Elgar’s excellence
Elgar: Symphonies (Halle/Oehms)
In praise of the viola
Cantabile: Anthems for viola (Delphian)
An array of civilised music
Walter Kaufmann: 3rd piano concerto, 3rd symphony &c. (CPO)
Musical no man’s lands
Two violin concertos fail to inspire
A great conductor leaves the stage
No conductor from China or Japan ever commanded world orchestras before Seiji Ozawa, and none has since matched his impact
A masterpiece in miniature
Taneyev, Schumann: Piano quintets (Signum)
Playfulness and tedium
Stravinsky, Petrushka; Debussy, Jeux and Prelude (Decca)
Beethoven: Nine symphonies+ (Decca)
This Beethoven gift set is not for Christmas. It is for life
Whisperings of the cruel sea
Britten: Concertos (Orfeo)
How to win at Chopin
Giving marks to people playing Chopin is no different from deciding on medals in gymnastics
Sexy simplicity
For February, try a palette cleanse
Why we should question the charge of “Islamophobia”
Valid criticism of beliefs and behaviour should not be equated with hateful bigotry
Josephine Tey, woman of mystery
Deeply private, her elegant and sharply engaging writing has often been wrongly overlooked
Sticky situation
Everyone’s Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe was different. All were revolting
Representation gets raunchy
We have to stop the patronising pandering to communities in the name of “representation”
Recasting the Crown for modern Britain
This progressive historian’s real charge against the monarchic institution is one of “complacency”
Let there be love
Filmmakers have fallen out of love with romantic movies, but it’s time to bring back passion to the picture house
Not another one!
How might the run-up to the next general election look?
No questions about the woman question, please
Activists are even being excluded from conversations about activism
The best of The Rest Is …
Sequel podcasts are emerging with the inevitability of sprouts from an old potato
How big a problem is problem gambling?
Jolyon Maugham should not roll the dice on opposing GambleAware
