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Here, the UK's bestselling classical music magazine presents reviews of the best performances on CD, categorised under chamber music, choral and song, instrumental, opera and orchestral.
The first new survey of the field in more than 60 years, this study concentrates on the basics of music criticism. Because it focuses on core issues and proven principles, the book is likely to become the standard work on the subject. It is written for the audience that reads music criticism in newspapers and popular journals: professional and amateur musicians, scholars, teachers, researchers, librarians, students, music lovers, journalists, and critics. The topics are covered in depth and observations are thoroughly documented, yet the material is enjoyable to read because the writing is easy to understand and special terminology is held to an absolute minimum. The commentary addresses the function of music criticism, the qualifications and training of a critic, the relationship between music criticism and other aspects of journalism, and the principles behind value judgments. Three chapters are devoted to the concert and opera review, one to reviewing recordings, another to radio and television criticism, and one to reviewing ethnic music. Thirty-eight reviews are quoted and analyzed, and 13 are presented in their entirety, along with critical commentary. Index. Appendix. Bibliography
Intended for the first-time buyer and the connoisseur alike, this is a guide to classical-music recordings on CD. The book is divided into chamber music, choral music and song, instrumental music, opera, and orchestral music, and has reviews by specialist contributors to BBC Music Magazine.
For the beginner or the devotee—it's everything the classical music buff needs to know. The major composers from Bach and Bartok to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky Significant performers from Maurice Andre and Leornard Bernstein to Georg Solti and Yo Yo Ma The landmark works from Appalachian Spring to Don Juan A concise history of classical music A deconstruction of the art form The language of classical music Valuable resources for the Curious Listener
Time magazine music critic Michael Walsh has created for the rock ‘n roll generation a complete and totally irreverent guide to listening to, collecting, and enjoying classical music. If rock ‘n roll just isn’t enough for you anymore; if you loved the music from Amadeus, 2001 and Ordinary People and want to know how to find more; or if you can’t wait to take full advantage of your new CD player with the music it was made for, here is a complete and totally irreverent guide to listening to, collecting, and enjoying classical music. It gives you: -The basic beginner’s repertoire, from Bach partitas to Philip Glass operas -The inside story of the great composers as real people with real foibles -Suggested tunes for Sunday brunch, highway driving, morning jogs, and nighttime seductions -And even de-mystifies the dreaded “o” –word (opera)! Who’s Afraid of Classical Music? shows that when you know how to listen, this stuff can be as much fun as the Rolling Stones—and maybe more!
Cover story- Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan, a rapidly rising star, discusses the two role debuts she is making for Opera Australia this year, as prisoner Odabella in Verdi's revenge opera Attila and as Rachel in Halevy's grand French opera La Juive about a dangerous affair - both rarely seen in Australia. Interview- Pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja is one of the last of the great Russian school. The 'Russian lioness' chats to Limelight as she plays Beethoven's transcendent final trilogy of piano sonatas. Interview- British conductor and pianist Howard Shelley made his first Australian appearance at the Perth Festival in 1984. Since then he has visited annually and is hugely popular with Australian audiences, particularly at Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. We celebrate the maestro's 70th birthday. Preview- Bell Shakespeare begins its 30th anniversary year with a new production of Hamlet - the first play the company ever performed. Artistic Director Peter Evans sets the play in Denmark in the 1960s with Harriet Gordon-Anderson as the 'sweet prince'. World Premiere- Australian composer Gordon Williamson recalls his adventure aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australia, and tells us how he composed his new work Far South in Antarctica, as Melbourne Symphony Orchestra prepares to give the first performance. Reviews- Beethoven's only opera Fidelio at Melbourne Opera; Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Season Opening Gala in which Beethoven's Ninth is performed with members of Circa Contemporary Circus to convey ideals of joy and brotherly love in physical form; Black Cockatoo, Geoffrey Atherden's new play about legendary Indigenous cricketer Johnny Mullagh, which premieres at Sydney Festival. What's on- live performance and radio highlights for March 2020.
This book is the first comprehensive account of classical music on all British radio stations, BBC and commercial, between 1945 and 1995. It narrates the shifting development of those services, from before the launch of the Third Programme until after the start of Classic FM, examining the output from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives, as well as recounting some of the stories and anecdotes which enliven the tale. During these fifty years, British classical music radio featured spells of broad, multi-channel classical music radio, with aspirational and mainstream culture enjoying positive interactions, followed by periods of more restricted and exclusive output, in a paradigm of the place of high culture in UK society as a whole. The history was characterised by the recurring tensions between elite and popular provision, and the interplay of demands for highbrow and middlebrow output, and also sheds new light on the continuing relevance of class in Britain. It is an important and unique resource for those studying British history in the second half of the twentieth century, as well as being a compelling and diverting account for enthusiasts for classical music radio.
