Classical Reviews
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François-Xavier Roth conducts Beethoven's Eroica Symphony
23rd Apr 2021
Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth return to the music of Beethoven with a dramatic, illuminating account of the Third Symphony, coupled with an energetic performance of an overture by Méhul.
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Vaughan Williams from Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra
16th Apr 2021
Pappano takes on perhaps Vaughan Williams's two most challenging symphonies, in live recordings given a heightened emotional intensity by the circumstances of their performance.
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Stravinsky & Eötvös from Pablo Heras-Casado and the Orchestre de Paris
9th Apr 2021
The Spanish conductor delivers a very Gallic Rite of Spring, whilst Isabelle Faust is bewitched and bewitching on the world premiere recording of Péter Eötvös's 'Alhambra' Concerto.
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Lise Davidsen in Beethoven, Wagner and Verdi
2nd Apr 2021
The powerhouse Norwegian soprano is in expansive, radiant voice for Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder and arias from Fidelio, Otello, La forza del destino, Medea, and Cavalleria rusticana with Sir Mark Elder and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
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A Mozart postscript from Rachel Podger
26th Mar 2021
Rachel Podger and Christopher Glynn bring to life a selection of musicologist Timothy Jones’s thoughtful completions of fragmentary Mozart works, offering a variety of plausible perspectives on what might have been.
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Strauss Lieder from Sandrine Piau and Daniel Behle
19th Mar 2021
The French soprano brings an uncommon freshness and flexibility to the Four Last Songs with the Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté, whilst Behle and his regular recital-partner Oliver Schnyder revel in the composer's coruscating attack on publishers in the rarely-recorded Der Krämerspiegel.
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French Piano Duets from Paul Lewis and Steven Osborne
12th Mar 2021
In a true meeting of musical minds, the two superb pianists team up once again for a delectable programme of miniatures by Fauré, Poulenc, Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel.
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French duets
Steven Osborne (piano), Paul Lewis (piano)
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Osmo Vänskä conducts Mahler's Tenth Symphony
5th Mar 2021
The Minnesota Orchestra and their Music Director give a tumultuous, emotional account of Mahler's final, unfinished symphony, in the performing version by Deryck Cooke.
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Mahler: Symphony No. 10
Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä
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Biber's Requiem from Vox Luminis
26th Feb 2021
Lionel Meunier's ensemble explore a time of religious and musical flux in Europe, with an album centred around Heinrich Biber's Requiem and less-heard works by his contemporaries.
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Biber: Requiem
Freiburger Barockconsort, Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier
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Ludovic Tézier sings Verdi
19th Feb 2021
The French baritone is on spine-tingling form in a high-octane programme of arias from operas including La forza del destino, Otello, Don Carlos, and Falstaff.
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Violins of Hope
12th Feb 2021
Instruments previously owned by Holocaust survivors and restored by the Weinstein family sing with a special power in Schubert, Mendelssohn, and a new work by Jake Heggie which tells their stories.
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Andris Nelsons conducts Bruckner's Second and Eighth Symphonies
5th Feb 2021
The Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons continue their Bruckner cycle with sublime, lyrical performances of the Second and Eighth Symphonies.
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John Wilson conducts English music for strings
29th Jan 2021
Sinfonia of London and conductor John Wilson present their latest stunning album of music for string orchestra by Britten, Bridge, Berkeley, and Bliss.
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Behzod Abduraimov plays Debussy, Chopin and Mussorgsky
22nd Jan 2021
The Uzbek pianist is beguiling in Children's Corner and the 24 Preludes Op. 28, and offers the virtual tour of one's dreams in Pictures at an Exhibition.
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Debussy - Chopin - Mussorgsky
Behzod Abduraimov (piano)
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Donizetti's Il Paria from Opera Rara
15th Jan 2021
Sir Mark Elder conducts a scintillating account of Donizetti's 1829 opera about religious persecution in sixteenth-century India, starring Albina Shagimuratova, René Barbera, and Misha Kiria.
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Elmas Piano Concertos from Howard Shelley and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
8th Jan 2021
David enjoys the latest instalment in Hyperion's inexhaustible series, featuring the earliest-known piano concertos by an Armenian composer.
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Verklärte Nacht from Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
1st Jan 2021
Schoenberg's masterpiece is framed by works for voice and orchestra (also on the theme of 'transfigured night') by Franz Lehár, Oskar Fried, and Erich Korngold.
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Presto Personal Favourites from 2020
24th Dec 2020
Recordings from the Emerson Quartet, Paavo Järvi and Paul Wee feature among the editorial team's individual picks of the year.
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Vivaldi's Argippo from Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante
18th Dec 2020
Emőke Baráth and Delphine Galou head a small-but-perfectly-formed cast in Vivaldi’s pasticcio from the early 1730s, which also features arias by Galeazzi, Pescetti, Hasse, Porpora, Fiorè and Vinci.
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Saint-Saëns from Renaud Capuçon, Edgar Moreau and Bertrand Chamayou
11th Dec 2020
The French triumvirate pays early tribute to the centenary of the composer's death with lucid, affectionate accounts of the Violin Sonata No. 1, Cello Sonata No. 1, and Piano Trio No. 2.
