Latest stories
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New Release Round-up - 5th May 2017
5th May 2017
The Emerson quartet celebrate forty years with new recordings of Britten and Purcell, while vocal releases from sopranos Diana Damrau and Carolyn Sampson also feature in this week's round-up.
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Andris Nelsons conducts Bruckner's Third Symphony
5th May 2017
James listens to Andris Nelsons' first recording with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra - a stirring account of Bruckner's Third Symphony.
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New Release Round-up - 14th April 2017
14th Apr 2017
Orchestral music from Ravel, Vaughan Williams, Haydn and Mahler, a new recording of Bach's St. John Passion in English and Julia Lezhneva singing Carl Heinrich Graun are just some of the highlights this week.
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Previously unreleased cello recital by Mstislav Rostropovich and Benjamin Britten
14th Apr 2017
James enjoys a newly-released gem from Testament's archives, featuring Britten accompanying the legendary Rostropovich at the piano.
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New Release Round-up - 24th March 2017
24th Mar 2017
Box sets devoted to the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the New York Philharmonic's 175th anniversary and the Takács Quartet's Beethoven recordings are released this week, alongside Schubert duets on fortepiano from Andreas Staier and Alexander Melnikov, and cello concertos by Elgar and Tchaikovsky played by Johannes Moser.
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Grigory Sokolov performs piano concertos by Mozart and Rachmaninov
10th Mar 2017
James enjoys the rare delight of a pair of concerto recordings by the Russian pianist, with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra accompanying.
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New Release Round-up - 3rd March 2017
3rd Mar 2017
Sibelius from Osmo Vänskä, Mahler from Mariss Jansons, and the conclusion of Chandos's series of Charles Ives feature this week, alongside Rossini arias and duets from Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Jean Rondeau's disc of harpsichord concertos by members of the Bach family.
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The LSO performs orchestral works by Thomas Adès
3rd Mar 2017
James listens to a selection of fascinating and mould-breaking works by Thomas Adès, with the composer conducting the LSO.
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Víkingur Ólafsson on Philip Glass
16th Feb 2017
James talks to Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson about his debut album on Deutsche Grammophon of music by Philip Glass.
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New Release Round-up - 10th February 2017
10th Feb 2017
Rafał Blechacz plays Bach on the piano and Andreas Ottensamer explores the early clarinet repertoire. Soprano Sonya Yoncheva explores Handel, and Nina Stemme stars in a new production of Puccini's Turandot from La Scala, plus new releases from the choirs Gallicantus and Stile Antico also feature.
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John Eliot Gardiner conducts Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream
3rd Feb 2017
James listens to John Eliot Gardiner's recording of Mendelssohn's delightful incidental music, with the LSO and Monteverdi Choir.
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New Release Round-up - 20th January 2017
20th Jan 2017
Symphonies by Muzio Clementi, Schnittke from cellist Leonard Elschenbroich, the first album to be recorded on the new organ of the Paris Philharmonie from Olivier Latry, and a classic performance of Schubert's Winterreise are amongst the highlights of this week's new releases.
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Vasily Petrenko completes his cycle of Tchaikovsky Symphonies
20th Jan 2017
James listens to the culmination of Vasily Petrenko's Tchaikovsky cycle with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - symphonies Nos. 3, 4, and 6.
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2016 Goodbyes
29th Dec 2016
We have made a short video tribute remembering some of the musicians who sadly died during 2016.
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Jack Liebeck performs Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 2
23rd Dec 2016
James listens to Jack Liebeck and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performing Bruch's Second Violin Concerto and other concertante works.
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Seong-Jin Cho, winner of the 2015 Chopin Piano Competition, performs Chopin
25th Nov 2016
James enjoys International Chopin Competition winner Seong-Jin Cho's debut studio album, featuring (unsurprisingly!) Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Ballades.
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Lisa Batiashvili performs Violin Concertos by Tchaikovsky and Sibelius
18th Nov 2016
James listens to the Georgian violinist's new double-bill of concertos, with the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim.
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Münchner Philharmoniker launch their own label with music by Bruckner and Mahler
30th Sep 2016
James introduces the Münchner Philharmoniker's new label with a double-bill of stirring Romantic masterworks conducted by Valery Gergiev.
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Synergy Vocals and Matthias Goerne perform music by Luciano Berio and Gustav Mahler
16th Sep 2016
James listens to a formidable account of Berio's Sinfonia with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Synergy Vocals.
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John Eliot Gardiner conducts Mendelssohn symphonies with the LSO
9th Sep 2016
James listens to John Eliot Gardiner's latest volume of Mendelssohn with the LSO.
