One of the most outstanding releases so far this year has been a remarkable collection of live recordings by the great Czech conductor Karel Ančerl, and I was delighted to be joined not only by regular guest Rob Cowan to discuss the set, but also by Matouš Vlčinský, who produced the set for Supraphon Records. The recordings, made between 1950 and 1968 show Ančerl's mastery in a wide variety of repertoire, and the numerous recordings of Czech music also gave us the opportunity to explore Bohemian...
Feb 25, 2022•58 min•Season 3Ep. 28
The relationship between musicians' lives and the music they create is one the most discussed and debated aspects of music, and examinations of the lives of great musicians is almost as old as their music itself. Three authors who produced highly praised music biographies in 2020 were Philip Clark, on the Jazz great Dave Brubeck, Oliver Craske on the Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar and Oliver Soden on the British composer Michael Tippett, and on this week's show I was delighted to welcome all three...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 27
For this episode, we turn our attention to the violin, and the changing styles of playing that have been documented over the past hundred years since the advent of sound recording. I was delighted to be joined by Charlotte Gardner, a freelance writer, journalist, and critic who specialises in string playing for The Gramophone and The Strad magazines, as well as contributing programme notes for the BBC orchestras and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. By focussing on a handful of hardy perenn...
Dec 10, 2021•59 min•Season 3Ep. 26
As you may well have seen on our site and social media channels lately, Presto Music is currently celebrating a double anniversary, as 2021 marks not only the 20th anniversary of the website launching, but also 35 years since the first Presto shop opened in Leamington Spa. So it seemed fitting that we invite the boss, Chris O'Reilly, onto the show to tell us how he came to find himself working for Presto Music in 2001, how he helped it develop into one of the leading indepenent music specialists...
Nov 12, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 25
My guests this week are the members of The Hermes Experiment, a contemporary music quartet made up of Heloise Werner (soprano and co-director), Oliver Pashley (clarinet), Anne Denholm (harp), Marianne Schofield (doube bass), and the group's co-director Hanna Grzeskiewicz. Having just releases their second album,*Song*, for Delphian Records, the group tell me about the rewards and challenges of running an ensemble with such an idiosyncratic combination of instruments, and have already notched up ...
Oct 29, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 24
German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) was one of the towering musical giants of the 20th century, a man whose near mythical reputation is arguably better known than his actual recordings. This year has seen a number of reissues of his recordings, the most signifcant of which is Warner Classics's 55 disc boxset featuring many previously unpublished recordings. For this special episode of the podcast we invited critics Rob Cowan and David Hurwitz to discuss the relative merits of Furtwä...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 23
This week's topic concerns musicology and musicologists... what is it, who are they, and what exactly do they get paid to do? So who better to ask than one of them, Daniel Elphick, a musicologist and researcher who has recently started his own YouTube which sets out to demistify things for the layman. Daniel is currently working as a Teaching Fellow in Music at Royal Holloway, University of London (having also taught at Manchester, Goldsmiths, and Buckinghamshire New University), his research fo...
Oct 01, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 22
The fascinating life and music of Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is the topic of this week's show, and we are delighted to welcome back Andrew Mellor to the Presto Music Podcast to take us through his humble childhood on the island of Funen through to the international acclaim he received as one of the most modernistic symphonic composers of his generation. Andrew has established himself as something of a British cultural attaché to Scandinavia since moving to Copenhagen in 2015, and i...
Sep 10, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 21
This week's guest is one Britain's most talented young organists Anna Lapwood. Anna joins me to chat about two great organ traditions, the music of J.S. Bach and the world of French Symphonic Organ and also about how she's reinventing the Organ with both the repertoire she's chosen for her new CD and her projects in the Organ community. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit our website: www.prestomusic.com Follow us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram Love us? Review us on Tr...
Aug 25, 2021•48 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Rainer Hersch is a comedian and musician who has performed on every major comedy stage in Britain and abroad. He has appeared thirteen times at the Edinburgh Festival, had numerous comedy-concert series at the South Bank in London, featured in comedy clubs all across Europe and in TV shows around the world. Rainer and his classical ‘Orkestra’ communicates, connects and corrupts some of the great works of classical music. A popular highlight is when Rainer invites members of the audience to parti...
Jul 02, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 19
It's always a pleasure to catch up with friend-of-the-show Rob Cowan, especially when he comes armed with chunky historic boxsets from the golden age of conducting. This time we were listening to recently released collections of recordings by Artur Rodzinski in New York, Rafael Kubelik in Chicago, and Eugene Ormandy in Philadelphia. As ever it was a delight to share in Rob's vast knowledge of recordings and pick out highlights from the sets. If you are enjoying the Presto Music Podcast please li...
May 25, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 18
This week in a special bonus episode of the Presto Music Podcast, Patricia Kopatchinskaja took time out from her busy schedule to record answers to some questions I had about her new Alpha recording of Schoenberg's *Pierrot Lunaire*, which finds the acclaimed violinist singing, or rather Sprechstimming, the titular role. Patricia tells us why the piece holds such an important place in her heart, and how she approaches this demanding modernist statement. You can listen to the podcast right here o...
Apr 28, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 17
This week I am joined by Professor Suzanne Aspden, an expert on both Handel, and the construction of identity through music, to trace the composer's journey from his youthful Italian Cantatas & Operas to his later English Oratorios, and the impact that his compositions have had on British culture and musical life from the Georgian era all the way to the present day. You can listen to the podcast right here on this page, or click on the links in the player (via the symbol of the box with the ...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 16
This week Paul is joined by British clarinettist Julian Bliss for a brief history of the the instrument, touching upon its earliest appearances in Mozart, through Krommer and Brahms, and its important role in the development of jazz in the first half of the 20th century. The episode includes not one but two "sneak peeks" of forthcoming recordings from Julian, one of which was recorded in Julian's home studio during lockdown. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit our website:...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 15
We are delighted to be joined by Piers Burton-Page, author of Philharmonic Concerto: Life and Music of Malcolm Arnold, the first published biography of this complex character, and president of the Malcolm Arnold Society, to celebrate the life and work of one of the most distinctive British composers of the 20th century. Well-known for his Oscar winning score to David Lean's Bridge on the River Kwai, Piers has picked 9 nine pieces by Arnold to give an overview of a diverse compositional career th...
Mar 18, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Bruckner and Mahler, those behemoths of the romantic symphony, have recently enjoyed lavish boxsets of their complete cycles, with the Münchner Philharmoniker and Valery Gergiev tackling Bruckner, and eight conductors with the Berliner Philharmoniker for Mahler. Peter Quantrill, who reviewed both of these sets in latest edition of Gramophone joins me this week to assess the relationship between these composers, as well as bringing his perspective on how performance practices, and his own persona...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 13
As Valentine's day is almost upon us, could there be a more apt topic than the art of Romantic Song? We welcome Natasha Loges on to the show, Head of Postgraduate Programmes and Reader in Musicology at the Royal College of Music, London, and author of several books on Brahms, including *Brahms and His Poets - A Handbook*, and editor of *German Song Onstage: Lieder Performance in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries*. In te programme we focus on the art of lieder as it moved from Vienna t...
Feb 11, 2021•53 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Harriet Smith returns to the show to discuss some of her favourite pianists, drawing upon 85 years of piano recordings from the earliest recorded ivory tinklers to the most recent trailblazers. Harriet is well know to readers of Gramophone Magazine and BBC Radio 3's Record Review, and her deep knowledge and passion for piano music brings insights into the world of piano playing and pianists themselves to this weeks show. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit our website: www...
Jan 27, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 11
This week I held something of a cultural exchange programme with writer, vlogger, and musician David Hurwitz. Known to many from his reviews website *Classics Today*, the lockdown prompted David to start his very successful YouTube channel earlier this year, which has been gaining a global following ever since. On the show David chooses five of his favourite pieces of British music, I return the compliment with five American classics and we have a discussion peppered with David's inimitable no-n...
Dec 15, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 10
As we approach the holiday season, who better to take us on a guided tour through the history of the English choral tradition than Presto's own resident choral music expert, David Smith. David has been a church musician since the age of 8, and is currently a lay clerk at St. Philip's Cathedral Birmingham and a member of the vocal ensemble Ex Cathedra, as well as a writer for Early Music America. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit our website: www.prestomusic.com Follow us...
Dec 03, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In the midst of the awards season for classical music recordings, this week I am joined by Marina Frolova-Walker, a Russian-born British musicologist and music historian, to discuss the subject of her 2016 book Stalin's Music Prize: Soviet Culture and Politics . Marina specialises in German Romanticism, Russian and Soviet music, and nationalism in music, and is Professor of Music History and Director of Studies in Music at Clare College, Cambridge. Its a great chat, taking in some of the less we...
Nov 11, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This week I am joined by Professor Laura Tunbridge, whose book Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces (published earlier this year by Viking Books) offers new perspectives on the man, the music and early nineteenth-century Vienna in this, the year of his 250th anniversary. Laura guides us through the nine works that she chose for the book, offering new perspectives on some of the choices made by this complicated genius. www.prestomusic.com/classical You can buy Laura's book here: Beethoven: A Life in ...
Oct 28, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 7
We are delighted to welcome back Rob Cowan, who was our inaugural guest back in June. Rob and Paul discuss several recent historical boxsets that collect together recordings by three American émigré artists; pianist Andor Földes, conductor Antal Dorati and violinist Isaac Stern. www.prestomusic.com/classical The recordings discussed in this episode: Andor Foldes: Complete Deutsche Grammophon Recordings Eloquence - ELQ4841256 https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8797738--andor-foldes-co...
Oct 15, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This week our host Paul Thomas talks to saxophonist Jess Gillam about the motivations behind her new album "Time" and the effect that moving from the country to the metropolis has had on her. Hailing from Ulverston in Cumbria, Jess Gillam is blazing a trail in the music world with her outstanding talent and infectious personality. In 2016 Jess was the first-ever saxophonist to reach the final of BBC Young Musician of the Year, and performed at the Last Night of the Proms in 2018, having her perf...
Sep 21, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Paul Thomas is joined by guitarist, broadcaster and concert organiser Tom McKinney for a wide-ranging conversation about contemporary music. As well as discussing some recent new releases the discussion touches upon performances in unconventional venues and the art of commissioning new works. www.prestomusic.com The music discussed in the show: Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76 Nos. 1 - 3 Chiaroscuro Quartet BIS - BIS2348 https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8777472--haydn-string-quartets-...
Sep 10, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Andrew Mellor has established himself as something of a British cultural attaché to Scandinavia since moving to Copenhagen in 2015. Well known for his contributions to BBC Radio 3's Record Review and the BBC Proms, he takes Paul on a guided tour of Denmark, Faroe, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, discussing some of the fascinating music that has been inspiring him recently. www.prestomusic.com Music discussed: Nielsen: Symphony No. 3, Op. 27 (FS60) 'Sinfonia espansiva' Gothenburg Symphony Or...
Aug 20, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Paul talks to Harriet Smith about the pleasures and pitfalls that come with being a successful music critic, writing for, amongst others, Gramophone Magazine and making regular appearances as a guest on BBC Radio 3's Record Review. Paul asks Harriet to reappraise three albums that she reviewed in the past, right a wrong for a record she didn't review, and to take up the challenge of reviewing four albums in less than 24 hours. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit our websit...
Jul 28, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Our host Paul Thomas is joined by broadcaster and critic Rob Cowan to discuss recent reissues and new releases, including a mammoth Barbirolli boxset from Warner, Robert Trevino's Beethoven symphony cycle, and Michael Tilson Thomas's moving From the Diary of Anne Frank. We also hear Rob's Confessions of a Bartók Salesman and delve into his extensive interview archive for a conversation with Finnish conductor and composer Leif Segerstam. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit ...
Jun 30, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 1
