Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
In praise of the viola
Cantabile: Anthems for viola (Delphian)
An array of civilised music
Walter Kaufmann: 3rd piano concerto, 3rd symphony &c. (CPO)
Musical no man’s lands
Two violin concertos fail to inspire
A masterpiece in miniature
Taneyev, Schumann: Piano quintets (Signum)
Playfulness and tedium
Stravinsky, Petrushka; Debussy, Jeux and Prelude (Decca)
Beethoven: Nine symphonies+ (Decca)
This Beethoven gift set is not for Christmas. It is for life
Whisperings of the cruel sea
Britten: Concertos (Orfeo)
A talented pianist and a battered piano
Bezhod Abduraimov: Shadows of my ancestors (Alpha-Classics)
What became of Tchaikovsky?
Tchaikovsky: 5th symphony etc (ICA Classics)
Essential all-embracing warmth
Gidon Kremer: Songs of Fate (ECM)
The meaningless models of “public health”
Another brick in the “public health” fortress of unreality
Parents are being hypocritical about smartphones
Yes, kids use their phones too much, but what about adults?
Why the Voice failed
The Australian establishment has been too focused on symbolic gestures rather than practical change
How dark can humour be?
Laughter — even laughter about morbid things — is part of what makes us human
The case for Christian converts
Don’t let allegedly bogus conversions cause you to forget that real ones exist
AI has not killed the author
Advanced technology can enhance rather than replacing the pleasure of a good book
Hollowed-out Humanities
The tyranny of DEI, the canard of “decolonisation” and the rise of the bureaucrats
Sticky situation
Everyone’s Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe was different. All were revolting
Social media and the neoteny trap
The aesthetics of adolescence can be a distraction from the grim potential of the future
Reform the police, don’t deform the police
The Met Police’s Gangs Matrix might have been flawed but it served an important purpose
Taking Pride
If sexual orientation is not a choice and therefore nothing to be ashamed of, then it can be nothing to be proud of either
