Shostakovich’s well-developed sense of irony is so intrinsically wrapped up with his love of popular music – especially that which the Soviet establishment regarded as ‘trivial’ or better yet ‘subversive’ – that it’s sometimes hard to discern…
Florence Price is fast becoming the flag-bearer for a whole new generation of female African-American composers. And she is also a wonderful example of how quality will out if champions like Yannick Nézet-Séguin (his terrific disc of…
Monday 25th July 2022 7.30pm Duncombe Park, Helmsely One of the greatest of all singers gives a rare public interview in her native North Yorkshire. Dame Janet Baker is joined by Edward Seckerson to discuss her life…
An eye (and ear) catching coupling. Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony is front and centre of the core repertoire these days – though not always in performances as good as this one – but we rarely hear Kurt Weill’s…
This being the last of these columns for the time being, I thought I’d reflect some more on the issues that keep me and my colleagues so exercised from month to month: the art of realisation, recreation,…
There’s something extraordinarily satisfying about embarking upon Sibelius’ entire symphonic journey in a single one-day sitting. The evolution and refining of language and expression, the juxtaposition of the romantic and the radical is clarified and renewed. Total…
You might describe this entertaining disc as trumpeting (apologies) the extraordinary talents of Romain Leleu through a medium well used to making a star of his chosen instrument. And where else would you start in this celebration…
Daniel Hope was never just another violin virtuoso. His curiosity, his ability to think outside the box, to embrace passions beyond the so-called core repertoire, is borne out with each successive album. This one pays homage to…
There is much to commend in Noseda’s account of this most extraordinary symphony – and I speak as one whose recent and exhaustive explorations of it on BBC Radio 3 have only served to intensify my admiration.…
I never need much of an excuse to write about Leonard Bernstein – but in the wake of the Spielberg remake of West Side Story (doubtless laden with awards by the time these words are published) I…
