Our Choices
The BBC Music Magazine team’s current favourites
Oliver Condy Editor In a change to the concert norm, former banker Bob Boas and his wife Elizabeth host frequent concerts in their resplendent townhouse near Oxford Circus. Back in September, pianist Ivana Gavri´c (pictured, right) performed solo music by Ravel, Dukas and Cheryl Frances-hoad, followed by Haydn’s Piano Concerto No. 11, with the orchestral part reduced for string quintet. It all worked brilliantly. Jeremy Pound Deputy editor Unless I choose to go down the punning route – Wagner’s Wing cycle, Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Prop and so on… – finding appropriate works to accompany my enjoyment of the Rugby World Cup has been a tough ask. Thankfully, Honegger’s breezy and bustling Rugby for
orchestra is always worth a listen, especially on the 2017 recording by the Tonhalle Orchestra and David Zinman, where it is followed by the underrated Swiss composer’s equally lively Second Symphony. Alice Pearson Disc editor
If your interest in the guitar peters out with the second movement of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, you might be tempted to think again after hearing Retrats Catalans
(Catalan Portraits) by guitarist-composer Leo Brouwer. Celebrating two great Spanish-catalan artists, composer Federico Mompou and architect Antoni Gaudí, the piece is a masterful dialogue between guitar and orchestra, with an interesting mix of styles and a fascinating palette of colours and rhythms.
Michael Beek Reviews editor
I popped over to Munich, as you do, to see violinist Anne-sophie Mutter’s Across the
Stars concert recently. It was one of just two live shows she has done in support of her new album project with composer John Williams. The Royal Philharmonic was on blistering form under the baton of David Newman, and the outdoor setting at the impressive Königsplatz was quite something, too.
Freya Parr Editorial assistant
A semi-ironic trip to the cinema to see Hustlers, a film based on the real-life crime story of a crew of thieving pole dancers (stay with me here) surprised with its unusual soundtrack. From Usher’s Love in This Club, it segued into none other than one of Chopin’s Études – if only Chopin knew his studies were going to be used in a film about dodgy temptresses in New York City… Somehow, it was brilliant.