Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
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Recording of the Week,
Marc-André Hamelin plays Liszt and Thalberg 28th August 2020The Canadian pianist is on jaw-dropping form in a programme inspired by the 1837 'duel' between the two composer-virtuosos, which also includes the mighty collaborative Hexaméron - a set of variations on Bellini by composers including Chopin, Czerny and Pixis.
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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,
John Williams conducts the Vienna Philharmonic 14th August 2020Joined by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams conducts excerpts from scores such as Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, War Horse, Hook, Jurassic Park, Jaws, The Witches of Eastwick, and more.
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Recording of the Week,
Nicola Benedetti plays Elgar 7th August 2020The Scottish-Italian violinist embraces the heart-on-sleeve qualities of a work which the composer ruefully described as 'awfully emotional', her passion and responsiveness matched by Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
John Wilson and Sinfonia of London perform Respighi's Roman Trilogy 31st July 2020For his third album with Sinfonia of London, John Wilson turns to Respighi's dazzling triptych of orchestral works depicting the city of Rome through the ages.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven songs and folksongs from Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano 24th July 2020The tenor and pianist are joined by violinist Vilde Frang and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt for selections from the Scottish and Irish folk-songs, following an exquisitely tender account of An die ferne Geliebte.
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Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich from Kirill Karabits, Oleg Tsibulko and the Russian National Orchestra 17th July 2020A new recording of Shostakovich's complex 'Babi Yar' symphony with bass Oleg Tsibulko gets to the heart of a work that's often seen as all politics and no emotion.
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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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Recording of the Week,
William Alwyn's Miss Julie from Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra 3rd July 2020Real-life husband-and-wife Anna Patalong and Benedict Nelson star in the English composer's 1977 opera, based on Strindberg's great naturalistic drama from 1888.
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Recording of the Week,
Byrd and more from the Magdalena Consort and friends 26th June 2020The Magdalena Consort, Fretwork and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts join forces for a second volume of English verse-anthems presented in glorious instrumental Technicolor.
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Recording of the Week,
Massenet's Cendrillon from Glyndebourne 19th June 2020Danielle de Niese and Kate Lindsey bring real psychological depth to Cinderella and Prince Charming's relationship in Fiona Shaw's astute and sparkling production, with John Wilson supplying fairy-dust aplenty from the pit.
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Recording of the Week,
Rimsky-Korsakov from Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 12th June 2020As on their recent series of Strauss tone poems, the Russian conductor and his Norwegian orchestra prove themselves master story-tellers on this trio of showpieces from the late 1880s.
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Recording of the Week,
Barricades from Jean Rondeau and Thomas Dunford 5th June 2020David enjoys the début recording of Jean Rondeau and Thomas Dunford's harpsichord-lute duo, featuring a selection of French Baroque treasures with vocal cameos from Marc Mauillon and Lea Desandre.
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Recording of the Week,
Shostakovich from Alina Ibragimova 29th May 2020The Russian-born violinist brings searing intensity and muscular tone to the two concertos, backed to the hilt by Vladimir Jurowski and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov'.
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Recording of the Week,
Sean Shibe plays Bach Lute Suites 22nd May 2020The award-winning young Scottish guitarist's third solo album on Delphian sees him turn to the music of JS Bach, with a highly varied triple-bill of suites for solo lute.
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Recording of the Week,
Vincerò! Piotr Beczała sings Verismo 15th May 2020The Polish tenor is at the top of his considerable game in arias by Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Cilea and Giordano.
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Recording of the Week,
Grigory Sokolov performs music by Beethoven, Brahms, & Mozart 8th May 2020The Russian pianist presents a collection of sublime performances of music by Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart, recorded live at recitals across Europe in 2019.
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Recording of the Week,
Howells from David Hill and the Bach Choir 1st May 2020David Hill leads the Bach Choir and BBC Concert Orchestra in a masterful new recording of Howells's monumental Missa Sabrinensis - a rarely-heard masterpiece ripe for revival.
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Recording of the Week,
Nuits from Véronique Gens and I Giardini 24th April 2020The French soprano explores the themes of night and dreams on this beguiling programme of mélodies from the Belle Époque, given here in atmospheric new arrangements for voice and piano quintet by Alexandre Dratwicki.
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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.