Category: Uncategorized
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Daniil Shafran Bach: Six Suites For Cello
This is a re-issue but still sounds great: Bach played by a perfectionist who believed in bringing out the emotion in music rather than worrying about the technical. Obviously, he had to be really good to do that. Shafran was born in 1923, the son of the principal cellist of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra; his…
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Niccolò Paganini: Works for Violin and Orchestra
This CD features a world première recording of the original versions of three works by Paganini: Le Streghe — described as a turning point in his career by the sleeve notes — Non più mesta and I Palpiti. A performance of Le Streghe in 1813 in Milan launched Paganini’s career. The “premier recording” line is…
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The Trials of Cato: Hide and Hair
If you like folk and you’ve not heard of The Trials of Cato, we suspect this will change before the year is out. They produce folk that is recognisably traditional, with the commercial mass-appeal of Seth Lakeman and the musical prowess of a shredding metal guitarist. The people who don’t like this will probably be…
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Twenty One Pilots: Trench
Twenty One Pilots are one of those bands who passed us by, but turn out to be massive. We thought they were emo/rock and the first track, Jumpsuit, did not dissuade, with its heavy bass and touch of screaming towards the end. Track two Levitate takes it off in a different direction with fast rapping…
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Calendar Girls The Musical
(Photo: John Swannell). Extraordinary tales about ordinary people make the very best stories and Calendar Girls The Musical is no exception. Showing at Hanley’s Regent Theatre this week, the show shines a light on the ubiquitous story of a group of WI members who bravely bared all for a fundraising calendar in memory of…
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The Beta Band: The Three EPs (Reissue)
Some years ago we went to the Green Man festival; we saw the best live band in the world, Flaming Lips, we saw Mumford and Sons and we even saw Gruff Rhys in wellies, but if you asked for one memory of the event it would be the solo set from Steve Mason, ex Beta…
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The Juniper Project: Fragments
Some flute-based releases we’ve reviewed have included the words “challenging” or “for lovers of technical flute playing”, euphemistically used for “verging on unlistenable”. Now comes this delightful album. It’s the music from a heavily costumed romance drama, the scene where the lovers float down the river on a sunny day (in a boat, obviously), the…
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Vyacheslav Artyomov: The Way to Olympus
Artyomov is a modern composer from Russia writing with the ambition and scope of a man who knows his work is important. From what we read, his life in Russia has been hard, so perhaps a belief in your own standing in the history of music is crucial. He writes big, ambitious tunes; listening to…
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Tami Nodaira, Ichiro Nodaira, Toru Takemitsu: Japanese Guitar Music Vol 4
Despite the title, this is actually a guitar and flute recital; works for flute accompanied by guitar. It’s also not particularly “Japanese” in feel; it’s mostly a gentle and almost ambient sound, with little in the way of metre. “A unique sensibility and an imaginative flair for its colours and expressiveness,” say the sleeve notes…
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Gorillaz: The Now Now
We like Gorillaz as a singles band as much as the next primate, but have never really dug the albums, at least until this one. Probably because it’s low key, induces calm and doesn’t try anything too clever. Opener Humility is a gentle pop tune. It could have been made by any middle-ranking, decent chill-out…
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