Norman Lebrecht

Norman Lebrecht is a British commentator on music and cultural affairs, a novelist, and the author of the classical music blog Slipped Disc. He was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph from 1994 to 2002, and assistant editor of the London Evening Standard from 2002 to 2009. He tweets at @NLebrecht

Much of the appeal of this Covid-era recital by violinist Callum Smart and pianist Richard Uttley lies in the effort they invest to find common ground

Kancheli’s miniatures grip you by the throat and won’t let you do anything else until it’s over

You will either feel very relaxed by the middle of the piece or you will throw things at the wall and say some very bad words

Norman Leberecht laments not being able to give the Oslo Philharmonic the five stars they deserve

New music was not officially muted in the Soviet Union. It just got left at home, says Norman Lebrecht

The 40 minutes of music on this album is alternately hypnotic and uplifting

This recording is an absolute must-hear, one of the summits of this difficult year

You may find that Con anima is one of the best ways of spending the next 15 minutes of your life

Mademoiselle was not much of a composer, too set on correct form to allow the flight of inspiration

Music directors who fail to provide any direction in times of crisis