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
The Academy of Ancient Music launches Musicians’ Support fund
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) has launched a Musicians’ Support fund for its musicians who have lost work due to the coronavirus pandemic. In four weeks, the fund has raised almost £30,000, all of which will be distributed to AAM musicians during May 2020. Liz...
![Viking pianist plays Debussy & Rameau (and J. S. Bach) [Deutsche Grammophon]](https://www.colinscolumn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/vik2-400x250.jpg)
Viking pianist plays Debussy & Rameau (and J. S. Bach) [Deutsche Grammophon]
I mean Víkingur Ólafsson (from Iceland, not really viking territory) who has put together a seventy-nine-minute recital of twenty-eight selections juxtaposing Debussy (1862-1918) & Rameau (1683-1764). It works very well as a seamless listen, the Rameau a...
Tony Pappano to the rescue … and stars in Dvořák’s Opus 72
It was on the evening of Monday April 20 that BBC Radio 3 broadcast a concert recorded last summer at a German music festival. This winning appearance by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Sir Antonio Pappano opened with a beautifully shaped, intimate and loving,...
Feeling musically adventurous? Here’s a Lucky Seven selection from Toccata Classics – Alexander Brincken, Fridrich Bruk, Steve Elcock, Vincent Persichetti, Vissarion Shebalin, Ronald Stevenson, Agnes Zimmermann
What a catalogue of discoveries Martin Anderson (no relation) has built up for his Toccata Classics label. The vast majority of what follows are first recordings, presented with generously informative booklets. Alexander Brincken Orchestral Music, Volume One. Brincken...
Andrew Nethsingha and the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, announce eight-week series of daily virtual services, encouraging people to pause and reflect together during the global pandemic
The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge today [21 April] launch eight weeks of daily virtual services, hosted on its Facebook page, seeking to continue Chapel worship whilst the Chapel is closed due to COVID-19. The services feature recordings from recent live...
![Mark my words, Sir – Elder conducts Sibelius & Debussy [Hallé]](https://www.colinscolumn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/halle-3-400x250.jpg)
Mark my words, Sir – Elder conducts Sibelius & Debussy [Hallé]
Unless he has designs on Kullervo, with numbers 4 & 6 Sir Mark Elder completes his Sibelius Symphony Cycle for the Hallé’s own label; superb performances that make me regret I have not yet heard the previous issues in this series. The bleak and tragic Symphony 4,...
Neeme Järvi conducts Artur Kapp, Artur Lemba & Mihkel Lüdig [Chandos]
Neeme Järvi (head of the Järvi conducting clan) digs well below the core repertoire line for this collection from Estonian composers schooled in St Petersburg. On the evidence of these selections, Kapp (1878-1952), Lemba (1885-1963) & Lüdig (1880-1958) all wrote...
Many Happy Returns to Sir John Eliot Gardiner, 77 today.
![The Early Horn – Ursula Paludan Monberg [Hyperion]](https://www.colinscolumn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/horn-400x250.png)
The Early Horn – Ursula Paludan Monberg [Hyperion]
The Early Horn – the title bringing Carry On connotations to my mind – is explained thus in Hyperion’s annotation: “Exploring the natural horn’s pivotal role in eighteenth-century chamber music, this album celebrates the instrument’s dramatic arrival from its rustic...