Music reviews
In Circles by Amy Dickson
I used to have little interest in classical saxophone repertoire, until one day, in Paris, I was walking through a deserted passageway, and I heard a most beautiful, soulful sound reverberating aroun…
Franz Schubert: Sonatas & Impromptus by András Schiff
The piano is a fascinating instrument that went through many iterations before it became what we know it as today. Originally known as the ‘fortepiano’, it was the first keyboard instrument to reliab…
Designer by Aldous Harding
New Zealand’s Aldous Harding has quickly become one of my go-to singer–songwriters. Her previous album, 2017’s Party, was my album of the year. *Designer *is her third album, and her second with the …
Elles by Marina Thibeault & Marie-Eve Scarfone
In a similar vein to Women of Note, and again to coincide with International Women’s Day, French-Canadian violist Marina Thibeault has released an album featuring chamber music by some of the most fa…
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos and Works for Solo Piano by Jan Lisiecki
It is very interesting listening to a recording when you know the soloist has chosen the orchestra and the repertoire. You would not have thought it would make such a big difference in the musicality…
Women of Note: A Century of Australian Composes by ABC Classics
2019 has seen a welcome proliferation of recordings featuring music by women. Although for a long time musical women were actively discouraged from composing and audiences were less willing to open t…
This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) by Lambchop
Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner is a master of reinvention. From his beginnings over three decades ago as an alt-country musician, the Nashville native has swirled through a litany of phases, landing n…
The Gloaming 3 by The Gloaming
Irish traditional/contemporary ensemble The Gloaming follow up their ground-breaking and bestselling previous two albums with The Gloaming 3. There’s nothing original about the title, but the band’s …
Ibn Battuta: The Traveler of Islam by Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI
Recorded over two years and across two countries, Ibn Battuta: Traveller of Islam tells the story of the travels of the great Muslim Moroccan scholar of the same name. In the fourteenth century, over…
Shostakovich: Under Stalin’s Shadow by Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra
I can think of no more fitting title for this complete series of Shostakovich’s symphonies performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra than ‘Under Stalin’s Shadow’. Born in 1906, Shostakovich suffered…
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