Latest News: Classical
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Recording of the Week,
Gergiev at the Mariinsky 1st June 2009
The Russian conductor presides over a ‘thoroughly worthwhile’ recording of Shostakovich’s surreal first opera The Nose, composed between 1927 and 1928 and based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol.
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Recording of the Week,
Two recent re-discoveries light up Martinu year 25th May 2009
The fiftieth anniversary of the Czech composer’s death is marked by a superb programme of excerpts from his opera Juliette (conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, with Magdalena Kožená in the title-role) and a collection of his chamber music from Ensemble Calliopée.
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Recording of the Week,
Idomeneo from René Jacobs 18th May 2009
Following his landmark accounts of the three Da Ponte opera, Jacobs tackles Mozart’s early opera seria, with Richard Croft as the Cretan king, Bernarda Fink as his estranged son, and Alexandrina Pendatchanska spitting fire as Elettra.
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Recording of the Week,
A&R and Kate Royal's Midsummer Night 11th May 2009
The British soprano and Kathleen Ferrier Award winner’s second recording for EMI Classics includes opera arias by Walton, Stravinsky, Britten, Korngold and Dvořák, all on a nocturnal theme.
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Recording of the Week,
Rachmaninov Preludes 27th April 2009
In ‘one of his finest recordings to date’, Scottish pianist Steven Osborne showcases the infinite variety of Rachmaninov’s 24 Preludes in performances which combine musical intelligence with fire and tenderness.
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Recording of the Week,
20 Years of NMC 20th April 2009
Founded by composer Colin Matthews in 1989, the British contemporary music label celebrates its twentieth birthday with a songbook featuring music by composers including Thea Musgrave, Tarik O’Regan and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
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Awards,
BBC Music Magazine Awards 13th April 2009
Sir Charles Mackerras’s vibrant accounts of the late Mozart symphonies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra take the palm as Disc of the Year, with honourable mentions for Christian Gerhaher, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and others.
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Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich 11 from the RLPO 6th April 2009
The latest instalment of Vasily Petrenko’s Shostakovich cycle with his Liverpool orchestra prompts Chris to draw comparisons with Rattle’s landmark work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra…
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Recording of the Week,
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 9th March 2009
Richard Egarr and The Academy of Ancient Music record Bach’s six concerti grossi at French baroque pitch (A = 392Hz), which has ‘a remarkable effect on the richness of the sound’.
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Recording of the Week,
Angela Gheorghiu in Puccini's Madama Butterfly 2nd March 2009
The Romanian soprano assumes the role of the tragic teenage geisha for the first time, with Jonas Kaufmann as the American naval officer who abandons her, and Antonio Pappano conducting.
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Recording of the Week,
The world's most celebrated violins 23rd February 2009
James Ehnes explores one of the world’s finest private collections of violins, including instruments by Stradivari and Guarneri, and showcases their unique qualities in a programme including music by Elgar, Ravel, Falla and Sibelius.
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Recording of the Week,
Sarah Connolly gets Purcell year off to a flier 2nd February 2009
The British mezzo ushers in the 350th anniversary of Purcell’s birth by masterminding a new recording of Dido and Aeneas, on which her assumption of the title-role ranks with the very best on disc.
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Recording of the Week,
Monteverdi as you've never heard it before! 26th January 2009
Christina Pluhar and L’Arpeggiata make their debut on Virgin Classics with a fascinating exploration of Monteverdi’s ‘Theatre of Love’, aided by superb contributions from Philippe Jaroussky and Nuria Rial.
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Recording of the Week,
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin put Platti firmly on the map 19th January 2009
The Italian oboist and baroque composer (1697-1763) emerges as a worthy heir to Corelli in this world premiere recording of three of the concerti grossi which he based upon Corelli’s chamber works.
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Recording of the Week,
Hamelin proves his real class with Chopin 12th January 2009
The French-Canadian virtuoso ‘demonstrates that he really is a great musician as well as a phenomenal pianist’ in an all-Chopin programme centring on the Second and Third Piano Sonatas.
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Recording of the Week,
Jerusalem - in search of peace 29th December 2008
Jordi Savall creates an homage to the city of Jerusalem through an evocation of its rich history of more than 3000 years, bringing together Jewish and Palestinian musicians as well as performers from Iraq, Armenia, Turkey, Morocco and Syria.
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Recording of the Week,
Top new Christmas recommendations 8th December 2008
Honegger’s Cantate de Noël, A Christmas Festival from John Rutter, and a superb anthology of twentieth-century carols from The Choir of Westminster Abbey.
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Recording of the Week,
Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony 3rd November 2008
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and their principal conductor Vasily Petrenko give a ‘bright and characterful’ account of Tchaikovsky’s Byron-inspired symphony, coupled with the symphonic ballad The Voyevoda.
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Recording of the Week,
Vivaldi in a new light 13th October 2008
Daniel Hope directs the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in a programme of music by the ‘Red Priest’, including the ‘Tempesta di mare’ concerto, the ‘La Follia’ sonata, and ‘Andromeda Liberata’, with guest soloist Anne Sofie von Otter.
