Days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Valentin Silvestrov was smuggled out of the country under conditions of secrecy and considerable danger.
Spin this record of Tchaikovsky’s fifth symphony played at a 1971 live concert at the Royal Albert Hall by the Leningrad Symphony and you will see what we are missing.
I can’t listen to Francis Poulenc for long without imagining a Gitane between my lips and smoke curling out of the corners.
Few pianists have given me greater pleasure over the years than the Polish-Hungarian lone wolf Piotr Anderszewski.
I can’t remember a pre-Christmas season that started so sluggishly, without an obvious blockbuster on display. DG and Sony are leading with cultish solo pianists;…
The founder of the Dohnanyi dynasty achieved early success, political controversy and posthumous oblivion. His son, Hans, was an anti-Nazi resistant, hanged on Hitler’s orders…
Summertime is an ideal moment to break a new artist, a time when big names are out of town and the flow of label releases…
As proof that the Devil has the best tunes, it is an established fact that atheists write the best religious music. Verdi, Elgar, Saint-Saens, Janacek,…
Of the two UK finalists in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World last weekend, many felt the English soprano Louise Alder stood a better chance…
