RICHARD BLACKFORD: Songs of Nadia Anjuman
Britten SinfoniaElizabeth Watts soprano NIMBUS ALLIANCE NI 6444 This is an extraordinary set of songs by Richard Blackford to poems by Nadia Anjuman (1980-2005). Originally written in Dari, they have been most skilfully translated into English, and the texts...
Monthly Arts Digest
Our round-up of some of the arts-related stories in the press during the past month. 1. Suffolk county council announces 100% cut to arts funding Arts organisations have called on SCC to reconsider plans to permanently slash its core budget of £500,000 to the art and...
Concert to celebrate Anthony Gilbert
St. Elizabeth’s Church, Ashley, Cheshire WA14 3QE13 April 2024, 2.30pm The distinguished composer Anthony Gilbert died on 5th July last at the age of 88. He had succeeded Thomas Pitfield at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and was in charge of...
Remembering Karel Janovicky
Pianist Joan Taylor remembers Karel Janovicky The Czech composer Karel Janovicky died in London recently at the age of 93. Karel lived in London most of his life, having fled his home country – then Czechoslovakia – in difficult political circumstances, in 1950. Karel...
Launch of new book of Thomas Pitfield
ENDLESS FASCINATION The Life and Work of Thomas Pitfield, Composer, Artist, Craftsman, Poet Rosemary Firman Manchester: Forsyth, 2024ISBN 978-0-9514795-4-4£40 Thomas Pitfield (1903-1999), though best known as a composer (Prelude, Minuet and Reel for piano is his...
Rare Alan Bush performance
A rarely heard piece of music by Alan Bush was performed by BMS member Dominic Daula at a festival in Cape Town last autumn – and can now be seen in a YouTube video which has appeared online recently. A man of many talents, Dominic currently lectures in the...
RAVEL, BERKELEY & POUNDS
Sinfonia of LondonJohn Wilson conductor CHANDOS CHSA 5324 An odd sort of programme? Well, no. The link is that Berkeley received informal lessons from Ravel and Pounds from Berkeley, so the subtitle of the notes is ‘mentors and pupils’, and the pupils manifestly...
Richard Lambert CD launched
Toccata Classics has launched a CD (TOCC 0713) of the choral music of Richard Lambert, who born in Bath in the English West Country in 1951. This new CD covers a wide range of expression, ranging from straightforward SATB chorus settings for church performance to a...