Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
Hans Winterberg: orchestral works (Capriccio)
The lost sounds of a German Jewish composer
Reynaldo Hahn: Poèmes & Valses (Hyperion)
This unfamiliar collection is the most enjoyable piano album of the year so far
Henryk Mikolai Gorecki: Piano pieces (Accord)
A furious, unfiltered revelation of the experimental heart of a familiar composer
Pärt, Poulenc, Stravinsky (BR Klassik)
This is a brilliant concert of three sacred works
Allan Pettersson: Barefoot songs (BIS)
Sweden scorned the composer who could have been its greatest
Gustav Mahler: 4th symphony (Pentatone)
A new recording of Mahler’s smallest symphony is “indispensable” to connoisseurs of his music
British piano concertos (Lyrita); British music for strings #3 (CPO)
A prawn cocktail of exceptionally competent music to enjoy on Easter Sunday
Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No 1 / Moments Musicaux
A new release of Rachmaninov’s first piano sonata deserves more than five stars
Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Cello Works and Piano Sonatas
If you want an entry point to Weinberg, this is it
Metamorphosen (Chandos)
John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London reinterpret Metamorphosen chillingly as elegy
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
Why Ed Miliband can’t change course
He would have to abandon his self-appointed role as an agent of progress
Britain will be worse without hereditary peers
The expulsion of the hereditaries is neither fair nor pragmatic
Scotland’s cold and durable fire
John Swinney is proving that in politics what matters most is simply showing up
Critical briefing: local elections
Our political editor explains what to look out for in Thursday’s elections
Working with Woods
There have been too few honest explorations into the intrinsic link between woods and humans
Where are Britain’s moral voices?
On decriminalising abortion up to birth, the Archbishop of Canterbury must talk the talk, not walk the walk
Why does Labour hate our pubs?
The government has to stop taxing the hearts of our communities out of business
The flawed thinking behind state suicide
Kathleen Stock demonstrates the value of a philosopher’s analytical mind in a sharp critique of assisted suicide
The games we play
Richard Holt’s sweeping survey of sporting history shows how games, from cricket to boxing, became one of Britain’s most durable cultural languages
Brexit was not an act of economic self-harm
Whatever you have heard, UK-EU trade is doing just fine
Can we get removals right?
Deporting illegal migrants is a lot more difficult than promising to deport them