Reviews - Rhinegold

Isserlis, Adès: works by Janáček, Fauré, Adès, Liszt, Kurtag

Isserlis is here in commanding form in a fascinating, generous recital that takes in Liszt at his darkest and strangest,

Barry Millington | Richard Wagner: The Sorcerer of Bayreuth

Hitler, golf and cats are allegedly the top three subjects for sure-fire success on the book stalls, but Wagner must be a close fourth,

John Suchet | Beethoven: The Man Revealed

Everything in this fascinating book has been published previously, though in some cases as long as a century ago. Indeed,

Conversations with Tom Service | Thomas Adès: Full of Noises

Revealing the crucible of a composer’s talent is a huge challenge. It is made doubly difficult when the subject is one of the more...

Michael J Puri | Ravel the Decadent: Memory, Sublimation and Desire

In the introduction to his study of Ravel’s music in the context of French decadence, Michael Puri suggests that ‘serious attempts to get to...

Oxford Dictionary of Music, Sixth Edition | Ed. Michael & Joyce Kennedy and Tim Rutherford-Johnson

Sorry, but an Olympic analogy for the ever-developing Oxford Dictionary of Music steals into the mind. That great pioneer of musical appreciation Percy Scholes...

Stephen Hastings | The Björling Sound: A Recorded Legacy

Here is a labour of love indeed to rescue the Swedish tenor Jussi Björling from the longer, more brightly illuminated shadows cast by his...

Puccini: Suor Angelica; Preludio sinfonico

Concert performances of operas can fail to make an impact, lacking the dramatic intensity a successful stage performance brings. Here though,

Wolf: Italian Liederbook

Captured at the peak of their prime in a warm, clear BBC recording, Baker and Shirley-Quirk manage both to capture the essence of every...

Per Nørgård: Will-o'-the-Wisps in Town; Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking

One of the most consistently inventive and individual voices today, Nørgård responded to a Hans Cristian Anderson bicentennial commission with this delightful,

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Suk: A Summer's Tale; Prague

Two intensely lyrical, beautifully orchestrated symphonic poems brought vividly to life by Bělohlávek and the orchestra whose reins he relinquishes this year.

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Joseph Horowitz: Moral Fire

Today they are all but forgotten, yet Henry Higginson, Henry Krehbiel and Laura Langford were three American figures of astounding accomplishment.

Raymond Head: Gustav Holst and India

One thing Donald Rumsfeld didn’t refer to in his infamous circumlocutions was ‘unknown knowns’ (I had to check, though). Gustav Holst’s fascination with Indian...

Stephen Sondheim: Look, I Made a Hat

If nothing else, the second volume of Stephen Sondheim’s collected lyrics – collating material from the three decades to 2011 –

Tchaikovsky: Concerto no 1 & solo works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Liszt

Last year’s Tchaikovsky Competition prize winner brings a satisfying mix of panache and sensitivity to this much-recorded concerto, with exhilarating and searching accompaniment from...

Britten: On This Island; The Holy Sonnets of John Donne; Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo; Canticle I

Having committed a fine Winter Words to disc, Gilchrist and Tilbrook turn their attention to earlier Britten with equal success.

Schoenberg: Complete Songs

A truly enlightening survey of Schoenberg’s entire Lieder output. Better-known cycles (especially Konrad Jarnot’s classy take on The Book of the Hanging Gardens) come off...

Clifford Curzon Edition: complete recordings

Clifford Curzon (piano); conductors inc Szell, Solti, Kertesz, Britten

Decca 4784389 (23 CDs plus DVD)

An essential tribute to one of the finest artists of the...

Festival: Misiones de Chiquitos Festival, Bolivia

There is an extensive network of early music groups around South America. The continent’s ensembles specialise in work from the Spanish and Portuguese colonial...

Festival: London Handel Festival

In a momentous year of international sport and culture for its host city, the 35th London...