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CD, Britten (composer)
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English Music For Strings
RecommendedBritten, Bliss, Bridge, Berkeley
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Here in [the Bridge Lament] is a prime example of the heartfelt precision and beauty of tone that typifies John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London. There’s plenty of heart, too, in their superlative... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2021
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Gramophone Magazine, February 2021, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recording of the Week, 29th January 2021
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Orchestral
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2021
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Sunday Times, 10 Best Classical Albums of 2021
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Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66
RecommendedGalina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Peter Pears (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) & Simon Preston (organ)
London Symphony Orchestra, Melos Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Highgate School Choir & The Bach Choir, Benjamin Britten
Britten was writing personally for three muses who had all shared the wartime experience...His incandescent commitment to pacificism and horror at the failure of humanism blazes forth...As you... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, November 2009, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Choral Performance
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Contemporary Classical Composition
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Contemporary Classical Composition
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Contemplation
RecommendedHuw Montague Rendall (baritone), Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen, Ben Glassberg
The first thing one notices in this wide-ranging recital from rising baritone Huw Montague Rendall is his seriousness of purpose...There’s also top-rank work from the orchestra and conductor;... — More…
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2024, Opera Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2024, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024, Shortlisted - Debut Solo Album
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Vocal Music
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2024
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Gramophone Awards, 2025 Winners, Voice & Ensemble
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International Opera Awards, 2025, Shortlisted - Solo Recording
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Special offer. Britten & Korngold: Violin Concertos
RecommendedVilde Frang (violin)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony, James Gaffigan
Frang has a beautiful tone and superb intonation, and in both concertos applies a satisfying range of colour - there's much to enjoy, technically speaking. The spiky, lonely atmosphere of the... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, February 2016, Disc of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2016
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Gramophone Awards, 2016, Winner - Concerto
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Building A Library, July 2024, Recommended Recording (Korngold)
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Special offer. Britten: Violin Concerto, Chamber Works
RecommendedIsabelle Faust (violin), Alexander Melnikov (piano), Boris Faust (viola), Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Jakub Hrůša
Faust’s cadenza has real emotional involvement, and builds urgently towards the final Passacaglia, where conductor Jakub Hrůša leads the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra to a full-toned climax,... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 12th April 2024
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Gramophone Awards, 2024 Winners, Concerto
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Assorted Programs
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Devos’s genuine affection for this repertoire shines through…With Britten’s cycle On this Island, Devos’s sheer accuracy and panache outshines many sopranos on record. — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2021, Editor's Choice
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Presto Editor's Choice, February 2021
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Song
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Edward Gardner conducts Britten
RecommendedNicky Spence (tenor)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Rarely since Britten’s own classic Decca recording have I heard a performance of the Sinfonia da Requiem bristling with such visceral energy and structural inevitably as this new account from... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 30th May 2025
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Gramophone Magazine, August 2025, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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Michael Tippett: Piano Concerto; Benjamin Britten: Diversions; William Walton: Sinfonia Concertante
RecommendedClare Hammond (piano), Bbc Symphony Orchestra, George Vass
This is a valuable album indeed...each [work] is ripe for rediscovery and could prove rewarding for performers and audiences in the concert hall. They receive fine performances here from the... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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Shibe performs with superb artistry some of the now classics that Bream inspired...Prime in any such catalogue is Britten's 1963 Nocturnal after John Dowland, and Shibe gathers the listener... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, September 2017, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, October 2017, Instrumental Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2018, Finalist - Instrumental
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The British Project
RecommendedElgar - Britten - Walton - Vaughan Williams
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Gražinytė-Tyla brings a fresheared approach to four English masters of orchestral writing…The Fantasia, rapt and mysterious, receives the most successful performance. — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 13th August 2021
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Record Review, 7th August 2021, Record of the Week
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Symphonic Music
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