Music reviews
Carl Maria von Weber: The Clarinet Concertos
Beautiful, lush romantic strings set this recording off. Then the clarinet enters, with a wailing sound – not at all what I was expecting. There is an edge to the clarinet tone, with a brightness tha…
Antonio Vivaldi: Lost Concertos for Anna Maria
There was a time in Venice when baby girls could be dropped through a slot, similar to a libraryreturns chute, and so be abandoned to be raised in a convent. If a young girl was (relatively speaking)…
Idiot Prayer by Nick Cave
Recorded at the magnificent and historic Alexandra Palace in North London as the UK was emerging from its first COVID-19 lockdown in July this year, Idiot Prayer – Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace…
Chanson d’Amour by Sabine Devieilhe & Alexandre Tharaud
In Chanson d’Amour, heavenly-voiced Sabine Devieilhe takes us on a journey to France, via the music of Fauré, Ravel, Poulenc and Debussy. I know her best as an opera singer possessed of a stratospher…
Vivaldi: Works for Clarinet and Orchestra Martin Frost & Concerto Koln
Historians believe that the clarinet was first invented around 1700. At the time, composers were demanding more from their musicians, and trumpeters were not able to cope with the fast passages in th…
Letter To You by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band go back a long way – they first played together almost five decades ago, in 1972. Springsteen selected the members of this band to back him on his debut record…
Britten: Peter Grimes by Edward Gardner & Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
To visit Benjamin Britten’s home of Aldeburgh is to enter the world of Peter Grimes. Standing on the beach, listening to the waves roll in from the North Sea, is to hear the very sound that inspired …
Brahms: Symphonies 3 & 4 Richard Tognetti & Australian Chamber Orchestra
There is nothing in the world quite like an electrifying live performance. I know we have all been missing that feeling of sitting in the middle of the music, hearing the orchestra breathe together a…
Sunday (The Gospel According To Iso) by Vika & Linda
‘You’re going to give it a good review, aren’t you, Daddy?’ It was more of a command than a question from my twelve-year-old daughter as we sat at home one day during home-schooling, listening to the…
Corelli: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 by Genesis Baroque, Sophie Gent & Lucinda Moon
An optimistic young wanderer happens upon a brook, which leads him to a mill, and in turn to the beautiful millers daughter – ‘die schöne mullerin’. He falls in love, but the girl’s heart belongs to…
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