SPONSORED: Ensemble. Unjustly Neglected - In this specially extended feature, Armstrong Gibbs' re-discovered 'Passion according to St Luke' impresses Roderic Dunnett.
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VIDEO PODCAST: Slava Ukraini! - recorded on 24 February 2022, the day Europe woke up to the news that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces had invaded Ukraine. A fifty minute video which also features Caitríona O'Leary and Eric Fraad discussing their new film Island of Saints, and pays tribute to Joseph Horovitz, Malcolm Troup and Maria Nockin.
VIDEO PODCAST: John Dante Prevedini leads a discussion about Youth Involvement in Classical Music - this specially extended illustrated feature includes contributions from Christopher Morley, Gerald Fenech, Halida Dinova, Patricia Spencer and Roderic Dunnett.
The French composer Albéric Magnard was born on 9 June 1865 in Paris. He was the son of a successful author and editor of Le Figaro, but renounced family connections and wealth for a career in music based only on his talents, which were considerable.
He studied counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire, attended Jules Massenet's classes and learnt fugue and orchestration with Vincent d'Indy. Magnard's output consists of just over twenty works.
He is believed to have died, aged 49, in a fire at his residence north of Paris on 3 September 1914, whilst defending his estate from German soldiers.
Several unpublished works were lost in the fire, including the orchestral score to the opera Guercoeur, but this was later reconstructed by Magnard's friend and colleague Guy Ropartz, and staged at the Paris Opéra in 1931.
CD Spotlight. Very Palatable - Geoff Pearce listens to orchestral music by Albéric Magnard. 'The quality of the performances by Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg and conductor Fabrice Bollon is exemplary and complimentary to the work of this minor master.'
CD Spotlight. A Purposeful Vigour - Symphonies by Albéric Magnard impress Patric Standford. '... a notable symphonic architect.'