Innehållsförteckning för March 2017 från BBC Music Magazine

ON STAGE Nighty-night On 3 March we’ll be packing a member of the BBC Music Magazine team off to Birmingham along with pyjamas and teddy. The reason? An all-night piano recital at the city’s Town Hall. The nocturnal music-making begins at 7.30pm, with performers including Peter Donohoe, Di Xiao (pictured) and a ‘mystery special guest’. See p98 ON AIR Dead good Radio 3 ponders mortality on 6 March when it broadcasts a Southbank Centre concert entitled ‘Music to die for’. Dipping into opera and film music, the BBC Concert Orchestra explores musical responses to death, including Wagner and Janácek, plus Richard Rodney Bennett’s score to the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. See p102 ONLINE Novel idea Head to our website, where we are offering the chance to win The…

KEY MEMORIES How saddened I was to read in the February issue of the passing of Anthony Goldstone (b1944) at the beginning of this year. As soon as I heard Goldstone play, I knew that he was a pianist whose tone and interpretation was going to enlighten me. He also had a deep understanding of the music itself, as reflected in his expansive and intelligent sleeve notes. My hearing of Schubert and the other greats led me to listen to other works he recorded by lesser-known composers such as Lyapunov, Gál and Graham Whettam – none of which ever disappointed. Paul Lofthouse, York A FRESH VIEW? As I was going through my old issues of BBC Music, I stumbled upon and re-read Berta Joncus’s review of Rolando Villazón’s…

‘For this to have been unregulated for so long is a national disgrace’ Members of the Royal Albert Hall have come under fire for privately selling on unwanted seats at events for a large personal profit. The members, who control 1,276 of the London venue’s 5,272 seats, stand accused of using websites such as Viagogo and StubHub rather than using the hall’s own returns system to let other event-goers purchase them – though not illegal, the practice is regarded by many as morally dubious, given the Albert Hall’s status as a charity. The issue has come to a head following the recent discovery of a memo circulated among members that advises them how to maximise the income from their seats and accuses the returns system of resulting in a ‘direct,…

Chart for week ending 26 January 2017 1 In War and Peace Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano); Il Pomo d’Oro/Maxim Emelyanychev Erato 9029592846 A stunning Baroque recital from the US mezzo 2 Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos 3, 4 and 6 Royal Liverpool PO/Vasily Petrenko Onyx Classics ONYX4162 Three Tchaikovsky symphonies show Petrenko and his Liverpudlian forces on exceptional form 3 The Lost Songs of St Kilda Trevor Morrison (piano); Scottish Festival Orchestra/James MacMillan Decca 481 2795 The haunting music of an abandoned archipelago 4 New Year’s Concert 2017 Vienna Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel Sony Classical 88985376152 Gustavo Dudamel leads the Viennese New Year bash for the first time, with winning results 5 Shostakovich Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 Boris Giltburg (piano); Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko Naxos 8.573666 Scintillating stuff…

The Polish Institute in Paris has announced the discovery of a previously unknown photo of Frédéric Chopin. If found to be authentic, the picture, a copy of a daguerreotype image made in around 1847, would be only the second photo of the Polish composer known to exist. Unearthed in a collection in Switzerland by Alain Kohler, a Swiss physicist and Chopinophile, it was probably taken by Louis-Auguste Bisson, the photographer who took the other confirmed image – given the similar backgrounds, and similar grimness of expression, the two would appear to have been taken on the same occasion. Kohler himself, though, says that confirming the authenticity of the image may only be possible if the original daguerreotype is found. The physicist has previous Chopin form, having unearthed in 2015 a…

WEDDED BRASS Let us blow a celebratory fanfare for trumpeter Alison Balsom, who has married leading stage and film director Sam Mendes. Mendes, who has directed the last two James Bond films and who was previously married to the actress Kate Winslet, tied the knot with Balsom in a hush-hush ceremony in Oxfordshire in late January. JOHANN SEBASTIAN SHARK News reaches us from the Pacific Shark Research Center that a recently discovered species of deep-sea catshark has been named after JS Bach. Though we are not told why Bach’s Catshark (Bythaelurus bachi) has been presented with such a title, we suspect it may be because it has a distinctive chordal fin and very counterpointy teeth. PRINCIPAL BEN The BBC Philharmonic has announced that Ben Gernon is to become its principal…

THE TRANSCRIPTIONS ON Imogen Cooper’s new CD are the tip of a large musical iceberg. Over the centuries, transcriptions have fulfilled many roles. Bach’s of Vivaldi – eg, his version for four keyboards of a Vivaldi concerto for four violins – gave him a chance to explore the Italian’s work from the inside, and brought it to a new audience in a new form. Certain sets of variations by Mozart and Beethoven were a form of transcription and elaboration – for instance, Beethoven’s on ‘Bei männern’ from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for cello and piano. Liszt, though, went further, with transcriptions that took many forms and served a multitude of purposes. His concert fantasias on themes from operas such as Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Weber’s Der Freischütz and…

Early years: Born in 1979 in York, Iestyn Davies sang as a treble in the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. He returned to the choir as a countertenor choral scholar when studying as an undergraduate. Big break: Following studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he made his operatic debut in 2005, singing Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in Zurich. Roles at opera houses including Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House and English National Opera (such as Armindo in Handel’s Partenope, above) followed. A man of honour: In 2010, Davies was named Young Artist of the Year at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards; he was recently awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours.…

GÁBOR TAKÁCS NAGY - Violinist and conductor I remember Kurtág’s advice to the Takács Quartet before we went to Evian for our first competition in 1977. He said, ‘Boys, never forget that creativity starts where the comfort zone finishes. Please do not fall into this competition trap of being afraid. Dare to be creative.’ We won because we dared to be courageous. When we talk, we use emotions and colours in our voice. Musicians who play without creativity, who only focus on technique, sound like robots talking to an answering machine. I tell youngsters to go out and talk to people through music, not to think about how they’re being judged. JAIME LAREDO Violinist and conductor Having sat on juries, as well as being on the other side as a…

1. Early steps (1950) Kiri Te Kanawa was on stage from an early age, but not as a singer. ‘This is a picture of when I was in a tap-dancing show,’ she says. ‘I was five or six years old, and they couldn’t find any shoes to fit me so I had to wear socks to make those ones fit! I was so embarrassed.’ 2. A Verdi fine start (1974) Kiri shot to fame after her appearance as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello at New York’s Metropolitan Opera was broadcast live across the US. But, remembers the soprano, it was an odd twist of fate that saw her on stage that day. ‘It was a very last-minute thing – the other singer called in ill that morning. I thought…

Yevgeny Sudbin Very popular in Tippet Rise’s first season, the Russian pianist returns for two Olivier Music Barn concerts in 2017: in solo recital on Friday 7 July, and in the company of cellist Alexander Chaushian the following evening. Caroline Goulding and friends The US violinist teams up with pianist Danae Dörken and cellist Joshua Roman for concerts inside and out: at the Olivier Music Barn on 14 July and beside the Domo sculpture the next afternoon. She then returns to the Barn for one final concert, this time with Dörken alone. Natasha Paremski and friends The Russian pianist also has three concerts in two days. At the Olivier Barn, she plays in solo recital on 18 August and with cellist Zuill Bailey the next evening.…

THE LIFE 1867 Amy Marcy Cheney is born on 5 September in NEW HAMPSHIRE . Her father is a paper manufacturer and importer, her mother a keen singer and pianist. 1885 Two years after making her public debut as a pianist, she curtails performances following her marriage to HENRY BEACH , a physician. 1896 Her GAELIC SYMPHONY , the first symphony written by a female American composer, enjoys great acclaim at its debut in Boston. 1912 On a tour of Europe after the deaths of her husband and mother, she impresses critics and audiences in Germany both as a composer and as a pianist. 1916 Returning to the US due to the outbreak of World War I, she eventually settles in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, where she lives with her…

IS THERE ANYTHING particularly special about Czech performers playing a Czech composer’s music? There certainly can be, if Karel Ancerl’s (right) wonderful account of Taras Bulba with the Czech Phil is anything to go by. The distinctiveness kicks in early, with the uniquely plangent wind playing at the opening of ‘The Death of Andrij’. Both cor anglais and oboe soloists use more vibrato than might be expected, but it’s beautifully inflected, and suits the keening quality of the music. Ancerl’s native understanding of Janácek’s spiky, rebarbative idiom is another crucial element. He is one of the few conductors to stop the brassy battle sequence in ‘The Death of Andrij’ from becoming a blaring free-for-all. Rhythms are sharply etched, accents cleanly pointed, and a sense of balance struck between the orchestra’s…

Why did you record the concertos on two different violins? Back in 1998 EMI wanted me to record these concertos but for financial reasons the project was put on ice. I only returned to the First Concerto in 2012, and then came the idea to record it with Alan Gilbert. But we couldn’t find a date to do the Second until three years later. In February 2015 I had to give back my beloved ‘Lady Inchiquin’ 1711 Stradivarius [the bank that owned it failed]. That year I played ten different violins. It made me crazy, but that particular week I had the ‘ex Rodewalt’ Stradivarius, which suited the gloomy, kind of rough sound for Concerto No. 2 How did your view of the First Concerto change over the years? I…

Yannick Nézet-Séguin ‘gets’ this huge score better than anyone else BRUCKNER Symphony No. 3 (1873 version) Staatskapelle Dresden/ Yannick Nézet-Séguin Profil Hänssler PH12011 72:01 mins Whichever version of the score you choose, Bruckner’s Third Symphony remains a transition work, with all the fascinations and frustrations that term implies. There are moments when it sounds like the kind of thing a gifted but awkward teenager might write while still in the first ecstasies of love for Beethoven and Wagner. At others it seems to stand, awestruck, on the threshold of a new musical universe. Bruckner may have refined the style and eased some of the transitions in his later revisions, but in doing so he seems to have lost sight, at least partially, of the vision that originally inspired him. To…

Jean Rondeau brings infectious energy to JS Bach’s Concerto DYNASTIE Concertos by JS Bach, JC Bach, WF Bach and CPE Bach Jean Rondeau (harpsichord); Sophie Gent, Louis Creach’h (violin), Fanny Paccoud (viola), Antoine Touche (cello), Thomas de Pierrefeu (bass), Evolène Kiener (bassoon) Erato 9029488846 76:19 mins This spirited and eloquently ornamented playing serves the music of JS Bach and three of his sons uncommonly well. The programme is framed by two of the most ambitious harpsichord concertos of the first half of the 18th century. JS Bach’s D minor Concerto for harpsichord and strings survives in an autograph manuscript of the late 1730s, though its original version, almost certainly for violin, may be one of his earliest concertos. Its outer movements possess immense energy requiring virtuosic gestures from the soloist.…

BERG Wozzeck Roman Trekel, Anne Schwanewilms, Marc Molomot, Nathan Berg, Gordon Gietz, Robert McPherson, Katherine Ciesinski, Calvin Griffin, Samuel Schultz, Brenton Ryan; Members of Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus; Chorus of Students and Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University; Houston Symphony Orchestra/ Hans Graf Naxos 8.660390-91 97:34 mins (2 discs) There are more corpses in Berg’s epoch-making opera, Wozzeck (1914-22), than the two literal ones of its devastating final scenes. Underpinning the harrowing tale of a tormented soldier and the girlfriend he brutally murders is a searing, apocalyptic vision of a society so inhumane as to signal the death – as Berg witnessed, during and after World War One – of any illusion of a just or genteel modern civilisation. Wozzeck is mocked by his superior officers and tortured…

JS BACH Cantatas: Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 (Actus Tragicus); Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150; Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131; Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 Vox Luminis/Lionel Meunier Alpha Classics ALPHA 258 84:55 mins There are many beautiful moments in this programme of four early cantatas by Bach. The mood is one of rapt solemnity as we progress from Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (BWV 106), better known by its Buxtehudean soubriquet, Actus Tragicus, to the lesser known Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV 150), the sombre Aus der Tiefen ruhe ich, Herr, zu dir (BWV 131), and the fractured lamentations of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (BWV 12), model for the Crucifixus in the B minor Mass. The…

BRAHMS String Sextets Nos 1 & 2 Cypress Quartet; Barry Shiffman (viola), Zuill Bailey (cello) Avie AV 2294 76:50 mins San Francisco’s Cypress Quartet gave their final concert last June after 20 years together. This, their valedictory recording, was made two months beforehand, live in front of a studio audience. They chose to go out on disc not with a quartet programme but with the two Brahms Sextets, joined by violist Barry Shiffman and cellist Zuill Bailey – perhaps a surprising decision; still, the geniality, fleeting melancholy and sense of nostalgia inherent in these works certainly make them apt for a farewell. The players have the balance well worked out – even with the extra weight in the lower sonorities, the music sounds clear and rarely bottom-heavy, which is some…

Seventy years ago, Louis Armstrong delighted hardcore Satchmo-lovers by appearing in concert with a small group, the kind of New Orleans combo with which he’d revolutionised jazz in the 1920s, rather than the pedestrian big band he’d been leading through the 1930s and ’40s. It was what everyone had been waiting for, not least Armstrong himself, a return to the style of his greatest achievements, a free-wheeling format made for mutual inspiration and joy. Its success also presented, as his manager Joe Glaser saw at once, a golden business opportunity. Glaser sacked the big band and launched Louis Armstrong and the All Stars, the ensemble with which Armstrong became synonymous, touring the world almost until his death in 1971. The band introduced a new generation of listeners to Satchmo’s genius…

IMPRESSIVE SOUNDBASE Cambridge Audio TV5 v2 £300 Modern televisions look gorgeous, but as designs get thinner the space for speakers shrinks and sound quality suffers. If you’ve ever tried to listen to a live concert, or stream a digital radio station through the TV, you’ll know just how flat playback can be. The Cambridge Audio TV5 v2 soundbase (above) sits neatly beneath your TV set and, using either an optical or hi-resolution HDMI cable, hijacks the audio output and vastly improves its sound quality. The two front-facing 5.7cm speakers dramatically improve dialogue, while the dual down-firing 16.5cm subwoofers enhance action sequences at lower frequencies. Together they produce a superb full-range of frequencies, with 180-degree room-filling sound wherever you are seated. Watching Sir Simon Rattle conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in…

• Gaspard de la nuit is a suite for solo piano, written by Ravel in 1908. It has three movements, each based on a poem or fantaisie from a collection of works by Aloysius Bertrand. The title loosely translates as ‘treasurer of the night’ and has demonic connotations. Ravel said: ‘My ambition is to say with notes what a poet expresses with words.’ • The work was premiered in Paris, on 9 January 1909, by pianist Ricardo Viñes. Ravel and Viñes had been friends since their early teens and had become part of a group of literary, artistic and musical contemporaries known as Les Apaches (the Ruffians), which also included Falla and Stravinsky. • Lasting just over 20 minutes, the movements stretch a player’s technique to the limits. The first,…

BORN IN SOUTH WALES, Rebecca Evans trained as a nurse before turning to singing. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music, going on to perform with opera companies around the world, including the Royal Opera and Bayerische Staatsoper. This summer Evans plays the Marschallin in a Welsh National Opera production of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. She has also created a programme of Welsh music for St David’s Day, which she performs in Cardiff with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on 1 March. I was a very fortunate child as I was always surrounded by classical music. My mother had been a professional singer and my father had the most incredibly resonant baritone voice, even though he wasn’t in the music world. For my 11th birthday, he bought me three…

Jessica Duchen Critic, journalist and author ‘As a teenager I played in a masterclass with Imogen Cooper and ever since I’ve followed her deepening artistry with great joy. She is more than a pianist: she is a musician’s musician, and a true inspiration.’ Page 22 Roger Nichols French music expert ‘Here in the Marches it has been raining for four days almost non-stop. Dinu Lipatti’s Chopin Waltzes are a reason to go on living and a perfect antidote to the pungent smell of wet dog.’ Page 50 Anthony Burton Writer and editor ‘As a Radio 3 producer in the 1970s, I was intrigued when a US pianist offered a programme including music by “Mrs H.H.A. Beach”. Since then, I’ve enjoyed discovering about this remarkably gifted composer.’ Page…

‘I couldn’t give up, so I didn’t allow myself to wallow or be negative’ ‘I didn’t think I’d be a singer when I was little,’ says Soraya Mafi. ‘I was a dancer.’ And so she might have been until, as a teenager, she began to have issues with her back. ‘I couldn’t manage the intensity of the training anymore. But I started doing well with singing, and got a few solos at school.’ Mafi entered a local music festival in Lancashire, and was invited to compete for the Junior English Song Prize, which she won. The prize was a bursary to spend on singing lessons. ‘My mum got in touch with the Royal Northern College of Music junior department to see if they’d hear me sing. I never looked back.’…

THIS MONTH Hannu Lintu conductor The Finn’s discography is particularly strong on 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Lindberg, Messiaen and Sibelius. He is chief conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; their recording of concertos by Tüür is reviewed next month. My finest moment Berio Sinfonia; Calmo etc Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Hannu Lintu Ondine ODE 12275 (2014) Berio’s Sinfonia is one of the reasons I wanted to become a conductor. I’ve always admired its layers, sound and inventiveness. This was my first recording with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the first recording in our new hall which had opened that season. It was a very happy session. We realised we had a perfect recording hall and achieved something special with this monumental, complex piece.…

The London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle (above) have announced plans for their first season together. Sir Simon takes up his position as music director in September and, in his first few weeks, he and his players will present a ten-day musical celebration to mark his appointment. As well as ‘Silent Symphony’, an opening concert of all-British music broadcast live to personal headsets in the Barbican Sculpture Court, other projects for the first week include creating an opera in a day with children and young people. BBC Radio 3 will broadcast live throughout the opening ten days, including three symphonic concerts from the Barbican Hall.…

@danieltongpiano Oh Birmingham, city of a thousand dreams, the new-flowering buds of ambition, demanding pedagogy and the bullring shopping centre. A visit to the Midlands brings out the romantic in pianist Daniel Tong @cargillmezzo The downside of singing Wagner? Tunes galore swirling around your head at 5am. The upside? What amazing tunes they are. Mezzo Karen Cargill revels in some Tristan and Insomnia @kathystott Working on Bartók Sonata 2 pianos/ percussion. I’m totally fixated on a bar which reminds me of ‘Live&Let Die’ #Bond The name’s Stott. Kathryn Stott. Licence to play piano. @ifagiolini Sitting at home with shakes/aches but reading Monteverdi’s 1608 letter complaining of shingles/migraine and not being paid. He had it worse. Conductor Robert Hollingworth puts it all in perspective @ViolinJenny Lovely/weird moment after concert in Sweden…

Oliver Condy Editor I was fortunate to attend the opening concert of Hamburg’s stunning Elbphilharmonie , featuring a programme designed to show off the hall’s flexible acoustic. From Beethoven’s Choral Symphony to the crystal clear vocal lines of Praetorius and simple, fluid lines of ‘Pan’ from Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, the hall revealed the music in impressive, resonant detail. Worth the 800m euros? Time will tell… Jeremy Pound Deputy editor My love of flippant viola jokes is stopped instantly in its tracks by an evening spent in the company of Kim Kashkashian’s recording of Bartók’s Viola Concerto. Left unfinished at the composer’s death, it’s an exquisite work that leaves me in two minds. The soloist’s darkly sinuous lines tell of a troubled composer in equally troubled…

Imagine the outcry if Monet’s garden at Giverny were suddenly closed to the public Even if my head tells me it’s rubbish, my heart clings to the notion of genius loci: the ancient belief that buildings and other places have presiding ‘spirits’, or at least an atmosphere that reflects what their stones have witnessed over the years. A couple of years ago I was privileged to be part of a choir singing in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. I’m not usually prone to hallucinations, but I could practically see the terrifying figure of Johann Sebastian Bach standing in front of us, shaking his bewigged head in horror at our intonation lapses. ‘What will survive of us is love,’ Philip Larkin wrote in one of his greatest poems. But in the case…

Imogen Cooper’s Chopin Chandos CHAN 10902 A very personal take on a selection of Chopin’s finest, offering an individual voice of tremendous poetry, integrity and depth. Schumann Davidsbündlertänze, Geistervariationen etc Chandos CHAN 10874 The complexity of Schumann’s emotional world shines out in Cooper’s masterful interpretations of some of his most challenging creations. Schumann and Brahms Chandos CHAN 10755 Placing Schumann’s whirlwind imagination in Kreisleriana and Fantasiestücke alongside Brahms’s Variations (from the B flat major String Sextet), Cooper brings out the best in all of them. Schubert Song Cycles with Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone) Decca 478 4272 Cooper’s long musical partnership with Holzmair is shown at its refined and powerful finest in Schubert’s three song cycles: two great artists who seem to think as one. Mozart Piano Concertos Nos 24 & 25…

The very best international music competitions are dedicated to young artists. The very best international music competitions discover, reward and mentor young laureates. The very best international music competitions are members of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. For 60 years, the World Federation of International Music Competitions has recognised and supported its members across the globe. The Federation is a global network, a governing body and a valuable reference. Federation competitions play a vital role for young artists by providing an opportunity to be heard in the best of circumstances. They are a forum for young musicians to compare themselves, to introduce their artistic voice and to take their first steps from conservatory to concert hall. The World Federation of International Music Competitions is proud to partner with…

‘We can paddle fast beneath the water, but on the surface, we’re cool’ Healthy box-office returns and soaring online viewing figures confirm that audiences love the cut and thrust of music competitions. What happens onstage and in the jury room makes them compelling. But most people, competitors and judges included, know little of the enormous backstage efforts required to avoid countless competition pitfalls and potential calamities. International competitions rely on the goodwill of volunteers, ready to host contestants or provide transport. Their staff, meanwhile, must field complaints from anxious young musicians and respond to them skilfully, without pandering to prima donnas or pushing fearful contestants into despair. The behind-the-scenes checklist covers every subject from transport to psychology, digital media to piano technology. Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Van…

LUCA BURATTO Pianist Winner, Honens Competition, Calgary (2015); Third Prize, International Robert Schumann Competition, Zwickau (2012) ‘The most important thing is to find the right competition to fit you, as they are all different in terms of repertoire, format and so on – so, for instance, if you are not a Chopin specialist, it’s really not worth entering the International Chopin Piano Competition. Then, the challenge is to work out the repertoire that really shows who you are as a performer – the most important thing when competing is to be sincere and then to communicate that. ‘You must also make sure you are strong in that repertoire too. What I found useful before Honens was that I took part in a summer music festival and got a chance…

On the technical front, Lipatti was a perfectionist ‘Those whom the gods love,’ wrote the Ancient Greek playwright Menander, ‘die young.’ Whether or not his gods passed that habit on to those operating in the Christian era, who knows? But many musicians at least do seem to reserve a special place in their hearts for composers who left us before their time – Purcell, Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Mozart of course, all dead in their thirties. Performers may find it harder to make a lasting mark so young, but I can name two exceptions: Yehudi Menuhin, for whom an early death might have left his legacy more secure; and Dinu Lipatti, who was born on 19 March 1917 and died on 2 December 1950. Heavenly powers smiled on Lipatti’s boyhood. His…

Amy Beach was recognised in her lifetime as the leading American woman composer of her day. This could have been faint praise at a time when women were widely considered intellectually incapable of creating anything more ambitious than piano salon pieces and songs. But although she wrote her fair share of those, Beach won success and respect with large-scale works such as a Mass, a symphony and a piano concerto. All the same, her career raises the question of whether society’s expectations and prejudices might have held her back from becoming not just a very good composer, but one of the greats. Amy Marcy Cheney was born in rural New Hampshire in September 1867, with apparently innate musical gifts. From a very early age, she took a keen interest in…

Gaelic Symphony, Piano Concerto Alan Feinberg (piano); Nashville SO/Kenneth Schermerhorn Naxos 8.559139 Beach’s two major orchestral works, in good performances, on one disc. Piano Quintet etc The Ambache Chandos CHAN 9752 Committed performances of three representative chamber works. Songs Katherine Kelton (mezzo-soprano), Catherine Bringerud (piano) Naxos 8.559191 A varied selection from Beach’s prolific output of songs. Variations on Balkan Themes etc Kirsten Johnson (piano) Guild GMCD 7329 Beach’s major keyboard work, on the second of four discs of her complete piano music.…

Rafael Kubelík (conductor) Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1971) Eloquence ELQ4800643 Rafael Kubelík’s recording of Taras Bulba was made a decade after Ancerl’s, and reflects improvements in recording technology, with a warmer, more naturally balanced sound. Interpretively, Kubelík pushes Ancerl close. No other conductor catches quite as he does the sense of doom surrounding Andrij’s love for the Polish girl in the opening movement; the reprise of their music has a tragic poignancy. The fierce, frenetic savagery he summons for Bulba’s death by fire in the finale is also unequalled, and the visionary epilogue is incandescent. If Ancerl’s coupling (the Glagolitic Mass) is unsuitable, then Kubelík’s disc – which includes the Sinfonietta and Concertino – comes strongly into the picture. It’s a darker, more ferocious view of Taras Bulba than…

Kate Bolton-Porciatti lecturer, The British Institute; L’Istituto Lorenzo de’Medici Kate is a lecturer in Baroque and Classical music, and Cultural History. Prior to that, she was a senior producer at BBC Radio 3 and artistic director of the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque music. She has published as an academic, journalist and critic. John Allison editor, Opera; critic, Sunday Telegraph Nicholas Anderson Baroque specialist Terry Blain writer, critic Garry Booth jazz writer & critic Geoff Brown critic, The Times Anthony Burton writer, editor Michael Church writer, critic, The Independent Christopher Cook broadcaster, critic Elinor Cooper journalist Martin Cotton radio & recording producer Christopher Dingle professor of music, Birmingham Conservatoire Misha Donat producer, writer Jessica Duchen critic, novelist…

Toscanini’s reading of Verdi’s Otello is white-hot Toscanini was for many the first modern maestro, with his piercing glare, superstar status and formidable reputation for uncompromising standards and fiery rehearsals. Right from the earliest Victor recordings in 1920 with his La Scala players on tour in America, you can hear a surprisingly contemporary orchestral sound, so it’s a pity none of those first documents appear in this anniversary compilation (RCA 88985376042). The earliest things here are from Toscanini’s 1929 sessions with the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall, when he was already 62 years old, and with a more natural balance than some of his later studio sessions. Even through the hiss and clicks, Haydn’s Clock Symphony is full of life, Mozart’s Haffner full-blooded and exuberant.…

Bent Sørensen (b1958) The Danish composer first studied composition under Ib Norholm at Copenhagen’s Royal Academy of Music, then under Per Nørgård at Aarhus. Sørensen was first noted for a series of string quartets, starting with Alman (1983-84), so-named as he had a copy of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book on his desk as he began composing it, calling it after that ancient dance. For a while his music reflected his preoccupation with medieval and Renaissance music. Increasingly he has written works for larger ensembles in which he explores microtonality.…

Martin∞’s cantatas provide valuable messages for our time MARTIN≠ The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Tops; The Opening of the Springs; Romance of the Dandelions; Mikeš of the Mountains Pavla Vykopalová (soprano), Ludmila Kromková (contralto), Martin Slavík (tenor), Jiπí Brückler, Petr Svoboda (baritone); Daniel Havel (recorder), Jan Paπík (clarinet), Jan Voboπil (horn), Josef Hπebík (accordion), Ivo Kahánek (piano); Prague Philharmonic Choir/ Lukás Vasilek Supraphon SU 4198-2 68:13 mins Three consecutive years have brought with them CD revelations about the greatest 20th-century composer who is yet to be widely celebrated as such. In 2015, Maxim Rysanov shone a light upon Martin∞’s works featuring solo viola and now, following Supraphon’s essential 2016 recordings of the last (mini) opera Ariane and the complete piano trios, comes a cumulatively stunning presentation of four…

Adolf von Henselt (1814-89)  Born in Bavaria, Henselt studied piano under a pupil of Weber’s before making his debut in Munich, aged 15. Ludwig I was sufficiently impressed to send Henselt to Vienna to take lessons with Hummel. However Henselt was more impressed with Thalberg whom he met in Vienna, and whose influence is most evident in Henselt’s Etudes, Opp 2 & 5. Schumann rated Henselt as the pianist who ‘has given me the greatest pleasure’. In 1838, Henselt went to St Petersburg where he became court pianist and teacher of the Royal family.…

TRISH CLOWES My Iris Trish Clowes (sax), Chris Montague (guitar), Ross Stanley (piano and hammond), James Maddren (drums) Basho SRCD 53-2 52 mins Trish Clowes is a former Radio 3 New Generation Artist, but this is a distinction she has no need to trade on as this latest CD demonstrates that all earlier promise continues to be roundly realised. Her previous album, Pocket Compass (reviewed Christmas 2014) explored the potential in mixing jazz line-ups with classical ensembles and integrating composition and improvisation. With this latest album she continues to explore quirky harmonies and textures with a group that looks fairly conventional in jazz terms, but is used in distinctive ways. Like most contemporary saxophonists, she tends to use the soprano rather too much for my taste, but that’s my problem.…

30-SECOND CLASSICAL MUSIC Ed. Joanne Cormac Ivy Press ISBN 9781782404255; (hb) 160pp ‘The 50 most significant genres, composers and innovations, each explained in half a minute.’ It’s a bold claim made by 30-Second Classical Music , so I decided to put it to the test. All being equal, if I started at 11.35am, I should have done my whistlestop chronological tour of Western art music, from Pythagoras to Hans Zimmer, by midday. And I wasn’t so far off: after 25 minutes of reading, skipping the extra artist profiles and glossaries, I had reached the section on the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A quarter of an hour more did the trick, averaging out at 48 seconds per explanation – far less catchy than the actual title. Still, the underlying…

NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES Sony MDR-1000X £330 For me, noise-cancelling headphones are up there with the dishwasher in terms of life-enhancing innovation. For the last ten years, I’ve almost exclusively travelled with Bose, but on a recent long-haul flight my allegiance switched to Sony. The MDR-1000Xs are nothing short of brilliant, and better than anything I’ve ever experienced for minimising engine noise, chatter and toddler grumbles. Many ANC (active noise-cancelling) headphones create a surreal vacuum effect but it’s not noticeable here. Instead you’re left with quiet, impenetrable calm. The headphones are light and plush, fold neatly into a reinforced case and have a 20-hour battery life, reliable Bluetooth connection and a 3.5mm cable for plugging into in-flight entertainment systems. They also boast something called a Personal NC Optimiser function, which essentially tunes…

MUSIC CHOICE Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Hermann Prey, Edith Mathis, Gundula Janowitz, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; Deutsche Oper Berlin/Karl Böhm DG 449 7282 The Police Message in a Bottle A&M 7474 Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel Rebecca Evans, Jennifer Larmore, Jane Henschel et al; Philharmonia/Mackerras Chandos CHAN31432 Mozart Idomeneo Ian Bostridge, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Lisa Milne et al; Scottish Chamber Orchestra/ Sir Charles Mackerras Warner Classics 9482382 Schubert Fantasia in F minor Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia (piano) Sony 88697858112…

Composers’ surroundings are valuable in our search for an interpretation In his opinion column this month, Richard Morrison describes how composers’ houses (with reference to the recent Ravel house debacle) can give some treasured insight into the great masterpieces. As someone who has visited a few composer homes over the years, I would add that it’s the smaller details in those houses that contribute, too, to our view of a composer’s life and mindset. Sibelius’s home, Ainola, just outside Helsinki, is preserved, as far as possible, in the state it was when the Finn was writing some of his finest work. His desk chair has been charmingly placed at a slight angle, as if the composer has pushed it back and stepped out to make himself a cup of tea.…

Times of the sign There have been two major record label signings this month: tenor Roberto Alagna has signed to Sony, while violinist Ray Chen heads to Decca. The French singer, thought to be the country’s best-selling classical artist with five million albums sold there to date, will release the first recording in a multi-album deal in 2018. The repertoire hasn’t yet been announced. Meanwhile, Chen, who recorded three acclaimed albums with Sony, hopes that his new label will foster his love of the internet alongside his recordings. The Australian violinist has reached two million people on SoundCloud, and says he’s ‘super stoked’ that he will get to explore multimedia projects with Decca. Brontë chorus The first recording of John Joubert’s Jane Eyre is being released this March by Somm…

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has returned to Mozart with the Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy, to record Piano Concertos Nos 14 and 15 for Chandos. It’s the second volume in their Mozart series together. Soprano Joyce El-Khoury and tenor Michael Spyres have also been in Manchester to record two discs inspired by leading singers of the bel canto era, Gilbert Duprez and Julie Dorus-Gras. El-Khoury and Spyres appear with the Hallé and conductor Carlo Rizzi, and their recitals will be out on the Opera Rara label. Schubert’s song-cycle Die Winterreise is most often heard in German, but Jeremy Sams has recently translated it into English. Roderick Williams and Christopher Glynn gave the first performance of this version at the Wigmore Hall last November, and have now recorded it for Signum. It’s the…

I’ve had some very disturbing neighbours, though in all fairness, I’ve probably been one too Strolling down a narrow country lane, I noticed where a prudent householder had fixed a convex mirror on a tree in the hedge opposite his drive, I suppose so that he could reverse his car out into the road with confidence. In the middle of the mirror was taped a notice: ‘Will the owner of this mirror kindly contact the owner of this tree.’ It gave a phone number. I hope the neighbourly difference will be settled amicably. Musicians are all too attuned to this sort of thing. In Paris, my piano teacher Yvonne Lefébure would suddenly rush to her studio wall in the middle of my lesson, and bang on it with her shoe,…

Lindsay Pereira Mumbai, India I was fortunate to catch the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra with conductor James Gaffigan and Khatia Buniatishvili on piano at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. They played two nights, and the performance I attended featured Weber’s Overture to Oberon, Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Dvoπák’s Symphony No. 9. It was special because it is rare for a world-class orchestra to play in Mumbai which has little to offer lovers of western classical music. Polly Mortimer London My recent listening has included harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani’s new Goldberg Variations and Voces8’s rather soupy Winter CD (I love them but have issues with the repertoire). There is also the Lost Songs of St Kilda – I’m addicted to this and wish James MacMillan would expand his…

KOREAN COOKERY I find many similarities between cooking and music making. I enjoy cooking during my free time and feel especially happy to make food for people I love. Good ingredients are the essential basics for a good chef, just like we pianists need a well-tuned and sensitive piano through which we can express ourselves. The dish I’m making in the photo is called ‘Bibimbap’, probably the most famous Korean dish. For an authentic Bibimbap, you have to prepare the ingredients separately, focusing on each ingredient’s own taste. It’s quite similar to practising a Bach fugue – you have to practise each voice patiently and accurately, so that they don’t lose their own individuality, but at the end, they can harmonise to celebrate the unique character of the fugue. Likewise,…

Fortunately, the pop career of Iestyn Davies ended before it had really begun. In the mid-1990s, he and a few friends at Wells Cathedral School answered a magazine advertisement that asked three questions: are you between 16 and 21; are you in a band; and do you want to be famous? They said ‘yes’ to all three, and attached to their reply a photograph from Country Life magazine showing them playing as a group inside the cathedral. They called themselves Cage – this was the era of one-word band names that meant nothing much (Blur, Pulp and all) – but they’d never played a proper gig, although Iestyn, then 16, had written some songs and they enjoyed playing together. Someone at Epic Records liked the photo and they turned up…

‘You’d open up a two-kilo can of worms every time you spoke’ Music competitions often fall into competition, one with another. Those mindful of their international status will seek to book a jury of outstanding performers and senior music industry figures, from managers and promoters to critics and record company executives. Compiling a top-flight judging panel is no easy task, however, given the weeks of commitment demanded by many competitions and the allure of lucrative summer festival dates. The World Federation of International Music Competitions’ database of past jurors reveals how wide its members cast their nets to catch the best jury candidates. Barry Douglas, winner of the 1986 International Tchaikovsky Competition, was invited back to Moscow to judge the Tchaikovsky’s quadrennial piano finals in 2011 and 2015. The event…

Chopin Waltzes Dinu Lipatti (piano) Alto ALC 1056 Lipatti sent his Waltzes recording to Nadia Boulanger who, in all 14, could only question the accentuation of one note. Schumann Piano Concerto etc Dinu Lipatti (piano); L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Ernest Ansermet Decca 480 0078 Although the Concerto is only one work on this Schumann disc, it’s worth hearing just for the piano’s melting response to the orchestra’s opening phrase. Liszt Petrarch Sonnet 104 Ravel Alborada del gracioso Schubert Two Impromptus, D899 Dinu Lipatti (piano); Philharmonia Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra/ Herbert von Karajan Praga DSD350088 In the Schubert, what Charles Owen calls Lipatti’s ‘translucent and polished tone’ is allied to phrasing that sings with life. The Ravel Alborada is quite simply to die for. Immortal Dinu Lipatti Works by JS Bach,…

Tippet Rise’s co-founder hails from New York, where he studied the piano and organ. As a pianist today, he is in the process of recording a six-volume series, for Albany Records, called Pianist Lost , in which he accompanies solo performances of a range of composers with his own essays on the music. More important, though, is his work as a philanthropist. With wife Cathy, he is a trustee of the Sidney E Frank Foundation which, as well as funding arts and education outreach programmes in Montana itself, has provided grants to musical projects, small and large, on both sides of the Atlantic.…

Romantic Beach wrote in the Romantic tradition of composers she had encountered as a performer and listener: Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Wagner. She was a staunchly conservative opponent of 20th-century musical modernism and the influence of jazz. But she did admit stylistic traces of Debussy and the young Richard Strauss (above) into some of her later works. Piano A concert pianist with a virtuoso technique, Beach wrote for her instrument in numerous solo pieces, several chamber works and a concerto. The Concerto is an outstanding example of her command of piano texture, sonority and bravura figuration – not least in its dazzling cadenzas. Song Beach chose songs as the vehicle for some of her most personal statements, choosing texts with care and setting them with sympathy for their scansion,…

JanáΩek The Fiddler’s Child The Fiddler’s Child was composed two years before Taras Bulba, and the two works share noticeable similarities – not least the tender-yet-mournful melodies played by the oboe, and urgent, forceful interjections from the strings, seemingly hell-bent on interrupting the serene flow of the music to warn us that all is not well. And what a dark tale this ten-minute ‘Ballad’ for solo violin and orchestra does indeed tell us. The destitute fiddler of the title plays fondly to his ill child, conjuring up images of a happier life. But both fiddler and, then, his child die, while a sinister four-note motif, repeated throughout, depicts the evils of the world around them. Recommended recording: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/ Ilan Volkov Hyperion CDA67517 Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel…

DEAN The Lost Art of Letter Writing etc Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin); Sydney Symphony/Jonathan Nott BIS BIS-2016 86:22 mins ‘The first movement of Dean’s Violin Concerto is inspired by Brahms’s desperate love-letter to Clara Schumann. It ends poignantly with the soloist (the excellent Zimmermann) winding anguished lines around quizzical comments by Brahms’s clarinets.’ February 2014 HINDEMITH Violin Concerto; Violin Sonatas Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Enrico Pace (piano); Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi BIS BIS-2024 68:18 mins ‘Few performers reach the level attained here. Virtuosity is not so much the music’s aim as expressivity, yet Zimmermann plays with brilliance throughout.’ October 2013 SZYMANOWSKI • BRITTEN Violin Concertos Zimmermann (violin); Warsaw PO/ Antoni Wit; *Swedish RSO/Honeck Sony 88697439992 76:22 mins ‘Competition in the Britten is stiff, but Zimmermann is responsive to the…

BERNSTEIN Symphonies: No. 1 (Jeremiah) & No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) Jennifer Johnson Cano (mezzo-soprano); Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano); Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop Naxos 8.559790 59:32 mins Marin Alsop, protégée and admirer of Leonard Bernstein, has been working her way backwards for Naxos through the series of works in which Bernstein portrayed the struggle for faith in the 20th century, and in his own mind. After the Mass and the Third Symphony, Kaddish, she’s now arrived, with her Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, at the first two symphonies. No. 1, from 1942, is named after the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, and ends with a setting for mezzo-soprano of verses from his Lamentations; No. 2, from 1949, co-opts a solo piano into its commentary on WH Auden’s long poem about a spiritual crisis,…

BEACH • CHAMINADE • HOWELL Beach: Piano Concerto, Op. 45; Chaminade: Concertstück; Howell: Piano Concerto in D minor Danny Driver (piano); BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Rebecca Miller Hyperion CDA 68130 69:32 mins Hyperion’s ‘Romantic Piano Concerto’ series usually structures programmes by nationality or period; but volume 70 is selected by gender, consisting of works by three female pianist-composers. Pick of the bunch is the Concerto by Amy Beach (see ‘Composer of the Month’, page 60), which she premiered with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1900. It’s a big, ambitious piece in four movements, with a perpetual-movement scherzo before the deeply felt slow movement. It handles its Dvorák-like idiom with confidence and individuality, and the virtuoso piano writing is tremendously effective. Danny Driver is a highly accomplished soloist, if occasionally lacking in Romantic…

BARTÓK • MOZART Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 12 & 27; Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 1 Rudolf Serkin (piano); Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy; Marlboro Festival/ Schneider; Columbia SO/Szell Praga Digital PRD 250 350 (1962) 79:50 mins This Bohemian–born pianist, guru to countless young pianists in America, delivers these Mozart concertos with relaxed grace and a total lack of vanity; his Bartók bristles with energy. PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING *** MOZART Piano Concertos Nos 8, 23 & 24 Wilhelm Kempff (piano); Bamberg Symphony Orchestra & Berlin Philharmonic/Ferdinand Leitner Alto ALC 1323 (1961-62) 77:15 mins Nobody today plays Mozart with such understated yet riveting expressiveness; No. 8, composed for the harpsichord, weaves a charming spell. PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING ** MOZART Piano Concertos Nos 8 & 24; Piano Sonata No. 11; Fantasia in D minor Wilhelm Kempff…

FRITZ WUNDERLICH Arias by Millöcker, Lortzing, Nicolai, Lehár, Strauss, Fall, Künneke, etc Bavarian Radio Chorus; Munich Radio Orchestra/various conductors BR Klassik 900314 (1959-66) 57:45 mins Wunderlich delivers these operetta and light opera arias, recorded not long before his tragic death, with the same ardour and elegance that made him his generation’s leading Mozart tenor. PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING *** THE VOICE OF CESARE SIEPI Arias by Mozart, Verdi, Gomes, Meyerbeer, Halévy, Ponchielli & Boito Vienna Philharmonic/E Kleiber, Krips etc Eloquence 482 0113 (1955) 71:39 mins The greatest Italian basso cantante of the 1950s and 1960s here displays richly muscular tone and dramatic power to eclipse most modern rivals. PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING *** SYLVIA SASS: Anniversary Edition Strauss: Four Last Songs; Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder; plus works by Mozart, Verdi, Catalani, Mascagni etc…

JS BACH Cantatas, BWV 35, 169 & 170 Fink; Freiburg Baroque Orch/Müllejans Harmonia Mundi HMG 502016 (2009) 76:20 mins Bernarda Fink’s full-bodied, expressive mezzo is rather at odds with the clean, light-textured instrumental sound, but these performances nonetheless convey the music’s pathos and yearning. PERFORMANCE **** RECORDING ***** CAMPRA Arion; La dispute de l’Amour et de l’Hymen; Les femmes; Enée et Didon Feldman, Visse, Gardeil; Les Arts Florissants/William Christie Harmonia Mundi HAF 8901238 (1986) 55:08 mins Campra combines the delicate and languorous French idiom with the livelier Italian style. With the youthful voices of Feldman and Visse, these performances still sound delightfully fresh. PERFORMANCE **** RECORDING **** MONTECLAIR La mort de Didon; Il dispetto in amore; Le triomphe de l’Amour; Morte di Lucretia; Pyrame et Thisbe Soloists; Les Arts Florissants/Christie…

JS BACH Partitas Nos 1-6 Jory Vinikour (harpsichord) Sono Luminus DSL-92209 153:34 mins (2 discs) The title page of Bach’s Partitas Nos 1-6, Op. 1 proposes a ‘keyboard practice… composed for music lovers to refresh their spirits’. But for players it’s hard won ‘refreshment’. As Bach’s first biographer Forkel observed in 1802, ‘anyone who learned to play some of the pieces well could make his way in the world’. Jory Vinikour, the latest to accept their challenges on disc, joins a rich stable of fellow harpsichordists including Christophe Rousset, Andreas Staier and Ton Koopman. His instrument couldn’t be more apposite: a copy of a single manual harpsichord built in Hannover some six years after the Partitas were published in 1731, but upscaled to two keyboards. He takes full advantage of…

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 12 in A flat; No. 17 in D minor (Tempest); No. 22 in F; No. 23 in F minor (Appasionata) Sviatoslav Richter (piano) Alto ALC 1326 (1960-61) 76:14 mins Electrifying performances from Sviatoslav Richter, especially in the rapt and mystical elements of the D minor Tempest Sonata, plus a hair-raising Appassionata. Sound quality varies quite a lot from sonata to sonata. PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING ** GRIEG Lyric Pieces – selection Mikhail Pletnev (piano) Alto ALC 1330 (1986/88) 69:36 mins Recorded in the 1980s and now remastered, these are fine-etched, deeply thought performances. Pletnev’s pianism is quietly spectacular and he finds untold depths within even Grieg’s slightest pieces. PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING **** RACHMANINOV 10 Preludes, Op. 23; 13 Preludes, Op. 32 Yara Bernette (piano) Eloquence 482 6031…

VOXTRA The Encounter of Vocal Heritage Muziekpublique 08 65:26 mins UZBEKISTAN: Spiritual & Sufi chant Ensemble Yasavi Ocora C 560268 76:20 mins DISCOVER MUSIC FROM THE PACIFIC Various artists Arc Music EUCD 2662 61:04 mins WARSZAWA WSCHODNIA Laweczka available from folk.pl 118:53 mins HAWNIYAZ Kayhan Kalhor, Salman Gambarov, Cemil Qocgiri HMC 905277 56:58 mins THRACE: SUNDAY MORNING SESSIONS Jean-Guihen Queyras, Bijan & Keyvan Chemirani HMC 902242 63:08 mins It isn’t just the confusing liner notes, it’s the whole caboodle of VOXTRA’s The Encounter of Vocal Heritage which leaves one disoriented. Because although this group eschews ‘fusion’, claiming that the very different musics it represents remain clear and distinct, one really doesn’t know where one is as they deliver their songs. But since those…

1 ROYAL NORTHERN SINFONIA Sage Gateshead, 1 March Tel: +44 (0)191 443 4661 Web: www.sagegateshead.com It’s a case of ‘oh, to be in England’ when Bradley Creswick directs an all-English line-up that is ring-fenced by Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro and Vaughan Williams’s Tallis Fantasia. While Creswick takes wing with Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, Tippett is represented in Sellinger’s Round and Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto features Timothy Orpen as soloist. 2 GALA PIANO ALL-NIGHTER Town Hall, Birmingham, 3 & 4 March Tel: +44 (0)121 780 3333 Web: www.thsh.co.uk As if performing Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit (see p100) wasn‘t enough, ‘olympianist’ Anthony Hewitt is pedalling overnight from London to Birmingham, before squaring up to the challenge at 6.30am as part of an eye-catching night-long gala. Opening at…

Each week Michael Berkeley talks to a guest about their favourite music, one of whose choices are below CHRIS HADFIELD Astronaut HOLST ‘Jupiter, the bringer of jollity’ from The Planets Hallé Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder ‘One of the most famous celebrations of all of the planets across our solar system, of course, was by Holst. I think he did a wonderful job of capturing the immensity of Jupiter. There’s a great variety of melodies. When I look at the planet it’s staggering to see all of the imagery of that pouring in from the Hubble telescope, not just of Jupiter, but from all its moons.’ ROSSINI William Tell Overture Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di St Cecilia/Pappano ‘I am amazed by Rossini’s William Tell, not just by its popularity…