Country Life Magazine – October18, 2023: The latest issue features Norfolks – Little pockets of fun; The real Macnab – great adventures in the field; Britain’s loneliest trees; Beethoven’s Austria and Amsterdam’s canal life, and more…
I’m still standing
In memory of the Sycamore Gap tree, so callously cut down, we salute its fellow arboreal sentinels of Britain
Following in the footsteps of John Macnab
The Editor and The Judge set off across the Tulchan estate in pursuit of a stag, a brace of grouse and a salmon, in the spirit of John Buchan’s hero
Country Life International
Anna Tyzack uncovers Monaco’s unexpectedly magnificent restoration
Deborah Nicholls-Lee settles in to an Amsterdam canal house
Tom Parker Bowles gorges on Alpine cheese
Russell Higham explores the Austrian countryside that inspired Beethoven
Holly Kirkwood picks the best Caribbean properties
Mark Frary straps on his pads for a spot of cricket in the Windward Islands
Felix Francis’s favourite painting
The author picks a scene full of the thrill of the racecourse
Totally foxed
The rural people of Scotland are reeling under a prejudiced new law on hunting. Jamie Blackett despairs for the fox
The Englishness of English architecture
What makes a building English? Steven Brindle considers the answer, from soaring cathedral vaults to austere Palladian villas and rambling country piles
Native breeds
Kate Green luxuriates in the luscious locks of the Leicestershire Longwool
Come hell or high water
Few creatures face as difficult a journey as the salmon does to and from its spawning grounds. Simon Lester follows in its wake
Interiors
A dramatic kitchen and why it’s time to cuddle up in British wool
Plant theatre
Charles Quest-Ritson takes the well-worn path to the famed nursery of Larch Cottage in Cumbria
Having a field day
Behind hounds or on the marsh, casting for a salmon or stalking a stag, nothing stirs Adrian Dangar’s heart as fieldsports do
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson finds the perfect pairing for hazelnuts
Deutsche Grammophon (July 28, 2023) – Earlier this year, pianist Alice Sara Ott became the face of the Apple Music Classical app when she starred in its launch video, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and its Chief Conductor Karina Canellakis.
The recording of it now becomes the headline work in Ott’s latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Beethoven. The pianist has paired it with a series of solo works, including “Für Elise” and the “Moonlight” Sonata.
Sotheby’s (July 20, 2023) – The Voyager Golden Record is a unique audio-visual time capsule developed by NASA and affixed to the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts.
Designed to communicate to possible space-faring civilizations something of the diversity of life and culture on our world, the Golden Record consisted of greetings in 59 human languages and those of the humpback whales, 115 images of life here, the sounds of Earth, and 27 pieces from the world’s musical traditions. It has been called the beginning of the concept of “world music.”
It was Voyager 1 that looked homeward from high above Neptune to take, at Carl Sagan’s behest, the iconic Pale Blue Dot photograph. Upon flawlessly completing the first phase of their mission, the NASA Voyagers 1 and 2 made for the open sea of interstellar space, teaching us the actual shape of our solar system as it moves through the galaxy. The Golden Record is an unparalleled document in the history of space exploration and our civilization.
A new original graphic novel, The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology, celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday, has been published via Z2 Comics and Deutsche Grammophon.
The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology, written by Brandon Montclare and Frank Marraffino, was inspired by the composer’s life and music. The graphic novel reimagines the life of the legendary composer through striking new visuals created by world-class artists. Readers will be able to experience both masterpieces and lesser-known gems in a brand new light. The deluxe edition will be accompanied by an exclusive double vinyl LP following the story through the composer’s own works.
Featuring Alice Sara Ott, Ezinma and Max Richter
Pianist Alice Sara Ott, violinist Ezinma and composer Max Richter, are all featured in their own chapters in The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology. In the chapter featuring Alice Sara Ott, drawn by Creees Lee, the pianist invites the composer to hear one of his works played in a modern concert hall. The chapter featuring Ezinma, drawn by Jarrett Williams, celebrates Beethoven’s groundbreaking musical personality, and Max Richter has been transformed by artist Dave Chisholm, who also wrote the chapter.
The celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday this year is reaching a crescendo in Germany. The composer and pianist was born in Bonn on December 16, 1770, and his musical legacy carries on. In this reel, we meet concert pianists putting a new spin on Beethoven’s work. Susanne Kessel, for one, put out a call to composers for 250 new piano pieces inspired by Beethoven and is now in the midst of performing them. Elsewhere, the duo known as Pianotainment is using humor and serious piano chops to make the work of the likes of Beethoven accessible to all. We wrap up this ode to Beethoven with a visit to a museum full of self-playing musical instruments. And, yes, some of them even play Beethoven.
Making its auction debut, ‘Les éléments confédérés’ is the only five-panel work by pioneering Chinese artist Chu Teh-Chun and the largest oil painting by the artist remaining in private hands. In this video, view the monumental work set to the piece of music it was inspired by – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and discover how the choice of five panels relates to Chinese philosophy.
Deutsche Grammophon 
Sotheby’s
Boomers Daily 