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Bach's St John Passion from Pygmalion and other forthcoming highlights
9th Feb 2026
Raphaël Pichon and his crack ensemble continue their award-winning Bach journey, with other spring stand-outs including a new series from Anne-Sophie Mutter, Holst's The Planets from Pappano & the LSO, and Mendelssohn from Andris Nelsons in Leipzig.
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JS Bach: Johannes-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Huw Montague Rendall (Jesus), Ying Fang (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), Etienne Bazola (baritone), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
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Goldberg Variations from Yunchan Lim
6th Feb 2026
Yunchan Lim brings an expressively muscular yet idiomatic approach in this live recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, making this new album a treasurable addition to a catalogue which includes many celebrated recordings.
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New Release Round-Up - 6th February 2026
6th Feb 2026
Tchaikovsky from Gianandrea Noseda and the LSO, a musical autobiography from Alexandra Dariescu, Poulenc from Pascal Rogé, and Clara Schumann, Dora Pejačević and Cécile Chaminade from the Neave Trio.
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Martyn Brabbins on The Dream of Gerontius (and Havergal Brian)
5th Feb 2026
The conductor discusses his new recording of Elgar's masterpiece with Huddersfield Choral Society, and reflects on how he became such an enthusiastic ambassador for the music of Havergal Brian (whose 150th birthday fell last week).
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BBC Music Magazine - February 2026 Choices
4th Feb 2026
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by a recording from Víkingur Ólafsson which 'continues his progress as one of the great individual pianists of our time'.
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The Presto Chart - January 2026
3rd Feb 2026
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for January, with Mendelssohn and Enescu from the combined forces of the Quatuor Ébène and Belcea Quartet occupying the top spot.
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Grammy Winners 2026
2nd Feb 2026
The classical winners from this year's ceremony included new works by Jake Heggie, Donnacha Dennehy and Gabriela Ortiz, and albums from Yo-Yo Ma, Amanda Forsythe and Sandbox Percussion.
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Overtures from the British Isles Vol. 3
30th Jan 2026
Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic lead a whistle-stop tour through the highways and byways of British music around the time of World War Two, taking in works by composers including Havergal Brian, Daniel Jones, Richard Arnell and Robin Orr.
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New Release Round-Up - 30th January 2026
30th Jan 2026
A gallery of piano heroines from Claire Huangci, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius from Martyn Brabbins in Huddersfield, Schumann and Moscheles from Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih, and Lully's Atys with Mathias Vidal and Véronique Gens.
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Martin Helmchen on Schubert
29th Jan 2026
To mark the composer's 229th birthday on Saturday, the German pianist reflects on the joys of discovering his early and unfinished sonatas (several of which feature on the first instalment of his new cycle on Alpha Classics).
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Schubert: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Martin Helmchen (piano)
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BBC Music Magazine Awards 2026: Shortlist
29th Jan 2026
The nominations are just in and voting is open...
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Presto Team Choices - January 2026
28th Jan 2026
A vivid portrait of Kurt Weill from Katie Bray and friends, an autobiographical concerto from Chinese composer and pipa virtuoso Gao Hong, a barnstorming account of Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony from the BBC archives, and Vítězslav Novák's Piano Concerto from Oliver Triendl and the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.
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Royal Philharmonic Society Awards - The Shortlist for 2026
27th Jan 2026
The contenders for this year's Awards (announced yesterday) include conductors Ellie Slorach, Domingo Hindoyan and John Wilson, and composers Richard Causton, Bushra El-Turk and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - February 2026
26th Jan 2026
Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by a 'revelatory' album of Johann Ludwig Bach's cantatas from Capella Sollertia on Ricercar.
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Johann Ludwig Bach: The Leipzig Cantatas
Sebastian Myrus, Richard Resch (tenor), William Shelton, Flore Van Meerssche, Carine Tinney (soprano), Michael Mogl, Tabea Mitterbauer, Anna-Lena Elbert, Micha Matthäus, Tobias Knaus, Capella Sollertia, Johanna Soller
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Renaud Capuçon celebrates his fiftieth birthday with Bach
23rd Jan 2026
The violinist marks a milestone with a classy album of Bach's sonatas and partitas, swapping awestruck veneration for simple personal enjoyment.
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J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas
Renaud Capuçon (violin)
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New Release Round-Up - 23rd January 2026
23rd Jan 2026
Mahler from Vladimir Jurowski and François-Xavier Roth, Bach's Clavier-Übung III from British organist James McVinnie, and a compline-inspired EP from The King's Singers.
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Palmarès des Diapason d'Or 2025
21st Jan 2026
Following last week's gala concert from some of the victors, we revisit the complete list of winning recordings - including Monteverdi from Le Poème Harmonique, Smetana from Petr Popelka in Prague, and a portrait of Vítězslava Kaprálová.
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Leif Ove Andsnes on Schubert for Four Hands
20th Jan 2026
The Norwegian pianist discusses sharing a keyboard with his friend Bertrand Chamayou for a mesmerising programme of late Schubert, which began life at Andsnes's chamber music festival in the fjords a decade ago.
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Piano Round-Up, January 2026
19th Jan 2026
We piano lovers are lucky to enjoy a rich catalogue of recordings, but an abundance of fine new albums in 2025 showed there's still plenty more to say. 2026 is already looking exciting, and in this first piano roundup of the year, Matthew Ash has some highlights to share from the new albums he has been enjoying.
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A Winterreise with a difference from Allan Clayton
16th Jan 2026
The British tenor joins forces with Aurora Orchestra under its founder Nicholas Collon for Hans Zender's 'composed interpretation' of Schubert's bleak song-cycle, premiered in 1993 and bringing the piece's chilly soundscapes to life with an ensemble which includes accordion, guitar, a battery of percussion and a wind-machine.
