Hi,
I’m Colin Anderson, a writer on music and the editor of Classical Source.
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
Chandos releases Orchestral Music by Florent Schmitt – Peter Donohoe, BBC Philharmonic, Yan Pascal Tortelier.
Post pinned until October 16 release date Frenchman Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) left us some very likeable music, as Chandos has already proven, and its Schmitt show continues here, impressively. Symphonie concertante, first performed in 1932 by the Boston Symphony...
The Indianapolis, the 12th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis will take place from today, September 17, through October 4.
Post pinned for the Competition's duration https://violin.org/ Friday, September 25 - the semifinals begin today, four consecutive days, each with four violinists competing to determine who will continue into the latter stages of The Indianapolis. Can be followed...
Somm releases “George Szell in New York”, Vol. 1 – Symphonies by César Franck and Sibelius.
Post pinned until October 16 release date Neither of these performances are new to Szell's discography having previously appeared on the West Hill Radio Archives label, although both are new to me. Surprisingly, given he conducted Franck's D-minor Symphony several...
Diary date: Wednesday September 30th at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square: London Gala Premiere of The Yellow Tie. Biopic about Sergiu Celibidache. General UK release from October 9th.
Pinned post "The film explores the remarkable life, uncompromising vision, and tempestuous journey of legendary conductor Sergiu Celibidache [with] John Malkovich [above] and Ben Schnetzer as Celibidache across different epochs of his life, alongside Sean Bean,...
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...
(A link to) Leonard Slatkin’s Nashville Edition.
https://www.leonardslatkin.com/september-2026-nashville-edition/ https://www.colinscolumn.com/column-honoree-leonard-slatkins-first-two-weekends-as-music-director-of-the-nashville-symphony/
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Bavarian Radio Chorus – Opening of 2026-27 Season: Simon Rattle conducts J. S. Bach’s cantata ‘O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort’ & Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ Ninth Symphony. Live on BR-Klassik.
BR photo from rehearsals Friday, September 25, 2026 Herkulessaal, Munich This Bach/Beethoven pairing was given last night at this venue as a "Charity concert to benefit the Stiftung Lichtblick Kinder- und Jugendhilfe" and tomorrow travels to Passau. Following, and...
Kings Place announce 2027 season, including Origins Unwrapped.
KINGS PLACE ANNOUNCE 2027 SEASON, INCLUDING ORIGINS UNWRAPPED: THE STORIES BEHIND THE MUSIC Origins Unwrapped reveals the personal stories of heritage, identity, migration and cultural tradition behind the music artists create and champion today Artist-in-Residence...
Exciting News from the Metropolitan Opera.
The story of the Metropolitan Opera has always been written by artists, audiences, and supporters who believed that great art matters. Today, we are proud to launch Make the Met Forever—the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the history of the Metropolitan...
The Cleveland Orchestra’s concert canceled amid strike by musicians’ union.
The Cleveland Orchestra’s concert canceled amid strike by musicians’ unionCLEVELAND— The decision by Cleveland Orchestra musicians and their union to strike has resulted in the cancellation of the concert scheduled for September 26 at Severance Music Center.“We are...
Soprano Adriana González makes three major house debuts in 2026-27 and becomes first Guatemalan to debut in a lead role at Covent Garden.
Soprano Adriana González makes three major house debuts in 2026-27, including Royal Ballet and Opera, La Monnaie and Munich’s Prinzregenttheater González becomes the first Guatemalan to debut in a lead role at Covent Garden Soprano Adriana González makes three major...
Metropolitan Opera Announces Landmark $1.5 Billion “Make the Met Forever” Fundraising Campaign.
Metropolitan Opera Announces Landmark $1.5 Billion “Make the Met Forever” Fundraising Campaign to Secure Its Future Met reinforces its standing as one of New York City’s cornerstone cultural institutions with Opera for All, a new free-ticket initiative for underserved...
Malcolm Arnold Festival – 24 October, Northampton (UK).
21st MALCOLM ARNOLD FESTIVAL24 October - LIVE in Northampton1 November - LIVE-STREAM DAY Celebrated cellist Julian Lloyd Webber opens a day of live performances honouring Sir Malcolm Arnold at Cripps Hall and St Matthew’s Church on Saturday 24 October in the...
Apple Music Classical and Kahoot! partner to help students discover and explore classical music.
Apple Music Classical and Kahoot! partner to help students discover and explore classical music Apple Music Classical, the world’s leading classical music app, and Kahoot!, the global learning and engagement platform, have partnered to launch a new collection...