Author Archives: John

I spent an hour and a half (!) yesterday with a Youtube video of Sergiu Celibidache and the Munich Philharmonic performing Bruckner 5 in 1985. (260) Anton Bruckner Symphony No 5 in B-flat Major – Sergiu Celibidache, MPO, 1985 – YouTube This is a VERY slow performance, a full 9 minutes longer than Abbado, alsoContinue reading “Celibidache’s Bruckner 5”

This was broadcast on Radio 3 at the end of January – I think it’s also on Youtube. The I-Player link is BBC Radio 3 – Radio 3 in Concert, To the memory of an angel. I was interested to hear this as, had the pandemic allowed, I was supposed to see this concert atContinue reading “Rattle Schubert 9 – LSO, January 2021”

Remarkably I have never seen or heard a note of Wagner’s Rienzi beyond the overture. While it’s not too much of a disgrace for a Wagnerian in the UK to say they’ve never seen a live performance, it is available to watch on Youtube, and on Friday I decided to take the plunge – 51Continue reading “Rienzi”

I have been catching up on parts of my MP3 collection that I bought a while ago and haven’t really listened to much. Amng them are some collections of music by Gerald Finzi. His large scale works – Clarinet Concerto and Cello Concerto – I know fairly well and I really like them – melancholy,Continue reading “Gerald Finzi”

One of the books I got for Christmas was ‘Wagnerism’ by Alex Ross – Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music: Amazon.co.uk: Ross, Alex: 9780007319053: Books I am now about 75% of the way through it – it is a fascinating, if exhausting, read. Essentially it is a history of European culture fromContinue reading “For your reading list 1”

I can’t resist putting in another youtube link to this blog – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2EeQVwp1WY. This is the Reggie Goodall / Remedios / Linda Esther Gray Tristan from the ENO / Coliseum c 1981. I went to it, but have never heard a recording – I haven’t listened to this yet. The Brangaene is Felicity Palmer…….! There’s also aContinue reading “Exciting blast from the past”

I gave my talk via Zoom to the Wagner Society Manchester on Wagner and Revolution. It wasn’t an  academic study, though it did make use of a number of different books by people who are academics which I alluded to at the end of the talk – rather it was a summary for the interestedContinue reading “Wagner Society talk Jan 11 2020”

I always used to think that Vaughan Williams had a limited range and some rather irritating and repeating musical tics, and that most of his music could be fitted into the ‘cowpat’ tradition, with a dash of Ravel or Tudor thrown in for good measure. But when you read Ardritt’s book, and think about theContinue reading “Vaughan Williams 2”

I’ve just been reading a biography of Vaughan Williams – by Keith Alldritt – Vaughan Williams: Composer, Radical, Patriot – a Biography. I really enjoyed reading it – occasionally it’s a bit irritating with the historical recaps, and references, but it tells well the remarkable story of this man’s artistic journey from approx 1905 toContinue reading “Vaughan Williams 1”

The things I wasn’t able to go to in 2020 include: Halle  RVW Symphony No 9 Bournemouth Symphony Elektra with Catherine Foster Mahler 3, Halle/Elder Madama Butterfly – Halle/Elder Christ on the Mount of Olives – Halle/Elder Busoni Piano concerto with Igor Levit Beethoven Missa Solemnis BBC Philharmonic Messiaen Piano Recital, Kings Place Elektra –Continue reading “What I’ve missed”