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James Longstaffe
James is a conductor, répétiteur, arranger, and tuba player. His musical interests include opera, film music, late-Romantic orchestral works (especially Mahler and Richard Strauss), and twentieth-century American composers such as Copland, John Adams, and John Williams. He read Music at Christ Church, Oxford, writing his postgraduate dissertation on the music of Star Wars.
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New Music Book Publications - July 2026
14th Jul 2026
The story of brass bands, a second volume of collected covers from the World Countdown newspaper, a guide to performing and understanding Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin, a new edition of a handbook on music research, a history of music in Spain, a discussion of European composers who undertook tours of the USA in the early twentieth century, and an investigation into how Mozart's music was used as propaganda by the Nazis in 1941 Vienna.
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Manfred Honeck conducts music by Dvořák and Carlos Simon
3rd Jul 2026
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and their Music Director present an illuminating, energetic account of Dvořák's "New World" Symphony alongside the world premiere recording of Carlos Simon's Four Black American Dances.
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Robert Trevino on Respighi's Sinfonia drammatica
2nd Jul 2026
With the release of his recording of Respighi's rarely-performed Sinfonia drammatica, the conductor talks about his previous album of the composer's Roman Trilogy, his thoughts on the reasons behind the Sinfonia's relative lack of performances, and why he feels that it is one of the greatest pieces that Respighi ever wrote.
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Fabio Luisi on Wagner's Ring Cycle
23rd Jun 2026
The Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra speaks about his association with the music of Wagner, and his decision to undertake performances and a recording of the composer's monumental cycle of four operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
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New Music Book Publications - June 2026
15th Jun 2026
Biographies of Brahms and Chopin, a history of Wigmore Hall, an anthology of reflections on the importance of Elgar, a biography of clarinettist Gervase de Peyer, an examination of environmental imagery in the operas of Wagner, a handbook for teachers and parents on neurodiversity in music, an exploration of tradition in classical music, and an updated guide to music written for film and visual media.
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Robert Trevino conducts Respighi's Sinfonia drammatica
5th Jun 2026
Robert Trevino and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI make a thrilling, highly persuasive case for a work that has received relatively few recordings to date, with a performance full of rich strings, portentous brass, and beautiful woodwind solos.
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Jakub Hrůša conducts symphonies by Bohuslav Martinů
15th May 2026
The Czech conductor leads the Bamberger Symphoniker in performances of all six of the symphonies by his compatriot that are full of rhythmic vitality, magical textures, and characterful playing from every section of the orchestra.
Featured product
Martinů: The Symphonies
Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša
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Sir Donald Runnicles on Mahler and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra
13th May 2026
The conductor and music director of the Grand Teton Music Festival speaks about his latest recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 5, his early experiences of hearing the composer's music, and how his association with the festival came about.
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New Music Book Publications - May 2026
12th May 2026
A biography of Bellini, a guide to the 2026 BBC Proms season, a toolkit for composers to help with Classical techniques and style, paperback editions of Michael Downes's book on Wagner's Ring cycle and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason's reflections on the power of music, discussions of minimalist music and the history of the microphone, and a handbook for teachers offering support for students with special educational needs.
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French orchestral favourites from John Wilson and Sinfonia of London
1st May 2026
A beautifully chosen and vividly performed collection of popular French pieces including Dukas's L'Apprenti sorcier, Saint-Saëns’s Danse macabre, suites from Bizet's Carmen, and Wilson's own orchestral transcription of Debussy's Clair de lune.
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New Music Book Publications - April 2026
13th Apr 2026
The autobiography of noted cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, the second printing of a limited edition book covering British Jazz on Record, handbooks, biographies, and compendiums on composers including Shostakovich, Janáček, Barbara Strozzi, Telemann, Florence Price, and Smetana, a paperback reissue of Sir Antonio Pappano's memoir, and an exploration of When You Wish Upon a Star, the much-loved song featured in Disney's 1940 animated film, Pinocchio.
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Anne-Sophie Mutter on East Meets West
30th Mar 2026
To celebrate the launch of her new series on Alpha Classics, ASM Forte Forward, the violinist talks about her long history of commissioning and performing new works by composers including John Williams, Witold Lutosławski, Unsuk Chin, and Aftab Darvishi.
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Antonio Pappano and the LSO perform Holst's The Planets
27th Mar 2026
The London Symphony Orchestra and their Chief Conductor perform a powerful yet mystical account of Gustav Holst's survey of the solar system, alongside a majestic reading of Arnold Bax's Cornish tone poem, Tintagel.
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New Music Book Publications - March 2026
16th Mar 2026
A history of the nocturne and the fascination of night music, an exploration of the art of choral conducting, an examination of Janáček's Sinfonietta, companions to folk music and French art song, a musical history of Vienna, a paperback edition of Anne Sebba's poignant account of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, and the latest novel from Sunday Times bestselling author, Evie Woods.
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Hitchcock & Herrmann - The Friendship & Film Scores That Changed Cinema
13th Mar 2026
In the first of a new monthly series reviewing books on music, we take a look at Steven C. Smith's recent examination of the remarkable relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, which began in 1955 with The Trouble with Harry and ended abruptly and acrimoniously in 1966 when Hitchcock rejected Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain, taking in celebrated collaborations such as Psycho, North by Northwest, and Vertigo along the way.
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The Calidore String Quartet weave an American Tapestry
13th Feb 2026
The New York-based quartet present music by three of their compatriots (plus one Viennese émigré), in a thoughtful album showcasing the diversity and richness of twentieth-century American music.
Featured product
American Tapestry
Calidore String Quartet
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New Music Book Publications - February 2026
10th Feb 2026
A discussion of Janáček's operas Káťa Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen, a paperback reissue of Simon Morrison's award-winning biography of Tchaikovsky, books on Clara and Robert Schumann, Wagner, Satie, Mendelssohn, and Fauré, the Sunday Times bestelling account of the tempestuous relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, an exploration of the impact of sound on our experience of the world, and an industry guide to musical theatre auditions.
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New Music Book Publications - January 2026
13th Jan 2026
An examination of the extraordinary cinematic collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, a portrait of celebrated cellist Pablo Casals, a collection of essays on Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn, an exploration of the life and music of composer Michel Legrand, a study of the healing power of music, the story of British choral singing from the medieval era to the present day, and a look at Stephen Sondheim's classic musical, Sweeney Todd.
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Orchestral Works by Max Reger from Jaime Martín and the Gävle Symphony Orchestra
12th Dec 2025
Released back in August, this album (one of our Top 10 Classical Recordings of 2025) presents a marvellously evocative and captivating account of two orchestral works by Max Reger: the Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, Op. 128, and the Romantic Suite, Op. 125.
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Presto Music Awards - Book Winners 2025
5th Dec 2025
After our awards ceremony in Leamington Spa last night, we are delighted to announce our top five music book publications of 2025.
