Latest News: Classical, Harmonia Mundi (label)
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Recording of the Week,
Isabelle Faust performs Britten's Violin Concerto 12th April 2024The German violinist yet again demonstrates absolute mastery of her instrument with commanding performances of works by Britten, including the world premiere recording of two pieces written whilst the composer was still a schoolboy.
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Recording of the Week,
A new Bach cantata project from Les Arts Florissants 5th April 2024Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants kick off a new project aimed at retracing the steps of Bach's life - focusing on his early work in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen, still barely out of his teens.
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Recording of the Week,
A Lifetime of Vivaldi from Théotime Langlois de Swarte 16th February 2024A lively re-telling of Vivaldi's life through a selection of his violin concertos, from perhaps the most exciting young Baroque violinist around - including a number of world premiere recordings, and a gorgeous recent rediscovery.
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Recording of the Week,
A Lionel Tertis Celebration from Timothy Ridout 26th January 2024This beautifully-performed and curated recital paints a vivid picture of the great violist in his capacities as commissioner, composer and arranger - featuring works by composers including York Bowen, Rebecca Clarke, Eric Coates, Frank Bridge and William Henry Reed.
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Interview,
Raphaël Pichon on Monteverdi's Vespers 8th January 2024The conductor talks about his new recording of Monteverdi's unique sacred masterpiece, plus recent and upcoming Delibes and Mozart projects.
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Recording of the Week,
Saint-Saëns symphonic poems from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles 17th November 2023A selection of Saint-Saëns's luscious orchestral pieces - familiar and less-known, and including a real treasure from the very dawn of the cinematic era - get the Les Siècles treatment, leaping off the page thanks to intelligent and sensitive performances on period instruments.
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Recording of the Week,
Isabelle Faust - Solo 20th October 2023The German violinist is at her intelligent, expressive best in a programme of works for unaccompanied violin by Matteis père et fils, Pisendel, Guillemain, Vilsmayr and Biber.
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Recording of the Week,
Monteverdi's Vespers from Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion 1st September 2023Raphaël Pichon and his Pygmalion ensemble offer a vivid, contrast-filled account of Monteverdi's sacred masterwork. A new benchmark recording of the Vespers? Quite possibly.
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Interview,
Suzi Digby on Sanctissima 28th August 2023The founder and director of the ORA Singers talks about her new album of music inspired by Vespers, and her ongoing mission to celebrate choral music from two Golden Ages centuries apart.
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Recording of the Week,
Sanctissima from the ORA Singers 18th August 2023The London-based vocal ensemble's 'Vespers and Benediction for the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary' features striking commissions by Giles Swayne, Julian Anderson, Matthew Martin and the late Sven-David Sandström.
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Recording of the Week,
L'Heure espagnole from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles 16th June 2023Period instruments lend a delicious piquancy and wit to Ravel's Franco-Spanish farce about a libidinous clock-maker's wife intent on making the most of her husband's absence, with a stylish cast led by French mezzo Isabelle Druet.
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Recording of the Week,
Fantasie from Alexander Melnikov 28th April 2023The Russian pianist performs seven fantasias by composers from JS Bach to Schnittke on seven historically-appropriate instruments, including an extraordinary tangent piano from 1790 and two fortepianos from his own personal collection.
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Recording of the Week,
Stravinsky from Isabelle Faust, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles 3rd March 2023Violinist Isabelle Faust's relationship with the music of Stravinsky continues, with François-Xavier Roth and his period-instruments orchestra Les Siècles joining her in an album built around the chamber-inspired Violin Concerto.
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Recording of the Week,
Nadia & Lili Boulanger - Les heures claires 24th February 2023French pianist Anne de Fornel is joined by Lucile Richardot, Stéphane Degout and Raquel Camarinha for this spellbinding anthology of the two sisters' complete songs, including a number of world premiere recordings.
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Recording of the Week,
Biber's Rosary Sonatas from Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti 17th February 2023Inspired by a dance project for the stage, Beyer and her fellow musicians rediscover the vitality of Biber's cycle of devotional sonatas.
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Recording of the Week,
Elgar's 'Viola Concerto' from Timothy Ridout 20th January 2023The young British viola-player's account of the Cello Concerto as transcribed by Lionel Tertis is a compelling addition to the piece's distinguished discography on its own terms, with sensitive support from the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins.
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Recording of the Week,
Anna Prohaska and Isabelle Faust perform György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragmente 19th August 2022An extraordinary tour de force from the soprano and violinist duo, performing the Hungarian composer's great song cycle setting fragments of texts by Franz Kafka.
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Recording of the Week,
Ravel Piano Concertos from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles 20th May 2022Les Siècles continue their successful series of Ravel recordings on period instruments under François-Xavier Roth, with Cédric Tiberghien at the piano and baritone Stéphane Degout.
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Recording of the Week,
Weber's Der Freischütz from René Jacobs 29th April 2022The Belgian conductor's restoration of the original libretto's prologue lends a wonderful symmetry and coherence to Weber's supernatural Singspiel, whilst German actor Max Urlacher is properly spine-chilling in the expanded role of the demon Samiel.
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Recording of the Week,
Bach's St Matthew Passion from Raphaël Pichon 15th April 2022Raphaël Pichon and his Pygmalion ensemble present a vision of Bach's masterwork that aims for clarity and immediacy over exhaustingly intense theatrics.