Podcast: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3

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 …

Podcast: Changing hats

The music of the Spanish-American composer Leonardo Balada defies categorisation, switching between styles with an easy confidence that continually surprises and delights. Rick Phillips takes us on a tour of this latest Naxos disc of Balada’s music, which visits soldiers and steelworkers alike in their vivid sound worlds. View album details of Leonardo Balada’s Symphony Read More …