The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

Early Vocal Treasures from Hyperion

12th June 2024

Recently taken under the wing of Universal Music Group, the British label Hyperion has a long-established reputation for excellence across a wide range of genres. Its landmark complete recording of Schubert’s complete songs under the curatorship of pianist Graham Johnson, the complete solo piano music of Liszt by Leslie Howard, Purcell’s choral music under the direction Robert King, and the still-active multi-disc survey of Romantic Piano Concertos all bear testament to Hyperion’s high standards of performance, recording and... read more

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The Nuts and Bolts of Musical Invention

6th June 2024

In Paul Beatty’s 2008 novel Slumberland, the hero writes that ‘Music history is rife with no-brainer collaborations that should’ve but never happened. Charlie Parker and Arnold Schoenberg. The Osmonds and the Jackson Five. The Archies and Josie and the Pussycats…’. There are however, plenty of great collaborations that did happen: Mozart and Da Ponte, Verdi and Boito, Strauss and Hoffmansthal, Stravinsky and Diaghilev. One of the less widely celebrated, but enormously consequential for the development of modern dance, was... read more

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Musicians Behaving Badly

29th May 2024

It seems that barely a month goes by without some musician or other in the headlines accused of morally reprehensible behaviour: inappropriate comments or actions, in some cases assault (sexual or physical), or support for causes with which many others may disagree. This is, of course, concerning to anyone who follows the musical world, yet in some respects also encouraging: there is now less tolerance for the ‘wall of silence’ that used to surround such murky affairs. If the age of deference is (allegedly) long past, the... read more

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New Baroque and Classical Jewels

22nd May 2024

Our thanks to all those who have responded to our recent pieces about the problems currently facing the arts – and classical music in particular – during a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Some of you felt that we were being unduly pessimistic, and in some areas of local musicmaking there is certainly cause for celebration. Others thought that the blame for any long-term disconnect between classical music and wider audiences lay squarely at the door of musical modernism: a subject that is close to our hearts and to which... read more

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‘In the black, dismal dungeon of despair’... Tackling music’s challenges

15th May 2024

Our column last week on ‘The Problem of Attracting Audiences’ prompted a typically thoughtful response from one of our regular readers, which in turn drew us to reflect further on this issue. The number of performers, critics and other commentators weighing into the current debate ought to persuade all but the most sceptical of followers that the arts in general, and classical music in particular, are currently facing a moment of real crisis. And even though there are plenty of other areas of the contemporary world that are... read more

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