Reviews - Rhinegold

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...