Italy The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me by Sofka Zinovieff Jonathan Cape, London. 436pp £25.00 (jacket price)
Rome
Towards Understanding Grigory Sokolov’s Perfection
United Kingdom Bach, Beethoven, Schubert. Grigory Sokolov (piano). Sala Santa Cecilia, Parco della Musica, Rome. 29-04.2015 (JB)
Sorry to Be a Dissenting Voice
Italy Bach, Beethoven, Chopin. Rafal Blechacz (piano) Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Sala Santa Cecilia, Rome, 22.4.2015. (JB)
Humour in Music: Haydn, Shostakovich, Dvořák
Italy Haydn, Shostakovich, Dvořák. Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Conductor, Yuri Temirkanov Martha Argerich (piano) Giuliano Sommerhalder (trumpet). Sala Santa Cecilia Rome. 11.04.2015 (JB)
Slip, Slurp, Skid: Fireworks!
United Kingdom Franck, Schumann, Enescu, Ravel. Anna Tifu (violin), Gloria Campaner (piano). Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at Sala Sinopoli, Parco della Musica, Rome. 23.01.2015 (JB)
The Depths and Daring of Alexander Ullman
Italy Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Beethoven. Alexander Ullman (piano) Recital of the Keyboard Charitable Trust at the Teatro Ghione, Rome. 18.01.2015(JB)
Uneven and Careless
Italy Mozart, Rossini: Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Chorus Master, Ciro Visco. Conductor, Nicola Luisotti. Erika Grimaldi (soprano) Varduhi Abrahamyan (mezzosoprano) Antonino Siracusa (tenor) Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (bass). Sala Santa Cecilia, Parco della Musica, Rome 10.01.2015 (JB)
Fresh Meaningful Musicianship for Old Masters
Italy Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Strauss. Orchestra Nazionale dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia. Andrés Orozco-Estrada (conductor) Beatrice Rana (piano) Sala Santa Cecilia, Parco della Musica, Rome. 04.01.2015 (JB)