Lebrecht’s Album of the Week
An essential record
Norman Lebrecht reviews Shostakovich: Violin concertos 1&2, performed by Alina Ibragimova and the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia
The blunders that restored the Crown
The Fall: Last Days of the English Republic by Henry Reece
Keir Starmer cannot ignore us
The gender debate is not going to disappear
The Venice Art Biennale
The overall tone is rather bloodless, smug and muted where one might hope for exhilaration
BBC Verify’s Bangladesh blunder
In trying to combat misinformation, the BBC has spread its own
Mad dogs and English football
Our memories of hooliganism deserve more nuance
The BBC can be a drag
The priorities of its reporting, especially on gender issues, can be absurd
Britain must get real on foreign policy
Dim clichés and childish chest-beating are not going to help us