The remaining 2000 albums in the Hyperion catalogue will be made available to stream over the next nine months, with the second batch landing on 15th September and bundles of 100 titles being released at fortnightly intervals from that point onwards. To mark the occasion, the Presto team have selected a dozen personal favourites from the albums which dropped on Friday - and you can browse the complete available catalogue here.
The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol. 27: Saint-Saëns
Stephen Hough (piano), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
'With performances as persuasive as these from pianist Stephen Hough, it makes one wonder why these works aren't performed more often. My favourite is probably the fifth concerto, nicknamed the 'Egyptian', in which the joy that both Hough and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under conductor Sakari Oramo bring to the last movement is quite palpable. A splendid set indeed.' (James Longstaffe)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'Isserlis first recorded the Elgar back in the late 1980s with Richard Hickox and the LSO. It was (and indeed still is) a very fine recording, but I feel there is a more truthful recorded sound in this new one. Whereas previously Isserlis sometimes seemed to be playing in a more resonant acoustic than the rest of the orchestra, here everything is perfectly as one, and his exquisite and beautiful silvery tone shines through in all its glory.' (Chris O'Reilly)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'It almost goes without saying but alongside the Takács Quartet's customarily impeccable ensemble playing are some incredibly arresting individual moments, not least from relative newcomer to the quartet, violist Richard O'Neill, who more than demonstrates why he was picked to join the group shortly before this recording was made. For me this album is a definite winner.' (James Longstaffe)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'I first came across these recordings as part of Hyperion’s excellent box set of Brahms’s complete chamber music. Previous exposure to the Piano Trios hadn’t made much of an impression on me, but something about the group’s sensitivity and the cohesion they bring to these occasionally erratic works truly landed. If I were to highlight a moment, it would be the grace they bring to the Andante grazioso of Op. 101. There’s also a wonderfully warm recording of the Horn Trio Op. 40 featuring Richard Lester.' (Matt Groom)
Available Format: 2 CDs
'After being spellbound after seeing her perform all six of Bach's Sonatas & Partitas live at the BBC Proms in 2015 this was an obvious pick for me, and I’m just as awestruck by her in the studio as I was in the Royal Albert Hall. In synthesizing the great violin traditions of the past with the best from the period practice movement Alina Ibragimova created a set of Bach's monumental Sonatas & Partitas for the twenty-first century.' (Paul Thomas)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'What really sets this album apart is not his fingerwork but the way he exploits the capabilities of his instrument to also bring out the drama in these showy works...his account of the seven toccatas is an exhilarating ride in the harpsichord equivalent of a souped-up sports car, driven by surely the finest and most assured driver alive today.' (David Smith)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'Hamelin is ever-attuned to the composer’s delight in the possibilities of the relatively new instruments for which he was writing and their ability to switch between different palettes and textures in a heartbeat...And he’s a master at gently underlining (but never pre-empting) every surprise twist in mood or harmony, of which CPE supplies many throughout.' (Katherine Cooper)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'Such is the synergy between them that for most of this recital I entirely forgot that I was listening to two pianists rather than one: every shift in colour, dynamic and tempo is perfectly synchronised, and the balance throughout is similarly immaculate, with neither succumbing to the temptation to over-assert themselves when playing the supporting role.' (Katherine Cooper)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Rameau: Règne Amour - Love Songs from the Operas
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Ex Cathedra, Jeffrey Skidmore
'Love Reigns supreme in this superb collection of some of Rameau’s finest arias for soprano voice. Sung with effortless style, grace and radiance by Carolyn Sampson (her breathtaking performance of the ariette ‘Aux langueurs d’Apollon’ from Platée is a particular highlight) backed by Ex Cathedra, this recording is a superb entry point into the beautiful yet somewhat rarefied (in the Anglosphere at least) world of French Baroque opera.' (Paul Thomas)
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge & other songs
Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), Timothy Ridout (viola) Piatti Quartet
'The Scottish tenor packs considerably more punch than I'm used to hearing in this repertoire, and I love it - Spence carries his vocal weight with consummate style and sensitivity, reserving the real firepower for climatic moments and bringing an exquisite tenderness to the more intimate songs such as 'Silent Noon'. The Piattis and Ridout, too, sound every bit as engaged with the texts as their singer throughout.' (Katherine Cooper)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Arguably the recording that catapulted Eric Whitacre to his status as one of the most beloved of contemporary choral composers, this album from Polyphony and Stephen Layton is a stunning collection of ravishingly-sung pieces, including the gloriously scrunchy harmonies of Sleep, Lux aurumque, and i thank You God for most this amazing day, the touching directness of A boy and a girl, and the unbearably intense grief of Whitacre's thirteen-minute setting of the biblical lament, When David heard. (James Longstaffe)
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Saint Hildegard of Bingen - A feather on the breath of God
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Gothic Voices, Christopher Page
'The recording that more than any other sparked the popular revival of interest in the ecstatically spiritual music of Bingen. Many albums have been labelled 'iconic' and 'groundbreaking' over the years, but the combination of Emma Kirkby and Gothic Voices' vocal clarity with a selection of unobtrusive instrumental underpinnings really did mark the start of something different and new. This is a recording that opened eyes and minds when it first came out in the '80s, and continues to do so today.' (David Smith)
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
