Latest stories
Katherine Cooper
Head of Editorial
Katherine Cooper read English at University College, Oxford, and joined Presto in 2009. She began her musical life as a violinist, but now spends much of her time singing Rossini and Elgar (sometimes even for money). She is also an Associate Lecturer for the Open University, specialising in music and literature.
-
New Release Round-Up - 14th August 2026
14th Aug 2026by Katherine Cooper
Piazzolla from Argentine mezzo Daniela Mack, the world premiere recording of Olli Mustonen's Heavenly Lights, an eclectic recital on the theme of light from Simone Kermes, and Julius Katchen’s complete Brahms recordings on Eloquence.
-
Martha C. Nussbaum's The Republic of Love
12th Aug 2026by Katherine Cooper
The American academic offers an ideal blend of head and heart in this hugely engaging book on opera and political thought, taking in works from Mozart to Jake Heggie and drawing on her lifelong love for the artform as well as her extensive background philosophy.
-
Jader Bignamini in Detroit
11th Aug 2026by Katherine Cooper
The Italian conductor discusses his recent live recording of Carmina Burana with the Detroit Symphony, how the city has become a second home, and what he learned about conducting from the years which he spent as an clarinettist in the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano.
-
New Release Round-Up - 7th August 2026
7th Aug 2026by Katherine Cooper
Finnish orchestral works from Rumon Gamba in Oulu, Strauss from Gianandrea Noseda in Zürich, and the world premiere recordings of two recent American operas: Mark Adamo's Lysistrata and Missy Mazzoli & Royce Vavrek's Breaking the Waves.
-
Jessica Walker on Barbara
6th Aug 2026by Katherine Cooper
The mezzo-soprano and writer discusses her new album La Solitude (out now on Resonus Classics) which celebrates the legacy of the iconic French singer-songwriter (1930-97) and seeks to bring her songs to new audiences through deft English translations.
-
Nathalie Stutzmann on Bruckner
4th Aug 2026by Katherine Cooper
The French-born Swiss conductor discusses her new live recording of Symphony No. 4 from Atlanta, why institutional misogyny kept her off the podium until middle age, and the thrill of bringing Wagner's Rienzi to Bayreuth at long last.
-
Giordano's Marina rediscovered
31st Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
Submitted for a competition in the late 1880s, the Italian composer's first opera finally sees the light of day on a live recording with Eleonora Buratto in the title-role and Freddie De Tommaso as the enemy fugitive who captures her heart.
-
New Release Round-Up - 31st July 2026
31st Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
A visit to eighteenth-century Leipzig with Reinhard Goebel, Bruckner from the late Michael Tilson Thomas in Verbier, a lively collaboration between VOCES8 and Swedish barbershop group Ringmasters, and Robert Schumann from Matthias Goerne and Markus Hinterhäuser.
-
New Release Round-Up - 24th July 2026
24th Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
Two new orchestral works from Joe Hisaishi, Bruckner from Nathalie Stutzmann in Atlanta, John Williams's Flute Concerto from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and a ninetieth-birthday celebration of Zubin Mehta.
-
David Webb and John Andrews on Arthur Sullivan
23rd Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
The tenor and conductor discuss their new album of Sullivan's sacred and secular music for tenor (including extracts from the Savoy Operas), recorded with the Academy of Ancient Music and released last month on Resonus Classics.
-
John Holiday's Over My Head
17th Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
The American countertenor's unique voice and bold artistic personality shine brightly on his debut album, with pianist Kevin Miller matching his flair and stylistic versatility in a programme of spirituals, American song cycles and jazz standards.
-
New Release Round-Up - 17th July 2026
17th Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
A Franco-Belgian recital from Elena Urioste and Tom Poster, Peter Donohoe's favourite Chopin, a Finzi triptych from the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, and Schubert from George Xiaoyuan Fu and Lotte Betts-Dean.
-
John Holiday on Over My Head
13th Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
The American countertenor discusses his debut solo album (out this Friday on Pentatone), the relationship between his faith and his music, and two trailblazing Black singers who inspired him in his youth.
-
New Release Round-Up - 10th July 2026
10th Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
Youthful Mahler Lieder from Joseph Middleton and friends, the songs of French chanteuse Barbara from Jessica Walker, Douglas Moore's Pulitzer-winning opera Giants in the Earth, and Goldmark and Sibelius from Sueye Park.
-
Presto Presents... Claire Booth and Christopher Glynn
9th Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
The soprano and pianist take us behind the scenes of their new album Cocteau's Music, out now on Orchid Classics and featuring Poulenc's La voix humaine alongside songs by Maurice Delage, Darius Milhaud, Georges Auric and others.
-
New Release Round-Up - 3rd July 2026
3rd Jul 2026by Katherine Cooper
Piano Postcards from Sir Stephen Hough, Schumann from Adam Laloum, Berlin cabaret from Anne Sofie von Otter, and a final volume of Vivaldi bassoon concerti from Sergio Azzolini.
-
Presto Team Choices - June 2026
30th Jun 2026by Katherine Cooper
A birthday celebration of composer and violist Sally Beamish, Copland and Walker from Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra, Bach with a twist from Ayres Extemporae, and Haydn from Peter Donohoe.
-
Cocteau's Music from Claire Booth and Christopher Glynn
26th Jun 2026by Katherine Cooper
The British soprano and pianist explore the extraordinary legacy of French poet, playwright and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, including songs by Milhaud, Honegger and Auric, and culminating in a visceral account of Poulenc's La Voix humaine.
-
New Release Round-Up - 26th June 2026
26th Jun 2026by Katherine Cooper
Schubert from Paavo Järvi in Bremen, a new oratorio from British composer Edward Picton-Turbervill, Strauss from Edward Gardner and the LPO, and an exhilarating live Carmina Burana from Jader Bignamini in Detroit.
-
New Release Round-Up - 19th June 2026
19th Jun 2026by Katherine Cooper
Haydn from Denis Kozhukhin, Arthur Sullivan from David Webb and the Academy of Ancient Music, Debussy from Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier, and Sibelius from Jukka-Pekka Saraste in Helsinki.