Music reviews
Debussy: Songs Volume 4
Lucy Crowe, it would seem, is the soprano of the hour. I admit, I am biased in her favour after witnessing her glorious 2017 performance in the title role of Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen with the B…
Handel: Acis and Galatea
No sooner have Acis and Galatea declared their love than the evil giant (read: sexual predator) Polyphemus tears their union asunder. After doggedly but unsuccessfully pursuing Galatea, a jilted Poly…
Bailar Cantando: Fiesta Mestiza en el Peru
Many regulars at Readings will know of Jordi Savall, the viola de gamba player and truly awe-inspiring early music specialist from Spain. Since the 1970s, Savall has been revolutionising period music…
All That Reckoning by Cowboy Junkies
It is 1989 and I’m driving home from a friend’s 21st birthday party out in the Yarra Valley. I am a young man who feels a little out of place at the party so decide not to take up the offer to stay o…
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy & Violin Concerto No. 1 by Joshua Bell & Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Joshua Bell is widely considered one of the best violinists in the world, and when he was made music director of the prestigious Academy of St Martin in the Fields his world reputation was cemented. …
Sculptor by Luluc
Australian indie-folk duo Luluc’s third studio album, Sculptor, is laid-back indie-folk in the vein of artists like Nick Drake, Angus and Julia Stone, and Sufjan Stevens. Randell and Hassett’s wonder…
The Prodigal Son by Ry Cooder
Legendary guitarist and American roots music interpreter Ry Cooder is back, firing on all cylinders. After a six-year break this is one of his best efforts ever. His previous topical albums, Pull Up …
Pastoral Fables: Works for cor anglais and piano
Many people wouldn’t be able to name a cor anglais (or English horn) if they tripped over it. And it’s understandable, really, when it’s only sometimes used in orchestral music and almost never as a …
Bach & Telemann: Cantatas for Baritone
Despite his mature sixty-two years, Christoph Prégardien possesses a voice of youthful agility. I first heard Prégardien singing Schubert’s ‘Die Schöne Müllerin’ in his delectable tenor register, but…
The Lookout by Laura Veirs
I first listened to Laura Veirs new album, The Lookout, in my car. I had it on rotation and just let the songs flow effortlessly from one into the other. My biggest problem was that I wanted to pull …
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