Classical Music
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
Renaud Capucon: Un violon à Paris (Warner Classics)
Taken together, it’s not the kind of music you want to hear in isolation
Paul Hindemith: Mathis symphony (Naxos), Clarinet concerto (Orfeo)
When asked “which Hindemith should I try first?”, I’m lost for an answer
London Nights (Capriccio)
Intelligent and well played though it is, Franziska Lee’s album of Londonoid piano pieces can’t make a bad sonata better
Shani Diluka: The Proust Album (Warner)
His concerto is a rag-and-bone man’s barrow trundling down a Haussmann boulevard
The Polish Volin, Vol. 2 (Chandos)
The atmosphere is so thick you’d need a charcuterie knife to cut it
Round Midnight: Dutilleux, Merlin, Schoenberg (Erato)
This is razzle-dazzle entertainment; keep it by your bedside
