Happy birthday, sir john rutter

For a conductor who eventually achieved global recognition and left a dazzlingly varied discography, Sir Roger Norrington was something of a slow starter. Born in Oxford in 1934, his early musical act

COMPILED & WRITTEN BY PAUL RILEY London Sinfonietta The Story Garden, King’s Cross, London, 14 September londonsinfonietta.org.uk The UK’s leading contemporary music ensemble has green fingers! Who kn

Radiant Dawn Works by Hildegard of Bingen, Tallis, James MacMillan, Owain Park et al Matilda Lloyd (trumpet); The Gesualdo Six/Owain Park Hyperion CDA 68465 69:35 mins This is an ingenious and moving

FOR almost 20 years now, choirmaster Gareth Malone has been bringing people together through the power of song. He’s done everything from inspiring schoolchildren to find their voices to forming choir

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue: Roy Harper . Since the mid-60s, the progressive folk singer-songwriter has enjoyed a successful solo career that’s also found him collaborating with everyone from Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel to Kate Bush and Ian Anderson. But he’s never quite reached the commercial heights of his peers. As his Final Tour: Part Two fast approaches, he looks back over highlights from his career so far and teases a brand-new album.

I enjoyed reading Francesco Piemontesi’s Concert Heaven, Concert Hell interview (September) about his ‘best’ and ‘worst’ performance... in the semi-final of the Elisabeth Competition in 2007! In fact,