Review: Emily Howard – The Anvil etc

'Visceral and brilliant' is how Michael Beek describes Emily Howard's emotional commemoration of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre

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Michael Beek

Published: January 23, 2024 at 11:59 am

Emily Howard
The Anvil etc
BBC Singers; Hallé Choir; BBC Philharmonic/Ben Gernon et alDelphian DCD34285

The Anvil was commissioned by Radio 3 and the Manchester International Festival to mark the bicentenary of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, and it’s an immersive and emotional experience. In ‘The field turns inside out’ the orchestral assault mirrors the flash of sabres and crush of hooves, voices crying out as chaos reigns. Visceral and brilliant. Michael Beek

This review was originally published in the Brief notes section of BBC Music Magazine

Michael Beek

Reviews Editor, BBC Music Magazine

Michael is the Reviews Editor of BBC Music Magazine. He looks after the 26 pages of recording and book reviews in the magazine each month, deciding what will be reviewed – no easy task with so much being sent in for consideration! Michael joined the team in 2018, following ten years as a freelance film music journalist and fifteen years at St George's Bristol. Film and television music is his favourite thing, and when he’s not listening to things to be reviewed in the mag, Michael loves nothing more than to listen to the music of John Williams and James Horner – his favourite film composers. He was the Editor of MusicfromtheMovies.com and has written for the BBC Proms, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood in Vienna and Silva Screen Records. His favourite writing gigs so far have been programmes for each of the Doctor Who Proms, soundtrack album notes for Doctor Who – Series 4 and Torchwood – Children of Earth, plus programmes and features for live concert screenings of Jurassic Park, Gladiator, Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark. While he never got the chance to interview the late James Horner, Michael was delighted to spend an hour on the phone with John Williams for the 2020 Christmas issue of BBC Music Magazine. Also a presenter, Michael has hosted concerts and live events for Bristol Film Festival and St George's Bristol, plus Debbie Wiseman's ‘Music and Words from Wolf Hall’ shows at venues across the UK. Michael has worked regularly with Debbie Wiseman over the years, writing concert programmes and scripts (for Terry Wogan and Simon Bates) and producing her 2011 album Piano Stories.

Review: Emily Howard – The Anvil etc

This review was originally published in the Brief notes section of BBC Music Magazine

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Review: Emily Howard – The Anvil etc

This review was originally published in the Brief notes section of BBC Music Magazine

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