Latest News: Classical, Harmonia Mundi (label)
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Recording of the Week,
Pélleas et Mélisande from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siėcles 11th March 2022Period instruments provide revelations aplenty in Debussy's opera - and the central love-triangle is cast in an intriguing new light...
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Recording of the Week,
New choral music from Iceland and England 4th February 2022A double-bill of contemporary works for choir - Icelandic splendour from Graham Ross and the choir of Clare College, and Westminster commissions from Dove, Weir and Martin.
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Recording of the Week,
Paul Lewis plays Brahms 21st January 2022The British pianist's interpretations of the final four sets of solo piano works are a revelation, capturing all of the poetry and drama of the music and often emphasising its kinship with Debussy and Rachmaninov.
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Recording of the Week,
Christmas Recordings from Fretwork and Christiane Karg 3rd December 2021The viol consort is joined by mezzo Helen Charlston for an Elizabethan Christmas, whilst Karg and her regular recital partner Gerold Huber offer a beautifully-plotted programme of Lieder and mélodies with a seasonal theme.
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Recording of the Week,
Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat from Isabelle Faust and Dominique Horwitz 27th August 2021David enjoys Isabelle Faust and friends' historically-informed account of Stravinsky's sardonic tale, with lively narration from Dominique Horwitz.
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Recording of the Week,
A double-bill of very different Baroque violin albums 30th July 2021Nicola Benedetti makes a successful first venture into early music with a programme of Geminiani and Vivaldi, and Théotime Langlois de Swarte teams up with William Christie to bring some French Baroque gems to light.
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Recording of the Week,
François-Xavier Roth conducts Beethoven's Eroica Symphony 23rd April 2021Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth return to the music of Beethoven with a dramatic, illuminating account of the Third Symphony, coupled with an energetic performance of an overture by Méhul.
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Recording of the Week,
Stravinsky & Eötvös from Pablo Heras-Casado and the Orchestre de Paris 9th April 2021The Spanish conductor delivers a very Gallic Rite of Spring, whilst Isabelle Faust is bewitched and bewitching on the world premiere recording of Péter Eötvös's 'Alhambra' Concerto.
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Interview,
François-Xavier Roth on Beethoven & Gossec 21st January 2021The French conductor talks to Katherine about his Presto Award-winning recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Gossec's Symphonie à 17 parties.
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Recording of the Week,
Mahler from Christiane Karg, Malcolm Martineau - and Gustav Mahler 23rd October 2020The German soprano and her regular recital-partner beguile in the Rückert-Lieder and songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, whilst the composer himself makes an appearance (via a 1905 piano-roll) for ‘Das himmlische Leben’.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven and Gossec from François-Xavier Roth & Les Siècles 18th September 2020François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles put a revolutionary new spin on Beethoven's immortal Fifth, and make the case for his much-neglected contemporary Gossec.
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Recording of the Week,
Tallis, MacMillan and more from ORA Singers 21st August 2020ORA Singers pair Tallis's mighty Spem in Alium with a newly-composed forty-part motet by James MacMillan, alongside a treasure-trove of choral works commissioned by Tudor nobility.
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Recording of the Week,
Paul Lewis plays Beethoven's Bagatelles 10th July 2020The British pianist's survey of Beethoven's complete output in the genre (plus the Fantasia Op. 77 and three opus-less Klavierstücke) radiates wit, warmth and wisdom.
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Interview,
Paul Lewis on Beethoven 10th July 2020The British pianist talks to Katherine about his recording of the Bagatelles (out today on Harmonia Mundi), and about the composer's often 'uncompromisingly uncomfortable' writing for the piano.
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Interview,
Graham Ross on Arvo Pärt 28th April 2020The conductor of the choir of Clare College Cambridge talks to David about his new album, showcasing the music of Arvo Pärt, Pēteris Vasks and James MacMillan.
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Recording of the Week,
François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles perform Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition 17th April 2020The French conductor and ensemble return to the music of Ravel, with his orchestration of Mussorgsky's piano suite alongside a dazzling performance of La Valse.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven's Leonore from René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester 6th December 2019The original 1805 version of Beethoven's only opera is a high-adrenaline experience in the hands of the Belgian conductor and his period-instrument band, with Marlis Petersen in the title-role and Maximilian Schmitt as her imprisoned husband.
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Interview,
Raphaël Pichon on Libertà! 9th September 2019The French conductor talks to Katherine about recording three 'mosaics' of music which Mozart composed or encountered during the period leading up to his life-changing collaboration with Lorenzo Da Ponte, including extracts from his abandoned operas Lo sposo deluso and L'oca del Cairo, and music by Salieri, Paisiello and Soler.
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Interview,
Antoine Tamestit on Bach 27th August 2019The viola-player talks to David about his recording of the three gamba sonatas on Stradivari’s ‘Gustav Mahler’ viola from 1672 - one of only thirteen extant violas by the legendary Cremonese luthier.
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Recording of the Week,
Les Siècles perform Mahler's symphonic poem, Titan 10th May 2019François-Xavier Roth and his period-instrument orchestra perform Mahler's "tone poem in the form of a symphony in two parts and five movements", an early version of his First Symphony.