Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
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Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues from Melnikov 24th May 2010
The Russian pianist brings atmosphere, mystery, weight and solemnity to the 24 Preludes and Fugues dedicated to Tatiana Nikolayeva.
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Recording of the Week,
The multi-talented Julia Fischer 17th May 2010
The German violinist joins Martin Helmchen at the keyboard for the F minor Fantaisie for Piano Four Hands in her debut recording as a pianist, following the Grand Duo D574 and the Fantasie in C for violin and piano D934.
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Recording of the Week,
Frédéric Chopin 26th April 2010
Stephen Hough and Nelson Freire pay homage to the bicentenary of the Polish composer’s birth, and Warner Classics and Deutsche Grammophon issue extensive anniversary editions.
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Recording of the Week,
Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique 12th April 2010
Jos van Immerseel and the Flemish period-instrument orchestra Anima Eterna bring transparency and raw excitement to Berlioz’s ‘episodes in the life of an artist’ on Zigzag.
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Recording of the Week,
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia and Joyce DiDonato 5th April 2010
The American mezzo sings an astonishing Rosina from a wheelchair after breaking her ankle on the opening night of Covent Garden’s production, with Juan Diego Flórez as her suitor Count Almaviva and Pietro Spagnoli as the eponymous Spanish barber.
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Recording of the Week,
Romantic Piano Concertos 29th March 2010
Hyperion’s venerable series reaches its fiftieth volume and enters more familiar territory with Stephen Hough joining the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä for the Tchaikovsky concertos.
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Recording of the Week,
Robin Ticciati and Brahms' Choral Works 22nd March 2010
The 27-year-old conductor brings a wonderful Brahmsian glow to the Alto Rhapsody (with Alice Coote as soloist), Nänie, Gesang der Parzen and the Schicksalslied with the Bamberger Symphoniker and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
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Recording of the Week,
Mozart Symphonies from Mackerras - Volume 2 15th March 2010
The much-anticipated second volume of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Mozart series with their conductor laureate features joyous and life-enhancing accounts of Nos. 29, 31, 32, 35 and 46.
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Recording of the Week,
Thomas Adès 1st March 2010
Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker (who commissioned the piece) in Tevot, premiered in 2007, and the composer himself conducts the violin concerto Concentric Paths, with its dedicatee Anthony Marwood as soloist.
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Recording of the Week,
Strauss: Alpine Symphony 22nd February 2010
Bernard Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra celebrate the awe-inspiring force of nature and Strauss’s ability to depict that in his writing.
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Recording of the Week,
Handel: Giulio Cesare and the Brockes Passion 15th February 2010
A stylish account of Handel’s best-known opera from the young Greek conductor George Petrou (with Swedish mezzo Kristina Hammarström in the title-role), and a ‘superbly played and sung’ reading of an early rarity from Peter Neumann.
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Recording of the Week,
Debussy and the Prix de Rome 8th February 2010
Hervé Niquet and the Brussels Philharmonic explore the young Debussy’s numerous attempts to win the prestigious prize, including Le Gladiateur, Le printemps, La Damoiselle élue and L’Enfant prodigue.
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Recording of the Week,
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet 18th January 2010
A ‘superb reading of Prokofiev's supreme masterpiece’ from Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra, two decades after the conductor’s landmark account of the piece with the Kirov Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
Bach for Violin and Voice 11th January 2010
Hilary Hahn, Christine Schäfer and Matthias Goerne join forces with the Münchener Kammerorchester for arias from works including the St Matthew Passion, the Mass in B minor and numerous cantatas.
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Recording of the Week,
A Ring cycle for the 21st Century 4th January 2010
La Fura del Baus brings Wagner’s eighteen-hour epic to life with striking choreography and special effects, and a superb cast including American soprano Jennifer Wilson as Brünnhilde and bass Matti Salminen as Fasolt, Hunding and Hagen.
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Recording of the Week,
Thomas Tallis's Secret Garden 14th December 2009
Graham O’Reilly’s Ensemble européen William Byrd explore the Renaissance composer’s music for the English Chapel Royal, spanning the reigns of four different monarchs.
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Recording of the Week,
El Sistema 7th December 2009
A life-affirming and moving documentary by Paul Smaczny charting the evolution of the Venezuelan music education programme which produced the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
Christmas Releases 30th November 2009
Festive albums from Ex Cathedra, The Choir of Westminster Cathedral, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Choir of Gonville & Caius College Cambridge.
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Recording of the Week,
Two important Elgar rarities 9th November 2009
Sir Andrew Davis conducts The Crown of India with the BBC Philharmonic, and Roderick Williams and others explore The Fringes of the Fleet, a patriotic song-cycle setting texts by Rudyard Kipling.
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Recording of the Week,
Cecilia Bartoli and the world of Castratos 26th October 2009
The intrepid Italian mezzo explores repertoire composed for Farinelli, Caffarelli and Senesino (including music by Porpora, Caldara, Vinci and Leo) with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini.
