Latest News: Classical
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Recording of the Week,
Purcell's King Arthur from Gabrieli and Paul McCreesh 25th October 2019Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli give a sparkling performance of Purcell's patriotic extravaganza, from a new edition prepared by Christopher Suckling.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 25th October 2019 25th October 2019Strauss from Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic, Stravinsky and Ravel from Beatrice Rana, Shostakovich from the Pavel Haas Quartet, and a second recording of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique from Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth.
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Interview,
Jennifer Johnston's Love Letter To Liverpool 24th October 2019The mezzo talks to Katherine about her eclectic tribute to her home city, released last month on Rubicon and featuring music by Ives, Bantock, The Beatles, The Spinners, and seven young Liverpool composers.
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Obituary,
Rolando Panerai (1924-2019) 24th October 2019The Italian baritone, who sang major roles on many of the greatest opera recordings of the mid-twentieth century, has died aged 95.
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Obituary,
Raymond Leppard (1927-2019) 23rd October 2019The British conductor, harpsichordist and musicologist, who spearheaded the revival of Monteverdi’s and Cavalli’s operas in the 1960s and 70s, has died aged 92.
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Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - Awards Issue 2019 22nd October 2019Chris introduces this month’s selection, headed by a fascinating album of Allegri, Monteverdi and their contemporaries from Le Poème Harmonique and Vincent Dumestre on Alpha.
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Interview,
Gianandrea Noseda on Shostakovich 21st October 2019The London Symphony Orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor talks to Katherine about the challenges of recording the Fourth Symphony, the latest instalment of his Shostakovich cycle on the orchestra's own label, which was released earlier this month.
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Recording of the Week,
Chamber music by Mieczysław Weinberg 18th October 2019Gidon Kremer and friends perform three pieces of chamber music by the Polish-born Soviet composer, including an outstanding account of the Piano Trio.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 18th October 2019 18th October 2019Tchaikovsky from George Li and Daniel Lozakovich, Prokofiev from Alexander Melnikov, Beethoven from Leonidas Kavakos, and a 75th birthday recital from Nelson Freire.
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Awards,
Gramophone Awards 2019 - Recording of the Year 16th October 2019Chris reports back from tonight's ceremony in London, with full details of the overall winning recording, Artist of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and other special awards.
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Box Set Selections,
Boxed Set Selections - October 2019 15th October 2019Pierre Monteux’s complete recordings for Decca, Philips and Westminster, a mammoth Zubin Mehta collection spanning half a century, Cécile Ousset’s early recordings for Decca France, and previously unreleased Webern and Scriabin from Maria Yudina.
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BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - November 2019 Choices 14th October 2019Chris introduces this month's selection, including Korngold from John Wilson and Sinfonia of London, Beethoven and more from the Danish String Quartet, and Schumann from Joseph Tong.
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Interview,
Vaughan Williams's The Song of Love 12th October 2019David talks to mezzo-soprano Kitty Whately, pianist William Vann and Albion Records' John Francis about their recently-released album of songs and duets by Vaughan Williams, including a number of works never recorded before.
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Recording of the Week,
Jonas Kaufmann in Vienna 11th October 2019The German tenor sings the praises of the Austrian capital in a sumptuously-performed collection of operetta favourites and popular songs with a sting in its tail.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 11th October 2019 11th October 2019Rachmaninov from Daniil Trifonov, Schumann from Christian Gerhaher, Liszt from Joseph Moog, and a live recording of Tristan und Isolde from Australia with Stuart Skelton and Gun-Brit Barkmin in the title-roles.
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Interview,
Alan George on Shostakovich's String Quartets 10th October 2019Violist Alan George looks back on fifty years of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, and remembers their unique relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich.
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Coming Soon,
La damnation de Faust from John Nelson and other forthcoming highlights 9th October 2019Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spyres join forces once again for Berlioz from Strasbourg, plus Shostakovich from the Pavel Haas Quartet, Schubert from Arcadi Volodos, and recital albums from Angela Gheorghiu and Jakub Józef Orliński.
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Interview,
Ning Feng on Virtuosismo 9th October 2019The Chinese violinist shares his thoughts on balancing virtuosity and lyricism in two tremendously demanding concertos by Paganini and Vieuxtemps, out now on Channel Classics and one of Katherine's personal picks from the September releases.
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Presto Editor's Choices,
Presto Editor's Choices - September 2019 8th October 2019Sumptuous Elgar from Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, fiery Falla from Pablo Heras-Casado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and lightly-worn virtuosity from the sweet-toned Chinese violinist Ning Feng.
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Obituary,
Marcello Giordani (1963-2019) 7th October 2019The Italian spinto tenor, who was particularly famed for his Verdi and Puccini roles, has died aged 56.