‘I accepted the commission partly for the money, and partly because I have long wanted to try my hand at this sort of music,’ wrote Tchaikovsky to Rimsky-Korsakov. For the sum of 800 roubles (around £

The second, and longest, of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets, Sleeping Beauty was first performed in St Petersburg in 1889. Again, the theme of good versus evil is to the fore, in the form of the character

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(conductor) USSR RTV Symphony Orchestra Melodiya RCID24689058 Numerous recordings by the good and the great ensure that the bar is set extremely high here, and among the many persuasive readings are t

Sitting in an American diner in Derbyshire seven years ago, Caroline Thompson had a brainwave. The mum of two had recently retrained as an NHS Talking Therapist, and while she loved her new role, she

Sun Triptych Maxim Rysanov, Dasol Kim, Roman Mints et al; BBC Concert Orchestra/ Dobrinka Tabakova ECM 4878558 64:61 mins This is the second ECM disc to feature the extremely accessible music of Bulga