The Toccata Classics Blog
Thym for a Song
Music: A Connected Art/Die Illusion der absoluten Musik: A Festschrift for Jürgen Thym on his 80th BirthdayVerlag Valentin Koerner, Baden-Baden, 2023Reviewed by Niall Hoskin Jürgen Thym…
“The Only One Who Sang With the Singer” – A Tribute to Margaret Singer
I was much saddened to learn of the death, on 9 July 2023, of the pianist Margaret Singer. As recently as late October 2022 she…
A Narrative of Paul Creston’s Three Narratives
My introduction to Paul Creston was through his Virtuoso Technique – a book of finger exercises so demanding and so unusual that I couldn’t help…
Paul Creston’s “Three Narratives” — Recorded At Last
The release of Paul Creston’s Three Narratives for piano solo on Toccata Classics is the fulfilment of a quest I’ve carried around for more than 50…
Fanfare’s Hall of Fame features David Hackbridge Johnson
See the full article in the July/August 2023 (46:6) Issue of Fanfare or online for subscribers at fanfarearchive.com All photos by Xiao Wei
Behind the Scenes of the Brahms By Arrangement Volume Two Recording Sessions
Brahms by Arrangement, Volume Two: Orchestrations by Robin Holloway Composers who orchestrate the music of earlier colleagues often serve them best when they add something…
The Music of Alphons Diepenbrock – A Discovery for Many
Sometimes one has the impression of having been forced by fate to write a book, to start a research, to accept a commission or venture…
Why We Mustn’t Forget Gideon Klein: Music Triumphing in Adversity
The narrative seems to have all the ingredients of a tragic, if not epic, film. The young genius, his potential cruelly crushed by an evil…
Noah Max in Conversation with Martin Anderson
In March 2022 Toccata Classics released an album of music by Noah Max (b. 1998) – painter, poet and conductor as well as composer. Since…
Where Were We When…?
There are always some coincidences when the significant events of history happen. Most people can probably remember the moment when they heard the news of…
24 Preludes Inspired by Debussy
It all began with a strange thought: what if a piece of music should suddenly forget all about itself, with only its name left behind…
George Enescu – A Musical Phenomenon
It all began with Noel Malcolm’s book, George Enescu: His Life and Music, published by none other than Toccata Press in 1990, which had been…
Arranging Wagner and the Ensuing Obsession
The release of Wagner by Arrangement, Volume Three (TOCC 0673), is the first part in a personal masterplan of Wagnerianism that has been going on for the…
Irmela Roelcke on Cloches et Carillons
My concert and recording project, Cloches et Carillons, impressed on me how much basic acoustic characteristics have influenced my most recent artistic interests and inclinations.…
A Radio Presenter’s Experience
I had long harboured the desire to present a radio programme. Years of growing up with radio in the 1950s had exposed me to mostly…
A Violist’s Bucket List
I am so happy to be able to participate in the Toccata blog and tell you a little about the two albums that have been…