Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
Recording of the Week, Daniil Trifonov brings freshness and clarity to Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos
12th October 2018
Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov brings his customary thoughtfulness and virtuosity to an impressive new account of one of the most familiar of all piano concertos.
Recording of the Week, A moving recital from Igor Levit with music by Bach, Liszt and Wagner
5th October 2018
Igor Levit explores music of transfiguration and transcendence in his Life Album, an eclectic recital of Bach-via-Busoni and Wagner-via-Liszt.
Recording of the Week, Masaaki Suzuki completes his Bach cantata cycle
28th September 2018
Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium bring their mighty Bach cycle to a close with a pairing of two 'Cantatas of Contentment'.
Recording of the Week, Scriabin's First and Fifth Symphonies from Vasily Petrenko
21st September 2018
The Russian conductor and the Oslo Philharmonic are joined by pianist Kirill Gerstein for the final instalment of Scriabin's complete symphonies on LAWO.
Recording of the Week, Simon Rattle and the LSO dazzle in Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town
14th September 2018
Bernstein's 1953 musical receives a sparkling performance from the London Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle, with a cast led by Danielle de Niese, Alysha Umphress, and Nathan Gunn.
Recording of the Week, Rossini's Semiramide from Mark Elder
7th September 2018
Rossini's final Italian opera seria receives a taut, compelling reading on period instruments in an interpretation which plays up its baroque pedigree to great effect.
Recording of the Week, Jiří Bělohlávek conducts Janáček
31st August 2018
Late recordings of the Glagolitic Mass, Taras Bulba, the Sinfonietta and The Fiddler's Child bear witness to the Czech conductor's affinity for his countryman's music.
Recording of the Week, Bernstein Symphonies from Simon Rattle and Antonio Pappano
24th August 2018
Pianist Krystian Zimerman brings understated affection and Classical clarity to The Age of Anxiety with Rattle, whilst Pappano and his Roman orchestra emphasise the dramatic qualities of all three symphonies.
Recording of the Week, Yo-Yo Ma records Bach's Cello Suites for the third and final time
17th August 2018
The Chinese-American cellist returns to works which he describes as his 'constant musical companions' in interpretations of uncommon freshness and spontaneity.
Recording of the Week, Music by Haydn and Schoenberg from cellist Alisa Weilerstein
10th August 2018
James listens to energetic, vital accounts of Haydn's two cello concertos from Alisa Weilerstein, coupled with an expressively radiant performance of Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht.
Recording of the Week, Rachmaninov's Études-tableaux from Steven Osborne
3rd August 2018
Katherine is mesmerised by the Scottish pianist’s introspective but evocative accounts of Rachmaninov’s two sets of ‘study-pictures’, out now on Hyperion.
Recording of the Week, Wagner's Die Meistersinger from Bayreuth, directed by Barrie Kosky
27th July 2018
Katherine reviews the Australian director's complex but illuminating 2017 production, which places the composer himself at the heart of the action.
Recording of the Week, Vivaldi Double Concertos from Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima
20th July 2018
Adrian Chandler and his acclaimed team of baroque instrumentalists present a sparkling selection of Vivaldi's unique double concerti.
Recording of the Week, Mozart's La clemenza di Tito from Yannick Nézet-Séguin
13th July 2018
Marina Rebeka and Joyce DiDonato strike sparks off one another as Vitellia and Sesto in a terrific new recording of Mozart's final opera, with Rolando Villazón as the idealistic emperor against whom they conspire.
Recording of the Week, Shostakovich Symphonies 4 & 11 from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
6th July 2018
Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra offer highly characterful and stunningly-performed accounts of Shostakovich's Fourth and Eleventh Symphonies.
Recording of the Week, John Adams's Doctor Atomic, conducted by the composer
29th June 2018
John Adams conducts Gerald Finley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the first audio recording of his 2005 opera, Doctor Atomic.
Recording of the Week, Buxtehude's Abendmusiken from Vox Luminis
22nd June 2018
Two first-rate early music ensembles join forces to recreate the atmosphere of Buxtehude's legendary secular-sacred concert series in Lübeck.
Recording of the Week, Haydn's 'Lamentatione' from Giovanni Antonini
15th June 2018
The Milanese conductor continues his mammoth survey of Haydn's complete symphonies with the 'Lamentatione' and 'Alleluia', performed by the Kammerorchester Basel.
Recording of the Week, Francesco Piemontesi performs piano music by Franz Liszt
8th June 2018
James listens to a turbulent account of the Première année in Liszt's piano cycle Années de pèlerinage from Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi.
Recording of the Week, Xiayin Wang performs piano concertos by Ginastera
1st June 2018
Chandos's survey of Ginastera's orchestral music concludes with the Piano Concerto No. 1 and other works performed by pianist Xiayin Wang and the BBC Philharmonic under Juanjo Mena.