Latest News: Classical
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Recording of the Week,
Bruckner from the Concertgebouw 24th August 2009
Mariss Jansons conducts the Third and Fourth symphonies with the Amsterdam orchestra in performances which showcase their lustrous string sound and richly glowing brass section.
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Awards,
Gramophone Awards 2009 - Finalists 17th August 2009
Nominations includes Sir Mark Elder’s Dream of Gerontius with the Hallé, the late Richard Hickox’s recording of Britten’s Owen Wingrave, and Stephen Kovacevich’s Dabelli Variations.
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Recording of the Week,
Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle 10th August 2009
Sir Willard White is the bridegroom with skeletons in his closet, and Russian mezzo Elena Zhidkova his inquisitive new wife on this new live recording from Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
Diaghilev and The Ballets Russes 27th July 2009
The Mariinsky Orchestra and Ballet and Valery Gergiev commemorate the centenary of the Russian ballet company with a DVD which reconstructs Nijinsky’s original choreography for The Rite of Spring and The Firebird.
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Obituary,
Sir Edward Downes 20th July 2009
The British conductor and his wife Joan ended their lives together at an assisted suicide clinic in Zurich at the weekend; Chris pays tribute to ‘a thoroughly nice man’ who was particularly renowned in Verdi and Russian repertoire.
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Recording of the Week,
Tomás Luis de Victoria 6th July 2009
The Lay Clerks of Westminster Cathedral and Matthew Martin present the Spanish master’s Missa Gaudeamus, interspersed with passages of chant and organ music by Frescobaldi, in an account which impressed with its focus and purity.
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Recording of the Week,
Britten's homage to Purcell 29th June 2009
Mark Padmore and Roger Vignoles join forces for gripping accounts of Winter Words, The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, and a handful of Britten’s Purcell realisations, including An Evening Hymn and Job’s Curse.
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Recording of the Week,
Gergiev at the Mariinsky 1st June 2009
The Russian conductor presides over a ‘thoroughly worthwhile’ recording of Shostakovich’s surreal first opera The Nose, composed between 1927 and 1928 and based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol.
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Recording of the Week,
Two recent re-discoveries light up Martinu year 25th May 2009
The fiftieth anniversary of the Czech composer’s death is marked by a superb programme of excerpts from his opera Juliette (conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, with Magdalena Kožená in the title-role) and a collection of his chamber music from Ensemble Calliopée.
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Recording of the Week,
Idomeneo from René Jacobs 18th May 2009
Following his landmark accounts of the three Da Ponte opera, Jacobs tackles Mozart’s early opera seria, with Richard Croft as the Cretan king, Bernarda Fink as his estranged son, and Alexandrina Pendatchanska spitting fire as Elettra.
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Recording of the Week,
A&R and Kate Royal's Midsummer Night 11th May 2009
The British soprano and Kathleen Ferrier Award winner’s second recording for EMI Classics includes opera arias by Walton, Stravinsky, Britten, Korngold and Dvořák, all on a nocturnal theme.
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Recording of the Week,
Rachmaninov Preludes 27th April 2009
In ‘one of his finest recordings to date’, Scottish pianist Steven Osborne showcases the infinite variety of Rachmaninov’s 24 Preludes in performances which combine musical intelligence with fire and tenderness.
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Recording of the Week,
20 Years of NMC 20th April 2009
Founded by composer Colin Matthews in 1989, the British contemporary music label celebrates its twentieth birthday with a songbook featuring music by composers including Thea Musgrave, Tarik O’Regan and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
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Awards,
BBC Music Magazine Awards 13th April 2009
Sir Charles Mackerras’s vibrant accounts of the late Mozart symphonies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra take the palm as Disc of the Year, with honourable mentions for Christian Gerhaher, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and others.
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Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich 11 from the RLPO 6th April 2009
The latest instalment of Vasily Petrenko’s Shostakovich cycle with his Liverpool orchestra prompts Chris to draw comparisons with Rattle’s landmark work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra…
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Recording of the Week,
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 9th March 2009
Richard Egarr and The Academy of Ancient Music record Bach’s six concerti grossi at French baroque pitch (A = 392Hz), which has ‘a remarkable effect on the richness of the sound’.
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Recording of the Week,
Angela Gheorghiu in Puccini's Madama Butterfly 2nd March 2009
The Romanian soprano assumes the role of the tragic teenage geisha for the first time, with Jonas Kaufmann as the American naval officer who abandons her, and Antonio Pappano conducting.
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Recording of the Week,
The world's most celebrated violins 23rd February 2009
James Ehnes explores one of the world’s finest private collections of violins, including instruments by Stradivari and Guarneri, and showcases their unique qualities in a programme including music by Elgar, Ravel, Falla and Sibelius.
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Recording of the Week,
Sarah Connolly gets Purcell year off to a flier 2nd February 2009
The British mezzo ushers in the 350th anniversary of Purcell’s birth by masterminding a new recording of Dido and Aeneas, on which her assumption of the title-role ranks with the very best on disc.
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Recording of the Week,
Monteverdi as you've never heard it before! 26th January 2009
Christina Pluhar and L’Arpeggiata make their debut on Virgin Classics with a fascinating exploration of Monteverdi’s ‘Theatre of Love’, aided by superb contributions from Philippe Jaroussky and Nuria Rial.
