Classical Music
Joyce DiDonato: Eden (Erato); Asmik Grigorian: Rachmaninov (Alpha)
This is singing as mildly polemical conversation, from her to us
Grazyna Bacewicz: Piano works (Ondine)
One would never imagine Stalinist oppression was raging all around her
Nastasia Khrushcheva: Normal Music (Melodiya)
In troubled times for Russia, this album hints at the future of the country’s music
Brahms: Clarinet sonatas (BIS), French clarinet music (Delphian)
Three sonatas by Brahms? The clarinet adaptation, to no surprise, doesn’t work
Pohadka (Chandos)
The Czechs always have talent to spare on the bench
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
The chance introduction that led to some extraordinary evenings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Album of the Year: 2021
2021 has yielded more memorable albums than you can count on the fingers of two hands
Hans Werner Henze: The Sea Betrayed (Capriccio)
I was completely absorbed by this opera as a sound production — maybe one day I’ll get to see the whole show
I’m a Classic FM convert
Ignore the snobs, trip the light (music) fantastic and bask in the shameless joy of Classic FM
Brahms 4th symphony, MacMillan Larghetto for orchestra
The Larghetto’s organic optimism transcends present woes and looks to bright eternity
Why Sergeant Martyn Blake was acquitted
There does not appear to be any case for rejecting the decision of the jury
Tory Utopias
1940s Conservatism was seething with creativity and optimism
Nothing to declare
Labour have done nothing wrong, but they’re going to stop it
Debunking the decline deniers
Armed police at Christmas markets are a bad sign however you look at it
British universities should stop using foreign students as a crutch
Its short-term benefits are obvious but it is not a long-term solution
Have we been barking up the wrong tree?
Mark Rowlands believes that humans have a lot to learn from dogs
Free speech is fascist
Words must be controlled to ensure that Starmer’s subjects behave themselves
There is no “Woke Right”
A new attempt to delineate the boundaries of acceptable opinion has failed
Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, European
Where does shitposting end and statesmanship begin?
One small step for Jenrick…
…one giant disappointment for Mel Stride
The price of victory
Benjamin Netanyahu has won battles, but there is no foreseeable end to the war
