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.
SPONSORED: Ensemble. Last Gasp of Boyhood. Roderic Dunnett investigates Jubilee Opera's A Time There Was for the Benjamin Britten centenary.
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Born in Yorkshire on 21 August in 1933, Janet Baker has enjoyed a unique reputation as a mezzo-soprano. Her experience in all categories as a singer has been widespread and is now remembered especially through recordings. She first sang in the Leeds Philharmonic Choir, and gained second prize in the Kathleen Ferrier Competition in 1956.
CD Spotlight. Solace to Listeners - Patrick Maxwell listens to a box set of John Barbirolli's Elgar recordings for Warner Classics. '... a musical artefact which still tells us how Britain's most famous composer really can sound like ...'
Ensemble. Style and Drama - Gluck's 'Alceste', heard by Robert Hugill
Ensemble. Profoundly Beautiful - William Christie's 'Dido and Aeneas' impresses Robert Hugill
Ensemble. A Rich Sound - Handel's 'Samson', enjoyed by Robert Hugill
Ensemble. Occasionally Stunning - Robert Hugill at English National Opera's 'The Coronation of Poppea'
CD Spotlight. Wondrously alive - Music by Elgar, reviewed by Robert Anderson. '... yet more immediacy than the original LPs ...'