by Ben Hogwood
This month, London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have been celebrating their 40th birthday…so Arcana have taken the opportunity to join in the celebrations by crafting a playlist from their discography. If you click here, you can enjoy a selection including works by Rameau, Handel, Brahms and Mahler:
Published post no.2,932 – Monday 29 June 2026
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
by Ben Hogwood picture (c) Trevor Leighton
Just over two weeks ago the sad news of the death of popular British soprano Dame Felicity Lott was announced. ‘Flott’, as she was affectionately known, was one of the finest singers to grace UK opera houses and concert stages from the second half of the 20th century onwards.
This obituary for the Guardian reveals her career and accomplishments in detail, but Arcana had great enjoyment in putting together this Tidal playlist below as an indication of just how strong her career on record came to be.
Click here to access the selection on Tidal
Published post no.2,903 – Sunday 31 May 2026
by Ben Hogwood
This week we learned the sad news of the passing of pianist and conductor Jean-Bernard Pommier, at the age of 81. As well as being a highly regarded solo pianist, Pommier held a post with the Northern Sinfonia – as you can read from this tribute on the Cultured North East website
Pommier made several highly regarded recordings, including cycles of the Mozart and Beethoven piano sonatas – and the Tidal playlist Arcana have compiled recognises this, as well as recordings of the Brahms Violin Sonatas, in partnership with Jaime Laredo, and the Mozart piano concertos with Sinfonia Varsovia. You can access the playlist here
Published post no.2,873 – Thursday 30 April 2026
by Ben Hogwood Image (c) CBS Television, courtesy of Wikipedia
Last week we heard the very sad news of the loss of charismatic conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, after a long illness. You can read an obituary from Barry Millington at the Guardian website
Tilson Thomas was well-loved at all the orchestras where he held conducting positions – these included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he was assistant conductor in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, where he was principal conductor from 1988 until 1995, and the San Francisco Symphony, who he led until 2020. With the San Francisco Symphony, Tilson Thomas delivered a high quality survey of the works of Gustav Mahler, a journey you can take on this Tidal playlist
However the playlist I have compiled for Arcana is of shorter works, designed to show off the conductor’s affinity with music of his homeland – in works as varied as John Adams’ Lollapalooza, Ruggles’ Sun Treader, Copland’s Symphonic Ode and music by Charles Ives, with whom Tilson Thomas had a special affinity. Also included is a recent remastering of Tilson Thomas at the piano, partnering Jules Eskin in Debussy’s Cello Sonata, and a recording with the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, of which this writer is particularly fond.
The playlist ends with MTT conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic from the piano in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. You can listen on Tidal here
Published post no.2,870 – Monday 27 April 2026
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