Classical Recommendations
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The Presto Chart - May 2020
2nd Jun 2020
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for May, with Grigory Sokolov's Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart on Deutsche Grammophon in first place...
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Presto Editor's Choices - May 2020
1st Jun 2020
Imaginative song-recitals from Natalya Romaniw, Roderick Williams and Ilker Arcayürek, luminous Janáček from Thomas Adès, and old-school orchestral fireworks from Airat Ichmouratov.
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New Release Round-Up - 29th May 2020
29th May 2020
Today’s new releases include Massenet's Thaïs from Sir Andrew Davis and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, opera arias from Aleksandra Kurzak, and music from the court of Versailles from Jean Rondeau and Thomas Dunford.
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Digital New Release Round-Up - 27th May 2020
28th May 2020
New Elgar recordings from Nicola Benedetti and Vasily Petrenko, Beethoven from James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong, Adès performs Adès with Kirill Gerstein, and a self-isolation project from Ludovico Einaudi.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - June 2020
26th May 2020
Chris introduces this month's selection, with pride of place going to Piotr Beczała's 'simply wonderful' album of verismo arias, Vincerò!, released on Pentatone earlier this month.
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New Release Round-Up - 22nd May 2020
22nd May 2020
Today’s new releases include Vivaldi from Martin Fröst, two concertos by Gabriel Prokofiev, new American choral music from the Choir of Merton College Oxford, and Leclair Trio Sonatas from Ensemble Diderot.
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Boxed Set Selections - May 2020
20th May 2020
Anthologies celebrating Zubin Mehta in Los Angeles, Decca at 90, and the Staatskapelle Berlin at the grand old age of 450, plus vintage Beethoven from Zino Francescatti and Robert Casadesus.
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BBC Music Magazine - June 2020 Choices
18th May 2020
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by Víkingur Ólafsson's best-selling Rameau and Debussy recital on Deutsche Grammophon.
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New Release Round-Up - 15th May 2020
15th May 2020
Today’s new releases include Sturm und Drang from Ian Page and The Mozartists, a third volume of Panufnik Legacies from François-Xavier Roth and the London Symphony Orchestra, opera arias by Leonardo Vinci from Franco Fagioli, and the complete Beethoven string quartets from Quatuor Ébène.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - May 2020
12th May 2020
Chris introduces this month's selection, with the Tippett Quartet taking top honours for their 'breathtaking sense of control' in Henryk Górecki’s String Quartet No. 3 on Naxos.
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BBC Music Magazine Awards 2020: The Winners!
11th May 2020
Chris introduces this year's winners, with 'stellar' Purcell from Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli taking the palm for Recording of the Year.
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New Release Round-Up - 8th May 2020
8th May 2020
Beethoven concertos from Inon Barnatan and Martha Argerich, a journey through Spain and South America with Tabea Zimmermann, and Tannhäuser from Bayreuth - starring Lise Davidsen in her festival debut as Elisabeth.
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The Presto Chart - April 2020
4th May 2020
Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson maintains his No. 1 spot from last month with his outstandingly played, imaginatively-programmed album of Debussy and Rameau on Deutsche Grammophon.
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Presto Editor's Choices - April 2020
1st May 2020
Anna Prohaska sings of man's first disobedience, Yuja Wang dances with the devil, and Gerald Barry, Thomas Adès and Mark Stone paint a touching portrait of Beethoven in love.
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New Release Round-Up - 1st May 2020
1st May 2020
Beethoven from Stephen Hough, a Vasks world premiere from Maxim Rysanov, solo Bach from Trevor Pinnock, and Verdi's Attila (starring Ildebrando D'Arcangelo in the title-role).
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New Release Round-Up - 24th April 2020
24th Apr 2020
Strauss from Krzysztof Urbański, Beethoven from Andrew Manze and Martin Helmchen, the first complete recording of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne's Phèdre, and an inventive staging of Purcell's King Arthur, conducted by René Jacobs.
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Digital New Release Round-Up - 24th April 2020
24th Apr 2020
A John Adams premiere from Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Beethoven from Teodor Currentzis, Vivaldi from Martin Fröst and Concerto Köln, and Strauss’s Enoch Arden from Kirill Gerstein and the late Bruno Ganz.
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BBC Music Magazine - May 2020 Choices
21st Apr 2020
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by violinist Jack Liebeck's 'stellar Brahms and expressive Schoenberg' concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Gourlay on Orchid Classics.
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New Release Round-Up - 17th April 2020
17th Apr 2020
Beethoven and Barry from Thomas Adès and the Britten Sinfonia, a strongly-cast Frau ohne Schatten from Vienna, and a Russian recital from Karina Gauvin.
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Boxed Set Selections - April 2020
15th Apr 2020
Vintage Beethoven string quartets from Melodiya, a sixtieth-birthday celebration from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and forty years of recordings from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge.
