A Fab Four

The week ahead moves between the Zodiac signs of Leo (ends August 22) and Virgo (starts August 23). No doubt there’s a gradual astrological change of character traits between people born under the respective signs, but this particular week of 19-25 August marks the anniversaries of the births of four people who all bear a Read More …

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: A prodigious grasp. The music of Alan Hovhaness.

There’s certainly something impressively expansive about the American composer Alan Hovhaness. The numbers alone command respect: having lived for almost 90 years, he notched up 434 compositions, including 67 symphonies. Conductor Gerard Schwarz weighs in with an equally admirable discography of more than 350 recordings, nine of them thankfully dedicated to Hovhaness’ music. In this Read More …