Category Archives: Playlists

In appreciation – Benjamin Luxon

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by Ben Hogwood

In the last week we heard the sad news of the death of the great Cornish baritone Benjamin Luxon, at the age of 87.

A much-loved singer, Luxon excelled in the opera house and the recital room – not to mention as a soloist in many important recordings of choral and vocal works. The playlist compiled below is packed with English music, with cycles from Vaughan Williams (Songs of Travel) and Stanford (Songs of the Sea).

Luxon took on the title role in the first recording of Benjamin Britten‘s TV opera Owen Wingrave in 1971, an excerpt of which you can also hear below:

You can also hear Benjamin Luxon’s Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4

Published post no.2,256 – Wednesday 31 July 2024

In appreciation – Sir Andrew Davis

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by Ben Hogwood

Yesterday we heard the sad news of the death of the British conductor Sir Andrew Davis, at the age of 80.

The warmth of the tributes made on social media to Sir Andrew are an indication of his standing as a highly respected conductor who was for many a friend as well as a fellow musician. As a live performer he excelled at the BBC Proms, becoming the festival’s musical figurehead in the 1990s as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a post he held from 1989 until 2000. Yet he also made his mark overseas, through posts held with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (from 1975 until 1988) and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (from 2013).

The playlist below attempts to summarise his considerable contribution to recorded music – and in particular his many outstanding discs of British music. The reader is particularly directed towards an extensive and hugely rewarding series of Elgar for Chandos, but the list below includes early Berlioz, Delius, Elgar, a recent highlight of Stravinsky‘s Violin Concerto recorded with James Ehnes and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and an outstanding version of Vaughan Williams‘ Symphony no.6, capturing a side of the composer seldom heard at the time of recording.

Published post no.2,156 – Monday 22 April 2024

In appreciation – Sir Neville Marriner

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by Ben Hogwood

Monday 15 April saw the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Neville Marriner, the beloved conductor who formed and led the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Surely one of the most recorded conductors in history, Marriner completed a wonderful discography ranging from early Baroque to 20th century masterpieces, with a good deal in between.

This playlist takes just a fraction of those recordings, mixing a couple of classics with some of the more modern music in which Marriner added some very interesting interpretations. We go from Grieg to Ives with a relative rarity included, Tchaikovsky’s tuneful Orchestral Suite no.3. Hope you enjoy!

Published post no.2,152 – Thursday 18 April 2024

In appreciation – Edo de Waart

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by Ben Hogwood

This week the Dutch conductor Edo de Waart announced his retirement, after six decades at the top of his game. On inspection of his discography, de Waart has conducted a number of important recordings – either in San Francisco, Minnesota or the Netherlands – and a selection of these are included in the playlist below, which begins with a classic recording of Steve Reich‘s Variations for winds, strings and keyboards and ends with the landmark Harmonium, by John Adams:

Published post no.2,147 – Saturday 13 April 2024

Playlist – Charles Villiers Stanford (died 29 March 1824)

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by Ben Hogwood

This is a playlist to mark the contribution to classical music of the Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford, who died on 29 March 1924.

If you are a first-time listener to Stanford, the playlist gives a first indication of the strength of his output – though there is much more to enjoy should you wish to go further!

The Irish Rhapsodies have a lot of melodic charm…while the Piano Concerto no.2 is a fine work that is a late Romantic equivalent to Rachmaninov. Stanford was a fine choral and vocal composer, too – there are glimpses of that here – while for sheer positivity and generosity of melody, his Symphony no.6 takes some beating

You can enjoy all of those below! Arcana intends to return to Stanford’s music in more detail later in the year…

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/63d3bb6b-62eb-477d-aaa8-4ba287d6c0cd

Published post no.2,135 – Monday 1 April 2024