Lebrecht Weekly | Roberto Gerhard’s Sheer Eclecticism with Don Quixote &c. (Chandos)
Don’t try to pin an adjective to Gerhard: he transcends them all. The son of a Swiss-German father and an Alsatian mother, born in Spanish…
Browsing: Norman Lebrecht
Lebrecht Weekly | Did Bartok Play Klezmer?
Did Bartok play klezmer? The Hungarian composer enthused over many authentic forms of folk music and spent his summers tracking them down across the Balkans, the Iberian peninsula and north Africa.
Lebrecht Weekly | Exploring Grazyna Bacewicz’s Musical World
I am starting to think that Grazyna Bacewicz might be the next Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Bacewicz trod water under Polish Communism and saw her music eclipsed by the authorised forces of Lutoslawski and Penderecki.
Lebrecht Weekly | Taneyev, Schumann: Piano quintets (Signum)
Over forty years and in an impressive number of recordings, Peter Donohoe has never failed to challenge and surprise the listening public.
Lebrecht Weekly | Tchaikovsky: 5th symphony etc (ICA Classics)
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.
Lebrecht Weekly | Poulenc and others: Chamber music (Calliope/DG)
I can’t listen to Francis Poulenc for long without imagining a Gitane between my lips and smoke curling out of the corners.
Lebrecht Weekly | Bartok, Janacek, Szymanowski (Warner Classics)
Few pianists have given me greater pleasure over the years than the Polish-Hungarian lone wolf Piotr Anderszewski.
Lebrecht Weekly | Noel Coward and Friends: A Marvellous Party (Signum Classics)
The selection of songs made here by soprano Mary Bevan and tenor Nicky Spence includes a number of composers who are way out of period but still in the mood.
Lebrecht Weekly | Lise Davidsen: Christmas from Norway (Decca)/Miracle of Miracles (Cedille)
I cannot remember when I last listened to, let alone recommended, a starry Christmas album, but Lise Davidsen snapped at my Achilles heel.
Lebrecht Weekly | Shostakovich symphonies 2, 3, 12, 13 (DG)
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;…
