Composers
Impressive yet unmoving
Franz Schmidt: 4 symphonies (Naxos)
A great conductor leaves the stage
No conductor from China or Japan ever commanded world orchestras before Seiji Ozawa, and none has since matched his impact
Great Lives — great, The Essay — awful
Radio 3 maintains its course towards self-destruction
The light and the insubstantial
Poulenc and others: Chamber music (Calliope/DG)
What’s missing in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro
The film should not have ignored the political and musical context to Bernstein’s life
Over-simplified and underpowered
Shostakovich symphonies 2, 3, 12, 13 (DG)
Not having a gay old time
On BBC radio’s preoccupation with Americans and identity politics.
In the family
A rare contrast of composers
Inconsistent glory
Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphonies 2 and 3
We are indebted to Otto Klemperer
On the extraordinary talent of a troubled composer
Countdown to energy apocalypse
What will happen when the wind doesn’t blow?
The DUP aren’t tough negotiators
The party that claimed to stand up for unionists capitulated at every turn
Choosing enemies wisely
China manifestly wishes to avenge her past humiliation at Western hands
Why Tony Hinchcliffe’s jokes didn’t work
It is very hard to blend comedy and politics
“Nice” people need to read this book
How women have been hounded throughout the gender wars
A festival of losing
Will the Republic of Ireland ever face up to its problems?
British industry has forgotten how to use its voice
Corporate cowards are not standing up to the government
The dangerous lure of Europe
We must disincentivise economic migration to European states
There is more to ethics than “#BeKind”
It is not cruel to fear the consequences of legalising assisted dying
Brutalist beauties
These monstrosities were imposed on the population, not desired
Art sales slump
Real world issues have quenched the post-COVID euphoria
