The new Joshua Bell Vivaldi Four Seasons recording has just come into the office and of course it sounds fantastic – full of the requisite energy and poetry. But with the CD comes a fold-out calendar featuring Bell looking tousled and sultry in what looks like his Baroque boudoir, his tie slightly akimbo, his shirtsleeves undone. I suppose I should be pleased that male stars now have to market themselves in the same way that females ones have had to for ages, but is it really necessary? Especially for someone of Bell’s class, whose playing is as much marked by its intellect and imagination as it is by more earthy qualities? Or maybe I’m just being too precious, and anything that sells classical music is a good thing. Anyway, I’ve put the calendar on my wall, and it does make me smile!
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