Classical Reviews
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Eric Coates from John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic
12th Jul 2024
Replete with memorable melodies and piquant orchestral detail, this delightful series of Coates's orchestral works continues today with a fourth instalment including a zany symphonic fantasy on Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the dance-inspired Four Centuries Suite.
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Mishka Rushdie Momen - Reformation
5th Jul 2024
Mishka Rushdie Momen makes a highly enjoyable Hyperion debut, playing Renaissance keyboard music on a modern Steinway grand piano, with subtlety of tone and phrasing that brings new perspective to the music of Byrd, Sweelinck, Gibbons and Bull.
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Meyerbeer's Le prophète from Mark Elder and the London Symphony Orchestra
2nd Jul 2024
This weird and wonderful opera about a Flanders innkeeper who is radicalised into religious extremism really catches fire on a live recording from last year's Aix-en-Provence Festival, with the London Symphony Orchestra on barnstorming form and American tenor John Osborn at the top of his game in the demanding title-role.
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English Song Recitals from Robin Tritschler and James Gilchrist
21st Jun 2024
Tritschler joins forces with Malcolm Martineau, Sean Shibe and Philip Higham to pay tribute to Peter Pears on Signum, whilst Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook bring unaffected eloquence to a collection of songs by Roger Quilter on Chandos.
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Magdalena Kožená performs orchestral songs by Martinů, Dvořák, and Hans Krása
14th Jun 2024
The Czech mezzo presents an enchanting selection of songs in which she demonstrates her impressive range of tone colours, with sumptuous support from the Czech Philharmonic and Simon Rattle.
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Sibelius and Prokofiev Violin Concertos from Janine Jansen & Klaus Mäkelä
7th Jun 2024
Engaging from the very first notes, these powerful new recordings of much-loved repertoire make for a great introduction if you don’t know these works - and an inspiring new perspective if you do.
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Beethoven's Triple Concerto from Benjamin Grosvenor, Nicola Benedetti and Sheku Kanneh-Mason
31st May 2024
A charming, music-first performance by three young musical stars with a legendary orchestra, and a glimpse of Beethoven's wider influences and capacity for elegance.
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Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque: The Muses Restor’d
24th May 2024
An exciting exploration of a moment of transition in British music - the glory days of the consort tradition, the emerging Baroque, and beautiful folksong adaptations.
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The Muses Restor'd
Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque
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Florent Schmitt's ballet, La tragédie de Salomé
17th May 2024
Normally only performed as a cut-down symphonic suite, Alain Altinoglu and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra present the rarely-recorded full-length version of a work much admired by Stravinsky.
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Four Hands - Alexandre Tharaud & Friends
10th May 2024
The French pianist is joined by an array of distinguished guests (including Beatrice Rana, Bertrand Chamayou, Philippe Jaroussky & Víkingur Ólafsson) for a programme ranging from Bach to Piazzolla.
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Tippett's A Child of Our Time from the late Andrew Davis
3rd May 2024
A long-term champion of Tippett's music, the British conductor leads a meticulously-detailed account of his wartime oratorio with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and soloists Pumeza Matshikiza, Dame Sarah Connolly, Joshua Stewart and Ashley Riches.
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Paul McCreesh conducts Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius
26th Apr 2024
Using instruments from around the time of the work's premiere in 1900, Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli offer an illuminating recording that not only provides great textual clarity but also shows off the fine details of Elgar's orchestration.
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Chopin Études from Yunchan Lim
19th Apr 2024
The South Korean pianist makes an impressive début with Chopin's Études, combining breathtaking agility with a real sense of musical narrative.
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Chopin: Études, Opp. 10 & 25
Yunchan Lim (piano)
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Isabelle Faust performs Britten's Violin Concerto
12th Apr 2024
The German violinist yet again demonstrates absolute mastery of her instrument with commanding performances of works by Britten, including the world premiere recording of two pieces written whilst the composer was still a schoolboy.
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A new Bach cantata project from Les Arts Florissants
5th Apr 2024
Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants kick off a new project aimed at retracing the steps of Bach's life - focusing on his early work in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen, still barely out of his teens.
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Mozart and Strauss Lieder from Sabine Devieilhe & Mathieu Pordoy
29th Mar 2024
The French coloratura soprano and her new recital-partner draw all manner of illuminating parallels between the two composers in a recital which includes Mozart's Das Kinderspiel and Abendempfindung & Strauss's Mädchenblumen, Morgen! and Amor.
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Paavo Järvi conducts Mendelssohn symphonies
22nd Mar 2024
The Estonian conductor and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich present stylish, propulsive accounts of Mendelssohn's five symphonies, plus the incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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Mendelssohn: Symphonies
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
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Chopin and Beethoven from Beatrice Rana
15th Mar 2024
The Italian pianist presents an unusual pairing of sonatas - a sensitive, light performance of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 complemented by a masterful and fearless Hammerklavier.
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Chopin & Beethoven: Sonatas
Beatrice Rana (piano)
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Orchestral Works by Dorothy Howell
8th Mar 2024
Rebecca Miller conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra in world premiere recordings of the Humoresque, The Rock, the Three Divertissements and Koong Shee plus a terrific account of Lamia - the Keats-inspired tone-poem which made the 21-year-old composer an overnight success after its Proms premiere in 1919.
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In The Shadows with Michael Spyres
1st Mar 2024
The American singer teams up with Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset to explore some of the operas which influenced Wagner - including works by Méhul, Beethoven, Meyerbeer and Spontini.
