The Polish Volin, Vol. 2 (Chandos)
The atmosphere is so thick you’d need a charcuterie knife to cut it
Round Midnight: Dutilleux, Merlin, Schoenberg (Erato)
This is razzle-dazzle entertainment; keep it by your bedside
Beethoven, Birtwistle: A bag of bagatelles (Wergo)
Those who listen to music with an open mind are going to have a ball with this
Passing on the batons
The future of conducting is looking bright — everywhere except in Russia and America
Renée Fleming: Voice of Nature, The Anthropocene (Decca)
Beauty released by the singer’s larynx is met by plodding fingers on a monochrome keyboard
Piazzolla Cien Anos (Century Records)
Astor Piazzolla is so intimately identified with Buenos Aires that his wider relevance is often missed
Solem Quartet: The Four Quarters (Orchid)
The Solem Quartet are my frontrunners for the best new talent in 2021
Paderewski & Stojowski: Violin Sonatas (CPO)
I would happily subscribe to an emergent series of forgotten Polish treasures if the quality remained this high
Nikolai Kapustin: 4th piano concerto (Capriccio)
Listening to Kapustin in 2021 is an act of nostalgia, a gesture of defiance to the dictates of fashion
Erno von Dohnanyi: My auntie (Capriccio)
Dohnanyi is as multicultural as they come — he must be due a comeback
The school as a battleground
Michaela defeat will not deter Islamist designs on schools
March 2024: Letters to the Editor
Record-setting sons and founding fathers
Dial S for screen time
These middle-class tweens being forbidden phones have had iPads since they were six
The dark threat of nitazenes
New opioids could pose a dramatic risk to British streets
The shadowy economics of fentanyl
One professor is investigating how the deadly drug trade works — and how it might be fought
A matter of National concern
This year’s race will come close to destroying its magic
The cost of dissent
Brave women have sacrificed a lot to stand up for their gender critical beliefs
Portugal must be more than an EU vassal
As elections approach, can Portugal break the stultifying hold of a progressive, big state worldview?
Singers have a voice, too
Study of the Western canon is often reduced to a politicised debate: power and patronage versus individual genius. The truth is far more complex
And the band played on
Cash crisis in the arts — what’s new?
Britons need real ownership, not feudal leaseholds
We should shake up an outdated and restrictive system that offers a simulation of property ownership
