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Presto Editor's Choices - October 2021
1st Nov 2021by Katherine Cooper
French mezzos Marianne Crebassa and Lea Desandre excel on two very different recital-discs, Claire Booth and Christopher Glynn offer an unusual perspective on Mussorgsky, and The Hermes Experiment continue to surprise and delight with their second album.
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Nelson Freire (1944-2021)
1st Nov 2021by Chris O'Reilly
The great Brazilian pianist, who was especially acclaimed for his interpretations of Chopin and Brahms as well as for his duo performances with his close friend Martha Argerich, has died aged 77.
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Graham Collier, 'British Conversations'
1st Nov 2021by Joshua Lee
Commemorating 10 years since the British jazz composer, bassist and bandleader's passing, My Only Desire Records release his previously unheard 'British Conversations' suite, originally recorded in 1975.
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New Music Book Publications - 1st November 2021
1st Nov 2021by James Longstaffe
Suggestions of pieces to help soothe the soul; a paperback edition of a biography of Mozart; a documentation of violins that survived the concentration camps of the Second World War; a guide to the career of Clara Schumann; games and ideas for musical play with pre-school children; and two books on Bruce Springsteen, one of them written in collaboration with former US President, Barack Obama.
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Episode 24: On Song with The Hermes Experiment
31st Oct 2021by Paul Thomas
Paul meets the members of The Hermes Experiment, one of the UK's most innovative contemporary music groups, in the week that their second album is released on Delphian Records.
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Nicole Glover on learning to be a leader and 'Strange Lands'
30th Oct 2021by Joshua Lee
Josh caught up with the Oregon-hailing, New York-based saxophonist to chat about her latest album Strange Lands, writing for chordless sax trio and the challenges of bandleading.
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Baroque fireworks from Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort
29th Oct 2021by David Smith
The violinist and his ensemble present four virtuosic concertos, showcasing the legacy of Vivaldi's incredible panache as a performer as well as the earliest origins of what would eventually become the solo violin caprice.
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New Release Round-Up - 29th October 2021
29th Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
Bartók from Susanna Mälkki and the Helsinki Phillharmonic, Chopin from Stephen Hough, Beethoven from the Chiaroscuro Quartet, and Handel arias with instrumental obbligatos from La Nuova Musica.
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Eivind Aarset 4tet, 'Phantasmagoria, or A Different Kind of Journey'
29th Oct 2021by Joshua Lee
On his ninth full-length record, Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset combines influences from ambient music, Nordic jazz and hard rock to spellbinding effect.
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 28th October 2021
28th Oct 2021by Joshua Lee
The latest batch of new jazz releases include a previously unreleased suite from British bassist/composer Graham Collier, electronica-meets-jazz flute from Tenderlonious, and the bandleading debut of pianist Ayumi Tanaka on ECM.
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Piano Sheet Music Essentials: Claude Debussy
28th Oct 2021by Ellena Spirrett
In our Piano Sheet Music Essentials series, we aim to offer recommendations of popular and well-known piano pieces by a selection of celebrated composers. This article focuses on the work of Claude Debussy, one of the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Della Jones on Opera Rara
27th Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
The veteran Welsh mezzo talks to Katherine about her career and her relationship with the label, which began in the late 1970s with a recording of Donizetti's Ugo, conte di Parigi.
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Boxed Set Selections - October 2021
26th Oct 2021by Chris O'Reilly
October heavyweights include anthologies celebrating Robert Tear, Karl Böhm, Georges Cziffra and Géza Anda. plus the Dresden Kammerchor's complete recordings of Heinrich Schütz.
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Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía - Friday Night in San Francisco
26th Oct 2021by Matt Groom
Matt wishes he could be transported back to The Warfield Theatre, 5 December, 1980, as he looks back on one of his favourite records, Friday Night in San Francisco, featuring three of the great guitar maestros on top of their game, making for a breath-taking live record.
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Marina Rebeka and Franco Vassallo on Il Pirata
25th Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
The Latvian soprano and Italian baritone discuss their roles as Imogene and Ernesto in Bellini's early opera, recorded last summer in the composer's native Catania and released on Rebeka's own label Prima Classic last month.
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Bernard Haitink (1929-2021)
22nd Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
The great Dutch conductor, widely loved for his kindness and humility as well as his revelatory interpretations of Wagner, Bruckner and Mahler, has died at home in London aged 92.
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Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Gösta Winbergh (tenor), Nancy Gustafson (soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (contralto), Herbert Lippert (tenor), Gwynne Howell (bass), Thomas Allen (baritone), John Tomlinson (bass), Alasdair Elliott (tenor), Richard Lloyd Morgan (bass), Anthony Michaels-Moore (baritone), Grant Dickson (tenor), Robin Leggate (tenor), John Dobson (tenor), Paul Crook (tenor), Simon Wilding (baritone), Geoffrey Moses (bass), Michael Druiett (bass) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Opera Chorus, Bernard Haitink
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Philippe Jaroussky & Thibaut Garcia: À sa guitare
22nd Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
The French countertenor and guitarist join forces for an eclectic, beguiling programme ranging from Dowland to Barbara, whilst Jaroussky's younger label-mate Jakub Józef Orliński dazzles in sacred baroque works with Il Pomo d'Oro.
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New Release Round-Up - 22nd October 2021
22nd Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
Gubaidulina world premieres from Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester, Mozart's Mitridate from Marc Minkowski, a musical journey through sixteenth-century Venice with Gawain Glenton and Silas Wollston, and a Franco-Spanish recital from mezzo Marianne Crebassa.
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Esperanza Spalding - Songwrights Apothecary Lab
22nd Oct 2021by Joshua Lee
The renowned bassist-vocalist flexes her songwriting chops with twelve diverse pieces, realised with a laboratory of interchanging collaborators.
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Piano Sheet Music Essentials: Sergei Rachmaninoff
21st Oct 2021by Ellena Spirrett
In our Piano Sheet Music Essentials series, we aim to offer recommendations of popular and well-known piano pieces by a selection of celebrated composers. This article focuses on the work of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the late Romantic period.