With her album Charmes, Ukranian soprano Olena Tokar shows her love of female song repertoire from the 19thand 20th century. Women composers have historically been thin on the ground, but the ones who received public attention, either in their time or more recently, were, and remain, utterly fascinating. On the album, we have the feisty Alma Mahler, who threatened…
Tag: Clara Schumann
Despax plays his dream concerto
Brahms always preferred to let his music do the talking rather than explain the origins of his work. That said, it is certainly interesting to look at what was happening in Brahms’s life when he started to write his first large scale composition – his Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor. By then he had…
Role players: Carolyn Sampson & Joseph Middleton, ‘Album für die Frau’
A great art song recital can be exactly that: top-notch performances of beautiful works. On this recording, we find Sampson in exquisite voice, Middleton’s playing as impeccable as ever, and the songs featured are a tribute to the duo’s ongoing flair for engaging, informative programming, live and on disc. However, this time round, the central…
London Bridge Trio Records Leipzig Circle Volume Two
I love piano trios. For me, piano, cello and violin is a holy trinity of instruments which magically creates that big sound I seek. I was therefore delighted to listen to the CD of The Leipzig Circle Vol 11, recorded by the London Bridge Trio on Somm Recordings. Formed in 2002, the London Bridge…
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