Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
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
Emily D’angelo: A n ar gei a (DG)
This debut album is a treat for the senses and a tonic for tired tastes
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
Beethoven, Birtwistle: A bag of bagatelles (Wergo)
Those who listen to music with an open mind are going to have a ball with this
Piazzolla Cien Anos (Century Records)
Astor Piazzolla is so intimately identified with Buenos Aires that his wider relevance is often missed
Solem Quartet: The Four Quarters (Orchid)
The Solem Quartet are my frontrunners for the best new talent in 2021
Paderewski & Stojowski: Violin Sonatas (CPO)
I would happily subscribe to an emergent series of forgotten Polish treasures if the quality remained this high
Nikolai Kapustin: 4th piano concerto (Capriccio)
Listening to Kapustin in 2021 is an act of nostalgia, a gesture of defiance to the dictates of fashion
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Gary Stevenson is wrong about wealth taxes
The popular economist is irritating, but more importantly he is mistaken
Why they hated Ann Widdecombe
Fair-minded people could agree or disagree with her opinions. Left-wing bigots hated her for not abandoning them
What is wrong now was wrong before
Julia Gillard should not pretend that the “unintended consequences” of the gender debate were unknowable
Ethnic minorities are abandoning Labour
It is not just Muslim voters who have been abandoning the Labour Party
The Ghost Dance of Rejoin
There is no real argument for rejoining the EU — and nobody makes one
Why do we still have social housing?
A decade working in Social Housing taught me that the sector’s perverse incentives guarantee the perpetuation of the very poverty it exists to eradicate
An indefensible defence policy
Why the country’s strategic ambitions are incompatible with our welfare bill
Are Reform the new Greens?
As the Green Party loses interest in rural matters, Richard Negus considers the claim that British agriculture and the countryside have a new champion
The Boston barbarians
The Boston Symphony acted like a New Orleans nightclub owner with a recalcitrant pole-dancer
The shape of a different Britain
Early modernist homes in Frinton-on-Sea capture a moment of confidence in a rapidly changing world
Europe should defend itself
European states should invest more in their own defence, and the US should let them
The Reparations Game
Chris and Henry talk to Nigel Biggar about reparations.
Undramatic life of a literary also-ran
Malcolm Cowley never understood very much about literature
Migrant hotels are not the real problem
The real problem with illegal immigration is at the border
The last true Kapellmeister
Chaotic in all things except music, where he demanded precision and gave his all