Classical Reviews
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Yo-Yo Ma records Bach's Cello Suites for the third and final time
17th Aug 2018
The Chinese-American cellist returns to works which he describes as his 'constant musical companions' in interpretations of uncommon freshness and spontaneity.
Featured product
Six Evolutions - Bach's Cello Suites
Yo-Yo Ma (cello)
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Music by Haydn and Schoenberg from cellist Alisa Weilerstein
10th Aug 2018
James listens to energetic, vital accounts of Haydn's two cello concertos from Alisa Weilerstein, coupled with an expressively radiant performance of Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht.
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Rachmaninov's Études-tableaux from Steven Osborne
3rd Aug 2018
Katherine is mesmerised by the Scottish pianist’s introspective but evocative accounts of Rachmaninov’s two sets of ‘study-pictures’, out now on Hyperion.
Featured product
Rachmaninov: Études-tableaux
Steven Osborne (piano)
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Wagner's Die Meistersinger from Bayreuth, directed by Barrie Kosky
27th Jul 2018
Katherine reviews the Australian director's complex but illuminating 2017 production, which places the composer himself at the heart of the action.
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Vivaldi Double Concertos from Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima
20th Jul 2018
Adrian Chandler and his acclaimed team of baroque instrumentalists present a sparkling selection of Vivaldi's unique double concerti.
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Mozart's La clemenza di Tito from Yannick Nézet-Séguin
13th Jul 2018
Marina Rebeka and Joyce DiDonato strike sparks off one another as Vitellia and Sesto in a terrific new recording of Mozart's final opera, with Rolando Villazón as the idealistic emperor against whom they conspire.
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Shostakovich Symphonies 4 & 11 from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
6th Jul 2018
Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra offer highly characterful and stunningly-performed accounts of Shostakovich's Fourth and Eleventh Symphonies.
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John Adams's Doctor Atomic, conducted by the composer
29th Jun 2018
John Adams conducts Gerald Finley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the first audio recording of his 2005 opera, Doctor Atomic.
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Buxtehude's Abendmusiken from Vox Luminis
22nd Jun 2018
Two first-rate early music ensembles join forces to recreate the atmosphere of Buxtehude's legendary secular-sacred concert series in Lübeck.
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Haydn's 'Lamentatione' from Giovanni Antonini
15th Jun 2018
The Milanese conductor continues his mammoth survey of Haydn's complete symphonies with the 'Lamentatione' and 'Alleluia', performed by the Kammerorchester Basel.
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Francesco Piemontesi performs piano music by Franz Liszt
8th Jun 2018
James listens to a turbulent account of the Première année in Liszt's piano cycle Années de pèlerinage from Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi.
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Xiayin Wang performs piano concertos by Ginastera
1st Jun 2018
Chandos's survey of Ginastera's orchestral music concludes with the Piano Concerto No. 1 and other works performed by pianist Xiayin Wang and the BBC Philharmonic under Juanjo Mena.
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Philippe Jaroussky sings Gluck's Orfeo
25th May 2018
The French countertenor placates the Furies with singing of celestial purity on this world premiere recording of the 1774 Neapolitan version of Gluck's most popular opera.
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String Quartets by Debussy and Ravel from the Jerusalem Quartet
18th May 2018
The Jerusalem Quartet offer masterfully controlled and impressively dynamic accounts of the String Quartets by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
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Debussy & Ravel - String Quartets
Jerusalem Quartet
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Otello from the Royal Opera House, starring Jonas Kaufmann
11th May 2018
The German tenor sings his first 'Lion of Venice' in Keith Warner's 2017 production, opposite Marco Vratogna and Maria Agresta.
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Federico Colli plays Domenico Scarlatti
4th May 2018
The Leeds International Piano Competition winner makes his debut on Chandos with a bold, inquisitive recital of the Neapolitan composer's keyboard sonatas.
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Ravel from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles
27th Apr 2018
The conductor and his period-instrument orchestra conjure a world of enchantments in two scores inspired by fairy-tales: Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose) and the early Shéhérazade overture.
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Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester perform Bruckner
20th Apr 2018
James enjoys magnificently sonorous performances of two symphonies by Anton Bruckner.
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Vivaldi's Four Seasons from Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque
13th Apr 2018
The British violinist breathes new life into the most popular of baroque violin concerti with these vivid one-per-part accounts which exude wit and affection.
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Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni
Rachel Podger (violin) Brecon Baroque
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Paul Lewis performs piano sonatas by Haydn
6th Apr 2018
James listens to the first instalment in a survey of Haydn's piano sonatas by Paul Lewis.
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Haydn: Piano Sonatas 47, 54, 59 and 60
Paul Lewis (piano)
