The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

This year has been a memorable but also testing one for classical music. The past twelve months have seen a succession of notable anniversaries, marked with varying degrees of prominence, for composers ranging from Palestrina and Gibbons, via Bizet, Ravel, Satie and Shostakovich, to the modernist giants Boulez and Berio. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Palestrina and Gibbons have been celebrated with less fanfare than might have been hoped (early music is still viewed by many as a ‘niche’ interest), a more comprehensive coverage of Bizet’s operas is still awaited (though we suspect that the ever-enterprising Palazzetto Bru Zane may change that), while, apart from a few well-known works like Sinfonia and Coro, the wider output of Luciano Berio is still underrepresented on disc (and, here again, the operas deserve more attention).

The birth centenary of the widely respected conductor Sir Charles Mackerras was marked in style with a large box of his EMI related recordings on Warner Classics, but his extensive output for the Universal labels (Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Archiv and Philips) remains largely out of print. Given the esteem in which Mackerras is held by collectors, critics and musicians alike, this was surely a missed opportunity.

It has also been a year of final farewells: cellist David Watkin, pianist Alfred Brendel and the great Wagnerian bass-baritone Sir Donald McIntyre all passed away this year. McIntyre was the first Wotan I ever saw and heard, in the Covent Garden Götz Friedrich Ring in the late 1970s, and a leading figure in the same role in the celebrated Centenary Ring cycle at Bayreuth. Brendel retired from public concerts in 2008, but he still pursued an active life as a teacher, writer and lecturer. His loss (marked by a re-release of his complete Philips/Decca recordings) will still be felt acutely by many. As will that of David Watkin, whose 2015 historically-informed recording of Bach’s Cello Suites (currently unavailable, and desperately in need of reissue) is one of the very finest committed to disc.

Conductors John Nelson (a great Berlioz specialist, among much else besides), Ronald Corp, early music pioneer (and bête noire of traditionalists!) Sir Roger Norrington and German maestro Christoph von Dohnányi also took their final bows, the latter just as his Decca legacy was being marked with two boxes devoted to his Cleveland and Vienna recordings.

2025 was also a year in which music continued to feel the impact of political decisions, most notably in the wholesale takeover of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., but also in the continued push for cutbacks in funding. As we have recently observed, this has had profound impacts on music education as well as performing organisations, and it has been heartening to receive so many messages of support regarding the possible axing of music degrees at the university of Europadisc’s ‘home’ city of Nottingham. (A decision is likely to be taken at the end of the current academic year: ominously, at a time when few students will be around to protest against it...)

As those of you who subscribe to our monthly printed catalogue may have noticed, classical recordings on disc (whether new or reissued) are becoming steadily fewer, although the market is still buoyant. Partly, this is due to the rise of online streaming and downloads, yet the majority of dedicated classical listeners still seem to prefer the physical product. Audiovisual releases on DVD and Blu-ray are far scarcer than they were just a year ago. If this is a reflection of sales, it may be a consequence of the proliferation of ‘directors’ operas’ (German: Regieoper) that pay scant regard to the wishes of librettist, composer, and indeed audiences! There must always be space for innovation, but the predominance of productions that depart radically from the original content of the work may have been at a heavy price.

Vinyl LPs, however, continue to make a remarkable comeback. Next month sees the release of the first batch of releases in the new Decca Pure Analogue series, including a 45rpm LP of Solti’s 1974 Rite of Spring, and the analogue ‘back-up’ version of the 1979 New Year’s Concert from Vienna: one of the first commercially available digital recordings, and Willi Boskovsky’s last at the podium. Alongside such classics, Hyperion also have a series of vinyl releases coming up, from artists including Anngela Hewitt, Steven Isserlis and Marc-André Hamelin. The vinyl revival is unlikely to be the saviour of the classical recording industry, but it is certainly a notable phenomenon of recent years.

The coming twelve months will continue to bring challenges, but also, we hope, reasons for celebration. After a year that has seen the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt and Sir John Rutter’s 80th (both of them composers with avid followings), next February brings the 100th birthday of one of my favourite living composers, the uncategorisable and continually fascinating György Kurtág. We hope to feature him and recordings of his music in the next few months!