Classical Recommendations
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International Opera Awards 2026 - The Shortlisted Recordings
28th Sep 2026
Katie Bray, Jakub Józef Orliński and Véronique Gens are among the artists in the running for the solo recital category, whilst world premieres of Giordano's Marina, De Hartmann's Esther and Traetta's Ifigenia in Tauride go head-to-head in the complete recording stakes...
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New Release Round-Up - 25th September 2026
25th Sep 2026
Falla from Domingo Hindoyan and the Liverpool Philharmonic, Mozart from Kristian Bezuidenhout in Freiburg, Smetana's Libuše from Jakub Hrůša and Kateřina Kněžíková, and orchestral works (both new and upcycled) by Hildur Guðnadóttir.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - October 2026
21st Sep 2026
Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by an 'outstanding' account of Handel's Giulio Cesare from The English Concert and Harry Bicket on Linn (with Christophe Dumaux in the title-role and Louise Alder as Cleopatra).
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New Release Round-Up - 18th September 2026
18th Sep 2026
Late Brahms from András Schiff on ECM, Ferdinand Hérold's dark opéra comique Zampa on Bru Zane, Handel's Giulio Cesare from Harry Bicket and The English Concert, and a fairy-tale recital from Sandrine Piau and David Kadouch.
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BBC Music Magazine - October 2026 Choices
14th Sep 2026
Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by a Liszt recital from Yulianna Avdeeva which 'combines tumultuous panache with phenomenal technical accuracy'.
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Gramophone Awards 2026 - The Finalists
11th Sep 2026
The three finalists in each of the eleven categories for this year's Awards (presented in partnership with Presto Music) were revealed this morning, with Ann Hallenberg, Yunchan Lim, I Fagiolini and Sean Shibe among those in the running...
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New Release Round-Up - 11th September 2026
11th Sep 2026
Enescu from the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Brahms from Anna Fedorova, Verdi from Lise Davidsen, and a French Baroque programme from Mishka Rushdie Momen.
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Daniil Trifonov in South America and other forthcoming highlights
9th Sep 2026
The Russian pianist completes his 'American Story', with other stand-outs for the autumn including Chopin Nocturnes from Pavel Kolesnikov, Strauss's Eine Alpensinfonie from Vasily Petrenko, and Bartók suites from Edward Gardner.
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New Release Round-Up - 4th September 2026
4th Sep 2026
Handel from Carlo Vistoli and Le Concert d'Astrée, Janáček's The Excursions of Mr Brouček from the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, Lassus from Vox Luminis and Lionel Meunier, and Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers from I Fagiolini and Robert Hollingworth.
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Presto Team Choices - August 2026
2nd Sep 2026
Piazzolla from Argentine mezzo Daniela Mack and friends, Mahler on period instruments from Philipp von Steinaecker, the world premiere recording of Dmytro Bortniansky's 1776 opera Creonte, and Bruckner from Pablo Heras-Casado.
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The Presto Chart - August 2026
1st Sep 2026
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for August, with Mitsuko Uchida's 'life-affirming' live recordings of Beethoven's last three piano sonatas on Decca in the top spot.
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New Release Round-Up - 28th August 2026
28th Aug 2026
Beethoven and his Italian contemporaries from the Münchener Kammerorchester and Enrico Onofri, Rameau from Théotime Langlois de Swarte and William Christie, Don Giovanni from Iván Fischer in Budapest, and Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri from Le Concert des Nations and Jordi Savall.
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BBC Music Magazine - September 2026 Choices
24th Aug 2026
Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by a 'uniquely striking' coupling of violin concertos by Chevalier de Saint-George and Thierry Pécou from Romuald Grimbert-Barré, the Orchestre national de Cannes and Benjamin Levy on Aparté.
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Gramophone Awards 2026 - The Shortlist
21st Aug 2026
The six contenders in each of the eleven categories for this year's Awards (presented in partnership with Presto Music) were revealed this morning.
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New Release Round-Up - 21st August 2026
21st Aug 2026
Bruckner from Pablo Heras-Casado and Anima Eterna, orchestral works by Anthony Hopkins from Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra, a personal celebration of two great American composers from Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Joby Talbot's Sunstone performed by Conspirare under Craig Hella Johnson.
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New Release Round-Up - 14th August 2026
14th Aug 2026
Piazzolla from Argentine mezzo Daniela Mack, the world premiere recording of Olli Mustonen's Heavenly Lights, an eclectic recital on the theme of light from Simone Kermes, and Julius Katchen’s complete Brahms recordings on Eloquence.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - September 2026
10th Aug 2026
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by 'an example of how an unknown opera should be recorded' from Decca - namely a scintillating account of Umberto Giordano's Marina, starring Eleonora Buratto and Freddie De Tommaso.
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New Release Round-Up - 7th August 2026
7th Aug 2026
Finnish orchestral works from Rumon Gamba in Oulu, Strauss from Gianandrea Noseda in Zürich, and the world premiere recordings of two recent American operas: Mark Adamo's Lysistrata and Missy Mazzoli & Royce Vavrek's Breaking the Waves.
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Verdi from Lise Davidsen and other forthcoming highlights
5th Aug 2026
The Norwegian soprano offers a foretaste of her Lady Macbeth, with other highlights for the autumn including Handel's Messiah from Christophe Rousset and the Monteverdi Choir, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 from Simon Rattle in Munich, and Mendelssohn from Bertrand Chamayou.
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The Presto Chart - July 2026
3rd Aug 2026
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for July, with Dvořák's 'New World' Symphony and Carlos Simon's Four Black American Dances from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra retaining its place in the No. 1 spot.
