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Overtures from the British Isles Vol. 3
30th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic lead a whistle-stop tour through the highways and byways of British music around the time of World War Two, taking in works by composers including Havergal Brian, Daniel Jones, Richard Arnell and Robin Orr.
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New Release Round-Up - 30th January 2026
30th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
A gallery of piano heroines from Claire Huangci, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius from Martyn Brabbins in Huddersfield, Schumann and Moscheles from Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih, and Lully's Atys with Mathias Vidal and Véronique Gens.
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Martin Helmchen on Schubert
29th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
To mark the composer's 229th birthday on Saturday, the German pianist reflects on the joys of discovering his early and unfinished sonatas (several of which feature on the first instalment of his new cycle on Alpha Classics).
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New Release Round-Up - 23rd January 2026
23rd Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
Mahler from Vladimir Jurowski and François-Xavier Roth, Bach's Clavier-Übung III from British organist James McVinnie, and a compline-inspired EP from The King's Singers.
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Leif Ove Andsnes on Schubert for Four Hands
20th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
The Norwegian pianist discusses sharing a keyboard with his friend Bertrand Chamayou for a mesmerising programme of late Schubert, which began life at Andsnes's chamber music festival in the fjords a decade ago.
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A Winterreise with a difference from Allan Clayton
16th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
The British tenor joins forces with Aurora Orchestra under its founder Nicholas Collon for Hans Zender's 'composed interpretation' of Schubert's bleak song-cycle, premiered in 1993 and bringing the piece's chilly soundscapes to life with an ensemble which includes accordion, guitar, a battery of percussion and a wind-machine.
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New Release Round-Up - 16th January 2026
16th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
The New Year's Day concert from Vienna (conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin), late Brahms from Piotr Anderszewski, a second volume of Edward MacDowell's orchestral works from the BBC Philharmonic and John Wilson, and a box-set of Angela Hewitt's complete Bach recordings.
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New Release Round-Up - 9th January 2026
9th Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
Schubert Impromptus from Eric Lu, Verdi's Simon Boccanegra starring Ludovic Tézier and Marina Rebeka, songs by Kurt Weill from Katie Bray and friends, and the final instalment of the Cuarteto Casals's Shostakovich cycle.
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Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
Ludovic Tézier (Simon Boccanegra), Marina Rebeka (Amelia), Francesco Meli (Gabriele Adorno), Michele Pertusi (Fiesco), Mattia Olivieri (Paolo), Andrea Pellegrini (Pietro) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, Michele Spotti
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New Release Round-Up - 2nd January 2026
2nd Jan 2026by Katherine Cooper
Brahms from Edward Gardner in Bergen, a third Joan Sutherland box-set on Decca, Max Richter's score for the new film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, and Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky from Nobuyuki Tsujii.
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Philippe Jaroussky celebrates 25 years in the profession
31st Dec 2025by Katherine Cooper
The French countertenor reflects on the changes he's seen during his first quarter-century in the business, his recent album of Italian secular cantatas, his blossoming parallel career as a conductor, and why he's a firm believer that 'the grass is not always greener in another field'.
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Thomas Dunford and Lea Desandre on Songs of Passion
23rd Dec 2025by Katherine Cooper
The lutenist and mezzo discuss their Presto Award-winning album of music by Dowland and Purcell, their own first encounters with both composers as teenagers, and some of the friends and family-members who played a part in the project.
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Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann from Covent Garden
19th Dec 2025by Katherine Cooper
Stuffed with references to films including Moulin Rouge, Casino Royale and Mary Poppins, Damiano Michieletto’s surreal, absinthe-drenched production of Offenbach's final opera is the perfect dark Christmas treat, with Juan Diego Flórez heading a superb cast as the eponymous poet and barfly.
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Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (Blu-ray)
Juan Diego Flórez (Hoffmann), Ermonela Jaho (Antonia), Alex Esposito (Lindorf/Coppélius/Miracle/Dapertutto), Julie Boulianne (Nicklausse), Olga Pudova (Olympia), Marina Costa-Jackson (Giulietta), Christine Rice (Muse) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonello Manacorda, Damiano Michieletto
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New Releases from Winter 2025
19th Dec 2025by Katherine Cooper
A nature-themed concept-album from The Hermes Experiment, a 150th-birthday tribute to Ravel from Cristian Măcelaru in Paris, an homage to trailblazing cellist Lise Cristiani from Sol Gabetta, and Beethoven from Jordan-born pianist Karim Said.
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New Release Round-Up - 12th December 2025
12th Dec 2025by Katherine Cooper
A Mozart Requiem with a difference from Manfred Honeck in Pittsburgh, André Tchaikowsky from Peter Jablonski, Mahler from Gianandrea Noseda in Washington, and Chopin & Scriabin from Mikhail Pletnev.
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Requiem: Mozart's Death in Words and Music
F. Murray Abraham, Jeanine De Bique (soprano), Catriona Morison (mezzo), Ben Bliss (tenor), Tareq Nazmi (bass); Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Westminster Choir, The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Manfred Honeck
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Christmas New Releases 2025
5th Dec 2025by Katherine Cooper
Festive releases from the Choir of St John's College Cambridge, the Miró Quartet, Il Pomo d'Oro, and the brass section of the Berlin Philharmonic.
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O Holy Night
Alexander Robson, Montague Tatnell (soprano), Arthur Cobb (soprano), Bryony Macleod-Jones (soprano), Alice Markham (vocalist), Theodore Horch (tenor), Alexander Semple (bass-baritone), Nicholas Garcia (soprano), Matthew Monaghan (vocalist), Anna Morgan (vocalist), William Collison (tenor), Garbhán McEnoy (tenor), Simon Hall (bass-baritone), John Moore (bass-baritone), Amelia Crichton-Stuart (soprano), Alexander Weiss (bass-baritone), George Henty (soprano), Choir of St John's College Cambridge, Christopher Gray
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A Cuban Christmas from The Sarahbanda
28th Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper
Horn-player Sarah Willis and her Havana-based dance-band add spice and salsa to a host of seasonal favourites including an exuberant reimagining of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, with guest vocals from Carlos Calunga (of Buena Vista Social Club fame).
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New Release Round-Up - 28th November 2025
28th Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper
Haydn from Giovanni Antonini and the Kammerorchester Basel, Bach from Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances, Ravel from the Nash Ensemble, and previously unreleased recordings by the late Radu Lupu.
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New Release Round-Up - 21st November 2025
21st Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper
Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius from Edward Gardner and the LPO, Brahms's Symphony No. 1 from Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker, a portrait of Avril Coleridge-Taylor, and Schubert from Leif Ove Andsnes & Bertrand Chamayou.
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Anoushka Shankar on tradition and innovation
19th Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper
In the wake of winning the Ivor Novello Innovation Award last week, the sitar virtuoso and composer reflects on how she found a balance between honouring her father's legacy and forging her own artistic identity - with a little help from her friends...
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New Release Round-Up - 14th November 2025
14th Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper
Adès from Thomas Søndergård in Minnesota, Kapustin from young British pianist Ophelia Gordon, the complete works of Louis Couperin from Jean Rondeau, and a Sibelius anthology from the late Leif Segerstam in Helsinki.