RESOUNDING ECHOES: From August 2022, Robert McCarney's regular series features little-known twentieth century classical composers.
PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS:
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
Classical music news - Composers and Conductors - A selection of news items from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and elsewhere
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. 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.'
CD Spotlight. Wagner in Bayreuth Today - Giuseppe Pennisi explores a box set from Opus Arte. '... an excellent set of CDs to hear where Bayreuth is up to today.'
Musical Prowess - Robert Anderson's 'Opera Nights and Nightmares', read by Gerald Fenech
Ensemble. Much Awaited - Bayreuth's 'Das Rheingold' previewed in Rome, as experienced by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. Wagner in the Alps - Giuseppe Pennisi reports from the 2011 Tiroler Festspiele
Ensemble. An Important Milestone - Robert Hugill was at Grange Park Opera's 'Tristan and Isolde'
Ensemble. Indulging in Forbidden Consecutives - Mastersingers at the BBC Proms, reviewed by Robert Anderson
Ensemble. Authority and Charisma - Wagner's 'Siegfried', reviewed by Maria Nockin
Ensemble. New and Different - 'Rheingold' from Los Angeles, recommended by Maria Nockin
DVD Spotlight. Sheer Champagne - Rossini's 'La pietra del paragone', enjoyed by Robert Anderson. 'The Madrid cast has proved itself exemplary ...'
DVD Spotlight. Taut Conviction - Wagner's 'Lohengrin', reviewed by Robert Anderson. '... a delight to watch.'
Ensemble. Liszt on Wagner's Steinway - Malcolm Miller applauds a young artist in the Festspiel-Soirée Series at the Wahnfried in Bayreuth
CD Spotlight. Truly believable - Barenboim conducts Wagner's 'Das Rheingold' from Bayreuth, reviewed by Robert Hugill. '... a beautiful, well-shaped, flowing performance.'
Profile. Singing out - An encounter with celebrated Heldentenor Robert Dean Smith, by Tess Crebbin