AND MUSIC TO YOUR EARS…
You tell us what you’ve been enjoying on disc and in the concert hall
Lindsay Pereira Mumbai, India
I was fortunate to catch the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra with conductor James Gaffigan and Khatia Buniatishvili on piano at the National Centre for the Performing
Arts in Mumbai. They played two nights, and the performance I attended featured Weber’s Overture to Oberon, Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Dvoπák’s Symphony No. 9. It was special because it is rare for a world-class orchestra to play in Mumbai which has little to offer lovers of western classical music.
Polly Mortimer London
My recent listening has included harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani’s new Goldberg Variations and Voces8’s rather soupy Winter CD (I love them but have issues with the repertoire). There is also the Lost Songs of St Kilda – I’m addicted to this and wish James Macmillan would expand his contribution into a symphony. I’ve also been trying to play Paul Dessau songs.
Benrard Fournier Quebec, Canada
I have recently listened to many concert performances by pianist Yuja Wang on Youtube. She is a fearless and amazing performer and gets me on the edge of my seat. Piano concertos by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov or Ravel seem easy to her, while in the hugely difficult Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic, the orchestra was taken to the limit. For me, she is the next Martha Argerich.
Chris Evans Earby, Lancashire I was delighted recently to discover your cover CD recording of John
Adams’s The Dharma at Big Sur, played by Chloë Hanslip and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (February issue). I had heard the work on the radio some time ago, and tried to buy one recording, only to find that it was deleted, and the only available options were second-hand ones for silly money – indeed, one at over £500!
Henry Robinette Georgia, US
I’ve been listening to the orchestral music of Canadian composer
Paul M Douglas on CD. His Helvetia – A First Symphony for Orchestra is the best symphony by a living composer that I bought last year. It’s one of those rare works that make me want to stand up and cheer after hearing it. The first movement and the last movement are based on the Dies Irae while the Scherzo is influenced by the music of Anton Bruckner. Tell us what concerts or recordings you’ve been enjoying by emailing us at musictomyears@classical-music.com