Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
Masterful pianism
Bartok, Janacek, Szymanowski (Warner)
Bruckner’s delicate thunder
Anton Bruckner: 7th symphony (BR Klassik)
Modernism for the many
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra, Partita &c (Ondine)
Album of the year
The best of an inspiringly musical 2023
Music of hypnotic power
Thomas Larcher: The Living Mountain (ECM New Series)
A conviction singer who convinces
Folk Songs: Magdalena Kozena/Simon Rattle (Pentatone)
A world in transition
Valentin Bibik: Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Indésens)
A Wodehousian pick-me-up
Noel Coward and Friends: A Marvellous Party (Signum Classics)
Christmas, irresistibly
Lise Davidsen: Christmas from Norway (Decca)/Miracle of Miracles (Cedille)
Notes of promise
Bruce Liu: Waves (Deutsche Grammophon)
Most Read
The Book of JO’B
James O’Brien’s aggressive incuriosity is becoming ever more embattled as his worldview crumbles
The rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon
The former SNP leader squandered her talents in a classic tale of hubris
Fear and fury in Belfast
Violence spiralled out of control in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of a shocking crime
The screaming spires
Oxford University must clarify where it stands on academic freedom
Nigel Farage, community leader
The logic of multiculturalism is turning on its architects
Get into the groove — why vinyl rocks
On the best sound in popular music
The man who ended overreach
Lord Reed’s tenure as president of the Supreme Court has been admired by those who value the stability of the law
To defeat populism, don’t start here
Views that would be charming in their naivety, were they not so contradictory or facile
We need a loud revival
The dream of a “quiet revival” always misunderstood the problem faced by British Christians
Europe should defend itself
European states should invest more in their own defence, and the US should let them
Spectres of folk
Can the gallery embrace unofficial culture?
Will London fall?
If the Greens take London, what might happen to policing?
A profound Tory
Simon Heffer’s biography of Enoch Powell very much deserves revisiting
Why a wealth tax would fail
Wealth taxes have been tested in various countries and have been abandoned for very good reasons
The Real shooting match
Cue the bogus platitudes that leaders make about sport’s ability to heal divisions
Signs of life
Wales finally offered proof they aren’t destined to decline