Hi,
I’m Colin Anderson, a writer on music and editor emeritus of Classical Source (www.classicalsource.com).
Welcome to my Column, a bit of a blog: news, reviews, things to watch, and other posts to read; a mix of things.
I hope you like the contents.
Cheers, Col
Bizarre covers No.2*. Karl Böhm’s beautifully judged DG/Vienna Philharmonic recordings of three wonderful Haydn Symphonies – numbers 89, 91 & 92 (‘Oxford’) – with No.88 as a bonus.
Pinned post The bizarre is this way, see below... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckjjguvELmI&list=OLAK5uy_mTt_7V9EWuRKDvPvZc1yWqvhxdBlfaLnM ... this one, which maybe suggests Böhm pushing a boat of Haydn delights out, the photo intended to grace Symphonies 88, 91...
Berliner Philharmoniker – Live and free of charge on 23/24 October: Kirill Petrenko and Víkingur Ólafsson in Buenos Aires. UK time: midnight on Sat Oct 24.
Pinned post Sat, 24 October 2026, 01:00 (Berlin) Kirill Petrenko and Víkingur Ólafsson in Buenos Aires Johannes Brahms Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1Richard Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra Watch trailer Add to calendar The Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires is...
No Escape – Halloween Escape Rooms.
Post pinned until Halloween on October 31 No Escape will be running their Halloween programme across nine London escape rooms from 23 October–1 November. From haunted toys and murderous dentists to demonic forces and a Cold War nuclear threat, No Escape’s nine...
Elgar/Boult – Sir Adrian rouses ‘The Wild Bears’ to end the Second Suite of The Wand of Youth, and electrifies the Fugue of Elgar’s orchestration of J. S. Bach’s C-minor for-organ Fantasia and Fugue (BWV537). Recorded with the London Philharmonic for EMI during ACB’s ‘Indian summer’ in the studio.
Post pinned for perpetual Elgarian Enlightenment courtesy of Boult's baton Link removed for Bach orchestration. Link removed for Suite 2... 'Wild Bears' from 14:19. Link removed for Suite 1. IS THERE A CONDUCTOR GREATER THAN ADRIAN BOULT IN THE WONDERFUL WAND OF YOUTH...
Mark Elder’s Mahler Three. Can you help?
Pinned post ***WANTED*** A friend, Richard, is keen to obtain a recording of Mahler's Third Symphony, as conducted at the BBC Proms by Sir Mark Elder on August 6, 1995, in the Royal Albert Hall. Might anyone reading this who holds a tape of what would have been a live...
“The Royal Ballet Gala Performances”. Ernest Ansermet conducts Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Recorded 1957 in Kingsway Hall, London (Michael Williamson, producer; Kenneth Wilkinson, engineer); released 1959 on RCA Victor Living Stereo. The current 180g-vinyl remastering is by Bernie Grundman for Analogue Productions on five 45rpm LPs. ***Superb in every, any & all particulars***.
Pinned post in pleasurable perpetuity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIcBFhHuew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQbpTdCuETo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONBF6bVc2BA&t=144s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqew4t9EUs...
Herbert Blomstedt’s conducting schedule for the next few months and – as at June 21 – beyond.
Pinned post Leipzig 17/18/20 Sept Bruckner 8 London 4 Oct Bruckner 5...
New(s): Column Honorees Enrolled.
Pinned Post For posts pertinent to an individual, please click on the appropriate tag above. I had a thought recently - potentially dangerous - actually it was a few months ago*: there are now quite a few entries posted on the Column, gathering to close-on 10,000...
Soundtracks of Our Lives (twenty-six episodes) – note to self and all: Friday evenings at 11 p.m. (UK time) on Classic 107.3; this Friday, June 12, programme twenty-five.**
**(Programme 25 not broadcast. This and the final episode are looked-forward-to in due course.) Post pinned for the duration Started on Dec.26 A few words on Episode Two (Jan.2)......
A new Column category – “Music That Time Forgot” – Pieces once regularly played that today have fallen out of the repertoire: ‘Polka & Fugue’ from the opera Schwanda the Bagpiper (1926) by Prague-born Jaromir Weinberger (1896-1967). Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner (RCA; 1956).
Pinned post https://www.colinscolumn.com/category/music-that-time-forgot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsStqAiYhDI...
Can it be true that BBC Radio 3 no longer broadcasts mono recordings and with it denies listeners the artistry of great musicians from the first half of the twentieth-century?
Pinned post "Coincidentally, there are headlines just now which state that more people are switching to YouTube, from which these recordings come, having found the BBC “very samey and boring.” "One thing is for sure, since we are looking at “In the South,” and that is...
An die Musik, abschied. (An invitation to readers.)
Pinned post This being a Sunday, the Sabbath, it seems an appropriate time to publish this, which I hope will not seem morbid or cause any distress. Apologies if so. Anyway, on and off, I have been contemplating, providing I knew that my time had come, what piece of...
Exquisite solace from Bach/Busoni, the Chorale Prelude ‘Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ’, BWV639, played wonderfully by Alexis Weissenberg. … Also orchestrated by Vittorio Gui, recorded for Chandos by BBC Symphony Orchestra & Leonard Slatkin.
Pinned post. ASD 2971; recorded 1974 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CImntAmfOj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjcJO3YJS8 https://www.discogs.com/release/6806222-Bach-BBC-Symphony-Orchestra-Leonard-Slatkin-The-Conductors-Transcriptions Vittorio Gui records...
Offering eloquent, deep-passion, gorgeous-sounding solace, the Adagio of Brahms’s Second Symphony, as conducted by Celibidache on April 11, 1975, with Stuttgart Radio SO, from his wonderful SWR cycle on DG. In contrast is Celi’s scintillating conducting on home turf of Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No.1.
Pinned post https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=IGoQpq_RXhs&embeds_referring_euri=http%3A%2F%2Fguitarandmylife.blog86.fc2.com%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt...
Ambassador David L. Cohen and Rhonda R. Cohen Make Gift to The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts.
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2026Ambassador David L. Cohen and Rhonda R. Cohen Make Gift to The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, Advancing the Orchestra’s Role as a National Leader in Cultural Diplomacy and...
Classic FM commissions original music to calm pets as annual Pet Classics radio show returns for fireworks season.
Classic FM commissions original music to calm pets as annual Pet Classics radio show returns for fireworks season The new classical work, written by Classic FM Calm Ambassador Noah Inada-Kim, has been specially composed to soothe pets throughout bonfire weekend Dan...
Gothenburg Symphony – Herbert Blomstedt cancels December 10 & 11. Manfred Honeck now conducts.
https://www.gso.se/en/programme/concerts/vikingur-olafsson-herbert-blomstedt
Czech Philharmonic – Herbert Blomstedt cancels December 2-4. Xian Zhang now conducts.
Dates: December 2, 3, and 4, 2026 (at 19:30 each evening, plus a dress rehearsal on December 2 at 10:00 AM) Venue: Dvořák Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague Conductor: Herbert Blomstedt (marking a milestone around the 70th anniversary of his conducting career) Programme: Franz...
The National Youth Orchestra Announces 2027 Orchestra.
Demand for places in The National Youth Orchestra increases, with 43% of musicians coming from its free access programme A record number will play their part in NYO Inspire 2027, as demand for seats in the Orchestra grows An all time-high of 1,000 teenagers are set to...
Decca Classics announces CHOPIN, the debut studio album from Chinese pianist Tianyao Lyu, on her 18th birthday.
TIANYAO LYU ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM CHOPIN ON DECCA CLASSICS Announced on her 18th birthday, one year after her breakthrough at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw Released 12 February 2027. Tianyao makes her UK debut with the Hallé in...
FKA twigs, Chris Ofili and Lang Lang lead Southbank Centre’s 2027 season.
Press Release Tuesday 20 October, 1900 BST FKA twigs leads Southbank Centre’s 2027 season that celebrates the power of live experiences (L-R): FKA twigs © Jordan Hemingway, Chris Ofili © Carlos Arias, Lang Lang © Sonja Mueller During 2026, millions of people have...
The Art of the Score: New York Philharmonic’s 2026–27 Live-to-Film Presentations.
THE ART OF THE SCORENew York Philharmonic’s 2026–27 Live-to-Film Series The New York Philharmonic announces details of its 2026–27 season of The Art of the Score, in which the Orchestra performs film scores live alongside screenings of the movies. This season’s four...
BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra broadcast channels to close. Job cuts.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqx2v800nnr2o https://news.sky.com/story/bbc-announces-details-of-cuts-in-bid-to-save-500m-13601364 https://www.colinscolumn.com/can-it-be-true-bbc-radio-4-extra-to-be-scrapped-if-so-it-is-insane-and-criminal/
Exciting competition for young composers.
Dear Sir or MadamMusic lovers who support opportunities for young people will be interested to hear about this exciting competition for budding young composers. Please consider publicising the article, amended as you think best, so this wonderful opportunity can reach...