Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
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Recording of the Week,
Marc-André Hamelin plays CPE Bach 31st December 2021The Canadian pianist's Midas touch is everywhere in evidence on this programme of sonatas and rondos, many of which reveal the composer's delight in the new expressive possibilities offered by early pianos.
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Recording of the Week,
Presto Personal Favourites from 2021 24th December 2021Recordings from Igor Levit, Ensemble Diderot and Will Liverman & Paul Sánchez feature among the editorial team's individual picks of the year.
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Recording of the Week,
Byrd and Bull from Kit Armstrong 17th December 2021The American pianist makes the case for considering the two Tudor virginalists William Byrd and John Bull as the founding fathers of the solo piano genre.
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Recording of the Week,
Scenes from the Kalevala - Finnish Orchestral Music 10th December 2021Dima Slobodeniouk conducts the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in a quartet of compositions inspired by the great Finnish nineteenth-century work of epic poetry, the Kalevala.
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Recording of the Week,
Christmas Recordings from Fretwork and Christiane Karg 3rd December 2021The viol consort is joined by mezzo Helen Charlston for an Elizabethan Christmas, whilst Karg and her regular recital partner Gerold Huber offer a beautifully-plotted programme of Lieder and mélodies with a seasonal theme.
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Recording of the Week,
Pelléas et Mélisande from Jonathan Nott and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande 26th November 2021The world premiere recording of the British conductor's own tone-poem on Debussy's opera is coupled with Schoenberg's suite from 1905, to illuminating effect.
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Recording of the Week,
Cecilia Bartoli - Unreleased 19th November 2021The Roman mezzo is in electrifying form in a programme of operatic and concert-arias by Haydn, Mysliveček, Mozart and Beethoven with the Kammerorchester Basel, recorded back in 2013.
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Recording of the Week,
String Quartets by Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn from the Takács Quartet 12th November 2021Fiery, dramatic performances from the Takács Quartet of two string quartets by Felix Mendelssohn alongside a thrilling account of the quartet by his sister, Fanny.
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Recording of the Week,
MUSE from Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason 5th November 2021The siblings' contrasting musical personalities complement one another quite beautifully in sonatas by Barber and Rachmaninov, plus a well-chosen selection of songs by both composers.
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Recording of the Week,
Baroque fireworks from Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort 29th October 2021The violinist and his ensemble present four virtuosic concertos, showcasing the legacy of Vivaldi's incredible panache as a performer as well as the earliest origins of what would eventually become the solo violin caprice.
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Recording of the Week,
Philippe Jaroussky & Thibaut Garcia: À sa guitare 22nd October 2021The French countertenor and guitarist join forces for an eclectic, beguiling programme ranging from Dowland to Barbara, whilst Jaroussky's younger label-mate Jakub Józef Orliński dazzles in sacred baroque works with Il Pomo d'Oro.
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Recording of the Week,
Marin Alsop conducts Leonard Bernstein's Candide 15th October 2021Marin Alsop conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in a new recording of Leonard Bernstein's comic operetta based on Voltaire's satirical novella, in a performance that is full of dry wit, absurd humour, and stirring optimism.
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Recording of the Week,
Emily D'Angelo - Enargeia 8th October 2021The young Canadian-Italian mezzo makes a bold debut on Deutsche Grammophon with music by Hildegard von Bingen, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Missy Mazzoli.
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Recording of the Week,
Americascapes from Robert Trevino and the Basque National Orchestra 1st October 2021Four different voices from the melting-pot of early twentieth-century America come together to create a fascinating snapshot of a time of great change and innovation, ranging from melodious Romanticism to uncompromising atonality.
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Recording of the Week,
Michael Spyres - Baritenor 24th September 2021The maverick American singer mixes tenor and baritone repertoire with joyful (but historically-informed) abandon, ranging from Donizetti's stratospheric Tonio to his namesake in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.
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Recording of the Week,
Liszt from Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch 17th September 2021The long-term Lieder partners are absolutely in their element on a recital which delivers both drama and delicacy in spades.
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Recording of the Week,
Janine Jansen plays twelve Stradivari 10th September 2021Janine Jansen, accompanied by Antonio Pappano, explores the unique sounds of twelve different Stradivari violins in a unusual and fascinating recording project.
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Recording of the Week,
Víkingur Ólafsson performs piano music by Mozart and contemporaries 3rd September 2021For his fourth album on Deutsche Grammophon, the Icelandic pianist presents a sublime, intelligent programme of works by Mozart alongside pieces by Haydn, Galuppi, Cimarosa, and CPE Bach.
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Recording of the Week,
Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat from Isabelle Faust and Dominique Horwitz 27th August 2021David enjoys Isabelle Faust and friends' historically-informed account of Stravinsky's sardonic tale, with lively narration from Dominique Horwitz.
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Recording of the Week,
Sean Shibe's Camino 20th August 2021The guitarist brings hypnotic, introspective beauty to a programme which explores connections between France and Spain via works by de Falla, Mompou, Ravel, Poulenc and Satie.