Daniel Jaffé
Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine
Daniel Jaffé has been associated with BBC Music Magazine since 2004 when he was the reviews editor, working in that post until he went freelance in 2011. Previously he was on the editorial teams of Classic CD and Gramophone. A specialist in both Russian and 20th-century British music, he has also written articles and programme notes for various orchestras and festivals both in the UK and abroad, published two books – Sergey Prokofiev (Phaidon), and a Historical Dictionary of Russian Music (Scarecrow Press) – and contributed extensively to the Cambridge Stravinsky Encyclopedia (CUP).
Recent articles by Daniel Jaffé
25 greatest French composers of all time
France has produced some of the most influential composers throughout history. We explore the lives and works of the best French composers
The best recordings of Prokofiev's Piano Concertos
From youthful brilliance to the sophistication of adulthood, the challenges of Prokofiev’s piano concertos have proved a magnet to players. We search for the best set...
Peter Grimes: the best recordings of Britten's famous opera
Daniel Jaffé fishes out the finest recordings of Britten’s deeply unsettling but utterly gripping opera, Peter Grimes
A guide to Borodin's Symphony No. 2 and its best recordings
Daniel Jaffé discovers the best recordings of Borodin's Symphony No. 2, a bravely experimental and colourful work that changed the course of orchestral music
Shostakovich: Six Verses of Maria Tsvetayeva etc
Elizabeth Atherton (soprano), Jess Dandy (contralto), Peter Rose (bass); BBC Philharmonic/John Storgårds (Chandos)
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra: A guide to Britten's masterpiece and it's best recordings
Did you know Britten's Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra was initially composed for a film? Daniel Jaffé enjoys instrumental inspiration from piccolo to double bass as he compares the best versions of Britten’s didactic masterpiece
Scottish national anthem: what is it and what are its lyrics?
Daniel Jaffe explores the history Scotland's unofficial national anthem, ‘Flower of Scotland’
Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil (Vespers): a guide to the composer's masterpiece and its best recordings
Rachmaninov's love of the music and rituals of the Orthodox Church were distilled in his masterpiece All-Night Vigil (Vespers); Daniel Jaffé finds the best recording
1919 Coda
Benjamin Baker (violin), Daniel Lebhardt (piano) (Delphian)
Rachmaninov • Valentin Silvestrov: The Messenger etc
Anna Fedorova (piano); Sinfonieorchester St Gallen/Modestas Pitrėnas (Channel Classics)
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring; Firebird (Paris/Mäkelä)
Orchestre de Paris/Klaus Mäkelä (Decca)
Best classical music for beginners
New to classical music? Here’s ten works we are sure will get you hooked... Daniel Jaffé counts down ten great classical music pieces for beginners
Sergey Prokofiev
Meet Sergey Prokofiev, the Russian master of drama, orchestration and sardonic wit
Kapustin: Piano Concerto No. 5 etc
Frank Dupree, Adrian Brendle (piano), Meinhard Jenne, Franz Bach (percussion); Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Dominik Beykirch (Capriccio)
Duruflé • Martin: Requiem etc
Juliette Mey (mezzo-soprano), Alain Buet (baritone), Jérôme Cuvillier (cello); La Maîtrise de Toulouse; Conservatoire de Toulouse/Mark Opstad; William Fielding (organ) (Regent)
Sir Thomas Beecham: the life and legacy of the great conductor
A guide to the legendary British conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, and his best recordings
Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil (King's College London)
The Choir of King’s College London/Joseph Fort
Ravel • Stravinsky: Les Noces etc
Ensemble Aedes; musicians of Les Siècles/Mathieu Romano (Aparté)
Stravinsky: Mavra • Tchaikovsky: Iolanta (DVD)
Anna El-Khashem, Noa Beinart et al; Children’s Chorus of Bayerische Staatsoper; Opernstudio der Bayerischen Staatsoper; Bayerisches Staatsorchester/Alevtina Ioff (Bavarian Staatsoper/DVD)
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 (Callaghan/Takenouchi)
Simon Callaghan, Hiroaki Takenouchi (piano) (Nimbus)
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3 etc (Sinfonia of London/Wilson)
Sinfonia of London/John Wilson (Chandos)
Dance! (Minerva Piano Trio)
Minerva Piano Trio (SOMM Recordings)
Nocturne (La Tempête)
Adrian Sîrbu (Byzantine singer);La Tempête/Simon-Pierre Bestion (Alpha Classics)
Recuerdos (Augustin Hadelich)
Augustin Hadelich (violin); WDR Sinfonieorchester/Cristian Măcelaru (Warner Classics)