Classical Music
John Cage: Four Walls (Fuga Libera)
More than a little bit mad
Bach in town
We need more classical music in public spaces
The vast plight of the Proms
The end of BBC Four is a death sentence for BBC Orchestras and the Proms alike
Kurt Weill: 2nd symphony, violin concerto (Somm)
A beautiful recording of an esoteric item
Isabella Leonarda; A portrait (Brilliant Classics)
Passion and originality blossom behind the walls of the cloister
Nico Muhly: Stranger (AVIE)
This new album of three works offers quiet empathy more than overwhelming emotion
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the end of time (OUR)
Messiaen’s quartet, first performed in a freezing barracks in 1941, is a thing of great beauty
Finnish on a high note
The biggest symphony orchestras are in need of music directors: but who’s in the running for the top spot?
A madman’s guide to Wagner
You don’t have to be crazy to enjoy Wagner, but it helps
Deer prudence
It’s time for a change of attitude to wild British venison
How bad is the news on booze?
And how bad are the ideas for curbing consumption?
Why the OBR is wrong about Brexit
The OBR’s Brexit analysis is based on flawed comparisons and unreasonable predictions
The grim reality of a citizens’ assembly
A seemingly democratic initiative was nothing of the sort
Left and right hooks
Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak exchanged sloppy blows as Lee Anderson found a warm welcome in the stands
A monumental work on British buildings
Gavin Stamp’s posthumous book is a magnificent tour d’horizon, a bible of the styles available to architects between the wars
Murders for April
April is the cruellest month, breeding detective fiction out of the dry land
Free speech freeze-up
Reactions in Britain to the attempted suppression of NatCon suggest a bleak future for freedom of speech and thought
Equal opportunities fleecing
This blinkered trade’s endless thwarting of talented homosexuals has gone on too long
Good for the sole
April calls for a recipe that combines the incoming and departing treats
How NatCon was saved
An attempted cancellation flopped in Brussels — but the bad taste remains
