Scarcely had I sent my last post than my first reader pinged me to say that links to two Apple Music playlists pointed to the one and the same list. I've fixed the post, but you can also access the the two playlists from here:

Playlist for August 30.

Playlist for September 6.

I apologize for the glitch.

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Let me not dwell on this most disorienting summer of all our lives except to say that I hope you're coming through. At Catch of the Day, we've been chugging along, chalking up many fine discoveries.

On a discouraging note, Radio Free America shut down on August 15. Thus, the seven-day streaming option I just announced has abruptly ceased to exist. For the foreseeable future, "Catch of the Day" is once again, worse luck, a live exclusive.

On the plus side, you can still stream our playlists on Apple Music. Here are links for August 30 and September 6. Comments on the music follow.

Strings for Peace - Premieres for Guitar and Sarod (Zoho Music 2020)

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Going on 40 years after his death, the Canadian rock star of classical music turned phantom of the recording studio, Glenn Gould, occupies an unshakable niche in the pantheon. Of the work that put him there and keeps him there, nothing looms larger than a pair of Bach recordings that Sony Classical reissued back-to-back at the dawn of the 21st century—Glenn Gould: A State of Wonder / The Complete Goldberg Variations 1955 & 1981.

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Valery Gergiev, master of all he surveys at St. Petersburg's renowned Mariinsky Theatre, is a man who famously cannot sit still. Named artistic director and chief conductor in 1988 and promoted to general director in 1996, he has since expanded his portfolio with the construction of an acoustically exemplary new concert hall as well as a second state-of-the-art opera house, complements to the glamorous imperial jewel box he was originally recruited to run. Between performances at home and on tour with the Mariinsky Opera, not to mention music directorships and guest engagements around the world, Gergiev keeps a breakneck schedule, and that is how he likes it.

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Between educated guesses and dumb luck, we usually manage to bring a good catch: prime material from artists we've come to trust, discoveries conducive to further exploration, and more. This time, I thought we could have done with some extra eureka moments. Can't win 'em all, and besides, there's always the wild card of personal taste. To listen in on any or all tracks, click through to the Apple Music playlist.

Ed Hughes: Time, Space & Change (Métier 2020)

New Music Players & Nicholas Smith

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