Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
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Recording of the Week,
Christmas Oratorios from Bach, Berlioz, and Britten 2nd December 2013The Christmas Oratorio from Trinity College Cambridge, Saint Nicolas from Cambridge University Music Society (with Andrew Kennedy in the title-role), and L’Enfance du Christ from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Robin Ticciati.
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Recording of the Week,
Poulenc from Patricia Petibon and Paavo Järvi 25th November 2013The fiftieth anniversary of the composer’s death is marked by outstanding performances of three of his sacred works: the Gloria, Stabat mater, and Litanies à la Vierge*.
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Recording of the Week,
Bach Cantatas from Masaaki Suzuki 11th November 2013Begun in 1995, Bach Collegium Japan’s mighty survey of the complete sacred cantatas crosses the finishing-line with these affecting performances of Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, Freue dich, erlöste Schar, and Gloria in excelsis Deo.
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Recording of the Week,
Works for Pedal Piano by Gounod 4th November 2013For the 62nd volume of Hyperion’s The Romantic Piano Concerto series, Roberto Prosseda joins Howard Shelley and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana for the Concerto for pedal piano, Suite concertante and Fantaisie sur l’hymne national russe.
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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,
Brahms Symphonies from Chailly and Gergiev 14th October 2013A complete cycle from the Gewandhausorchester on Decca impresses James with its ‘drive and determination’, whilst Gergiev offers ‘beefy, big-boned, muscular’ takes on Symphonies no. 1 & 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
Berlioz's Les Troyens from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 7th October 2013Sir David McVicar’s 2012 production packs some serious magic thanks to Es Devlin’s breathtaking sets and fiercely committed performances from Eva-Maria Westbroek, Bryan Hymel and Anna Caterina Antonacci in the three main roles.
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Recording of the Week,
Steven Isserlis plays Dvořák's Cello Concerto 30th September 2013The British cellist joins Daniel Harding and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra for the evergreen B minor concerto and its lesser-known predecessor from 1865, revised and orchestrated by German composer Günter Raphael.
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Recording of the Week,
New Verdi releases from Jonas Kaufmann and others 16th September 2013The German tenor brings ‘nuanced psychological drama* to a collection of portraits including a foretaste of Otello, whilst Thomas Hampson is profoundly moving as a ‘care-worn and conflicted’ Simon Boccanegra.
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Recording of the Week,
Arias for countertenor/male soprano from Fagioli, Hansen, and Jaroussky 9th September 2013Argentine sopranist Fagioli scales the high Cs in a jaw-dropping recital of arias penned for the notorious star castrato Caffarelli, whilst Jaroussky explores music written by for his rival Farinelli by their mutual singing-teacher Nicola Porpora.
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Recording of the Week,
Piers Lane Goes To Town: Piano encores and lollipops 2nd September 2013The Australian pianist’s ‘pot pourri of pianistic palate-cleansers and party pieces’ includes music by figures as diverse as Dudley Moore, Percy Grainger, Billy Mayerl and Arthur Benjamin, as well as several pieces written especially for Lane.
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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,
Dame Janet Baker celebrates her eightieth birthday 19th August 2013Curated to mark the great English mezzo's birthday, this 20-disc set from EMI includes classic recordings of music by Berlioz, Elgar, Mahler and Schubert as well as previously-unreleased material including Monteverdi and Scarlatti with Raymond Leppard.
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Recording of the Week,
Verdi arias from Anna Netrebko 12th August 2013The Russian soprano marks the composer’s bicentenary with arias and scenes from Don Carlo, Macbeth, Il trovatore, Giovanna d’Arco and I vespri siciliani in a recital which reveals a voice reaching glorious full bloom.
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Recording of the Week,
Schubert works for violin and piano from Ibragimova and Tiberghien 5th August 2013The duo’s intimate and restrained approach scores highly for pure beauty of tone and natural rapport, but doesn’t preclude plenty of playfulness and bite in the faster movements - fantastically vibrant playing, technically brilliant and always stylish.
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Recording of the Week,
Tudor Church Music from Stile Antico 29th July 2013The conductorless British vocal ensemble’s rich lower voices and effortless, ethereal sopranos bring an almost regal broadness to music by Gibbons, Tallis, Byrd, Morley, Taverner and White.
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Recording of the Week,
Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration Concert 22nd July 2013The American summer festival celebrates its three-quarter century in eclectic fashion, with Haydn from Emanuel Ax, Bernstein from the Boston Pops Orchestra, Ravel from Andris Nelsons, and excerpts from The Great American Songbook from James Taylor.
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Recording of the Week,
Isabelle Faust performs Bartók Violin Concertos 15th July 2013Faust combines technical brilliance with a performance full of bite and character, and demonstrates a natural affinity with Daniel Harding and his orchestra, who offer vivid accompaniment throughout and no shortage of incisive rawness of their own where required.
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Recording of the Week,
Handel Chandos Anthems from Stephen Layton and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge 8th July 2013Transparent textures and stylish but unfussy phrasing are the order of the day in these buoyant accounts of the anthems which Handel composed during his year-long musical residency at the home of James Brydges, the Paymaster General during the War of Spanish Succession.
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Recording of the Week,
Claudio Abbado conducts Schumann's Second Symphony 1st July 2013On the cusp of his eightieth birthday, Abbado brings the chamber-like qualities of his Mozart recordings to the music of Schumann in performances which are shot through with vivacious sparkle and evident love for the music.