Classical Music
Ferdinand Ries: Piano Trio and Sextets (Hyperion)
Ludwig van Beethoven’s former secretary and pupil was no forgettable curiosity
De-Goulding: an incomplete coda
Part two of Mahan Esfahani’s deconstruction of the modern association of pianist Glenn Gould with Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 7 & 9 (Hallé)
VW will never catch on beyond Anglophiles — ask not the reason why
Last swipe at the Proms
Is it time to give a grudging nod of acknowledgement to the BBC Proms?
Erwin Schulhoff: Violin sonatas (Orfeo/FHR)
Virtuosity amidst violence
Hans Winterberg: orchestral works (Capriccio)
The lost sounds of a German Jewish composer
Wagner rides again
A return to enchanted tradition in Siegfried at Longborough Festival Opera
The eye of the storm
Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque, Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Reynaldo Hahn: Poèmes & Valses (Hyperion)
This unfamiliar collection is the most enjoyable piano album of the year so far
The original, best and shortest English opera
John Blow, Venus and Adonis; Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas (HGO)
Keir the coward
Narrowing the borders of permissible opinion will not solve Britain’s societal crises
Brexit and the dubious doppelgangers
Doppelganger models are an unreliable guide to how Britain would have looked had Brexit never happened
How widespread is NHS qualifications fraud?
A viral Twitter post raises uncomfortable questions about the level of training in British institutions
On the deceptive use of words
We must be very careful with redefinitions of commonly understood words
Realism is not the same as self-pity
There is a limit to how much women can physically protect themselves from men
What is academia without scholarship?
Research is an essential feature of academic life
Silence speaks volumes
Lee Anderson speaks out — or, at least, gets someone else to do it for him
It’s not rocket science
It all goes wrong when arts departments start imitating research universities
Very naughty boys
Progressive parenting is all very well but sometimes misbehaviour needs a firmer approach
Less than an animal?
It is surely wrong that animal foetuses enjoy more protection under the law than human ones
Why Britain needs more empty homes
The UK’s housing sector is straining at the seams; empty units and second houses are a sign of economic health
