Latest News: Classical, Recording of the Week
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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,
A Grand Concert of Music by Mr Charles, the Hungarian (lately arriv'd from Paris) 9th June 2023Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra recreate a performance that took place Dublin in 1742 - after the triumphant success of Messiah's premiere, an enterprising rival from overseas boldly puts on concerts featuring Handel's other works, right under his nose...
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Recording of the Week,
Tchaikovsky from Alpesh Chauhan and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 2nd June 2023Featuring Francesca da Rimini, The Voyevoda and The Tempest, the British conductor's debut recording is the stuff dreams are made on, combining passion and precision to thrilling dramatic effect.
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Recording of the Week,
A new Haydn symphony series from Paavo Järvi 26th May 2023Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie launch an exciting new Haydn project, embracing music that's peppered with moments of wry humour.
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Recording of the Week,
Christophe Rousset conducts Spontini's La vestale 19th May 2023The first-ever period-instrument recording of Spontini's 1807 opera emphasises the score's debt to the French declamatory tradition, with Marina Rebeka on ravishing form in the title-role and Stanislas de Barbeyrac showing his true heroic colours as the Roman soldier Licinius.
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Recording of the Week,
Broken Branches from Karim Sulayman and Sean Shibe 12th May 2023The Lebanese-American tenor and Scottish guitarist join forces for a multifaceted yet deeply personal recital, that ranges across cultural and geographical boundaries and explores the idea of diaspora in music.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven & Beyond from María Dueñas 5th May 2023The 20-year-old Spanish violinist combines a sense of almost childlike wonder with absolute technical mastery on her debut recording of the Beethoven concerto with the Wiener Symphoniker & Manfred Honeck, supplemented with shorter pieces by composers who wrote cadenzas to the work.
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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,
Gustavo Dudamel conducts Dante, a new ballet by Thomas Adès 21st April 2023Based on Dante's La Divina Commedia, Thomas Adès's three-part ballet receives a virtuosic performance from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with music that moves from the grotesque to the sublime, incorporating a touch of Franz Liszt along the way.
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Recording of the Week,
Anime Immortali from Franco Fagioli 14th April 2023The Argentinian countertenor is at the top of his game in a programme exploring Mozart's writing for castrati, including the motet Exsultate, jubilate and arias from La finta giardiniera, Lucio Silla and La clemenza di Tito.
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Recording of the Week,
John Wilson conducts Rachmaninoff 7th April 2023The spotlight is squarely on the strings on this clear-eyed, almost Classical account of Rachmaninoff's 1908 symphony, with balance and restraint the order of the day until the final few minutes of the piece...
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Recording of the Week,
Visages Baroques from new Deutsche Grammophon signing Raphaël Feuillâtre 31st March 2023The 26-year-old guitarist makes his debut for the yellow label with a dance-suite-inspired programme of Bach and French Baroque works.
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Recording of the Week,
Strauss and Debussy from François-Xavier Roth and the London Symphony Orchestra 24th March 2023The LSO and their Principal Guest Conductor present sumptuous, radiant performances of two virtuosic orchestral showpieces: Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Debussy's Jeux.
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Recording of the Week,
Benjamin Grosvenor plays music by the Schumanns and Brahms 17th March 2023The British pianist is on typically eloquent, empathetic form in a programme which includes Robert's Kreisleriana and Blumenstück, Clara's variations on a theme from his Bunte Blätter, and their friend Brahms's autumnal Intermezzi Op. 117.
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Recording of the Week,
Antonio Pappano conducts Puccini's Turandot 10th March 2023Sondra Radvanovsky and Jonas Kaufmann lead a stellar cast in a sumptuous account from Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia of Puccini's final opera.
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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,
Voyage intime from Sandrine Piau and David Kadouch 10th February 2023The French soprano and pianist are beguiling companions on this 'intimate journey' via songs by Schubert, Liszt, Wolf, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Duparc and Debussy.
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Recording of the Week,
John Wilson and Sinfonia of London perform music for strings by English composers 3rd February 2023Following on from their 2021 album of English music for strings, John Wilson and his orchestra offer a spectacular selection of works by Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Herbert Howells, and Delius.