November 19, 2020 A Sound Mind by Paul Morley Reviewed by Karen Langley Paul Morley made his name as a music critic for the New Musical Express back in the halcyon punk days…
November 12, 2020 Michael Tippett, The Biography by Oliver Soden Reviewed by Peter Hobson This is a very long, extensively referenced account of the life and music of Michael Tippett, a composer who is…
September 17, 2019 Moonlighting: Beethoven and Literary Modernism, by Nathan Waddell Review by Rob Spence When the newly-elected Brexit party MEPs took their place at the European Parliament in June, they used the opening ceremony…
April 17, 2018 How Shostakovich Changed My Mind by Stephen Johnson Review by Karen Langley Readers of Shiny New Books will know of my love for Notting Hill Editions books; I’ve reviewed their “Beautiful and…
April 13, 2017 Gone: A Girl, a Violin, and a Life Unstrung by Min Kym Reviewed by Harriet For some reason I’ve always been fascinated by child prodigies – people who seem to have been born with an innate…
October 27, 2016 Loose Canon: the extraordinary songs of Clive James and Pete Atkin by Ian Shircore Review by Rob Spence It’s now over forty years since I discovered the songs of Pete Atkin and Clive James. In a wonderful series…
July 16, 2015 Instrumental by James Rhodes Reviewed by Annabel It’s hard to know where to start in writing about this memoir. I could be glib and say it’s about the…
