Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2020 i BBC Music Magazine

Helen Wallace Programme director, writer ‘Yo-Yo Ma is not alone in loving bluegrass. In my life as a concert programmer, I’m constantly astounded by the virtuosity of folk musicians, so it was great to share that enthusiasm with the master cellist.’ Page 26 Andrew Green Broadcaster and writer ‘The concert life of Crystal Palace was a crucial foundation for Britain’s musical renaissance. The chance to get closer to its key figure, the venue’s energetic music director August Manns, was irresistible.’ Page 44 Jessica Duchen Critic, playwright and author ‘What a treat to write Building a Library on a piece as popular as Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. I found unimagined treasures to listen to, though wondered if certain conductors had ever looked at the score!’ Page 56…

Sounds familiar? I was fascinated by Ian Taylor’s article, Brief Encounter (April issue) in that it reflected my own experiences teaching courses in film studies at university level. I often taught a unit on music in film. One of the first examples of film music I would present to my students was excerpts from John Williams’s score for Star Wars. I would then follow this up with (you guessed it!) excerpts from The Planets. The student responses were usually quite positive, especially because they realised that when they listen to the music from Star Wars, they are really listening to a subgenre of classical music. I am not saying that Ian Taylor made a conscious connection between Star Wars and The Planets, but I do think Hollywood may have created…

934 …musicians taking part in the Virtual Scratch Orchestra launched online by saxophonist Jess Gillam (above). 50 …years this month since the death of Sir John Barbirolli. We’ll be celebrating the great British conductor and saviour of the Hallé in a future issue. 12 …rooms of history. After COVID-19 closure, Bonn’s Beethovenhaus is re-opening at weekends. 140 …venues saved from imminent closure thanks to £1.5m raised by the Music Venue Trust’s #saveourvenues campaign. More money, however, is needed to protect them permanently.…

Court papers have revealed that when Fox Corporation sacked Alf Clausen (left) as The Simpsons composer in 2017, it was, they claim, for delegating work to others, including his son Scott. Clausen Snr, 79, is suing Fox for dismissal on the grounds of disability and age, and proceedings are ongoing, but it’s not the first time that questions have been raised over which member of a composer’s family wrote their music… While no one doubts that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was formidably talented as a child, was the neat craftmanship of his earliest minuets and trios for piano really the work of a five-year-old boy? Scholars suspect that father Leopold, not slow to capitalise on his son’s abilities, may have had a hand in them. There has long been dispute, meanwhile,…

Oliver Condy Editor The televised category finals of BBC Young Musician took place in Cardiff just before coronavirus struck, so we were able to enjoy them a few weeks back on BBC Four. The standard seems to get better each competition with performances of Bach, Ravel, Liszt and Beethoven that any concert hall would be proud to host. It’s simply staggering that musicians so young can present such mature interpretations. Jeremy Pound Deputy editor Reading this month’s Composer of the Month on Lehár (see p54) nudged me into exploring his music a little more deeply. However, rather than pitch into the operettas, I have instead been investigating the Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR’s disc of his symphonic works. And delightful it is too. Lehár’s genius as a tunesmith can…

1955 Born in France, Yo-Yo Ma is brought up in New York. He begins the cello at four years old, and by seven has played for US presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F Kennedy. 1976 After a brief spell at the Juilliard School, he graduates from Harvard. By now, he already has a career as a concert soloist. 1979 He releases his first recording, of Finzi’s Cello Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vernon Handley. 1985 He performs with pianist Kathryn Stott (see p30) for the first time. Other regular partners include pianist Emanuel Ax and, later, violinist Leonidas Kavakos. 1998 He founds the Silk Road Project (now called Silkroad) to promote collaboration and exchange amongst musicians from across the globe. 2000 His performance of Tan Dun’s music on…

Head to Tetbury on the late May bank holiday and, in most years at least, you will see young people running as fast as they can up an absurdly steep slope while carrying very heavy sacks of wool. It looks painful for the competitors, but is fun to watch. And besides, there’s a pub waiting for them at the top. Taking place on Gumstool Hill between The Royal Oak and The Crown, this annual tradition is called The Woolsack Race – or, more accurately today, Woolsack Races – and pays a nod to the trade that, in the Middle Ages, first put this pleasant Cotswold town on the map. Rather than haring up hills, most people visit Tetbury just to amble and admire the place, or spend time in its…

Harmony Lehár draws on a far richer harmonic palette than most operetta composers. Obvious examples are the Chinese effects in Das Land des Lächelns and the gypsy elements in Gypsy Love: some of these derive from his more ‘serious’ contemporaries such as Debussy, Richard Strauss and Puccini. Orchestration Able to draw on his knowledge of instruments learned as a bandmaster, Lehár invariably provided his own orchestration, achieving sumptuous effects with relatively small pit orchestras and specialising in local colour: the kolo (a traditional dance) in The Merry Widow is scored for a stage band of Balkan folk instruments. Dance forms Dance formed an important part of operetta from its beginnings, with the waltz particularly central to the Viennese tradition. Famous examples in Lehár’s work include those in The Merry Widow…

When Tchaikovsky began composing Romeo and Juliet he was enjoying life as a 29-year-old professor of music theory at the Moscow Conservatory, with a brief civil service career and three years of study with Anton Rubinstein at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory behind him. The year before, his First Symphony had been premiered in Moscow against Rubinstein’s wishes. In the 11 years that separated the work’s first and final versions, he would complete a wealth of masterpieces including his First Piano Concerto, the ballet Swan Lake, the opera Eugene Onegin and the fate-filled Symphony No. 4.…

After setting to work on Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky went on to write two further pieces based on Shakespeare plays: the symphonic poem The Tempest (1873) and another fantasy-overture, Hamlet (1888). The latter work focuses on creating a mood – dark and feisty, in the main – rather than depicting specific events in the play, though a dolefully beautiful oboe tune clearly marks out the character of Ophelia. (Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/José Serebrier BIS BISCD1073 ). The 22-year-old Balakirev packs drama aplenty into King Lear’s ten minutes Ten years before prodding Tchaikovsky into action on Romeo and Juliet, Balakirev made his own contribution to Shakespeare-inspired orchestral repertoire. Packing drama aplenty into its ten minutes, the 22-year-old composer’s tautly structured King Lear overture shows consummate craft in the portrayal of its subject’s…

Have you lived with the First Concerto for a long time? Yes, I started working on it when I was a teenager at school here in England; my teacher was Russian and she made sure that I had all the historical background, that I read the novels that were being written at the time. Because her parents were in the War it didn’t seem so far away; I felt a connection to the suffering and the characters war brings out in people. I’ve played it regularly over the years, but what I found challenging when I was learning it was the sheer stamina; it almost needed physical training to be able to do it. I was quite skinny at the time and I found it all quite difficult. Tell us…

Cellier • E Ford • Sullivan Cellier: Captain Billy; E Ford: Mr Jericho; Sullivan: Haddon Hall Henry Waddington, Ed Lyon, Ben McAteer, Fiona Kimm, Eleanor Dennis, Adrian Thompson, Donald Maxwell, Sarah Tynan, Angela Simkin; BBC Singers; BBC Concert Orchestra/John Andrews Dutton Epoch 2CDLX7372 (hybrid CD/ SACD) 150:31 mins (2 discs) Following the break-up of their creative partnership in 1890 – ostensibly due to the shared costs of a carpet in the foyer of the Savoy Theatre – Gilbert and Sullivan went their separate ways for a while. One of the main results of this mutual independence was the latter’s ‘original light English opera’, Haddon Hall, setting a text by playwright and librettist Sydney Grundy, which opened at the Savoy in September 1892 and ran for just over 200 performances. Successful…

Beethoven Songs and Folksongs Ian Bostridge (tenor), Vilde Frang (violin), Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Antonio Pappano (piano) Warner 9029527643 56:03 mins Although both are included, Ian Bostridge is keen to remind us that there’s more to Beethoven than the evergreen ‘Adelaide’, or An die ferne Geliebte, the first great song cycle (one that set the bar high for Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin some seven years later). Goethe is a looming presence here, and the inclusion of all four settings of ‘Sehnsucht’ offers some interesting comparisons. Other Goethe Lieder include a ‘Maigesang’ delivered with glowing gemütlichkeit, and ‘The Song of the Flea’ from Faust in which Antonio Pappano invests the fidgety piano part with piquant playfulness whilst allowing Bostridge to flex his comedic muscles to the full. The young Beethoven’s incarnation of…

Beach • Elgar Beach: Piano Quintet in F sharp minor, Op. 67; Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84 Garrick Ohlsson (piano); Takács Quartet Hyperion CDA68295 63:36 mins The Takács could not be a better fit for such full-blooded works This excellent release celebrates two glorious pieces for piano quintet with performances of unabashed élan. The Takács Quartet are renowned for the warmth and drama of their playing and could not be a better fit for such full-blooded works, while Garrick Ohlsson, a noted Chopin exponent, proves a similarly fine match in this generous, lyrical interpretation. Amy Beach was one of the earliest American composers to rise to prominence without European conservatory training, and her Gaelic Symphony (1896) was the first symphony by an American woman to be composed,…

Kaleidoscope – Beethoven Transcriptions Beethoven: Quartet movements arr. Balakirev, Musorgsky & Saint-Saëns; Mozart/ Beethoven): Allegretto con variazioni Mari Kodama (piano) Pentatone PTC 5186 841 56:02 mins Kodama plays the Saint-Saëns with a light and velvet touch Liszt’s piano arrangements once brought Beethoven’s symphonies into homes when orchestral performances were rare. Now Mari Kodama presents equivalents for the string quartets. These transcriptions by Saint-Saëns, Balakirev and Musorgsky have, she says, given her a new understanding of these works. She justifies this selection of individual movements – no opening movements or finales – as being ‘an effective dramaturgy’ culminating in Beethoven’s variations on a theme from Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. The real justification, though, lies in her beautifully-judged pianism. The Saint-Saëns Allegretto (from Op. 59 No. 1) comes over with a light and…

The Thread Band of Burns Ord Ban Music OBM1902 The Thread is the first studio album by the multi-cultural Band of Burns, who debuted with a live recording from a sold-out show at London’s Union Chapel in January 2018. The balms of reverence for ‘the charms of nature’, the enduring power of one person’s love for another, trials of life during wartime and the cruelties of colonialism and slavery are just a few of the universal truths herein that have given Robert Burns’s works such resonance since the 18th century. There’s plenty of fiddle, flute, Border Pipes and even luminous electric guitar. Lush, richly detailed string arrangements predominate, evoking a cinematic hush around Irish singer Ríoghnach Connolly as she brings the gently shifting, dappled light of her artistry to ‘Westlin’…

July round-up Michael Olatuja grew up in the UK, has Nigerian roots, and studied electric bass at the Manhattan School of Music. All those influences come out on Lagos  Pepper Soup, a bubbling Afro-jazz concoction that encompasses cinematic string arrangements as well as small group simplicity. It’s peopled by an all-star cast of musicians and singers, as Angelique Kidjo, Laura Mvula, Becca Stevens and Dianne Reeves share lead vocals through a programme that weaves slick afrobeat and high life with polished radio friendly jazz. The sudden textural changes might be bewildering were it not for the constant presence of Olatuja’s limber, muscular bass lines which successfully unify this ambitious project. (Whirlwind Recordings WR4754) ★★★★ Ambrose Akinmusire followers will know to expect the unexpected from the Californian trumpeter after half-a-dozen sharply…

From Silence to Sound – Beethoven’s Beginnings Jeremy Yudkin Boydell 978-1-783-27479-6 446pp (hb) £65 The four-note motif that opens Beethoven’s Fifth is one of the most recognisable beginnings in musical history. But what about the composer’s other works? This book classifies the varying approaches, from the conventional tonic-dominant starter to the more obscure ‘beginning before the beginning’ heard in the Ninth Symphony. If you’ve ever wondered about the importance of the acciaccatura that opens the Diabelli Variations or pondered why Beethoven only began one work in the key of E-flat minor then this is the book for you. Jeremy Yudkin, co-director of the Centre for Beethoven Research at Boston University, is an expert guide, taking the reader through an enormous number of musical examples, many of which are included in…

My first experience of a musical storm (see p36) came 35 years ago, courtesy of organist Nigel Ogden (formerly presenter of Radio 2’s The Organist Entertains). At the end of his recital on the 1855 Hill organ at Kidderminster Town Hall, Ogden improvised a storm, complete with blasting reeds and oodles of rapid chromatic scales, the clouds eventually clearing to the tune of ‘The sun has got his hat on’. Ogden was following in a long tradition of storm-themed organ improvisations by the likes of Blackpool Tower Ballroom organist Reginald Dixon and, intriguingly, composer Camille Saint-Saëns. In fact, so suitable was the 19th-century French Cavaillé-Coll organ for conjuring up wind, rain, thunder and the like that many were fitted with an ‘orage’ effect that simulated thunderclaps by simultaneously triggering the…

Flying Finn Dalia Stasevska has been named as the new chief conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. The Finn, who is also principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, will begin her new role at the beginning of the 2021-22 season, taking over from Dima Slobodeniouk. She joins an orchestra that has become particularly famous for its expertise in Sibelius and made a series of ground-breaking recordings of his music under Osmo Vänskä in the 1990s. Helping hands With normal work on hold for the moment, the Royal Opera House costume department has been putting its skills to use by making Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for NHS staff. ‘It has been wonderful to see the whole ROH community rally round to support frontline carers, medics and ambulance staff,’ says…

2nd Leos Janácek completes Taras Bulba, his rhapsody for orchestra based on the novel of the same name by Gogol. The work, which depicts the heroics and then death of the eponymous Cossack warrior, will not enjoy its first performance until October 1921, with the Czech composer making substantial revisions to the score in the meantime. 14th Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, writes to Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commissioner to Egypt, setting out requests for Arab independence after the war is over. In a subsequent series of letters, later known as the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, the two establish British support for Hussein’s demands in return for the latter launching an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. 17th Organised by Emmeline Pankhurst, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) marches…

Bitter Fruit Works by Coperario, King Henry VIII et al Vivid Consort Freifeld Tontraeger 030 I never usually listen to music older than the Renaissance, and this definitely goes way beyond that; I don’t know the composers well, or in some cases at all. The combination of the three recorder players is so uplifting and completely unexpected. I’m fascinated by the lovely, simple, yet complex sound they make and it’s just like travelling back to a different time. Kancheli Night Prayers for Soprano, Saxophone and String Orchestra Jan Garbarek (soprano saxophone); Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/Dennis Russell Davies ECM 449 1982  This piece is not like a concerto for soloist and orchestra, where the soloist goes crazy and the orchestra is just in the background. This is one spherical sound, the soloist…

When I became a parent I remember my dad quipping that ‘the first 30 years are the worst’. I’m starting to have similar forebodings about COVID-19. What started as a bizarre new disease in a far-off land six months ago now looks as if it will shape everyone’s life for the rest of 2020, and possibly beyond. Initial hopes that it would be ‘business as usual’ by September now look impossibly optimistic. Where does this leave classical music? Let’s recap quickly on what’s happened already, then try to project into the future. All arts organisations and venues have shut their doors to the public, and every survey suggests that a deeply spooked public wouldn’t come anyway – maybe not for months, and not until substantial changes are made to seating…

‘Yo-Yo and I gave our first concert in 1985,’ says pianist Kathryn Stott, ‘and since then we’ve played nearly every season together, giving anything up to three tours per season – the only exceptions have been the one or two occasions when he’s had something like The Bach Project going on. ‘What makes playing with Yo-Yo such a pleasure is the total trust we have in each other. When you’ve been musical partners with someone for so long, you know exactly how far you can push each other without ever compromising the other person. I also know how he really likes to have a dialogue on stage – the idea of me being just an “accompanist” simply doesn’t come into it. It’s all about teamwork, and because we’re very finely…

A drab, drizzly late-November afternoon in Sydenham, south east London. Seagulls trudge around the spreading puddles where once the stupendous Crystal Palace proudly stood… and died, in a heart-stopping, heart-breaking conflagration in November 1936. Even with the elegant stone staircases and balustrades still tracing the site’s outline – and even with the Victorian floor plan to hand – it’s hard to raise the ghost of Crystal Palace’s legendary musical hero. Over here, says the plan, is the area where August Manns drove on his musicians with unflagging energy, across more than 12,000 concerts. Twelve thousand! A dizzying stat indeed that describes Manns’s marathon stretch as the venue’s music director from 1855-1901. Manns it was who enticed and educated a new public for classical music, his influence spreading across the UK.…

Tetbury may not have its own famous composer or performer to boast about, but it lies in the heart of an area of remarkable musical riches. Head north, and within 20 miles you reach Cheltenham and Gloucester, birthplaces of Holst and Gurney. Closer still is Painswick, home to Finzi for several years. Or go east for just 15 miles and you’ll find the little village where Vaughan Williams (above) was born in 1872. Its name, Down Ampney, is familiar to many church-goers today as that of the tune VW wrote for the hymn ‘Come down, O Love divine’.…

1870 LIFE: Franz Lehár is born on 30 April in Komárom in the Kingdom of Hungary. His father is a bandmaster in the Infantry Regiment No. 50 of the Austro-Hungarian Army. TIMES: French fears over Prussian aims for German unification lead to the Franco-Prussian War. Lasting six months, the conflict results in comprehensive Prussian victory. 1920 LIFE: The Austrian tenor Richard Tauber (above right, with Lehár) sings the role of Józsi in Zigeunerliebe, his first appearance in one of Lehár’s operettas and the beginning of a close association with the composer. TIMES: The Italian artist Amedeo Modigliano dies in Paris, aged just 35, of tuberculosis. Inconsolable, his pregnant fiancée Jeanne Hébuterne commits suicide two days later. 1935 LIFE: He establishes his own publishing company, Glocken Verlag, in Vienna, giving him…

Leonard Bernstein (conductor) New York Philharmonic Sony Classical G010003710793V There is no point pretending that Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is not the greatest love story ever told – and more than ever, given the glut of recordings, Tchaikovsky’s fantasy-overture needs to sound like it. Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, performing in 1957 – the same year Bernstein’s West Side Story was premiered on Broadway – bring the piece to life with such searing emotional impact that it really is like hearing it for the first time. This is the earliest of Bernstein’s three recordings and is the only one of them I’d recommend. His other version with the New York Phil, from 1989, is less edgy, plus a bit too soupy in the love music; and the live…

We’re at the halfway point of this special Beethoven year and the new recordings keep on coming. It’s a starry line-up this month, too, with the likes of Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Stephen Hough, James Ehnes, Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano all doing their bit to mark Ludwig’s 250th. While it’s good to remember the greats of the past, we should also keep an ear in the present. In the coming pages you’ll find the names of composers who are very much still with us – Caroline Shaw, James MacMillan, Magnus Lindberg, Penelope Thwaites and Edward Gregson to name a few. And with a World Music round-up, 25 ‘Brief Notes’ reviews and a page of books, there’s lots to get through; so what are you waiting for? Michael…

G Barry • Beethoven Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1-3; Gerald Barry: Beethoven*; Piano Concerto† *Mark Stone (baritone), †Nicolas Hodges (piano); Britten Sinfonia/Thomas Adès Signum SIGCD616 142:09 mins (2 discs) Some of this year’s commemorative Beethoven recordings have offered purity of performance (eg Igor Levit’s piano sonata cycle) while others have taken a more creative route (Beethoven Reimagined, featuring new arrangements; or Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s The Beethoven Connection, which includes lesser-known works by Beethoven’s contemporaries). This set offers both, cutting pristine interpretations of Beethoven’s early symphonies with Gerald Barry’s 21st-century zesty homage. Beethoven (2008) is a micro-opera using the composer’s ‘Immortal Beloved’ letter as its libretto. Barry contrasts pointillistic brass and percussive piano chords with sparse, near-pastiche woodwind melodies. In this live performance (Barbican, 2017), baritone Mark Stone’s Beethoven swaps between falsetto and…

JS Bach Keyboard Concertos, BWV 1052, 1053, 1055 & 1058 Il Pomo d’Oro/ Francesco Corti (harpsichord) Pentatone PTC 5186 837 62:01 mins Harpsichordist Francesco Corti’s approach to performance might be informed by a rapacious interrogation of historical sources, with evident consequences for matters of tempo, instrumentation and embellishment; but make no mistake, his playing is a powerhouse of unbridled vivacity, exciting and excitable in equal measure. For this first disc devoted to the Bach solo harpsichord concertos he’s assembled four works he believes are heard to best effect with multiple strings and, taking his cue from a surviving set of parts for BWV 1055, an additional continuo harpsichord. His selection describes a trajectory from the protean volatility of the D minor BWV 1052 to the airy, galant eloquence of the…

Purcell The Fairy Queen Carolyn Sampson, Anna Dennis, Mhairi Lawson, Ashley Riches, Roderick Williams; Gabrieli Consort/ Paul McCreesh Signum Classics SIGCD 615 139:03 mins (2 discs) In 1701, the full score of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen went missing. In his ‘1692’ Fairy Queen, Paul McCreesh brings together leading artists and the best scholarly minds to make good that loss. Outrageous yet ravishing, this Fairy Queen commands both love and respect. Purcell’s hornpipes were never livelier than in this performance The Fairy Queen is a series of mini-dramas inserted into A Midsummer’s Night Dream in which Purcell’s characters entertain Shakespeare’s dramatis personae. Highlights include a fairy choir interrupted by drunken poets (Act I), conjured beings – elves, nymphs, monkeys, dryads, Chinese – celebrating love (Act II, II and V), and…

Kreek  The Suspended Harp of Babel – The sun shall not smite thee; Whilst Great Is Our Poverty; Jacob’s Dream/Orthodox Vespers – Proemial Psalm; From Heaven Above to Earth I Come; Bless the Lord, my soul; Awake, My Heart; Orthodox Vespers – Praise the Name of the Lord; Do the Birds Worry?; Lord, I Cry unto Thee; He, Who Lets God Prevail; By the Rivers of Babylon; plus works by Machaut, Marco Ambrosini and Anna-Liisa Eller The singing breathes with a collective, gentle inevitability Vox Clamantis/Jaan-Eile Tulve ECM 481 9041 67:01 mins Gregorian chant affords a common meeting place for the musicians of Vox Clamantis, but their reach has spanned medieval polyphony to contemporary music – including that of compatriots such as Arvo Pärt, Helena Tulve and Erkki-Sven Tüür. This…

Pieter Hellendaal (1721-99) The Dutch violinist and composer Hellendaal, a pupil of Tartini, arrived in England in 1751. He initially worked in London, then in 1760 obtained the post of organist at King’s Lynn, succeeding Charles Burney. He spent the rest of his life in East Anglia, moving to Cambridge in 1762 where he became organist at Pembroke Hall. He is particularly remembered for his Six Grand Concertos, published in 1758, a genre very popular in late-18th century England due to its adaptability, making it performable either by soloist and orchestra, or by reduction to a trio sonata ensemble.…

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)  The Swiss composer first came to prominence as a member of Les Six in 1920. Early in his career, Honegger earned popular acclaim with his oratorio Le roi David (1921), which was then overshadowed by the notoriety of Pacific 231 , his musical representation of a steam locomotive, whose first performance in 1924 inspired Prokofiev’s rowdy Symphony No. 2. Honegger himself wrote several symphonic works, including five numbered symphonies which were championed by Charles Munch. His dramatic oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher (1934-35) also enjoyed success.…

JS Bach Solo Violin Sonatas & Partitas Tomás Cotik (violin) Centaur CRC 3755-56  With a Baroque bow and a modern violin, Cotik scales Bach’s solo mountain with skill. His intricate yet soulful take is assured without ever being showy. (MB) ★★★★ JS Bach Toccatas, BWV 910-916 Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord) BIS-2221  Leading Bach authority Masaaki Suzuki plays the composer’s early toccatas, bringing us a free, characterful and thoughtful set of interpretations, with a real lightness of touch. (FP) ★★★★ Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Opp. 109-111 Maurizio Pollini (piano) DG 483 8250  There are many other pianists I’d turn to for this repertoire. Pollini’s performance somehow lacks substance, and the poor live sound quality doesn’t help. Not one I’ll return to. (OC) ★★ Bernstein Songfest, plus works by Copland and Gershwin Wolf Trap…

Alan Davey , the controller of BBC Radio 3, picks out three great moments to tune into this July Holmès and Duparc Despite having written many orchestral works and four successful operas in her lifetime, composer Augusta Holmès has fallen into obscurity. Donald Macleod explores the lives of Holmès and her contemporary Duparc, and we hear works by Holmès performed by the BBC ensembles. Composer of the Week: 6-10 July, 12 noon Purcell’s The Fairy Queen The Gabrieli Consort’s interpretation of Purcell’s King Arthur was recently awarded BBC Music Magazine’s Recording of the Year. This month, tune in to hear the ensemble perform another work by the great composer. Written three years before his death, The Fairy Queen is Purcell’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Opera on 3:…

Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham, was born in Trinidad and emigrated to Britain as a child. Having begun her career as an actress in West End musicals, from 1976 she became a presenter of children’s TV programmes including Play School and Play Away. A major campaigner for the protection of children and improvement of education, from 2006-16 she was chancellor of the University of Exeter. In 2010, she was appointed a Liberal Democrat life peer. I grew up in Trinidad surrounded by music – my father was a jazz saxophonist, and with my mother and five siblings we sang and danced at every occasion, including loudly at church. Every day at school we sang ‘God Save the Queen’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ before class, and I felt…

Schubert dip What a joy is your June cover disc of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin. I already had a disc with the work sung by a tenor but this recording was a revelation. I am now in my 70s and I have found that in most of my decades I have discovered a new composer in depth. When at school I loved Delius, and just after leaving sang with choirs that did a lot of JS Bach. In my 30s I found Mozart and modern jazz and in my 40s, Finzi. My 50s brought a limited interest in opera – Mozart must be first, followed closely by Britten, Richard Strauss and Puccini, especially Tosca. My 60s brought back Beethoven at a deeper level, Mahler and a range of string quartets,…

Yoanna Prodanova Cellist Born: Varna, Bulgaria Career highlight: My debut recording for the Royal Academy of Music’s Bicentenary Series is a great highlight, as was my performance of the Swiss premiere of Valentin Gheorghiu’s Cello Sonata. Musical hero: Schubert composed to the end, Beethoven takes us on journeys of personal turmoil, Shostakovich shows us the brutality of 20th-century Russia and Schumann unveils unimaginable vulnerability. They show us all sides of the human condition. Dream concert: Performing is about telling stories, sharing and becoming a kind of channel between the composer and the listener. A dream concert would be one in which this connection is established. Emma Sventelius Mezzo-soprano Born: Lund, Sweden Career highlight: Singing Octavian in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at Theater Bonn. To be offered the role as…

Egyptian soprano, and former BBC New Generation Artist, Fatma Said has recorded her debut album for Warner Classics in Berlin. Called El Nour (Light) it unites music from across different cultures, with Said performing art songs by French, Spanish and Egyptian composers, plus popular and folk songs sung in Arabic. Deutsche Grammophon has announced the exclusive signing of South Korean soprano Hera Hyesang Park. The 31-year-old lyric coloratura singer is working on a ‘self portrait’ debut album, which will be released at the end of the year. She marked the signing with a special performance from Berlin’s Meistersaal as part of one of the label’s ‘Musical Moment’ virtual recitals. Staying in South Korea, cellist Hee-Young Lim follows her 2018 debut album for Sony Classical with a new disc of works…

Radio 3 listener Eleanor Ironside asked one of the simplest but most profound questions about classical music. She was buying a recording of Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, and was asked which recording she wanted. ‘What difference does it make?’, she asked, and was met with a look of bafflement from her supposedly helpful salesperson, as if the answer was self-explanatory. It isn’t. In fact, Eleanor’s question sums up one of the most baffling barriers to anyone trying to get their heads round classical music. You don’t think about which version of The Beatles’ White Album you want – you just buy the record. You don’t look for different versions of Lady Gaga’s new album – you find it, and stream it. The recording is the only…

Jenny Clark Sheringham I’ve been enjoying BBC Music’s recent forays into Latin America, including the April cover CD of music by Villa-Lobos and then May’s features on Piazzolla and today’s Cuban composers. I’d also encourage readers to get to know the orchestral music of the Mexican Silvestre Revueltas, who lived in the first half of the 20th century. His most famous work, Sensemaya, reminds me a little of Copland and Stravinsky, but other pieces such as the characterful Alcancias and Ventanas are also memorable.…

Composers are always up against the problem of how to depict natural storm-sounds. Some strategies are time-honoured, such as using timpani or kettledrums for thunder. The stormy Prelude to Act III of Wagner’s Siegfried specifies a ‘thunder machine’ at its climax, but like Strauss in his Alpine Symphony, Wagner may simply have had a very large bass drum in mind. A more recent device is the thundersheet – a large thin metal sheet suspended and shaken by its narrower end – but this seldom sounds convincing. Modern technology offers an easy way out: try Act III of Decca’s 1962 Siegfried recording for a spectacular (real) thunderclap. Lightning presents another challenge. Composers have often turned to high-altitude woodwind for silent lightning flashes, like the flutes used by Verdi in the storm-squall…

Crystal Palace narrowly escaped destruction in December 1866 when a fire destroyed most of the building’s north section, along with many of its natural history exhibits. But it was the evening of 30 November 1936 that spelt the end to Crystal Palace, when another fire broke out in the women’s cloakroom. As the venue’s manager Sir Henry Buckland was walking round the grounds, he noticed a red glow emanating from the building and, going to investigate, found two nightwatchmen trying to extinguish flames that had already spread to the central transept. A combination of dry wooden floors and a strong wind saw the situation deteriorate rapidly, and by the time the fire brigade arrived at 8pm the whole building was ablaze. Four hundred and thirty-eight firefighters in total were rallied…

‘I resolved to depict people in such colours that they might actually have lived among us’ In a document he published under the title Bekenntnis (‘Confession’) in 1947, Franz Lehár asserted the artistic policy that had guided his musical career. Aware that many people regarded operetta not as an artform but simply as entertainment, he ‘formed the resolve to create real people, and to depict them in such colours that they might actually have lived among us. They were to experience love and suffering as we do. Naturally, I had to express this deeper intimacy in the music. I had, without realising it, to employ operatic means whenever the plot demanded it.’ This philosophy is brilliantly put to use in one particular masterpiece of the genre that has ensured Lehár…

The work It’s not for nothing that the ubiquitously recorded fantasy-overture Romeo and Juliet is one of Tchaikovsky’s most popular works. The themes are instantly memorable, the orchestration gleams like a newly restored oil painting and the dramatic outline of the story is unmistakable. As a sonata-form symphonic poem with extended introduction and coda, its construction is as taut and integrated as any academic could desire and the impression is one of peerless inspiration from first note to final bar. As usual, this is utterly deceptive. In fact it took Tchaikovsky around 12 years to finalise the work in the form it is known today – and it was not even his own idea. He first set about it thanks to a suggestion in 1869 from Mily Balakirev (a friend…

Guido Cantelli (conductor) The fiery young Italian conductor Guido Cantelli recorded the overture with the Philharmonia in 1951, five years before his untimely death in a plane crash. This is one of the most inspiring versions of all, filled with freshness, wonder, dynamism, colour and strong attention to detail: the orchestra plays for him as if possessed. Cantelli even presents the final bars as written. Fortunately, the recording has been remastered, improving the ropey sound of the original, and has been re-released to mark the conductor’s centenary. ( Warner 9029538303 ) Iván Fischer (conductor) A truly Shakespearean eloquence and expert narrative pacing are prime in this fascinating 2004 account from the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer. The introduction is filled with foreboding that casts perspective across all the rest.…

Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 99; Violin Concerto No. 2 in C sharp minor, Op. 129 Alina Ibragimova (violin); State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’/Vladimir Jurowski Hyperion CDA68313 71:26 mins Is the monumental A minor masterpiece here the most recorded violin concerto of recent years? It certainly feels it, perhaps because there have been so many memorable contenders; no violinist sets down an interpretation without having surmounted its incredible technical and emotional challenges. Alina Ibragimova is the latest to make you think you’ve never heard the work better played, and her intense relationship with Vladimir Jurowski and the current incarnation of Yevgeny Svetlanov’s ‘orchestra with a voice’, making just as compelling a case for the sequel concerto, is supernaturally fine-tuned. By 1967, when he…

Beethoven Symphony No. 5 MusicAeterna/Teodor Currentzis Sony Classical 19075884972 29:54 mins Surging textures emerge with an almost unprecedented clarity Teodor Currentzis is famous for keeping his hand-picked orchestra on its collective toes, and in this most celebrated of symphonies the players sound at times as though they might explode with excitement. Where appropriate, they generate a rapier-like thrust that sweeps aside conventional thinking. It’s an exhilarating helter-skelter ride, which finds Currentzis (as if in full meditative flow) focusing on the music’s emotional narrative with electrifying powers of single-minded concentration. High-tension readings of symphonic masterpieces often come unstuck in the slower movements, yet here Beethoven’s Andante con moto emerges free of militaristic bombast and (most strikingly) any sense of self-conscious orchestral sophistication. Those whose collections are heaving with recordings shaped profoundly…

JS Bach • Goldberg • Vivaldi JS Bach: Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043; Concerto in D minor, BWV 1060; Goldberg: Sonata in C minor, DürG 14; Vivaldi: Sinfonia in D, RV125; Concerto in D, RV508; Concerto in E flat, RV515 Giuliano Carmignola (violin), Mario Brunello (cello); Accademia dell’Annunciata/Riccardo Doni Arcana A472 66:28 mins Riccardo Doni and his Milan musicians keep textures clear as glass Violinist Giuliano Carmignola and cellist Mario Brunello – long-time cronies and musical collaborators – have re-cast a selection of double concertos by Bach and Vivaldi, transposing parts originally written for violin or oboe down an octave, to be played on the violoncello piccolo – a small Baroque cello. In addition to the famous works are a couple of novelties: a theatrical Sinfonia by Vivaldi, and…

Massenet studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Ambroise Thomas, and won the Prix de Rome in 1863. He began composing opera on his return from Italy, and established himself on the French opera scene with Le Roi de Lahore in 1877. A number of his subsequent operas were performed internationally, including Hérodiade (1881), Manon (1884), Werther (1892), Thaïs (1894) and Don Quichotte (1910). However, he never quite gained popularity in England, apparently due to what d’Indy described as the ‘discreet and semi-religious eroticism’ of much of Massenet’s work.…

Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23; Violin Sonata No. 5 in F, Op. 24 'Spring'; Violin Sonata No. 8 in G, Op. 30/3; German Dances, WoO 42; Rondo for Piano and Violin in G, WoO 41 James Ehnes (violin), Andrew Armstrong (piano) Onyx ONYX4208 69:02 mins Record companies like composer brands, not least the Beethoven one. Music publishers liked it in Beethoven’s day too, and he was determinedly good at turning out the quantities of piano and chamber music that they wanted and would pay for. The Violin Sonatas Nos 4 (in A minor, Op. 23) and 8 (in G major, Op. 30 No. 3) display all the qualities of an already formidable master-composer: the rhythmic drive whose forcefulness so amazed and disconcerted Beethoven’s early listeners,…

JS Bach Preludes I, BWV 599-644 ‘Orgelbüchlein’ Stephen Farr (organ) Resonus Classics RES10259 79:00 mins JS Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (The Little Organ Book) represents his ideal of the chorale prelude in a manner that Albert Schweitzer aptly described as ‘the most simple imaginable and at the same time the most perfect.’ And the first thing to be said about Stephen Farr’s new recording is that it comes as close as any to such idealised perfection. The 46 pieces were mostly written early in Bach’s career, during his Weimar years, and – by definition of music intended to celebrate days across the church’s calendar – were never designed to be heard together. Understatement is often the point of this music, but Farr is a serious, musicianly organist with an imagination for colour…

July round-up Alles Is Goed, by Dutch trio It Dockumer Lokaeltsje, is a Frisian version of the 1981 album Alles Ist Gut (Everything Is Fine) by Dusseldorf-based electro-punks Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF). Peter Sijbenga’s vocals clearly show Frisian is a close cousin of English, and his mimicry of percussion is almost as intriguing. Great fun can also be had following the rhythmic threads flying chaotically off Fritz de Jong’s drumsticks. And yes, ‘Jesus’ and ‘Mussolini’ are both clearly audible on ‘de Mussolini’ because DAF had the gall to link totalitarianism with Christianity. Perhaps not one for many a Christmas stocking. (Makkum Records MR28 ★★★★★ ) Paris-based Haitian émigré and force of nature Moonlight Benjamin is no stranger to the guitar grooves of Led Zeppelin, if the riff that opens ‘Tchoule’…

Connectivity Ideally connect your soundbar and TV using a HDMI (or HDMI-ARC) cable as they can carry large amounts of uncompressed digital data. The second-best option is an optical cable, but it can’t process more than 5.1 surround sound systems. Streaming Most soundbars double up as a streaming speaker using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and depending on the brand (Sonos, Yamaha, Bose) can be integrated into a multiroom system. Take time to adjust the sound settings for music, as the mix is typically set for cinema soundtracks and speech. Dolby Atmos The next big thing in surround sound allows sound engineers to position and move audio precisely around a viewer, so if you have speakers that can bounce audio off your ceiling, it can feel like things aren’t only happening in…

Being Beethoven Due to be broadcast earlier this year, the BBC’s three-part series exploring the life and times of Beethoven will now be available to watch this month on BBC Four. The series begins with the story of Beethoven’s rise to fame as a young virtuoso. Tenor Mark Padmore performs one of Beethoven’s early songs and conductor Marin Alsop discusses the premiere of his Ninth Symphony. The second episode focuses on the ailments and struggles Beethoven faced throughout his life, from deteriorating hearing to difficulties in establishing romantic connections. The programme includes a period performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in the venue in which it was premiered. In the final episode of the series, we meet Beethoven towards the end of his life as he creates some of his…