CRITIC’S CHOICE

Michael Church

I listen while I cook. If the manual job is simple and repetitive, I may listen to string quartets by Shostakovich and – with supreme pleasure – Haydn. If cooking demands thought and planning, I listen to pianist Rubén González, whose muscular counterpoint was one of the highlights of Buena Vista Social Club.

If my conscious brain is totally absorbed by what

I’m doing, I dive into the warm waters of Cabo Verde, and luxuriate in the gloriously golden sound of Cesaria Evora (above).