Latest News: Classical
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Coming Soon,
Satie & Cage from Bertrand Chamayou and other forthcoming highlights 29th August 2023Stand-out releases for the autumn also include French repertoire from Steven Osborne, Alexandre Tharaud and Bruce Liu, Baroque albums from Miloš Karadaglić and Avi Avital, and the final instalment of Andris Nelsons's Shostakovich cycle from Boston.
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Interview,
Suzi Digby on Sanctissima 28th August 2023The founder and director of the ORA Singers talks about her new album of music inspired by Vespers, and her ongoing mission to celebrate choral music from two Golden Ages centuries apart.
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Recording of the Week,
Russian Romances from Piotr Beczała and Helmut Deutsch 25th August 2023The Polish tenor and German pianist are both at the top of their considerable games in an eloquent and imaginative recital of songs by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, released today on Pentatone.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 25th August 2023 25th August 2023Nielsen concertos from Fabio Luisi, Bruckner's Eighth Symphony from Paavo Järvi, Janáček's Káťa Kabanová from the Salzburg Festival, and an intriguing fusion of early music and cabaret-songs from Stéphanie d'Oustrac & Le Poème Harmonique.
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Interview,
Tim Parker-Langston on Fanny Hensel's Lieder 24th August 2023The tenor and musicologist discusses his mission to make Hensel's complete songs readily available to audiences and performers alike - and explains why her music 'just never stops surprising us'...
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Presto CD,
53 new titles added to our Presto CD range from Sony Classical 23rd August 2023Musicals from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter & Stephen Sondheim and the music of J.S. Bach feature in the latest additions to our Presto CD range.
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Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - September 2023 22nd August 2023Chris introduces next month's selection, with 'an absolute belter' of a Tchaikovsky Five from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in pride of place as Recording of the Month...
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Recollections,
Introducing our Recollections project 21st August 2023Presto Music is a company run by music-lovers, for music-lovers, so this is a call-out for your own personal stories - if you have an interesting tale behind a much-loved recording, we would love you to share it with us...
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Recording of the Week,
Sanctissima from the ORA Singers 18th August 2023The London-based vocal ensemble's 'Vespers and Benediction for the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary' features striking commissions by Giles Swayne, Julian Anderson, Matthew Martin and the late Sven-David Sandström.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 18th August 2023 18th August 2023The debut solo recording of Scottish tenor Liam Bonthrone, a tribute to Tebaldi from American soprano Melody Moore, Rubinstein piano concertos from Anna Shelest & Neeme Järvi, and Liszt's Faust Symphony from Kirill Karabits in Weimar.
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BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - September 2023 Choices 17th August 2023Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by 'stunningly recorded' account of Hans Sørensen’s suite of excerpts from Bernard Herrmann's only opera Wuthering Heights (starring Keri Fuge as Cathy and Roderick Williams as Heathcliff).
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Obituary,
Renata Scotto (1934-2023) 16th August 2023One of the greatest singing actresses of the twentieth century, the Italian soprano and director has died aged 89.
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Interview,
Julian Perkins explores Handel's Attick 15th August 2023The man BBC Radio 3 dubbed the "Indiana Jones of Early Music" talks about his new album of music for the clavichord - an instrument that most definitely doesn't belong in a museum.
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Presto Music Classical Podcast,
Episode 41: Standing out from the Crowd - Arthur Bliss with Paul Spicer 13th August 2023Author Paul Spicer recently joined us at our store in Leamington Spa to discuss his new biography of Arthur Bliss, in conversation with Andrew Burn, chairman of The Bliss Trust.
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Recording of the Week,
Rumon Gamba conducts overtures from Finland 11th August 2023The Oulu Symphony Orchestra and their chief conductor offer a treasure trove of rarely-recorded orchestral gems by Finnish composers contemporary with Sibelius.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 11th August 2023 11th August 2023Shostakovich and Maneein concertos from Rachel Barton Pine, Mozart from Federico Colli, Francesca Dego, Timothy Ridout and Laura van der Heijden, late Haydn from Ádám Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra, and orchestral songs by Peter Warlock.
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Presto Presents…,
Presto Presents...Bojan Čičić's Bach 10th August 2023The Croatian violinist launched his acclaimed new album of the Partitas & Sonatas on Delphian with a short recital and Q&A session at our store in Leamington last month, now available to view on our YouTube channel.
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Box Set Deep-Dive,
Rob Cowan on Robert Craft 9th August 2023Our new guest-contributor explores the American conductor's complete recordings for Columbia, including music by Gesualdo, Monteverdi, Schoenberg and Webern...
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Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - August 2023 8th August 2023Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by a recording of the Ysaÿe Sonatas that 'will be difficult to equal, let alone surpass' from Hilary Hahn on Deutsche Grammophon...
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Interview,
Joseph Middleton on Mahler 7th August 2023The pianist discusses his mission to record all of Mahler's songs in the versions for voice and piano (which launched at the end of last month on Signum Classics) and recounts how 'there was never a grand plan for this to be my job'...