Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
-
Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich Cello Concertos from Truls Mørk 28th April 2014David listens to gripping accounts of Shostakovich’s two Cello Concertos from Truls Mørk, with Vasily Petrenko at the podium.
-
Recording of the Week,
Walton from Edward Gardner and Tasmin Little 21st April 2014This week, James listens to Edward Gardner’s fiery rendition of Walton’s tempestuous Symphony No. 1 and Tasmin Little’s nimble account of his Violin Concerto.
-
Recording of the Week,
Berlin Comedian Harmonists 14th April 2014The Berlin Comedian Harmonists brighten up Katherine's Monday morning.
-
Recording of the Week,
Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex from the LSO 7th April 2014James takes a trip to Ancient Greece with John Eliot Gardiner and the LSO’s muscular renditions of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Apollon musagète.
-
Recording of the Week,
Jack Liebeck plays violin music by Kreisler 31st March 2014Katherine enjoys Jack Liebeck and Katya Apekisheva’s performances of Kreisler’s flamboyant violin showpieces.
-
Recording of the Week,
Pablo Heras-Casado conducts Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 24th March 2014David rediscovers Mendelssohn's Lobgesang thanks to Pablo Heras-Casado and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in this week's newsletter.
-
Recording of the Week,
Decca Most Wanted Recitals 17th March 2014 -
Recording of the Week,
Gustavo Dudamel conducts a new oratorio by John Adams 10th March 2014James explores The Gospel According to the Other Mary, excellent performances from Kelley O’Connor as Mary Magdalene and Tamara Mumford as Martha.
-
Recording of the Week,
Gil Shaham plays Violin Concertos from the 1930s 3rd March 2014The American violinist kicks off a new project exploring the decade with concertos by Barber, Hartmann, Berg, Stravinsky and Britten.
-
Recording of the Week,
Miloš plays guitar works by Rodrigo and de Falla 24th February 2014The Montenegrin guitarist performs Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasia para un Gentilhombre and Falla’s Homenaje a Debussy with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
-
Recording of the Week,
Jonas Kaufmann sings Wagner’s Parsifal 17th February 2014The German tenor gives the performance of his career as Wagner’s ‘Holy Fool’ in François Girard’s production from the Metropolitan Opera, with René Pape as Gurnemanz and Katarina Dalayman as Kundry.
-
Recording of the Week,
CPE Bach Magnificat 10th February 2014To mark the tercentenary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach’s fifth (and most prolific) child, Hans-Christoph Rademann directs the RIAS Kammerchor and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in a ‘punchy and agile’ account of his first large-scale choral work.
-
Recording of the Week,
New Year's Concert 2014 3rd February 2014Daniel Barenboim conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker in the traditional New Year’s Day programme of waltzes, polkas and marches from the Strauss Family and friends.
-
Recording of the Week,
20th-Century Wind Quintets from Les Vents Français 27th January 2014Emmanuel Pahud and company are on ‘beautifully burnished’ form in a 2-CD album of music by Paul Taffanel, Ligeti, Milhaud, Ibert, Ravel, Jolivet, Zemlinsky and more.
-
Recording of the Week,
Russian Choral Music from Tenebrae 13th January 2014Nigel Short directs his award-winning British vocal ensemble in a programme of ‘Russian Treasures’, including excerpts from Rachmaninov’s Vespers and little-known gems which are rarely performed outside Russia.
-
Recording of the Week,
Beethoven Cello Sonatas from Isserlis and Levin 6th January 2014Playing on period instruments, the cellist and fortepianist get the year off to a tremendous start with spellbinding accounts of the complete cello sonatas, variations, and a transcription of the horn sonata.
-
Recording of the Week,
Presto Personal Favourites from 2013 23rd December 2013Schubert from the Pavel Haas Quartet, Pierre-Louis Dietsch’s opera on The Flying Dutchman, two Turnage premieres, and masses by Cipriano de Rore.
-
Recording of the Week,
The Tallis Scholars sing John Taverner's Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas 16th December 2013The British vocal ensemble mark their fortieth anniversary with ‘a full-blooded forty-five-minute epic that Phillips compares favourably to a Britten opera or an Elgar symphony’.
-
Recording of the Week,
Christmas Carols from Bob Chilcott and others 9th December 2013Commotio bring their ‘clean, unfussy sound and pristine intonation’ to the former King’s Singer’s carols - plus Music for Advent from The Choir of Clare College Cambridge.
-
Recording of the Week,
Christmas Oratorios from Bach, Berlioz, and Britten 2nd December 2013The Christmas Oratorio from Trinity College Cambridge, Saint Nicolas from Cambridge University Music Society (with Andrew Kennedy in the title-role), and L’Enfance du Christ from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Robin Ticciati.