Classical Reviews
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Strauss and Debussy from François-Xavier Roth and the London Symphony Orchestra
24th Mar 2023
The LSO and their Principal Guest Conductor present sumptuous, radiant performances of two virtuosic orchestral showpieces: Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Debussy's Jeux.
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Benjamin Grosvenor plays music by the Schumanns and Brahms
17th Mar 2023
The British pianist is on typically eloquent, empathetic form in a programme which includes Robert's Kreisleriana and Blumenstück, Clara's variations on a theme from his Bunte Blätter, and their friend Brahms's autumnal Intermezzi Op. 117.
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Schumann & Brahms
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
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Antonio Pappano conducts Puccini's Turandot
10th Mar 2023
Sondra Radvanovsky and Jonas Kaufmann lead a stellar cast in a sumptuous account from Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia of Puccini's final opera.
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Stravinsky from Isabelle Faust, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles
3rd Mar 2023
Violinist Isabelle Faust's relationship with the music of Stravinsky continues, with François-Xavier Roth and his period-instruments orchestra Les Siècles joining her in an album built around the chamber-inspired Violin Concerto.
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Nadia & Lili Boulanger - Les heures claires
24th Feb 2023
French pianist Anne de Fornel is joined by Lucile Richardot, Stéphane Degout and Raquel Camarinha for this spellbinding anthology of the two sisters' complete songs, including a number of world premiere recordings.
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Biber's Rosary Sonatas from Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti
17th Feb 2023
Inspired by a dance project for the stage, Beyer and her fellow musicians rediscover the vitality of Biber's cycle of devotional sonatas.
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Voyage intime from Sandrine Piau and David Kadouch
10th Feb 2023
The French soprano and pianist are beguiling companions on this 'intimate journey' via songs by Schubert, Liszt, Wolf, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Duparc and Debussy.
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Voyage intime
Sandrine Piau (soprano) David Kadouch (piano)
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John Wilson and Sinfonia of London perform music for strings by English composers
3rd Feb 2023
Following on from their 2021 album of English music for strings, John Wilson and his orchestra offer a spectacular selection of works by Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Herbert Howells, and Delius.
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Well-tempered Bach on the clavichord from András Schiff
27th Jan 2023
An oft-neglected early keyboard instrument finally gets its moment in the sun in an intimate programme of Bach that plays to its strengths, built around the two-part and three-part inventions.
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J.S. Bach: Clavichord
András Schiff (clavichord)
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Elgar's 'Viola Concerto' from Timothy Ridout
20th Jan 2023
The young British viola-player's account of the Cello Concerto as transcribed by Lionel Tertis is a compelling addition to the piece's distinguished discography on its own terms, with sensitive support from the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins.
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Véronique Gens in Poulenc's La Voix Humaine
13th Jan 2023
The great French tragedienne tackles a role that’s surely been beckoning for years, and the results are every bit as compelling as you'd expect - with the Orchestre National de Lille providing some telling insights into the other side of this fraught phone-conversation...
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The Takács Quartet perform string quartets by Ravel, Dutilleux, and Stephen Hough
6th Jan 2023
Stylish and refined performances of two pillars of the twentieth-century French quartet repertoire sit alongside a newly-composed gem by Stephen Hough.
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Hough, Dutilleux & Ravel: String Quartets
Takács Quartet
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Schubert Revisited from Matthias Goerne
30th Dec 2022
The German baritone is on top form in this recital of nineteen Lieder in bespoke orchestrations by one of his regular recital-partners Alexander Schmalcz, with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen responding to his simple eloquence in kind.
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Presto Personal Favourites from 2022
23rd Dec 2022
Recordings of works by Coleridge-Taylor, Meyerbeer, John Williams and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson feature among the editorial team's individual picks of the year.
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Mavra/Iolanta from the Bayerische Staatsoper
16th Dec 2022
The young artists of the Munich opera-house's training studio (including Mirjam Mesak and Freddie De Tommaso) shine brightly in Axel Ranisch's ingenious fusion of two contrasting one-act operas by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.
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Igor Stravinsky/Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Mavra/Iolanta (DVD)
Mirjam Mesak (Iolanta), Long Long (Vaudémont), Boris Prýgl (Robert), Markus Suihkonen (King René), Oğulcan Yilmaz (Ibn-Hakia); Anna El-Khashem (Parasha), Freddie de Tommaso (Vassili), Noa Beinart (Mother/Marta) Opernstudio der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Axel Ranisch, Alevtina Ioffe
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A piano double-bill from Leeds winners Alim Beisembayev and Eric Lu
9th Dec 2022
Masterful Liszt and delicate Schubert from the 2021 and 2018 winners of the Leeds International Piano Competition.
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Christmas with Diana Damrau
2nd Dec 2022
The German coloratura soprano's festive album is definitely a cracker rather than a turkey, with a first half of traditional German songs and carol medleys followed by a disc of seasonally-appropriate Baroque and Classical arias.
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Baroque instrumental music for Christmas from Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort
25th Nov 2022
Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort present an alternative Christmas sound-world, replacing vocal and choral music with string concertos and sonatas from around Europe.
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Berlioz's Les nuits d'été & Harold en Italie from John Nelson in Strasbourg
18th Nov 2022
Vocal shape-shifter Michael Spyres tackles the song-cycle in the original orchestral keys, whilst viola-player Timothy Ridout is a warmly collegiate soloist in Harold on this clear-eyed, affectionate recording from Strasbourg.
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Signor Gaetano from Javier Camarena and Gli Originali
11th Nov 2022
On the first of two albums devoted to the many and varied operas of Donizetti, the Mexican tenor brings fresh-faced charm to the comic heroes of L'elisir d'amore and Betly - but also excels in the darker and stormier waters of Roberto Devereux, Caterina Cornaro and Maria de Rudenz.
