Featured today
Spotlight. Shostakovich at his Sardonic Best — Geoff Pearce listens to symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich connected to the year 1917. '... a very interesting and fine set.'
Today's festival / masterclass
Cracovia Music Festival (Cracow, Poland)
Twenty years ago today
Record box. Firm conviction — Basil Ramsey listens to the music of Einojuhani Rautavaara (published 27 September 2003)
Anniversaries
Jacques Thibaud (1880); Tauno Marttinen (1912); Adelina Patti (1919); Engelbert Humperdinck (1921); Igor Kipnis (1930); Natalia Shakhovskaya (1935); Philip Gossett (1941); Gerald Finzi (1956); Peter Sellars (1957); Mihaela Ursuleasa (1978); Zuzana Ruzickova (2017)
Today's background image
Derived from the 1917 oil-on-canvas painting of St Petersburg, 27 February 1917, by Russian painter and stage designer Boris Kustodiev (1878-1927)
Recent Articles
Spotlight. The Wild and the Mild — Gerald Fenech finds the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra and conductor John Axelrod's new recording of contrasting versions of Robert Schumann's Symphony No 4 in D minor preciously invaluable. 'Performances, sound quality and presentation are a credit to the Orchid Classics label.'
Szymanowska — A classical music word-puzzle by Allan Rae
Spotlight. Beautiful, Powerful Music — Geoff Pearce marvels at this new recording of orchestral music by Mieczysław Weinberg. 'The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is on top form ...'
Spotlight. Imaginative and Colourful — Gerald Fenech finds the latest in Chandos Records' series of film music mouth-watering. 'Performances are consistently alive, vibrant and rhythmically exciting, and Marco Albonetti's virtuosity makes the music sound even more passionate and intense.'
Ensemble. 'Jazzy by Bollywood Standards' — Mike Wheeler is fascinated by the music of Supriya Nagarajan and Lucy Nolan
Spotlight. Plain Strange — Patrick Maxwell watches and listens to the new Deutsche Grammophon Blu-Ray disc of Wagner's 'Götterdämmerung' from Bayreuth. 'The singing and the playing are largely excellent, but this is not the greatest production available ...'
CD Spotlight. Serious Dramatic Goals — Gerald Fenech listens to a unique recording of Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma!'. 'A humdinger of an album, excitingly performed and superbly recorded.'
CD Spotlight. A Fine Interpreter — Geoff Pearce is impressed by Carlo Alberto Bacchi's recording of sonatas by Muzio Clementi. '... pianist Carlo Alberto Bacchi performs with assurance, grace and mastery.'
CD Spotlight. Exceptional Performances — Gerald Fenech unreservedly recommends Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's recordings of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos 26 and 27. 'This is superb music making from the first to the last note.'
Ensemble. Deep Friendships — Keith Bramich is impressed by Byron Wallis, Bérengère de Gromard and Jeanne Pinget's concert in memory of Malcolm Scott
Classical music news - Malcolm Arnold Festival — The eighteenth Malcolm Arnold Festival will run from 14-15 October 2023, live in Northampton, UK, with an online day on 29 October 2023
Classical music news - Ben Glassberg — British conductor Ben Glassberg will become Music Director of Volksoper Wien in January 2024
Classical music news - Pacifica Quartet — The Pacifica Quartet returns as Don Michael Randel ensemble-in-residence at Chicago University
Classical music news - The Compleat Busoni and other delights — A book launch, first performance and signing will take place this month in Canberra, Australia
CD Spotlight. An Exceptional Recording — Gerald Fenech finds William Vann's new recording of music by Parry revelatory. '... highly dramatic performances seething with passionate endeavour and glorious grandeur.'
Ensemble. A Magnificent Undertaking — Roderic Dunnett was at Adrian Partington's 2023 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester
Classical music news - A Bridge Between Genres — Beethovenfest Bonn features the first appearance of Israeli-American conductor Yoel Gamzou's new kind of orchestra, bridging genres and playing 50% first performances
CD Spotlight. Expressive and Virtuosic — Music by Todd Mason, enjoyed by Geoff Pearce. 'The Budapest Scoring Orchestra, conductor Péter Illényi and soloist Tosca Opdam are all very committed to this music and obviously enjoy performing it.'
CD Spotlight. An Enticing Disc — Gerald Fenech is impressed by the music of Handel and his London colleagues. 'Boundless enjoyment from beginning to end.'
CD Spotlight. Truly Unique — Patrick Maxwell pays homage to a 1955 Parsifal from the Bayreuth Festival. 'All these impressive voices, heard here in their prime, combined with Knappertsbusch's wonderful orchestra, make a sound which is truly intimate and doubly intense.'
Classical music news - September 2023 Obituaries — Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this month
Ensemble. A Unique Sense of Bravado and Fun — Roderic Dunnett reviews Purcell's 'The Fairy Queen' at Longborough Festival Opera
Classical music news. Homo Sentiens — A veteran British conductor steps down from forthcoming performances, and the Polish festival Wratislavia Cantans embraces Mother Nature
CD Spotlight. Grace and Elegance — Italian concertos heard by Gerald Fenech. 'Boundless enjoyment from beginning to end.'
Classical music news. September 2023 Newsletter — Our September 2023 PDF newsletter, 'A Spiritual Journey', has just been published
Classical music news. September 2023 New Releases — Browse a large selection of new recordings
Spreading Light and Making Darkness Vanish — Luiza Catrinel Marinescu remembers her classmate, the Romanian pianist Eugen Alcalay and explores the pianist's mother's book 'Rhapsody in black and white with Leonard Bernstein'
CD Spotlight. A Bernstein No One Has Heard — John Dante Prevedini is impressed by a new release of early chamber music by Bernstein and Copland. '... thoughtfully curated and meticulously executed.'
Classical music news - The Innocent Fields — Recent items of interest, including the Presteigne Festival, Jonathan McPhee adapting Wagner, Nick Hely-Hutchinson's Perfect Pitch podcast, the Stabat Mater music calendar and a study of unusual vocal techniques
CD Spotlight. A Must-have Disc — Martin Owen plays Strauss, Schumann and Weber, strongly recommended by Gerald Fenech. 'Martin Owen's command of this repertoire is just staggering, and his sheer virtuosity is nothing short of breathtaking.'
CD Spotlight. Rethinking First Impressions — John Dante Prevedini listens to piano music by Mexican composer José F Vásquez. '... we are urged by releases like this to rethink our approach to composers like Vásquez ...'
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