VIDEO PODCAST: Slava Ukraini! - recorded on 24 February 2022, the day the world 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.
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.
Anton Webern was born on 3 December 1883 in Vienna. His role as a composer in the early years of this century is generally regarded as a decisive pointer to future development. The brevity and concentration of material influenced not only his contemporaries but the next generation as well. Nonetheless, his enormous regard for the great romantics never waned. He died at Mittersill on 15 September 1945 from a bullet wound, accidentally shot by an American soldier during the post-war Austrian occupation.
Ensemble. Three Days in Ravenna - Giuseppe Pennisi samples Northern Italy's high profile and wide-ranging arts festival
Ensemble. Mathematical Advantage - Sinfonia Viva's annual schools residency, experienced by Mike Wheeler
Ensemble. A Fine Balance - Sophie Rosa plays Brahms' Violin Concerto, heard by Mike Wheeler
CD Spotlight. Widely Spread - Christmas music from Caius College Choir, recommended by Keith Bramich. '... high-quality singing with lovely rounded tone ...'
An Invaluable Book - Gergely Hubai's 'Torn Music: Rejected film scores, a selected history', recommended by Patric Standford
Andrew Schartmann's Musical Tidbits - Listening with New Ears. A Listening Strategy for Webern's String Trio
Ensemble. Shh ... Out! - Malcolm Miller was at the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's 75th Anniversary Prom for an audience composition to remember ...
CD Spotlight. Formidable Hurdles - Music by George Rochberg, heard by Howard Smith. '... an eloquent performance, effectively recorded.'
Ensemble. Truly Miraculous - The Emerson Quartet, heard by Bill Newman
A Golden Treasury - Havergal Brian on European and American music, read by Patric Standford
CD Spotlight. Impeccable - Music by Szymanowski, Webern and Schoeck, recommended by Ron Bierman. 'The quartet plays with authority throughout ...'
Timings - Universal Edition's preparations for the Mahler Centenary years (2010-2011), by Jennifer Paull
CD Spotlight. Sensuality and Freedom - Stokowski conducts Schubert and Dvorák, heard by Béla Hartmann. '... one is never left in any doubt as to the force of the conductor ...'
Ensemble. Simplicity and Eloquence - Quatuor Ebène plays Haydn, Webern and Schubert, reviewed by Bill Newman
Ensemble. Musical Paradise - The Artemis Quartet shines at Urbana's Krannert Center, reviewed by Sonja Stojanovic
Ensemble. Ravishing Firebird! - Kelly Ferjutz reports on Boulez in Cleveland