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Building a library: William Walton

BUILDING A LIBRARY William WaltonCello Concerto Jo Talbot introduces one of the English composer’s most beguiling yet underestimated scores, and finds the recordings which do it justice The work ‘You know I failed my composition exam at Oxford University,’ laughed William Walton when he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1982. But Walton had the […]

Choral & song reviews

Choral & song JS Bach Cantatas, BWV 78, 96, 100, 122, 127, 130 and 180 Hannah Morrison (soprano), Marion Eckstein (alto), Georg Poplutz (tenor), Tobias Berndt, Daniel Ochoa (bass); Chorus Musicus Köln; Das Neue Orchester/Christoph Spering DHM 19658710832 127:34 mins (2 discs) As this selection from the 1724/25 cantata cycle proclaims, Christoph Spering is a […]

Opera reviews

Opera Janáček Jenůfa (DVD) Asmik Grigorian, Karita Mattila, Saimir Pirgu, Nicky Spence, Elena Zilio, David Stout, Jacquelyn Stucker; Royal Opera House Orchestra/ Henrik Nánási; dir. Claus Guth (London, 2021) Opus Arte DVD: OA1351D; Blu-ray: OABD7302D 139 mins It’s love that liberates in Claus Guth’s production of Janáček’s breakthrough opera, Jenůfa, for the Royal Opera, Covent […]

Concerto reviews

Concerto JS BachConcertos for Harpsichord, Vol. 2 Bach Collegium Japan/Masato Suzuki(harpsichord) BISBIS-2481(CD/SACD) 60:03mins Nearly all Bach’s harpsichord concertos are arrangements of earlier works composed for entertainments in the relaxed environment of Gottfried Zimmermann’s Leipzig coffee house and garden where they were directed by the composer, presumably with a number of his sons as soloists. Two […]

Orchestral reviews

Orchestral Beethoven Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 3, ‘Eroica’ National Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda NSO NSO 0008 (digital only) 72:51 mins This is the first instalment of what will eventually be a complete set of Beethoven’s Symphonies; each work is to be presented with a visual counterpart, a likeably colourful abstract artwork by Mo Willems (Artist-in-Residence […]

Recording of the month

| RECORDING OF THE MONTH Mozart’s music as he would have known it Robert Levin’s complete survey of piano sonatas on the composer’s own instrument should be treasured, says Jessica Duchen Mozart Complete Piano Sonatas Robert Levin (fortepiano) ECM ECM 2710-16 377:11 mins (7 discs) Robert Levin, fortepianist, professor emeritus at Harvard and much more besides, […]

Review welcome

Michael Beek

Reviews Recordings and books rated by expert critics Welcome I love music’s capacity to tingle the spine, fill the tear ducts to overf low, or just make you smile from ear to ear. This month’s selection runs the whole gamut of emotions, but I’ve been particularly buoyed by the sheer joy in music-making on display […]