Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i BBC Music Magazine

For many, Vaughan Williams is synonymous with an idealised version of bucolic Britain. The ubiquity of The Lark Ascending and the Tallis Fantasia has to some extent prevented the composer’s myriad and varied other works from achieving similar levels of popularity – but this may well change in his 150th anniversary year, given the sheer number of RVW performances taking place in the UK and abroad. It seems depressingly fitting that a musician profoundly affected by two world wars should be so celebrated just as conflict again threatens the integrity of Europe. For all his diversity and range, Vaughan Williams has always ‘spoken’ for Britain – and his compositions continue in many ways to encapsulate our collective sense of identity, even in a 21st century so far removed from the…

Bradley Wilson Trumpeter Born: Dartford, UK Career highlight: Playing in the Chineke! Orchestra for the Louis Vuitton fashion show under Gustavo Dudamel. Playing the music of a black musician – in this case, Tyler, the Creator – to celebrate the talents of a black designer (Virgil Abloh) was a true honour. Musical hero: I really relate to the story of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, having struggled to fit within two different communities and cultures. Dream concert: Something for classical music lovers and newbies alike. Perhaps a programme made up of Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A minor and Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now. Charlotte Politi Conductor Born: Paris, France Career highlight: Moving to the UK and having the opportunity to be affiliated with great organisations as the Constant…

We reveal who’s recording what and where… NMC continues to champion new music, and its forthcoming roster of releases features recordings of music by Rebecca Saunders, Richard Causton and Ayanna Witter-Johnson. First up, though, is British-Iranian composer Shiva Feshareki’s Turning World. NMC releases the album, which features orchestra, organ and turntables, on 27 May. In 1985, composer John Adams was signed exclusively to Nonesuch and since then they have generated an enormous back catalogue. To mark his 75th birthday, the label is putting out a comprehensive collection of his complete recorded works. The 40-disc set, taking in recordings from 1985-2020, will be a real treasure trove. It is released on 24 June. John Williams celebrated his 90th birthday in February, and the composer has a couple of new recordings on…

Faced with a country’s destruction and the displacement of millions from their homeland, one feels trite talking about war’s effect on culture. Theodor Adorno’s famous line – ‘to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric’ – warns us against taking refuge in pleasurable artistic things while the suffering caused by atrocities is still ongoing or raw in the memory. Nevertheless, the cultural repercussions of the conflict in Ukraine must be addressed, not least because they have had an impact on classical music in ways that have sometimes left me perplexed. I can understand that people want to express revulsion at what’s being inflicted by Putin’s regime. I can see why promoters and audiences in the West now wish to shun that small handful of Russian musicians who have, over many years,…

‘In my view, Vaughan Williams is unquestionably one of the great symphonists of the 20th century,’ says Sir Mark Elder. ‘I mean, really important. I would put his symphonies absolutely alongside those of Sibelius and Shostakovich.’ Elder’s journey through these works has been supplemented by many other explorations of the Vaughan Williams canon. Sir Antonio Pappano’s probings are still in the early stages, but his experience of conducting Symphonies Nos 4, 5 and 6 has him deeply intrigued by the composer’s elusive character. ‘I’m shocked, surprised and in awe,’ he says. ‘It’s really important music with a colour all its own. And yet the man who comes across is so contradictory. Vaughan Williams was at least two people. You contrast the Fifth Symphony with the Fourth and Sixth – it’s…

Despite scepticism from even his own teachers, the German horn player has become a worldclass musician by reinventing his instrument’s technique, as he explains to Freya Parr ‘I wanted to play this exact instrument. For me it was the horn or nothing’ Chairs are brought on stage, accompanied with a three-legged metal stand with a French horn laid on top. As an audience member, it’s no different to seeing a piano rolled out or an endpin anchor placed down for a cellist. What happens next, though, is a little more surprising. The 31-year-old German horn player Felix Klieser approaches the stage and assumes a position not often seen in the concert hall. With the horn placed in front of him, Klieser’s left leg swings up and his toes begin operating…

For a string quartet leader to make the switch to conductor is comparatively rare, and had it not been for a hand injury, one suspects Gábor Takács-Nagy would still be with the Takács Quartet, the highly acclaimed ensemble he founded in 1975. That said, even in his playing days, his podium potential had been spotted by a notable fellow Hungarian. ‘In 1991, we played Mozart piano quartets with Georg Solti,’ he says. ‘He said to me, “Gabor, you could be a good conductor, because your body language is very clear.” And though I had been solely a string quartet player, in 1993 I did get a taste of orchestral playing when Iván Fischer invited me to be concertmaster of the Budapest Festival Orchestra for big projects such as recordings and…

Welcome! It’s with very great pleasure that we welcome you to this year’s summer festival guide! The last two seasons have been particularly challenging for live music making, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and many festivals have been forced to downgrade activities or cancel performances altogether. It’s hugely gratifying, then, to see most events back up and running at full capacity in 2022, in what promises to be a summer of top-notch musical activity. From the complete Bartók string quartets in Aldeburgh, to La bohème in Jackson Hole, to Brahms and Mendelssohn symphonies in Sapporo, there’s something to suit all tastes and budgets. We’re greatly looking forward to what this festival season has to offer – and please do get in touch to share your own experiences over these next…

1922 LIFE: Iannis Xenakis is born on 29 May into a wealthy Greek family in Brăila, Romania. His father runs an import and export business; his mother, a pianist, encourages his early love of music. TIMES: Following catastrophic defeat in the Greco-Turkish War, Greece cedes land in Thrace and Western Anatolia. Constantine I abdicates the throne and goes into exile. 1944 LIFE: As a member of the Greek People’s Liberation Army, he is injured during street fighting in Athens. His shrapnel wound blinds his left eye for the rest of his life. TIMES: Codenamed ‘Operation Overlord’, the Allies’ Invasion of Normandy liberates France from the Germans within three months and weakens the Nazis’ position in WWII. 1977 LIFE: He develops UPIC, a computer system that can translate graphic images into…

Stephen Johnson gets drawn into the Vienna Philharmonic’s rich soundworld Bruckner Symphony No. 2 (ed. Carragan) Vienna Philharmonic/Christian Thielemann Sony Classical 19439914122 58:10 mins Well, this was a surprise. Previous encounters with Christian Thielemann in Beethoven and Schumann (admittedly a while ago) have struck me as heavy going. And the general tendency to treat Bruckner’s symphonies as weighty ‘cathedrals in sound’ almost at the expense of any warm, supple human element has, I think, gone way too far in recent years. But right from the start this is beautifully paced, expansive but never dragging, and with a richly ‘featured’ sound. Instead of going for homogenised plushness, Thielemann brings out details subtly but tellingly: I’d forgotten how much lovely woodwind writing there is in this work. Also striking from the first…

Samoan-born Pene Pati performs a generous and beguiling debut programme, says John Allison Pene Pati Arias by Donizetti, Godard, Gounod, Massenet, Meyerbeer, Rossini and Verdi Pene Pati (tenor); Choeur de l’Opéra National de Bordeaux; Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine/Emmanuel Villaume Warner 9029634863 79:09 mins Pati gives wonderfully heartfelt performances of Donizetti and Massenet A generosity of spirit not always to be taken for granted with tenors is in constant evidence on Pene Pati’s debut album on Warner Classics. The programme itself, ranging from some of the bestknown tenor arias to real rarities, is generous in its length, suggesting how much the Samoan-born, New Zealand-raised artist enjoys his singing. ‘I hope you enjoy listening to this album of a Pacific boy singing famous European arias,’ he writes in the booklet; ‘I’m excited…

Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna Ligeti’s spacious and otherworldly choral masterpiece was originally commissioned by the Schola Cantorum Stuttgart for an album collection it recorded on the Wergo label in 1966 called Neue Chormusik. A fairly inauspicious start, perhaps, but two years later millions would be exposed to the work thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Written for 16 voices, Lux Aeterna takes its lead from a Catholic mass and Ligeti employs complex harmonies and sound clusters that bring about visions of light from a world beyond our own.…

Frank Peter Zimmermann is right at home with this music, says Jan Smaczny JS Bach Solo Violin Sonatas & Partitas, Vol. 1: Sonata No. 2; Partitas Nos 2 & 3 Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) BIS BIS-2577 (CD/SACD) 67:36 mins A steady tread of fine performances of Bach’s solo violin Sonatas and Partitas during the last four years is testimony both to the allure and the technical brilliance of these remarkable works. The late 17th and 18th centuries are replete with music – from Biber to Locatelli – that tests the limits of solo violin virtuosity, and yet Bach’s contribution remains the touchstone for modern soloists. While certainly a yardstick by which to measure any aspiring virtuoso, for the listener they offer myriad rewards from contrapuntal expertise in the fugues to…

Rewriting the rulebook Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Ghost Song goes its own way with extraordinary eclecticism Cécile McLorin Salvant Ghost Song Cécile McLorin Salvant (voice, piano), Paul Sikivie (electric and acoustic bass, synth) et al Nonesuch 75597914672 It’s always a good sign when an album demands such an all-encompassing review that it’s hard to know where to begin. When interviewed in these pages not long ago, Salvant was cheerfully anticipating her Nonesuch debut, alluding to its eclectic nature as a manifestation of her inner eccentricity with a mixture of delight and something akin to self-revelation tempered with mystery. Yes, it really is as complex at that, but in a very good way: you don’t argue with someone who mixes originals with Kate Bush and Gregory Porter covers (for example) on an…

THIS MONTH: BARGAIN BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES AND EARBUDS BEST IN TEST Final UX3000 £119 The price tag may appear steep for headphones, but for all the latest features – great battery, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity and decent sound quality – you’re going to have to invest a little. This pair from Japanese high-end audio brand Final ticks all the budget boxes. Final makes some fantastic top-end headphones – the £3,999 D8000 Pro had me remortgaging – and while these don’t compare, they do boast a considered performance and soundstage that could only come from a brand that puts audio first. ANC often sullies sound quality, but Final has developed a new driver specifically tuned to cope with the added technology in our ears, and the result puts…

MAY’S RADIO 3 LISTINGS Schedules may be subject to alteration. For up-to-date listings see Radio Times 1 SUNDAY 7-9am Breakfast 9am-12 noon Sunday Morning 12 noon-1pm Private Passions Osman Yousefzada (fashion designer, multidisciplinary artist) 1-2pm Lunchtime Concert (rpt) 2-3pm The Early Music Show 3-4pm Choral Evensong 4-5pm Jazz Record Requests 5-5.30pm The Listening Service 5.30-6.45pm Words and Music 6.45-7.15pm Between the Ears The Racing Mind 7.15-7.30pm New Generation Thinkers 7.30-9pm Drama on 3 Young’uns 9-11pm Record Review Extra 11pm-12am Sunday Series 12-1am Classical Fix 1-6.30am Through the Night 2 MONDAY 6.30-9am Breakfast 9am-12 noon Essential Classics 12 noon-1pm Composer of the Week Vaughan Williams 1-2pm Lunchtime Concert 2-4.30pm Afternoon Concert 4.30-5pm New Generation Artists 5-7pm In Tune 7-7.30pm In Tune Mixtape 7.30-10pm Radio 3 in Concert 10-10.45pm Music Matters 10.45-11pm The Essay…

1. First performed in London on 13 May 1833, Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony is usually known by what nickname? 2. Which composer dedicated his Third Symphony to Wagner, after the two men had enjoyed a few beers together and Wagner had expressed his approval of the work? 3. Which opera was left unfinished by Puccini at his death in 1924 and posthumously completed by Franco Alfano? 4. Incorporating a 1,943-seat concert hall, which British multi arts venue was officially opened by HM The Queen on 3 March 1982? 5. CPE Bach served as a musician in the court of which flute-playing monarch from 1740-68? 6. The cellist and conductor pictured above resigned as music director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra the day after conducting it at its first ever appearance at…

Stephen Johnson Writer, composer and broadcaster ‘This is good time to be thinking about Vaughan Williams, a man who witnessed the worst that human destructiveness can do, but who still found a way to affirm the human spirit.’ Page 26 James Inverne Writer, editor and playwright ‘My adoration of Sondheim has only grown over the years, not least after an unforgettable afternoon at his house once, featuring alcohol and reminiscences! It was a privilege to write a tribute to him.’ Page 50 Steph Power Writer and composer ‘It seems extraordinary that the unique Xenakis was born 100 years ago. I’ve long cherished his explosive music, but discovering more about the humanitarian polymath behind the sounds was wonderfully inspiring.’ Page 100…

10,000 …pounds raised by conductor David Hill, the Bach Choir and friends at a Sing For Ukraine event in London. 12 …discs by Ukrainian composers being sold via Presto Music by labels BIS, Chandos, Delphian, Naxos and Toccata, with all proceeds going towards humanitarian aid. 19 …international ballet stars on stage together at the Coliseum in London for March’s Dance For Ukraine event. 94 …violinists from 27 countries brought together on film by Kerenza Peacock (above) to raise support for Ukraine.…

This boozing – in itself an exceptionally pleasant occupation – has really ‘This gone too far.’ Sibelius wrote these words in 1907, when several decades of self-indulgence and carousing were finally catching up on him. As well as regularly downing liberal quantities of alcohol – one famous painting, Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s The Symposium, shows the composer, seated with his companions, decidedly the worse for wear during a drinking session – Sibelius was a connoisseur of fine cigars, a habit he may have picked up from his father. Together, the tobacco and alcohol were taking their toll. In November 1907, while in St Petersburg conducting his Third Symphony, Sibelius complained of hoarseness in his voice. This persisted, and in the New Year he was hospitalised for a period. ‘He will soon be…

St Pancras International (left) proved a very tuneful place to be on 8 March, as the London station marked International Women’s Day by hosting seven new minioperas by female composers. Titled ‘Lost and Found’ and conducted by Yshani Perinpanayagam and Ellie Slorach, the project proved a great success. Trainspotters, meanwhile, will have noted it down as the latest in a series of highprofile station-based performances… In 2004, passengers at London’s Paddington Station found themselves suddenly serenaded by Flashmob – The Opera, a mix of favourite moments from operas including Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni and La traviata performed by three singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra. For commuters waiting for the 17.30 from Crewe at Birmingham New Street Station, meanwhile, orchestral music has proved a welcome distraction more than once. In…

To be writing about Ralph Vaughan Williams feels particularly apt now, not simply because it’s his anniversary year, but because throughout his long life, the composer struggled to make sense of the very kind of mysteries and horrors that assail many of us right now. To those who know him only from such evergreen favourites as The Lark Ascending and the Tallis Fantasia that may seem a bewildering overstatement. But Vaughan Williams’s overall achievement is so much richer and more challenging than those two beautiful pieces alone could possibly suggest. Yes, his upbringing was privileged – sheltered upper class home, education at exclusive Charterhouse School, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music – but his left-leaning politics brought him into contact with the dark side of modern urban existence, and…

Beyond Words (2021) CHAARTS Chamber Artists Berlin Classics 0301460BC Together with members of the world’s leading string quartets, Klieser performs a series of horn transcriptions of Baroque arias by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Gluck. Mozart Horn Concertos (2019) Camerata Salzburg Berlin Classics 0301188BC Klieser performs Mozart’s concertos, works that are at the heart of the instrument’s repertoire. Horn Trios (2017) With Andrej Bielow (violin) and Herbert Schuch (piano) Berlin Classics 0300931BC Brahms’s much-loved Horn Trio is performed here alongside lesserperformed trios by Duvernoy, Koechlin and Kahn, showcasing 100 years of horn composition. Concertos by Joseph & Michael Haydn (2015) Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn/Ruben Gazarian Berlin Classics 0300647BC ‘Klieser’s tone is resonant and robust and his command of longbreathed phrasing and agile work equally impressive,’ wrote our critic Bayan Northcott of…

It is four months since Stephen Sondheim died at the unshocking age of 91. Yet the profound sense of shock, of a gaping hole that nothing but his own work can fill, still permeates the entwining worlds of music and theatre. ‘I equate him to my hero, Gustav Mahler,’ says conductor Andrew Litton. ‘I’ve worked with many brilliant living composers, but none of those has had the same kind of impact on the world as Sondheim.’ Others, including Bernadette Peters – who unforgettably took on leading roles in his Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods – still sound stunned. ‘It’s so hard to understand that he’s not on the planet anymore; it’s just…strange,’ she says. Truly great creative artists inevitably alter their art forms. A rare…

Abu Dhabi Festival United Arab Emirates, year-long Web: www.abudhabifestival.ae After last year’s bold declaration that ‘The Future Starts Here’, the Festival is in pursuit of ‘Creation, Innovation and Joy’ as it unpacks ‘Crafting the Emirates’ State of Mind’. It’s nothing if not outwardlooking. ‘Discover Arab Music Days’ in Berlin vie with Verdi from Spain’s Teatro Real and a collaboration with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Whakatipu Music Festival Queenstown, New Zealand, 15-18 April Tel: +64 (0)21 434432 Web: michaelhillviolincompetition.co.nz Fringed by mountains and washed by the sparkling waters of lake Whakatipu, the festival nurtures emerging talent alongside seasoned professionals and grassroots initiatives. The result is both hands-on and eclectic. Amid the chamber music, a Taonga pūora seminar spotlights traditional Māori instruments, while featured artists include soprano Madeleine Pierard, pianist Stephen De Pledge…

Composer of the Week is broadcast on Radio 3 at 12pm, Monday to Friday. Programmes in May are: 2-27 May Vaughan Williams* (*month-long focus; see p140) ‘You are almost 30, you have the good fortune of being Greek, of ‘You being an architect and having studied special mathematics. Take advantage of these things. Do them in your music.’ Iannis Xenakis came from a very different world to the one he was beginning to call home in 1951, when Messiaen offered him this advice. It was not only his origins and early life experiences that set him apart. As Messiaen recognised, Xenakis ‘was not someone like the others’; besides even his ‘superior intelligence … this was a man so much out of the ordinary’. He would become one of the most…

The composer When George Butterworth died in action at the Somme on 5 August 1916, his brigadier wrote of ‘a brilliant musician in times of peace, and an equally brilliant soldier in times of stress’. Born in London in 1885, the Oxford-educated Butterworth became a close friend of Vaughan Williams, joining him on several field trips to collect folk songs – VW also credited Butterworth with encouraging him to write his A London Symphony. Though Butterworth’s own output was small, his mastery can be seen in his songs and short but potently atmospheric orchestral works. Building a Library is broadcast on Radio 3 at 9.30am each Saturday as part of Record Review. A highlights podcast is available on BBC Sounds. The work Hindsight can sometimes play tricks with our perception…

Welcome This issue is out just in time for Easter and so there’s more than the usual share of sacred works in our Choral & Song section, with two Stabat Maters, Bach’s St Matthew Passion and whole discs of Easter works from the Cambridge colleges of St John’s and King’s, among others. Whether you’re a church-goer or not, there’s no denying the power and beauty of this music. Beyond that we’ve a dollop of Vaughan Williams, plus dazzling debuts from Samoan tenor Pene Pati (see our Opera Choice) and young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, who has struck gold with his Sibelius cycle (our Recording of the Month). There are plenty of wise elders, too, including a brand new recording from the 97-year-old American pianist Ruth Slenczynska. Michael Beek Reviews editor…

Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux Though named after the 2nd Earl of Essex, this opera is as much about Queen Elizabeth I – albeit with no small amount of historical artistic licence. Premiered at Naples’s Teatro San Carlo in October 1837, Roberto Devereux was written in the shadow of intense grief for the composer, who lost both parents, two children and his wife in the period leading up to its commission and writing. For the libretto he turned to regular collaborator Salvatore Cammarano, who was accused of plagiarising Felice Romani’s earlier work Il Conte d’Essex.…

Fresh performances make Julian Haylock feel as if he’s discovering these famous violin sonatas anew Beethoven Violin Sonatas Op. 12 No. 1; Op. 24; Op. 96 Rachel Podger (violin), Christopher Glynn (piano) Channel Classics CCSSA44222 (CD/SACD) 67:17 mins It is remarkable just how much one assumes about these sonatas from such post-Romantic legends as Yehudi Menuhin (DG), David Oistrakh (Philips) and Itzhak Perlman (Decca). Listening to Rachel Podger (on the ‘Mauri’ Strad) and Christopher Glynn (on an 1840 Erard) is like experiencing the music in the clear light of day for the first time. Gone are those texturally swamping instrumental resonances, while vibrato is employed exquisitely as a subtle colouration rather than as an expressive default, and dynamics are explored inquisitively (especially at the lower end), without ‘intake-of-breath’ rhetorical signalling.…

Royal Northern Sinfonia Newcastle, 2 May Web: sagegateshead.com Pianist Alasdair Beatson teams up with members of the orchestra for a Viennese chamber music trail taking in three city churches and ten works. Architecture from medieval to newly restored Georgian resounds to an eclectic selection ranging from early Haydn to Schoenberg’s arrangement of Strauss’s Emperor Waltz. Works, too, by Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Johanna Doderer. Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 4 May Web: bcmg.org.uk At the end of May, a daylong Xenakis 100th-birthday celebration beckons. Kicking off the month, however, composers closely identified with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group are fêted: Knussen, Carter and Harrison Birtwistle. Also included are Charlotte Bray’s Trial of light and Birtwistle’s arrangements of Machaut. English Concert St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, London, 5 May Web: stmartin-in-the-fields.org Under Harry…

Alan Davey, the controller of BBC Radio 3, picks out three great moments to tune into this May Philip Glass’s Akhnaten Following its smash-hit 2019 run (a DVD of which is nominated for this year’s BBC Music Magazine Opera Award), the Metropolitan Opera is to revive Phelim McDermott’s production. Anthony Roth Costanzo plays the revolutionary pharaoh, under the baton of Karen Kamensek. Opera on 3: 28 May, 6.30pm Raga and Tala with Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar guides us through Indian classical music from its roots in Hindu tradition, introducing the traditions of northern Hindustani music, with its emphasis on improvisation, and its more composed southern Carnatic counterpart. Sunday Series: 8, 15 and 22 May, 11pm Music of Inner Peace and Outer Turmoil Daniel Kidane’s new work Be Still, a reflection…

The first correct solution of our crossword picked at random will win a copy of The Oxford Companion to Music. A runner-up will win Who Knew? Answers to Questions about Classical Music (see oup.co.uk). Send answers to: BBC Music Magazine, Crossword 372/May 2022, PO Box 501, Leicester, LE94 0AA to arrive by 12 May 2022 (solution in Aug 2022 issue). FEBRUARY WINNER Robert Harrison, Bristol Immediate Media Company Limited, publisher of BBC Music Magazine, may contact you with details of our products and/or to undertake research. Please write ‘Do Not Contact’ if you prefer not to receive such information by post or phone. Please write your email address on your postcard if you prefer to receive such information by e-mail. ACROSS 1 Ancient instruments: scale hurt when played (9) 6…

Folk musician My music is shaped by my upbringing in the Hebrides, where Gaelic radio was always on in our house and I heard Gaelic singing and piping on a daily basis. A great singer called Hugh Matheson lived next door, and as I got older he taught me local songs and the stories behind them. Hugh and my schoolteacher Isa McKillop opened the door to the very old songs, which weren’t as celebrated or widely sung, and also to the bàird baile, the local poets who wrote about their lived experience. Folksong and story are at the heart of music I create, and I recognise the importance of these songs that have endured, and not just in the Gaelic language either. When I was a teenager, an album called…

Write to: The editor, BBC Music Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST Email: music@classical-music.com Socialmedia: contact us on Facebook and Twitter A welcome addition A carefully thought-out concert programme reaches its climax and is greeted by justified acclaim, only to be followed by an often trite, if popular, addition that totally deflates the mood. I would be more than happy if I never heard an encore again! But then I have to acknowledge an exception, and like Richard Morrison’s example (Comment, April) it was given by an octogenarian pianist, though in my case it was Arthur Rubinstein at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Back he came, again and again, delivering what was in effect Part III of his concert in a virtuoso display that entirely belied his years. Bruce…

New World departure Michael Tilson Thomas is to step down as artistic director of the New World Symphony following the diagnosis of brain cancer. The 77-year-old conductor, who founded the Miami Beach-based orchestra in 1987, says that he has already been undergoing treatment and that ‘I now see that it is time for me to consider what level of work and responsibilities I can sustain in the future.’ Prayer for peace John Rutter has responded to the crisis in Ukraine by writing a new choral work called Ukrainian Prayer and making the score available for free on the internet. Many choirs have already taken the opportunity to sing the English composer’s piece in concert, and a video of Rutter introducing the work and conducting a performance of it has, at…

Mezzo Alice Coote introduces us to a selection of her favourite recordings Weill Die Muschel von Margate – ‘Petroleum Song’ Teresa Stratas (soprano), Richard Woitach (piano) Nonesuch D-79019 My father used to play Kurt Weill while he was painting in his studio on the top floor of the house. The songs on this disc aren’t that often performed and this one just feels so current right now. It’s basically about the destruction of Margate by oil companies, and the refrain is ‘A thousand corpses make a well – Shell, Shell, Shell’. Teresa Stratas was a truly great communicator. She lends her edge to this, plus a real theatricality. I can’t get enough of it. Schubert Winterreise – 1952 Radio Recording Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Hermann Reutter (piano) Audite 95580 Fischer-Dieskau did…

Charlotte Smith Editor This month I’ve been revisiting Vaughan Williams’s Piano Quintet of 1905. Some years ago, I sought out the Quintet to perform with my family piano quartet (plus an additional double bassist). Although we never had the opportunity to play the work in public, listening to the Munich Piano Trio’s fine recording on Genuin has inspired me to dig out the sheet music again. Jeremy Pound Deputy editor From his Concerto Gregoriano to the Pines of Rome, I love how Respighi draws on ancient chant to create a distinctive sense of space and atmosphere. He’s also at it in his Church Windows, in which we hear four imaginary depictions in stained glass, from the fierce battle fought by ‘Saint Michael Archangel’ to the solemn procession in ‘The Matins…

There are only two recordings of the full opera, and Vaughan Williams devotees will want both. Sir Adrian Boult completed the premiere version in 1971 as part of his lateflowering RVW cycle for EMI. It was fortunate that Cambridge’s John Noble was still in such radiant voice, for this performance is dominated by his ardent embodiment of the Pilgrim which had so impressed the composer in 1954. The rest of the cast works magnificently as a team, and Robert Lloyd as Apollyon is impressively amplified as RVW suggested. Boult’s long-term vision ensures a natural cohesion without sacrificing theatrical immediacy or vivid incident and was glowingly captured at Kingsway Hall (Warner Classics 7642122). Richard Hickox’s 1997 version was made in collaboration with The Royal Opera House. Gerald Finley is the warmvoiced…

Company 1970 Dean Jones, Elaine Stritch et al Sony Classical SK65283 Everything feels on the line, if mostly under the surface, in this fantastic original Broadway cast album. Follies 1985 Elaine Stritch, Carol Burnett, Barbara Cook et al RCA RCD2-7128 A concert performance with a once-in-a-lifetime cast: Elaine Stritch’s ‘Broadway Baby’, Carol Burnett’s ‘I’m Still Here’ and above all, Barbara Cook’s ‘Losing My Mind’ are its Holy Trinity. Into The Woods 1987 Sony 82876 68636-2 Another wonderful original Broadway cast (and one of the first instances of rap in a Broadway musical), funny and dark – often at the same time. A Little Night Music 1996 Siân Phillips, Judi Dench, Patricia Hodge et al Tring TRING001, 1996 Judi Dench’s rendition of ‘Send In The Clowns’ is heartbreaking, but she also…

Stochastic processes Inspired by his architectural work, Xenakis’s breakthrough came in utilising probability calculations to create works such as Metastasis (1953-4). His exploration of these ‘stochastic’ processes reached apotheosis 40 years later with the digital computer programme General Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis (GENDYN). Clouds, arborescences and sieves Concepts like ‘melody’, ‘harmony’ and ‘rhythm’ held little meaning for a music where forms were derived from the manipulation of sound masses or ‘clouds’, ‘arborescences’ of branching lines, or the points on a line he dubbed ‘sieves’. Polytopes Xenakis created a new genre of audiovisual installations combining music and architecture, sound and light. Site-specific works like the Polytope de Cluny (1972-4) attracted huge crowds. Utopianism He envisaged a Cosmic City of three-mile-high skyscrapers where people would have free access to art-science and ‘not fear…

Ian Bostridge (tenor) Released to mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice, this recording places the Butterworth set in the context of an imaginative programme of related repertoire, including six delicate songs by the German composer Rudi Stephan, another WWI casualty, and Kurt Weill’s Come up from the fields, father. In fine voice, Bostridge easily delivers the rich heartiness often required, but the haunting fragility that characterises his upper register is a real asset too, especially in the final song. Antonio Pappano is a commanding presence at the piano. (Warner Classics 9029566156) Brett Polegato (baritone) In this 1999 account, Brett Polegato’s Canadian accent occasionally comes through, but given the contribution of Canadian forces to the Allied cause in WWI this seems appropriate. There’s a youthful tone in the first song…

The Sibelius symphony cycle is a bit of a rite of passage for a Finnish conductor, isn’t it? Yes. It’s music we feel very close to. They’re all masterpieces, and in so many ways. I think Sibelius actually offers more opportunities than your average composer for different interpretations. Because there are so many themes you can decide to have more audible, and balances and textures that you can treat in so many different ways. I think it actually offers lots of variety for conductors. Did your time as a cellist give you a different perspective? I used to play the symphonies in the Helsinki Philharmonic – the orchestra where most of them were first performed – and many of the string players played with a certain bowing. It’s important to…

Paul Riley enjoys Rinaldo Alessandrini’s joined-up approach to L’estro Armonico and Bach’s responses JS Bach • Vivaldi Vivaldi: L’estro Armonico, Op. 3; JS Bach: Six Concertos after L’estro Armonico by Antonio Vivaldi Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini Naive OP7367 201:04 mins (2 discs) From Christopher Hogwood’s groundbreaking set with the Academy of Ancient Music some 40 years ago to Rachel Podger’s delectable 2015 Brecon Baroque release, Vivaldi’s Op. 3 has been well served on disc. And there are plenty of fine recordings of Bach’s keyboard reworkings of six of them (four for harpsichord, two for organ) as he gained hands-on experience of the new concerto style that was taking Europe by storm. Surprisingly, no one has thought to bring them all together – until now. Not so surprising, perhaps, is that Rinaldo…

Anthony Pryer finds much to enjoy in Nicky Spence’s expressive performance Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge; The House of Life; Four Hymns*; Six English Folk Songs; 15 Folk Songs from the Eastern Counties Nicky Spence (tenor), *Timothy Ridout (viola), Julius Drake (piano); Piatti Quartet Hyperion CDA68378 69:05 mins Nicky Spence was on the March issue’s cover, and his energetic sense of drama and adaptable characterisations have led to an impressive ‘rolling news’ of successes. These include opera performances at the ENO, New York Met and Frankfurt, and recordings of Schubert, Strauss and Janáček. This new recording marks a return to familiar territory since he has already participated in four volumes of the folk song settings of Vaughan Williams recorded on Albion. House of Life shows Nicky Spence’s musical sensitivity In…

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sea Murmurs This short piece for violin and piano takes its melody from one of the composer’s 1920s Shakespeare Songs (‘Arise’, from Cymbeline). Before his move to the US, Castelnuovo-Tedesco had already made connections with American orchestras and high-profile soloists. It was Jascha Heifetz who asked for a recital piece in 1932 and Sea Murmurs was the result – co-credited to Heifetz, who was given free rein to make it his own. The violinist played the piece for the next 40 years, even including it in his final public programme in 1972.…

Vaughan Williams at 150 This spring, Radio 3 celebrates the legacy of Ralph Vaughan Williams on the great British composer’s 150th anniversary. The station will broadcast a complete cycle of Vaughan Williams’s nine symphonies, performed by the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester. Plus, on 14 May, Opera on 3 presents an archive performance of Vaughan Williams’s opera Sir John in Love, first broadcast from the English National Opera in 2006. An edition of Between the Ears, ‘The Lark Descending’, will see bird-lover Lucy ‘Lapwing’ Hodson recording the song of the lark, which will form the melody of a new arrangement of The Lark Ascending. Vaughan Williams’s famous tune is given contemporary reimaginings by the likes of Elbow frontman and keen birdwatcher Guy Garvey and violinist Jennifer Pike (29…