Music news in brief

Music news in brief

May 28, 2025 | News

CONDUCTORS DIE ON SAME DAY IN MAYIt is with great regret that we record the passing of two British conductors this month: Matthew Best and Neville Dilkes. Matthew Best, bass singer and conductor –  founder of the Corydon Singers, was born on 6th February 1957,...
The Lancashire Caruso

The Lancashire Caruso

May 27, 2025 | Features

How many British opera singers have a Wetherspoons pub named after them? Not many – but here’s one I stumbled upon when cruising along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to the former silk, cotton and coal town of Leigh in Lancashire… The Thomas Burke is a rather...
GRACE WILLIAMS: The Parlour

GRACE WILLIAMS: The Parlour

May 27, 2025 | CD reviews

Welsh National Opera CompanyWelsh National Opera ChorusCity of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraBrian Balkwill conductor LYRITA REAM.1147 Grace Williams’ solitary stage work is based on a short story by Guy Maupassant, En famille, and it is presented here in an excellent...
THOMAS PITFIELD: Orchestral Music

THOMAS PITFIELD: Orchestral Music

May 27, 2025 | CD reviews

Emma McGrath violinLiepaja Symphony OrchestraPaul Mann conductor Toccata Classics TOCC 0765 Pitfield supporters during his lifetime boasted Sir John Barbirolli, David Ellis (Head of Music for Radio 3 North), Leo Black (BBC Radio 3 producer), as well as many...
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: English Composer

SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: English Composer

May 26, 2025 | Book reviews, Reviews

Simon Webb  The Langley Press  This book is probably best regarded as a short (98 pages) introduction to the life and music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. It is written mainly from the perspective of Coleridge-Taylor’s status as a black composer in Victorian...