Latest News: Classical, Sir Simon Rattle (conductor)
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Recording of the Week,
Janáček's Katya Kabanova from Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra 23rd February 2024Amanda Majeski is riveting as the doomed heroine grasping for happiness in the face of a loveless marriage (and a monstrous mother-in-law) in provincial Russia, with Rattle expertly balancing the score's elemental power and claustrophobic intensity.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven Piano Concertos from Krystian Zimerman and Simon Rattle 16th July 2021Zimerman, Rattle, and the London Symphony Orchestra present expressively exuberant performances of Beethoven's five piano concertos that are full of joy, wit, and drama.
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Recording of the Week,
Simon Rattle conducts Janáček's Sinfonietta and The Cunning Little Vixen 4th September 2020Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and a cast including Lucy Crowe and Gerald Finley in an exquisitely characterful performance of Janáček's opera.
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Recording of the Week,
Simon Rattle and the LSO dazzle in Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town 14th September 2018Bernstein's 1953 musical receives a sparkling performance from the London Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle, with a cast led by Danielle de Niese, Alysha Umphress, and Nathan Gunn.
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Recording of the Week,
Bernstein Symphonies from Simon Rattle and Antonio Pappano 24th August 2018Pianist Krystian Zimerman brings understated affection and Classical clarity to The Age of Anxiety with Rattle, whilst Pappano and his Roman orchestra emphasise the dramatic qualities of all three symphonies.
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Recording of the Week,
Simon Rattle conducts Debussy's Pélleas et Mélisande 13th October 2017Katherine enjoys a live account of Debussy's Pélleas et Mélisande from Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, with Magdalena Kožená and Christian Gerhaher in the title roles.
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Interview,
Sir Simon Rattle on Beethoven 7th September 2016The conductor discusses his recent recordings with the Berliner Philharmoniker, released in April on the orchestra's own label.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven Symphonies from Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker 13th May 2016James listens to Simon Rattle's new complete Beethoven cycle with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
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Recording of the Week,
Simon Rattle conducts Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri 9th October 2015James listens to Simon Rattle's new recording of Schumann's rarely-heard Persian gem with Sally Matthews, Mark Padmore, Kate Royal and the LSO.
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Recording of the Week,
Krystian Zimerman and Simon Rattle perform music by Lutosławski 21st August 2015James listens to Krystian Zimerman's new recording of Lutosławski's Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic.
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Recording of the Week,
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Schumann 19th May 2014Chris listens to the Berlin Philharmoniker's début recording on their own record label – the complete symphonies of Schumann, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
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Recording of the Week,
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Mozart's The Magic Flute 21st October 2013Pavol Breslik and Kate Royal are the young lovers put to the test in Robert Carsen’s production from Baden-Baden, with Ana Durlovski as the Queen of the Night, and Dimitry Ivashchenko as Sarastro.
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Recording of the Week,
Rachmaninov from Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker 26th August 2013The Berliners afford luxurious treatment to the choral symphony The Bells (with soloists Luba Orgonášová and Mikhail Petrenko), whilst Rattle’s spacious approach to the Symphonic Dances pays huge dividends.
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Recording of the Week,
100th anniversary of the première of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring 27th May 2013The centenary of one of the most controversial premieres in musical history is marked by a new recording from Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker, and a mammoth Collector’s Edition comprising 38 recordings dating from 1946 to 2010.
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Recording of the Week,
Carmen from Berlin with Kaufmann and Kožená 20th August 2012The light-voiced Czech mezzo and heavyweight German tenor are an appropriately chalk-and-cheese pairing as the free-spirited gypsy and her obsessive soldier lover, with Kožená’s husband Simon Rattle conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker in a performance which emphasises the score’s opéra comique pedigree.
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Recording of the Week,
Brahms/Schoenberg from Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker 8th August 2011Rattle conducts Schoenberg’s orchestration of the Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor, plus the Chamber Symphony No. 1 and Accompanying Music to a Cinematographic Scene.
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Recording of the Week,
Simon Rattle's new Mahler 2 7th February 201124 years after his landmark recording of the ‘Resurrection’ Symphony with Dame Janet Baker and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Rattle returns to the piece with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Kate Royal and Magdalena Kožená.
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Recording of the Week,
Rattle conducts Brahms 31st August 2009The ‘incredible warmth and beauty of sound’ which Rattle coaxes from the Berliner Philharmoniker in the four symphonies echoes the achievement of their Gramophone award-winning recording of Ein deutsches Requiem in 2007.
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Recording of the Week,
Rattle and Gergiev on Mahler 3rd March 2008 -
Recording of the Week,
Haydn - the most underrated great composer 30th July 2007An ‘uplifting, overwhelming, charming and comforting’ account of Haydn’s most popular oratorio, sung in a new English adaptation, with soloists including Miah Persson and Mark Padmore.