Author Archives: Arcana

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About Arcana

My name is Ben Hogwood, editor of the Arcana music site (arcana.fm)

Podcast – Whisky High Notes

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by Ben Hogwood

In something of a rarity for the Arcana pages, I’m very pleased to say I have made a guest appearance on Naomi Belshaw‘s very excellent Whisky High Notes podcast. The idea is to pick four meaningful pieces of classical music and present them to Naomi, who thoughtfully and creatively pairs each with a whisky.

My appearance is on episode four, which you can watch below:

I would strongly encourage you to watch the rest of the series, whose contributors so far include artistic director of King’s Place Sam McShane, viola player Dan Shalliday and composer Dobrinka Tabakova. Click here to access the Whisky High Notes homepage

Published post no.2,930 – Saturday 27 June 2026

On this day 100 years ago – the first performance of Janáček’s Sinfonietta

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by Ben Hogwood. Picture of Janáček used courtesy of Wikipedia, unknown author

On this day, 100 years ago, the first performance of Janáček’s Sinfonietta took place in Prague, under the direction of Václav Talich.

Arcana has examined this piece before, but in a very different context – as approached by Emerson, Lake & Palmer! Here are the details of Knife-Edge:

What tune does it use?

The first movement of the Sinfonietta, by Leoš Janáček (born on this day in 1854):

The Sinfonietta is a thrilling orchestral work, begun with a powerful brass fanfare but containing five incident-packed movements.

How does it work?

The main melody of the first movement Fanfare is the basis for Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s song, but in his keyboard part Keith Emerson refers to other parts of the work.

Then, on his solo from 2’40”, Emerson departs from Janáček’s blueprint with a characteristically incisive solo, backed by a virtuosic drum track. From 3’25” the style broadens to include explicit references to J.S. Bach, the Allemande of his French Suite no.1 in D minor:

What else is new?

You can hear the whole of the Sinfonietta below, in a thrilling performance from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, in a recording made in 1980:

Published post no.2,929 – Friday 26 June 2026

Vinyl revival – Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos

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by Ben Hogwood

The second of an occasional series on Arcana…sharing vinyl purchases from charity shops!

This recent acquisition is a highly regarded Decca pairing of the two published Mendelssohn piano concertos, with soloist Peter Katin and the London Symphony Orchestra under Anthony Collins:

On this day in 1686 – the birth of composer Benedetto Marcello

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by Ben Hogwood. By Vincenzo Roscioni, from Gallica Digital Library courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1680, the composer Benedetto Marcello was born. While not the best known composer of the Marcello family – Alessandro is in wide circulation for his Oboe Concerto in particular – Benedetto is more than notable for some of the earliest published cello sonatas. You can enjoy these below, in a recording made for Brilliant Classics by cellist Renato Criscuolo and harpsicordist Aldo Criscuolo:

Published post no.2,927 – Wednesday 24 June 2026

New music – Baxter Dury – Allbarone Versions (Extended Versions by Paul Epworth) (Heavenly Recordings)

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published by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release

Baxter Dury is happy to announce the Allbarone Versions on Heavenly Recordings with the track Alpha Dog (Paul Epworth Extended Version) out now. The digital release will be on 24 July with a double 12″ to follow on 28 August.

When is a record ever finished? Baxter Dury’s eighth album, Allbarone, seemed to be done and dusted after release last autumn, yet super-producer Paul Epworth (Adele, U2) decided it was a good idea to work on extensions of five of tracks from the album. Not just extensions but full on electro-disco mixes that take the tracks apart from the edges and reorder them into relentless dance floor tools built to perfectly soundtrack the small hours.

Each track finds a groove and takes its journey right through the middle of the original track, to create classic 12″ extended remixes, adding a whole load of echoing dub over flickering percussion tracks, madly addictive basslines and gloriously languid disco rhythm tracks. From Kubla Khan’s hefty low-end groove to Alpha Dog’s deconstructed nightclub dub via Schadenfreude’s Eurodisco bass and fizzing hi-hat pulse, Paul Epworth’s phenomenal new mixes lift Baxter’s tracks up to another level.

Finally, Allbarone‘s done, and it’s become the perfect soundtrack to whatever you’re doing this weekend.

Published post no.2,926 – Tuesday 23 June 2026