The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

Finnissy at 80

17th March 2026

Following the demise of the last members of the New Music Manchester school (Alexander Goehr died in 2024, Elgar Howarth last year), Michael Finnissy – born on 17 March 1946 – can lay some claim to being the éminence grise of British contemporary music. It’s a description he’d no doubt hate, for although he has a razor-sharp awareness and knowledge of tradition – which informs all of his music to some extent or other – he combines this with a fiercely critical, often polemical stance when addressing cultural, political and... read more

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A Journey Backwards in Time: Early Music Catch-Up

11th March 2026

Every month we continue to be impressed by the vast numbers of quality early music recordings that are still released on disc, with repertoire ranging from the Middle Ages to the Classical and Romantic eras. Doing justice to even a fraction of them is all but impossible, but it is some time since our last Early Music Catch-Up, so a look at recent and forthcoming early music releases is long overdue. This time, we’ve decided to take a backwards path, starting in the Classical era and working back to the... read more

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Revisiting Old Favourites: Historic Classical Labels

4th March 2026

For many classical music listeners and collectors, they can inspire as much devotion as the greatest composers and performers. To marketing and consumer experts, it’s known as ‘brand loyalty’, but there’s also a strong whiff of nostalgia to it. The earliest recordings one can remember (perhaps from the family record collection) make an often indelible impression: in my case, it was the Band of HM Royal Marines on His Master’s Voice, and The Goons on an old Decca 78 as well as a 45rpm vinyl EP. Later on, one’s own first... read more

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JL Bach and his Cantatas

24th February 2026

If you haven’t previously encountered the astonishing music of Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731), don’t worry: neither had we! This distant cousin of J.S. Bach (their great-grandfathers were brothers, and sons of the Bach family patriarch, Veit Bach) was also a native of Thuringia, born on 4 February 1677 in Thal, near the ‘Bach town’ of Eisenach where Johann Sebastian himself was born eight years later. It was thanks to the aspirations of his father, town organist Johann Jacob, that the young Johann Ludwig attended the... read more

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England’s Finest: John Dowland

18th February 2026

György Kurtág’s 100th birthday (see last week’s Spin Doctor column) is not the only major musical anniversary to fall this week. This Friday marks 400 years since the death of a composer who (along with his older contemporary, William Byrd) has a fair claim to be called England’s greatest, regardless of period. John Dowland (c.1563–20 February 1626) was not only the greatest lutenist of his time, but also one of the great songwriters. Starting with his First Booke of Songes or Ayres (1597, reprinted several times during the... read more

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