The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

The Misfits (Part 1 of 2)

1st June 2021

It is, at least in the public imagination, the creative artist’s prerogative to be ‘different’. As with the ‘mad scientist’ of popular lore (Victor Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll...), the mad eccentricities of genius are the price to be paid for insights into the human condition and soul. In practice, the situation is rather more nuanced. Indeed, for most of the modern history of western culture, it has been the duty of artists to conform: to tailor their brilliance to the whims of patrons (the church, royalty, the nobility) and –... read more

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The Shock of the Old (Part 1)

11th May 2021

To their admirers they are objects of fascination and even veneration, collectible to the point of addiction, while to detractors they are incomprehensible, fatally flawed by inadequate sound quality and mannered, often wayward interpretative traits. Today, with more examples than ever easily available (though with an annoying habit of often being out of the catalogue just when you want a particular one!), historical recordings are big business for such a ‘niche’ market. Vastly improved techniques of sound restoration and... read more

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In praise of... Weber

4th May 2021

The big musical anniversaries tend to revolve around composers’ births and deaths: the centenary of Debussy’s death was marked in 2018; last year (just in case you missed it) saw Beethoven’s 250th birthday celebrated more by recordings than by the jamboree of live performances originally planned; and this year marks 50 years since the death of Stravinsky, and 500 years since that of Josquin Desprez. Occasionally, however, individual musical works of landmark significance are celebrated: the centenary of Wagner’s epic Ring... read more

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