LIVE REVIEWS
Madeleine Mitchell.
Daniel Ross
International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1911 – if celebrated is the word for an event calling for women’s rights to vote and work, and to end discrimination. Now, 110 years later, it remains an annual fixture: a spur to debate, awareness-raising, frustration and fury. The world has changed radically since 1911. But if the ever-energetic violinist and British music advocate Madeleine Mitchell had programmed a concert simply called A Century of Music by British Composers, would you have assumed you’d find women in the lineup? (And how often are programmes of music by female composers scheduled on the other 364 days of the year?)
Mitchell’s concert of A Century of Music by British Women (1921-2021), performed by her London Chamber Ensemble, is an important reminder of just how much music most of us don’t get to hear and thus don’t get to know, most of the time. But it’s more than that: the musical 20th-century that emerges through Rebecca Clarke’s 1921 Piano Trio (pianist Sophia Rahman’s velveteen touch making the work’s lyrical moments luminous), Ruth Gipps’ mesmerising 1958 Prelude for Bass Clarinet (played with tremendous care by Peter Cigleris) and Grace Williams’ beautifully scored, irresistibly driven 1934 Suite for Nine Instruments is a far cry from the familiar modernist mainstream. This 20th century was about rethinking how instruments could sound, not a one-size-fits-all break with tonality.
The rest of Mitchell’s densely packed programme mixed miniatures by eminent living composers. From Thea Musgrave’s skittish 1960 Colloquy to the world premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Sojourner Truth, a piece for violin and piano based on the spiritual O’er the Crossing, via works by Helen Grime, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Judith Weir, the London Chamber Ensemble’s performances were committed but undemonstrative – sometimes to the point of understatement. The video editing, which cross-faded performances to leave barely a second between items, didn’t help. But what was missing was a sense of fun – perhaps even of celebration.
nternational Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1911 – if celebrated is the word for an event calling for women’s rights to vote and work, and to end discrimination. Now, 110 years later, it remains an annual fixture: a spur to debate, awareness-raising, frustration and fury. The world has changed radically since 1911. But if the ever-energetic violinist and British music advocate Madeleine Mitchell had programmed a concert simply called A Century of Music by British Composers, would you have assumed you’d find women in the lineup? (And how often are programmes of music by female composers scheduled on the other 364 days of the year?)
LIVE REVIEWS
Ronnie Radke has claimed that Max Georgiev was dismissed from Falling In Reverse due to allegations of sexual misconduct, accusations that Georgiev has firmly rejected.
Georgiev exited the Las Vegas metalcore group in 2024. Last week, the band’s frontman Ronnie Radke shared an Instagram post stating that the guitarist was removed after allegedly admitting to a sexual relationship with an underage girl.
“For those that are wondering why I fired the guitarist,” Radke wrote, according to Lambgoat, “it’s because he admitted to sleeping with a minor ten years before he [was] in my band [when] he was 27 years old. Have fun with that.”
Georgiev, who joined Falling In Reverse in 2018 and now performs with metal outfit Vio-lence, responded shortly after, denying the allegations. “To the fans, I have never done anything illegal with a minor,” said Max Georgiev. “Fifteen years ago, when I was 23, I still lived in Quebec, Canada.”
“Since then, I have played for several bands who never mentioned inappropriate behavior on my part,” he continued. “I have always had great respect for the fans. I have strived to play my heart out for you.”
Radke’s Instagram account has since appeared to be removed, something he addressed during a livestream. “Maybe me talking about my old guitar player getting fired for finding out he was hooking up with minors, I think that AI might’ve caught that and was like, ‘You gotta go’,” he suggested, as reported by Loudwire".
“This man not only did that, [but] the parents of the minor ten years before he was in my band found out, they confronted him, he lied about his age so he could continue doing that with her. He wasn’t 23, he was older. He’s lying about that,” Radke went on to claim.
In a subsequent statement shared on Thursday January 8, Georgiev again rejected Radke’s accusations, calling them “delusional”. “I met someone who turned eighteen a few months later while I occasionally dated her,” he said. “This was fifteen years ago, when I was 23 in Quebec, Canada.”
“Her parents never confronted me because the girl only had a mother. I never lied to her or her daughter about anything.”
Georgiev later suggested that his departure from Falling In Reverse may instead have been linked to him “taking the initiative to learn nine songs of another band”, which he identified as Disturbed.
Elsewhere, Radke has reportedly filed a temporary restraining order against Brittany Furlan, citing alleged harassment connected to a catfish controversy from last year.
He has repeatedly alleged that Furlan, the estranged wife of Tommy Lee, was involved with someone impersonating him online. The filing asks that she be required to remain at least 100 yards away from him. Representatives for Furlan have said they are “aware” of the request and maintain that the allegations are “not accurate”.
Radke also saw his defamation lawsuit against Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop dismissed last year.
