Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
Schubert à la mould
Prize-winning pianism curdles into self-regard
Small chips off an old block
Soulima Stravinsky (Nimbus)
Bird man of Finland
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Cantus arcticus/Hugo Alfven: Gustav II Adolf (Chandos)
Anything you can do …
Mendelssohn, Enescu: Octets (Erato)
A centenary to celebrate
Ida Haendel: Violin Concertos (ICA Classics)
Album of the Year
Arvo Pärt: And I heard a voice
Emotional restraint
Josef Bohuslav Foerster: 2nd symphony; Cyrano de Bergerac (Naxos)
Searching for the funny notes
Dmitri Shostakovich: Premiere recordings (Naxos)
A cornucopia of surprises
Anna Fedorova: Liberté (Channel Classics)
Almost too poignant to bear
Franz Schubert: 4-hand piano music (Erato)
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
Will we miss Mahmood?
Shabana Mahmood has been a voice of sanity in the Labour Party
Signal failure
Ministers love announcing transformative mega-projects, but millions of commuters would settle for an internet connection that actually works
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
Where is Britain’s vision?
Modern Britain has acquired a lack of national purpose, except for policies that are self-harming
Outside the box
why traditional topiary is
making a comeback
The right has a conspiracy problem
Conspiracies exist — but the temptation to use them as an all-purpose explanation is wrongheaded
Deciphering the royal dress code
Fashion, in royal hands, became a form of branding
Will London fall?
If the Greens take London, what might happen to policing?
At a loose end
We are making young adults un-ready for work
Chopping The Onion
It is neither brave nor clever to portray dissenting women as insane
The Farage flounce
A joke that worked, and an exit that didn’t.