Latest stories
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Sir John Rutter at 80
24th Sep 2025by David Smith
Composer Sir John Rutter reflects on eight decades of music-making - from studying and conducting at Clare College Cambridge to the turn to full-time composition, and the various influences that have helped to shape his musical style.
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Presto Presents... Matilda Lloyd and Richard Gowers
23rd Sep 2025by Dylan O'Grady
The trumpeter and organist (here switching to piano!) joined us earlier this month to celebrate the launch of their new album Fantasia, which juxtaposes Baroque transcriptions with new works by Owain Park, Deborah Pritchard, Roxanna Panufnik and Richard Barnard.
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Will Dawes on Divine Light and the Indian choral tradition
22nd Sep 2025by David Smith
The conductor of the unique choir of Oxford University's Somerville College talks about their new album of works from, and drawing on, some of the musical worlds of the Indian subcontinent.
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The Pavel Haas Quartet perform string quartets by Martinů
19th Sep 2025by James Longstaffe
Three years on from their previous recording of music by Brahms, the Czech quartet returns with a stunningly virtuosic album of four string quartets by their compatriot Bohuslav Martinů, showcasing an enormous dynamic range combined with an impressive precision and unanimity of purpose.
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New Release Round-Up - 19th September 2025
19th Sep 2025by Katherine Cooper
John Rutter's piano concerto Reflections from Steven Osborne (with the composer conducting), Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 from Francesco Piemontesi, a ninetieth-birthday tribute to Arvo Pärt from the Estonian Festival Orchestra and Paavo Järvi, and Saint-Saëns's 1906 opera L'Ancêtre from Kazuki Yamada.
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International Opera Awards 2025 - The Shortlisted Recordings
18th Sep 2025by Katherine Cooper
Lisette Oropesa, Huw Montague Rendall and Rosa Feola are among the artists in the running for the solo recital category, whilst new accounts of Salome, Dido & Aeneas and Carmen go head-to-head in the complete recording stakes...
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Beethoven from Víkingur Ólafsson and other forthcoming highlights
17th Sep 2025
The Icelandic pianist's new album is built around Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30, with other stand-outs for the autumn including an 'overwhelming' Mahler 2 from Kahchun Wong and the Hallé, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius from Edward Gardner, and an eclectic programme featuring Zappa and Cage from Marc-André Hamelin.
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Seong-Jin Cho on the LSO, Ravel and the Chopin Competition
16th Sep 2025by Katherine Cooper
As his Artist Portrait series with the London Symphony Orchestra gets underway, the South Korean pianist discusses his relationship with the city, the new concerto by his compatriot Donghoon Shin which he'll premiere in November, and his memories of winning the International Chopin Piano Competition almost exactly a decade ago...
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - October 2025
15th Sep 2025by Chris O'Reilly
Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by Purcell's Dido & Aeneas from Il Pomo d'Oro and Maxim Emelyanychev on Erato, with the 'magical pairing' of Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spyres in the title-roles.
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The Kanneh-Masons' River of Music
12th Sep 2025by Matthew Ash
The seven Kanneh-Mason siblings come together to celebrate their origins and the 'river of music' that has run through the generations of their family, in a selection of music which pays homage to their West African and Welsh roots, as well as the classical tradition in which they have grown together as musicians.
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River of Music
Braimah Kanneh-Mason (violin), Konya Kanneh-Mason (violin, piano), Aminata Kanneh-Mason (violin), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Mariatu Kanneh-Mason (cello), Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (piano), Edgar Francis (viola), Toby Hughes (doublebass), The Kanneh-Masons
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Gramophone Awards 2025 - The Finalists
12th Sep 2025by Chris O'Reilly
The three finalists in each of the eleven categories for this year's Awards (presented in partnership with Presto Music) were revealed this morning, with Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexandre Kantorow, Huw Montague Rendall and Timothy Ridout among those in the running...
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New Release Round-Up - 12th September 2025
12th Sep 2025by Katherine Cooper
Vivaldi's La Gloria e Imeneo from Andrea Buccarella, a birthday greeting to Arvo Pärt from Georgijs Osokins, Songs of Passion from Lea Desandre and Thomas Dunford, and an Errollyn Wallen premiere from Dame Sarah Connolly and Joseph Middleton.
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BBC Music Magazine - October 2025 Choices
10th Sep 2025by Chris O'Reilly
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by a display of 'masterful virtuosity' from Alexander Melnikov and Julia Lezhneva in an all-Rachmaninoff programme which was recorded on the composer's own piano at Villa Senar in Switzerland.
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Steven Osborne on Lammermuir, Schubert and Rutter
9th Sep 2025by Matthew Ash
Ahead of his performance with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Lammermuir Festival tomorrow, the Scottish pianist discusses his recent, widely praised album of late Schubert - and the upcoming world premiere recording of John Rutter's new piano concerto Reflections.
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More Chandos titles added on Presto CD
8th Sep 2025by Matthew Ash
We’re excited to announce the addition of more Chandos titles to our Presto CD offering, including albums representing the diversity of music characteristic of this label, and many of them having been unavailable on CD for several years.
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Christoph von Dohnányi (1929-2025)
8th Sep 2025
The veteran German conductor, perhaps best known for his tenure as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra, has died aged 95.
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Rodion Shchedrin (1932-2025)
8th Sep 2025
The Soviet and Russian pianist and composer, with works ranging across many genres but in particular ballets written for his wife Maya Plisetskaya, has died at the age of 92.
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The Verbier Festival Celebrates Rodion Shchedrin At Ninety
Martha Argerich (piano), Mischa Maisky (cello), Rodion Shchedrin (piano), Sol Gabetta (cello), Roland Pöntinen (piano), Yuja Wang (piano), Verbier Festival Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Mikhail Pletnev
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Jonas Kaufmann's Doppelgänger
5th Sep 2025by Katherine Cooper
The German tenor and his regular recital-partner Helmut Deutsch are on peak form in these 2020 accounts of Schumann's Dichterliebe and Kerner-Lieder, supplemented by a glimpse of a very young Kaufmann in the former cycle (and, in the case of the physical product, a DVD of Claus Guth's extraordinary staging of Schubert's Schwanengesang).
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New Release Round-Up - 5th September 2025
5th Sep 2025by Katherine Cooper
Tippett's A Child of Our Time from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozart's Idomeneo from Sir Simon Rattle in Munich, Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto and Symphony No. 5 from Edward Gardner in Bergen, and Schubert from Sandrine Piau and Quatuor Psophos.
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Mozart: Idomeneo
Andrew Staples (Idomeneo), Magdalena Kožená (Idamante), Sabine Devieilhe (Ilia), Elsa Dreisig (Elettra), Linard Vrielink (Arbace), Allan Clayton (High Priest of Neptune), Tareq Nazmi (Voice of the Oracle) Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
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John Butt on Bach's elusive St Mark Passion (and theatrical Handel)
4th Sep 2025by David Smith
The conductor of the Dunedin Consort talks about his upcoming performance of an innovative hybrid reconstruction of Bach's fragmentary third Passion setting, and his recent recording of dramatic Handel cantatas featuring soprano Nardus Williams.