READER CHOICE

Michael Baws Birmingham Charlotte Politi fully deserves her place as a Rising Star in your May issue. In March, Mirga Gražinytė-tyla was due to conduct the CBSO in Weinberg and Shostakovich in Birmingham, but she tested positive for Covid that morning. A few hours later,

Politi stepped in. She dropped a Weinberg work and substituted a glowing performance of a scene from Swan Lake in a memorable statement of the quality of Tchaikovsky’s orchestration and melody. Further, she totally understood the anxieties of the Shostakovich. I hope to see more of her.