René Benedetti’s miraculous Paganini
French virtuoso violinist René Benedetti was born in Toulon in 1901; the family moved to Paris when René’ father opened a music shop in Montmartre. Benedetti was something of a prodigy: he had lessons at […]
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Handel’s Serse at Barbican
Most recently seen in March in a stunning Tamerlano at Shorreditch Town Hall as part of the 2026 London Handel Festival, Douglas Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music gave us Serse of 1738 (premiered […]
Glazunov String Quartets: the Tippett Quartet
We first met the Tippett String Quartet via Penderecki Complete Music for String Quartet, also on Naxos, then live at Thaxted Festival. Now, one of the most cruelly under-rated composers out there: Alexander Glazunov (1865-1935). […]
Puccini Orchestral Music
Rarities performed at the highest standards, both performative and in terms of recording, are themselves rare, so it is good to have Sinfonia of London under John Wilson in this sequence of early music by […]
Glyndebourne’s first staging of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo
It is truly astonishing to think that this is Glyndebourne’s first Monteverdi L’Orfeo. It is not the first Monteverdi there, though: both Poppea (first seen1962), and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1972) have previously featured. […]
Telemann’s Donnerode: Late Church Music
Solomon’s Knot and Jonathan Sells join forces with Les Passions de l’Âme (The Passions of the Soul)) for this celebration of late Telmann sacred music, Ton Koopman waxed lyrical to me once about Telemann’s Donnerode, […]
Songs for a Mad King: Manchester Camerata investigates mental health
8 Songs for a Mad King Soloists; Manchester Camerata / John Andrews (conductor); Company Chameleon (stage direction). King’s Place, London, June 6, 2026 Judith Weir Blue Green Hill Errolyn Wallen By Gis and By Saint […]
Neilsen’s Mother …
Carl Nielsen’s music to The Mother: A Play in a Prologue and Seven Scenes by Helge Rode was recorded in full for the first time here. Some excerpts have found their way in into record […]
Bach Goldberg Variations (as you’ve never heard them)
There are kazilliions of Goldbergs out there. Here’s one with a difference: an arrangement by Tomáš Ille (born 1971) for French horn (Radek Baborák), violin (Dalibor Karvay), marimba (Andrei Pushkarev) and bass clarinet (Petr Velášek). […]
Early Richard Strauss: Beecham’s Macbeth (and more!)
Macbeth, Op. 23 (1886-8) Richard Strauss’ first tone-poem, is not heard much. Norman del Mar devoted much space to it in his fine Strauss books, though, and that piqued my interest many, many years ago […]
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