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SACD, Chandos (label)
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Vaughan Williams, Howells, Delius & Elgar - Music for Strings
RecommendedSinfonia of London, John Wilson
The sound, engineered by Ralph Couzens, is magnificent...While fully relishing the at times dreamy polyphony of Vaughan Williams’s textures, Wilson’s Fantasia has sharp, impassioned edges too,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 3rd February 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2023, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2023, Orchestral Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Finalist - Orchestral
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2023
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Sunday Times, 10 Best Classical Albums of 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2023
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2024, Recording of the Year
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2024, Winner - Orchestral
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Walton: Cello Concerto; Symphony No. 1
RecommendedJonathan Aasgaard (cello), Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Wilson is supreme in shading the orchestra to complement the cello line, both clear and expressive. In both cadenzas, Aasgaard draws a dramatically compelling narrative, again coupling precision... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 7th November 2025
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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BBC Music Magazine, Christmas Issue 2025, Concerto Choice
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The Guardian Classical Albums of the Year, 2025
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Shortlisted - Concerto
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Maurice Ravel: Orchestral Works
RecommendedMa Mère l’oye, Boléro, Valses nobles et sentimentales, Pavane pour une infante défunte, Alborada del gracioso & La valse
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
this superbly played and sumptuously recorded disc from the Sinfonia of London and John Wilson amply demonstrates the profound benefits of trusting Ravel. Has Ma mère l’Oye ever sounded more... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 28th January 2022
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2022, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2022, Winner - Spatial Audio
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
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Sunday Times, 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2022
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Building A Library, February 2024, Recommended Recording - Ma mère l'Oye
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Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady
RecommendedScarlett Strallen (Eliza Doolittle), Jamie Parker (Henry Higgins), Alun Armstrong (Alfred P. Doolittle), Malcolm Sinclair (Colonel Pickering), Laurence Kilsby (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Julia McKenzie (Mrs Pearce), Penelope Wilton (Mrs Higgins)
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
[The appendix] may be for completists only, but the standard text is delivered to such a high standard as to make this an essential set for anyone seriously interested in the score. Apart from... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 26th September 2025
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Limelight Magazine, November 2025, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2025, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2025
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Shortlisted - Opera & Stage
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Korngold: Symphony in F sharp, Theme and Variations & Straussiana
RecommendedSinfonia of London, John Wilson
The playing of the Sinfonia of London is astonishingly brilliant, with Hollywood-dream glories in the string tone. —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 30th August 2019
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2019, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2019, Recording of the Month
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Diapason d’Or, November 2019, Nouveauté
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2019
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2019
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The Times Records of the Year, 2019
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2019, Critics' Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020, Winner - Orchestral
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2020, Shortlisted - Orchestral
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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... —
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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This is, generally, a stunning performance, whether the kaleidoscopic wind colours of the part-one dances or ravishing glories of the part-three sunrise. Moreover, Chandos certainly know how... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 3rd November 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2023, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2023
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Gramophone Awards, 2024 Shortlist, Finalist - Orchestral
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Walton: Symphony No. 1 & Violin Concerto
RecommendedTasmin Little (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Little's way with the virtuoso passages is a notch less headlong than [on her earlier recording], allowing the ear to savour her phenomenal accuracy, yet with no loss of fire...Gardner and the... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 21st April 2014
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BBC Music Magazine, June 2014, Disc of the month
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2014, Disc of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2014
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Building A Library, July 2022, Also Recommended
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Rodgers & Hammerstein: Oklahoma!
RecommendedNathaniel Hackmann (Curly), Sierra Boggess (Laurey), Rodney Earl Clarke (Jud Fry), Jamie Parker (Will Parker), Louise Dearman (Ado Annie), Sandra Marvin (Aunt Eller), Nadim Naaman (Ali Hakim), Leo Roberts (Andrew Carnes), Oklahoma! Ensemble, Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Wilson, who conducted Oklahoma! at the BBC Proms in 2017, proves an exceptional advocate, bringing to the piece the same expertise and mastery he would accord to the symphonic repertoire of... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 15th September 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2023, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2023
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2024, Winner - Opera
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Handel: Messiah
RecommendedErin Wall (soprano), Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Staples (tenor), John Relyea (bass-baritone)
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Astonishingly well controlled…the solo voices are rich and weighty…[the] flute provides a charming obbligato to ‘How beautiful are the feet’, while the tenor’s ‘Thy rebuke…’ is intensely moving…a... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd December 2016
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BBC Music Magazine, January 2017, Choral & Song Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2016
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Grammy Awards, 60th Awards (2017), Nominee - Choral Performance
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