John W. Duarte: ‘For the joy of it’

John W. Duarte: ‘For the joy of it’

Feb 24, 2025 | Features

‘We made music just for the joy of it’, is a quote, describing the pre-WWII music-making by my father, the British composer, arranger, editor, writer and teacher, John W. Duarte. Jazz was his favoured style, but this was soon overtaken by an interest in the classical...
Wilfred Heaton: His Life, His Music

Wilfred Heaton: His Life, His Music

Feb 21, 2025 | Book reviews

Paul Hindmarsh PHM PublishingISBN 978-1-0369-0132-5 This is a remarkable story of a pioneering composer who wrote largely for brass bands, yet considered that they were, in general, not fully committed to serious music. Wilfred Heaton (1918–2000) fell between two...
New release features long forgotten Elgar recordings

New release features long forgotten Elgar recordings

Feb 18, 2025 | News

The continuing collaboration of SOMM Recordings and Lani Spahr has produced another release of long forgotten and neglected recordings which highlight Sir Adrian Boult’s life-long championing of the music of Edward Elgar.  On 17 February, 1918, in wartime London,...