Chris introduces this month’s Choices, headed by a centenary celebration of the Cleveland Orchestra under their Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, which features two new commissions as well as music by Beethoven, Strauss, Prokofiev and Varèse.
Biographies of composers Alma Mahler and Engelbert Humperdinck; analyses of Allegri's *Miserere*, Bizet's *Carmen*, and Beethoven's Piano Sonatas; a handbook of music and medievalism; a survey of music and drama in Early Modern English schools; an examination of the relationship between music and time; a biography of pop sensation, Billie Eilish; and a collection of essays exploring music in India.
As on their recent series of Strauss tone poems, the Russian conductor and his Norwegian orchestra prove themselves master story-tellers on this trio of showpieces from the late 1880s.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna, Verdi's *Otello* (starring Jonas Kaufmann in the title-role) from Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra dell'Academia Nationale di Santa Cecilia, Massenet's first full-length opera, and an eclectic urban-themed album from Lisa Batiashvili.
*Technique in Practice* is an innovative approach to technique for advanced violinists by Mary Cohen, developed from her unique 'weightless balance' methodology. Learn more about this publication here.
A round-up of some of the most recent releases that have caught our ears, with a strong 6-string flavour from the likes of John Scofield, Allan Holdswoth and Michael Olatuja.
Chris introduces this month's selection, with Alina Ibragimova's 'supernaturally fine-tuned' accounts of Shostakovich's Violin Concertos with Vladimir Jurowski and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov' on Hyperion in pride of place.
The British conductor talks to Katherine about his recording of Erwartung & Pelleas und Melisande, released on Chandos last month, and socially-distanced music-making in Bergen.
David enjoys the début recording of Jean Rondeau and Thomas Dunford's harpsichord-lute duo, featuring a selection of French Baroque treasures with vocal cameos from Marc Mauillon and Lea Desandre.
Haydn from the Chiaroscuro Quartet, the world premiere recording of Fazil Say's Cello Concerto from its dedicatee Camille Thomas, archive Mahler from Ádám Fischer, and Beethoven from Robert Trevino.
The first instalment in a new series exploring the many genres within jazz finds Matt jumping straight in at the deep end and recommending some of the most enduring recordings loosely grouped under the heading of 'free jazz'. May the skronk be with you!
Conductor Jaan-Eik Tulve talks to David about his recent recording with Vox Clamantis of the choral works of the early twentieth-century composer and folksong arranger Cyrillus Kreek.
Josh enjoys the latest offering from prolific London multi-instrumentalist Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne, this time a tribute to English saxophonist Tubby Hayes.
Imaginative song-recitals from Natalya Romaniw, Roderick Williams and Ilker Arcayürek, luminous Janáček from Thomas Adès, and old-school orchestral fireworks from Airat Ichmouratov.
An analysis of self-quotation in the music of Schubert; a biography of American composer Augusta Browne; an examination of gender politics in French Baroque opera; a consideration of the cultural context of the polyphonic Mass; a study of the relationship between music and the sublime; and a guide for singers on various mind-body awareness techniques including yoga, Alexander Technique, and the Feldenkrais Method.