Music

Beethoven: Works for Flute by Emmanuel Pahud & Daniel Barenboim

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom

Why is Beethoven so delightfully cute on the flute? Beethoven might be rolling in his grave as I say this, but as I listened to this album, I just kept finding myself smiling at the cheeky phrases effortlessly tossed off…

Read more ›

Romance: Music for Violin and Orchestra by Danish Composers, performed by Christina Åstrand, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra & Jukka Iisakkila

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom

A lustrous pearl adorns the cover of this album and it is a perfect representation of this repertoire. Warmth permeates every note of these Danish masterworks thanks to the beauty of violinist Christina Åstrand’s playing. Whenever I first listen to…

Read more ›

Telemann: Polonoise by Holland Baroque & Aisslinn Nosky

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

Holland Baroque is a self-described ‘original and innovative baroque orchestra’ who characterise their latest offering, Telemann: Polonoise, as ‘a programme for curious listeners who want to discover a different side of Telemann’.

In 1704 young German composer Georg Philipp…

Read more ›

Fermi’s Paradox by Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick & Jackie Moran

Reviewed by Paul Barr

Acclaimed lutenist Ronn McFarlane and violist da gamba Carolyn Surrick found themselves at loose ends in early 2020. There were no concerts or recordings in sight, and the other band members of their respective groups (Ayreheart and Ensemble Galilei) were…

Read more ›

I Am Hera by Hera Hyesang Park, Wiener Symphoniker & Bertrand de Billy

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

Young South Korean soprano Hera Hyesang Park had already enjoyed success at the Met and top-tier European opera houses before being signed to Deutsche Grammophon (DG). And then the pandemic hit. Like many working musicians, Park’s engagements quickly toppled, and…

Read more ›

Shore by Fleet Foxes

Reviewed by Fiona Hardy

As cynical as we’ve all become, there’s nothing quite like listening to a new release from a band so consistently strong and beautiful that you can’t help but feel hopeful. The new Fleet Foxes album Shore opens gently, soft waves…

Read more ›

Silver Age: Scriabin, Stravinsky & Prokofiev by Daniil Trifonov

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom

From 1890 through to the revolution and the first two decades of the 20th century, Russia was gripped with creative fever. The poets, musicians and artists of the era were all producing great works and it was dubbed ‘The Silver…

Read more ›

Crossover by Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

Reviewed by Dave Clarke

Acclaimed Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Yamatji soul queen Emma Donovan returns after a six-year absence with Crossover, another cracking album made with her long-time collaborators the Putbacks.

A born musician, Donovan grew up singing gospel songs with her grandparents on…

Read more ›

Serenades: Tchaikovsky, Elgar & Mozart by Daniel Hope & Zürcher Kammerorchester

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

‘I’m inclined to knock music’, my colleague Phil wryly jokes at the mention of Mozart’s oft-performed serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Overdone though it may be, in the hands of the right musicians we are reminded of the genius and inventiveness…

Read more ›

Idiot Prayer by Nick Cave

Reviewed by Dave Clarke

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 was conceived as Cave’s reaction to…

Read more ›