi's aural colourations ...'

Music by Bloch, Engel, Honegger, Milhaud and Szymanowski. '... an acceptable though rather dated style.'

Opera fantasies for violin. '... engaging musical finesse.'

Stephen De Pledge returns to New Zealand

Choral music by Cecilia McDowall. '... clarity and conviction.'

Music for violin and piano by Ma Sicong. '... thoroughly enjoyable ...'

Amorous music by Purcell. '... glorious song with inspirational accompaniments.'

Peter Dawson favourites from Gregory Yurisch and the Tasmanian Symphony. '... in this repertoire they hardly miss a trick.'

Symphonies by Albert Roussel. '... clarity, focus and sheer ambience.'

Music by Thomas Fortmann. 'Thomas Fortmann has achieved what repeatedly eludes others ...'

The Nobilis Trio at Steinway Hall. '... musically pleasurable.'

Shostakovich's Symphony No 10, chosen. '... the results are very special.'

Vocal music by Puccini. '... more than sufficient ... to recommend unstintingly ...'

Christopher Nupen's films about Andrés Segovia. '... a quiet, heaven-sent artistry ...'

Arias by Massenet. '... immeasurable lyric flair ...'

Ganelin Trio Priority live in Vilnius. 'Jazz in Lithuania has never looked back.'

A 'Magic Flute' for children. '... a very special production ...'

Down under with the Wellington Orchestra

Orchestral music by Bechara El-Khoury. '... a valuable addition ...'

Jennifer Koh plays Schumann. '... superbly accomplished performances ...'

Elena Kuschnerova plays Stravinsky. '... unrivalled.'

Sheila Silver's 'The Thief of Love'. '... music of great beauty.'

János Starker plays Bartók, Boccherini, Kodály, Mozart and Leo Weiner. '... instrumental artistry at its finest.'

Recordings from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's 2006 Festival. '... bold, arresting, re-creative performances ...'

Howard Smith reads an 'owner's manual' of Sibelius orchestral works

Flute sonatas by the eight-year-old Mozart. '... superb advocacy ...'

Tony Palmer tells the story of Shostakovich. '... a landmark among 20th century cinema documents.'

Svetlanov conducts Rachmaninov. '... Svetlanov's affinity with Rachmaninov's daring idioms is always apparent.'

Music by Saint-Saëns. 'The LPO is in peak condition ...'

A brief history of the Salzburg Festival. '... mandatory viewing!'

A benefit concert for the Kitezh Children's Community. '... Berkofsky tailors the accompaniments with demonstrable taste and empathy.'

Remus Azoitei plays Enescu. '... a truly commanding performance.'

Masao Ohki's 'Hiroshima Symphony'. 'A blistering 2005 performance ...'

Music by Max Bruch. '... unruffled, reasonably considered, technically secure ...'

David L Nelson on Vienna

Music by Paul Schwartz. '... consistently pleasing, somewhat innocuous, easy sounds ...'

Oboe concertos played by Andrea Gullickson [listen]. '... highly recommended ...'

Music by Lera Auerbach and Shostakovich [listen]. '... unfailing virtuosity.'

Leila Josefowicz plays Shostakovich. '... her tightrope assurance is breathtaking.'

Groove-oriented chamber music by Gernot Wolfgang. '... highly professional performances ...'

Paul Calistus-Ashley plays Poulenc, Schubert and Dett. '... verve and sensitivity.'

Choral music by Lepo Sumera. '... performances with these forces are undoubtedly authoritative ...'

Russian Romantic songs. '... magically touching musicianship ...'

Music by Haskell Small and Mussorgsky. '... indisputably fine pianism ...'

Stokowski symphonic transcriptions. '... an unqualified testament to Stokowski's magic.'

A concert by the Aroha String Quartet

A recital by Mikhail Zemtsov

Down with the bow and up with the baton - Howard Smith talks to Evgeny Bushkov

Many strings to his bow ... Howard Smith reports on Marat Bisengaliev's third tour of New Zealand

M Owen Lee's book 'The Great Instrumental Works', enthusiastically recommended

Bartók, Bernstein and Gershwin from the Pekinel Sisters. '... positively 'aerodynamic' in its clarity, audacity and panache.'

José Serebrier conducts Glazunov. '... the Scottish players bring appropriate breadth and commitment ...'

Songs of Jewish life. '... calm and delight to perfection ...'

Music by Roumi Petrova. '... splendid performances from start to finish.'

Alexander Balanescu pays homage to Romanian folk singer Maria Tanase. '... exquisitely accomplished.'

Vadim Gluzman plays Schnittke, Pärt, Vasks and Kancheli

Alexa Still and the NGC Wellington Sinfonia

The daughter of a Christchurch actress fights church duplicity in Moscow

Music by Tüür, Sibelius and Rachmaninov

Daniel Hope plays Mozart

Khazak police on the beat at the second Uralsk International Violin Competition. Howard Smith tells the story

Howard Smith describes Lygia O'Riordan's quest to bring Handel's masterpiece to Eastern Russia

Howard Smith listens to Serbian pianist Sonja Radojkovic in New Zealand

The story of STROMA

A bizarre story from Moscow

A triumphant homecoming in Kazakhstan

Howard Smith writes about one of the most important and celebrated composers working today

Howard Smith tells the story of the New Zealand String Quartet's well-kept Hungarian secret