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New Release Round-Up - 14th March 2025
14th Mar 2025
From the free jazz sounds of Nicolas Masson, to the Sufi devotional music across the globe with Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, there are plenty of diverse new releases this week. Snorre Kirk also debuts his fresh ensemble lineup and Nels Cline releases his fourth album with Blue Note.
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New Release Round-Up - 14th March 2025
14th Mar 2025
Mahler from Paavo Järvi in Zürich, a recital of preludes from Jan Lisiecki, 'Organised Delirium' (built around Boulez) from Tamara Stefanovich, and the world premiere recording of Michael Tippett's final opera New Year from Martyn Brabbins et al.
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Laying the Foundations - Wind Instruments for the Younger Player
14th Mar 2025
Scientific research has shown that learning to play a musical instrument can make you smarter, increasing the power of the brain by several IQ points. Additionally, playing an instrument can improve concentration, co-ordination and memory amongst other skills. It is therefore not surprising that many parents are keen to encourage their child to start learning an instrument at a young age. Here, we look at some of the wind instruments that now make it possible for the aspiring young woodwind player to begin their music journey earlier than ever before.
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Sofia Gubaidulina 1931-2025
13th Mar 2025
The German-resident, Russian-born composer, who combined a profound Orthodox faith with an unrelenting musical modernism, has died aged 93.
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The Sound of Spain is Percolating: Manuel Rodriguez Cafe Cortado Guitars... Coming Soon!
13th Mar 2025
Presto Music is again buzzing with excitement over expanding our Manuel Rodriguez classical guitars with the highly anticipated Manuel Rodriguez Cafe Cortado guitars, which are arriving in Leamington Spa soon.
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Ella Fitzgerald - The Moment Of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum
13th Mar 2025
Ella does it again in the latest addition to her outstanding catalogue: The Moment Of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum. Performing alongside the Duke Ellington Orchestra, this previously undiscovered concert from 1967 emerges from the vaults of Verve founder Norman Granz and instantly becomes a classic.
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Martyn Brabbins on Michael Tippett's New Year
12th Mar 2025
The conductor discusses the world premiere recording of Tippett's final opera, a 'space-aged fairytale' from 1989 which centres on a troubled child psychologist's transformative encounter with time-travellers from the future.
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The Faber Music Women Composers Piano Anthology
12th Mar 2025
The Faber Music Women Composers Piano Anthology is an essential collection of music composed by women spanning several centuries. Find out more.
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Play It Again, Steve - Minimalism and more from Steve Reich
11th Mar 2025
Our guest-contributor Rob Cowan explores a new collection on Nonesuch (released this coming Friday), representing six decades of Reich’s compositions and celebrating his forty-year relationship with the label.
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New Sheet Music Titles - March 11th
11th Mar 2025
Jon Batiste's Beethoven Blues, The Faber Music Women Composers Piano Anthology, Beethoven: Masterpieces for Piano, the complete organ works of Louis Vierne, Grieg's song cycle Haugtassa, and Gavin Higgins's award winning Horn Concerto.
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María Dueñas on Caprices
10th Mar 2025
The violinist gives us a peek behind the scenes of how her new album centred around Paganini's legendary Caprices came to be.
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Stephen Hough plays Stephen Hough
7th Mar 2025
Sir Stephen Hough's latest release is a composer-pianist album for the 21st century, offering a colourful and virtuosic celebration of the past which encapsulates the eclecticism that is a strong feature of his musicianship and passion for life.
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Folk Devils - AuB
7th Mar 2025
AuB's Folk Devils features dynamic twin tenors by Alex Hitchcock and Tom Barford, blending intricate melodies with powerful rhythms, creating a captivating contemporary jazz experience.
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New Release Round-Up - 7th March 2025
7th Mar 2025
This week’s releases include the debut album by Knats with Gearbox Records, Alison Rayner returns with a live-recorded album and Charles Pasi releases his third Blue Note album.
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Knats
Knats (group), Stanley Elvis Woodward (instrumentalist, bass, soloist), Ferg Kilsby (soloist, trumpet, instrumentalist), Sandro Shar (soloist, keyboard, instrumentalist), King David Ike Elechi (instrumentalist, drums), Cam Rossi (instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, soloist), Anatole Muster (accordion, soloist), parthenope (soloist, saxophone), Sam Booth (instrumentalist, cello), Enya Barber (instrumentalist, violin), Tom Ford (electric guitar, soloist), Matt Seddon (soloist, trombone, instrumentalist), Otto Kampa (soloist, alto saxophone, instrumentalist), Richie Sweet (soloist, congas, instrumentalist)
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New Release Round-Up - 7th March 2025
7th Mar 2025
An anniversary homage to Ravel from Bertrand Chamayou, Mahler's Symphony No. 3 from the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov, the world premiere recording of Grace Williams's Missa Cambrensis from the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales and Adrian Partington, and Clara & Robert Schumann from Julian Bliss and James Baillieu.
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Bertrand Chamayou on Ravel Fragments
6th Mar 2025
Bertrand Chamayou talks about his new album, open-minded creativity, and a piano concerto you may not have come across before.
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The Canvas Beneath Your Strings: A Guide to Guitar Fingerboards
6th Mar 2025
The guitar’s fingerboard, that essential stage where a guitarist's melodies and riffs take flight, is more than just a surface, it's a crucial element shaping both playability and tone.
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Evan Parker - The Heraclitean Two-Step etc.
5th Mar 2025
The saxophonist’s newly released 4-CD box set showcases three decades of recordings, blending past and present with his signature improvisational mastery, including a rare 1994 solo performance and fresh explorations inspired by Heraclitus' philosophy of constant change.
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Evan Parker
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Nevermind Ensemble on recasting Bach's Goldberg Variations
5th Mar 2025
The quartet talk about their new recording of the immortal Goldberg Variations, seamlessly adapted for flute, violin, gamba and continuo.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - March 2025
4th Mar 2025
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by a 'multi-coloured, lyrical' set of the Paganini Caprices from the young Spanish violinist María Dueñas on Deutsche Grammophon.
