Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
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Recording of the Week,
Amici e Rivali - Michael Spyres and Lawrence Brownlee 13th November 2020The two American tenors trade vocal fireworks in a thrilling all-Rossini programme which pays homage to Andrea Nozzari and Giovanni David, who created major roles in several of the composer's operas for Naples.
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Recording of the Week,
Daniil Trifonov's Silver Age 6th November 2020The Russian pianist is by turns balletic, poetic and dramatic in solo works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev, whilst the Mariinsky Orchestra match his precision and imagination in concertos by the the latter composer and Scriabin.
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Recording of the Week,
Vasily Petrenko conducts Stravinsky & Respighi 30th October 2020Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra perform two contrasting ballets from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes - Stravinsky's unnerving Petrushka and Respighi's sparkling Boutique fantasque.
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Recording of the Week,
Mahler from Christiane Karg, Malcolm Martineau - and Gustav Mahler 23rd October 2020The German soprano and her regular recital-partner beguile in the Rückert-Lieder and songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, whilst the composer himself makes an appearance (via a 1905 piano-roll) for ‘Das himmlische Leben’.
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Recording of the Week,
Bertrand Chamayou and Alexandre Kantorow 16th October 2020Two contrasting recitals from award-winning French pianists - one fuelled by melatonin, the other by adrenaline.
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Recording of the Week,
Giovanni Antonini conducts Haydn's Die Schöpfung 9th October 2020The Italian conductor makes a slight detour from his project to record all of Haydn's symphonies with an incisive, characterful account of the Creation oratorio.
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Recording of the Week,
Handel's Semele from John Eliot Gardiner 2nd October 2020John Eliot Gardiner revisits Handel's tempestuous tale of gods and mortals, with show-stopping performances from Louise Alder, Hugo Hymas and Lucile Richardot.
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Recording of the Week,
Ermonela Jaho's Anima Rara 25th September 2020The Albanian soprano's debut solo recording on Opera Rara pays tribute to Rosina Storchio, who created the role of Madama Butterfly and was also muse to Leoncavallo, Giordano and Mascagni.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven and Gossec from François-Xavier Roth & Les Siècles 18th September 2020François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles put a revolutionary new spin on Beethoven's immortal Fifth, and make the case for his much-neglected contemporary Gossec.
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Recording of the Week,
Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch: Selige Stunde 11th September 2020Recorded 'in private quarters' during lockdown, the German tenor and pianist's recital of songs by Schubert, Strauss, Grieg, Zemlinsky, Mahler and others is a 'blessed hour' indeed.
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Recording of the Week,
Simon Rattle conducts Janáček's Sinfonietta and The Cunning Little Vixen 4th September 2020Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and a cast including Lucy Crowe and Gerald Finley in an exquisitely characterful performance of Janáček's opera.
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Recording of the Week,
Marc-André Hamelin plays Liszt and Thalberg 28th August 2020The Canadian pianist is on jaw-dropping form in a programme inspired by the 1837 'duel' between the two composer-virtuosos, which also includes the mighty collaborative Hexaméron - a set of variations on Bellini by composers including Chopin, Czerny and Pixis.
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Recording of the Week,
Tallis, MacMillan and more from ORA Singers 21st August 2020ORA Singers pair Tallis's mighty Spem in Alium with a newly-composed forty-part motet by James MacMillan, alongside a treasure-trove of choral works commissioned by Tudor nobility.
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Recording of the Week,
John Williams conducts the Vienna Philharmonic 14th August 2020Joined by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams conducts excerpts from scores such as Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, War Horse, Hook, Jurassic Park, Jaws, The Witches of Eastwick, and more.
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Recording of the Week,
Nicola Benedetti plays Elgar 7th August 2020The Scottish-Italian violinist embraces the heart-on-sleeve qualities of a work which the composer ruefully described as 'awfully emotional', her passion and responsiveness matched by Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
John Wilson and Sinfonia of London perform Respighi's Roman Trilogy 31st July 2020For his third album with Sinfonia of London, John Wilson turns to Respighi's dazzling triptych of orchestral works depicting the city of Rome through the ages.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven songs and folksongs from Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano 24th July 2020The tenor and pianist are joined by violinist Vilde Frang and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt for selections from the Scottish and Irish folk-songs, following an exquisitely tender account of An die ferne Geliebte.
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Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich from Kirill Karabits, Oleg Tsibulko and the Russian National Orchestra 17th July 2020A new recording of Shostakovich's complex 'Babi Yar' symphony with bass Oleg Tsibulko gets to the heart of a work that's often seen as all politics and no emotion.
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Recording of the Week,
Paul Lewis plays Beethoven's Bagatelles 10th July 2020The British pianist's survey of Beethoven's complete output in the genre (plus the Fantasia Op. 77 and three opus-less Klavierstücke) radiates wit, warmth and wisdom.
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Recording of the Week,
William Alwyn's Miss Julie from Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra 3rd July 2020Real-life husband-and-wife Anna Patalong and Benedict Nelson star in the English composer's 1977 opera, based on Strindberg's great naturalistic drama from 1888.