Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
Recording of the Week,
Ronald Brautigam performs piano concertos by Johann Wilhelm Wilms
Fortepianist Ronald Brautigam is joined by the Kölner Akademie and conductor Michael Alexander Willens for the first of two volumes of concertos by the composer once described as "the Dutch Beethoven".
Recording of the Week,
Freddie De Tommaso - Il Tenore
The young British-Italian tenor is on barnstorming form in a programme of scenes and arias from Tosca, Turandot, Madama Butterfly and Carmen, with equally impressive guest appearances from Lise Davidsen, Natalya Romaniw and Aigul Akhmetshina.
Recording of the Week,
Wranitzky Symphonies from Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Bernhard Forck leads Akamus in a spirited showcase of the Moravian-born composer’s gifts as an orchestrator, featuring the overture to Oberon, the ‘Grande Symphonie caractéristique pour la Paix avec la République francaise’, and the ‘Tempest’ Symphony.
Recording of the Week,
Marc-André Hamelin performs William Bolcom's complete piano rags
The Canadian pianist brings the 1960s' great ragtime revival into the present with a new recording of the complete rags of one of its leading lights.
Recording of the Week,
John Williams conducts Anne-Sophie Mutter in his new Violin Concerto
John Williams continues his collaboration with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, joining forces with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere recording of his Violin Concerto No. 2.
Recording of the Week,
Sopranista from Samuel Mariño
The young Venezuelan's silvery timbre and stratospheric high notes provide thrills aplenty in arias by Mozart, Saint-Georges, Cimarosa and Gluck - most of them composed for soprano castratos.
Recording of the Week,
Ravel Piano Concertos from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles
Les Siècles continue their successful series of Ravel recordings on period instruments under François-Xavier Roth, with Cédric Tiberghien at the piano and baritone Stéphane Degout.
Recording of the Week,
Brahms Quintets from the Pavel Haas Quartet and friends
Three years on from their previous album, the Pavel Haas Quartet make a triumphant recorded return with two quintets by Brahms, for which they are joined by pianist Boris Giltburg and violist Pavel Nikl.
Recording of the Week,
Farewells from Jakub Józef Orliński & Michał Biel
The Polish countertenor and pianist fly the flag for their native country in a beguiling recital of songs by Karel Szymanowski, Henryk Czyż, Stanisław Moniuszko, Mieczysław Karłowicz, and Tadeusz Baird.
Recording of the Week,
Weber's Der Freischütz from René Jacobs
The Belgian conductor's restoration of the original libretto's prologue lends a wonderful symmetry and coherence to Weber's supernatural Singspiel, whilst German actor Max Urlacher is properly spine-chilling in the expanded role of the demon Samiel.
Recording of the Week,
Olga Neuwirth's Orlando
The Austrian composer's Virginia Woolf-inspired opera delights in blurring boundaries of all kinds, with an astonishing central performance from mezzo Kate Lindsey in the shape-shifting title-role.
Recording of the Week,
Bach's St Matthew Passion from Raphaël Pichon
Raphaël Pichon and his Pygmalion ensemble present a vision of Bach's masterwork that aims for clarity and immediacy over exhaustingly intense theatrics.
Recording of the Week,
Franco-Italian recitals from Benjamin Bernheim and Pene Pati
Bernheim traces the history of Italian composers in Paris with his customary elegance and eloquence, whilst Pati's equally impressive debut on Warner reveals a voice of immense character and versatility.
Recording of the Week,
Johan Dalene performs violin concertos by Nielsen & Sibelius
The Swedish violinist offers a characterful performance of Sibelius's concerto alongside a virtuosic account of the piece that swept him to victory at the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition.
Recording of the Week,
Beethoven violin sonatas from Rachel Podger and Christopher Glynn
Three snapshots from the beginning, middle and end of Beethoven's career trace his development of the violin sonata form from its Classical roots into new directions.
Recording of the Week,
Ruth Slenczynska and a Life in Music
The pianist's return to the recording studio at the age of 97 offers us a bridge to the bygone era of composers and virtuosos who shaped her career.
Recording of the Week,
Pélleas et Mélisande from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siėcles
Period instruments provide revelations aplenty in Debussy's opera - and the central love-triangle is cast in an intriguing new light...
Recording of the Week,
Dance With Me from LUDWIG Orchestra and Barbara Hannigan
An ensemble drawn from the Netherlands-based chamber orchestra have a ball with a selection of twentieth-century dances, taking in music by Elgar, Kurt Weill, Glenn Miller and Barry Manilow along the way...
Recording of the Week,
Joyce DiDonato's EDEN
Featuring music by composers including Ives, Cavalli, Handel, Gluck and Wagner (plus a ravishing new commission by Rachel Portman), the American mezzo's eclectic new concept-album with Il Pomo d'Oro explores our relationship with 'the grammar of the earth'.
Recording of the Week,
Weinberg solo violin sonatas from Gidon Kremer
The Latvian violinist celebrates his 75th birthday with impassioned recordings of Weinberg's three sonatas for solo violin.
