Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
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)
A giant dipper of delights
BBC Legends Volume 4 (ICA Classics)
A celebration of redemption
Handel: Israel in Egypt (Avie)
Over-simplified and underpowered
Shostakovich symphonies 2, 3, 12, 13 (DG)
The world’s last measured moments
Joseph Haydn: Symphonies 93-95
A chronicle of gratitude and ambivalence
Mieczyslaw Weinberg: 12th symphony/Dawn (Chandos)
Mahler: Symphonies 1, 2 and songs (various labels)
The highs and lows of following a great
Decolonising science
Rewritten histories of science, outdated religious shibboleths and notorious omissions
Let there be love
Filmmakers have fallen out of love with romantic movies, but it’s time to bring back passion to the picture house
Parents are being hypocritical about smartphones
Yes, kids use their phones too much, but what about adults?
Web of lies
We can combat misinformation with scepticism and content provenance technology
London’s lamps live on
Thanks to the dedication of the Gasketeers, a beautiful tradition has been saved
Snook dazzles as Dorian Gray
Wilde’s preoccupation with beauty and artifice brings a sassy Victorian immorality tale into our own times
The love that dare not speak its name
Classical music has been tarnished with the dread word “elitism”
Jam, Jute, journalism, Japanese design
There is a lot more to see and enjoy in Dundee than London reviewers suggested
Irish politicians have lost touch with the people
The failed “modernisation” of the Constitution may not be a one-off failure for Irish liberals
The disingenuous anti-vax blame game
People have short memories about the MMR scare
The grim reality of a citizens’ assembly
A seemingly democratic initiative was nothing of the sort
