Updates from the world's leading classical music label
Florence Foster Jenkins, the Hollywood biopic of the eponymous American amateur soprano, opened in UK cinemas this week; American movie-goers have to wait until August before being able to appreciate Meryl Streep’s commanding performance in the title role. Acting performance, that is. You may be new to the legend of FFJ (1868–1944), so we’ll start Read More …
The 1935 classic Mexican film Redes continues our series of early editions, for which the music scores have been restored and recorded in performances by the PostClassical Ensemble. This week’s podcast introduces the world première recording of the complete score by Silvestre Revueltas, which accompanies a restored print of the film, released this month on Read More …
After its extensive navigation of New Zealand, it was Botany Bay in Australia that saw the arrival of James Cook’s ship HMS Endeavour in 1770 on the date of publication for this week’s blog, 29 April. Botany Bay’s postcode is now attached to Sydney, the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous Read More …
Pinpointing the dates of Shakespeare’s birth and death has always involved a margin of error, but arts communities all over the world will be using tomorrow, April 23, as a focal point of reverence for the English playwright and poet, whose passing is generally reckoned to have occurred on this date in 1616. As part Read More …
Although it makes an immediate connection on a musical level, Rimsky-Korsakov’s First Symphony had a provenance to which few of us can easily relate today. Russia’s 19th-century societal hierarchy classed the young composer just ahead of peasantry, but Rimsky-Korsakov successfully managed to juggle his early leanings for both music and the Russian Navy, with a Read More …
Surfing the press and the Naxos archives recently threw up several dates corresponding to the week ahead. Never one to turn down an offer from serendipity, I thought we could bring them to life with a few audio extracts. The US Presidential race has been engaging the world’s attention with the unexpected demeanour of some Read More …
Raymond Bisha puts Victor Herbert’s underperformed cello concertos under the spotlight in this week’s podcast. The two works form just a small part of the substantial legacy the Irish-American composer left behind, following his death in 1924. Herbert was feted in his time for his 40-plus operettas that enlivened Broadway and, as a founding member Read More …
It may have passed you by, but Monday of this week marked the UN’s International Day of Forests, observed each year on 21st March. Covering nearly a third of our planet’s landmass (for the time being) and home to incredibly diverse ecosystems, I reckon it’s a resource well worth acknowledging in this way. Forests and Read More …
Quirky, catchy and disturbing, Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale is also one of his most immediately engaging works. Conceived as a rich procession of narration, acting, dancing and instrumental interludes, the work leaves the listener ruminating on its message long after the final shot from the percussion. Raymond Bisha introduces the work, from its individual parts Read More …
A few weeks back we considered the contribution made by people who commission new works from composers. This week’s blog takes a quick look at the equally valuable role played by institutions that become guardians of the manuscripts of such works. Maybe you read a recent report in The Guardian about the performance of a Read More …