Latest stories
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Shelf Discovery: Dame Janet Baker
12th Aug 2020by Paul Thomas
In the third instalment of our new series, Paul revisits the great English mezzo's legacy on disc.
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BBC Music Magazine - September 2020 Choices
11th Aug 2020by Chris O'Reilly
Chris introduces this month's selection, with the Cleveland Orchestra’s eclectic celebration of their centenary (featuring two world premieres commissioned for the occasion) as Recording of the Month.
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New Sony titles added to Presto CD
10th Aug 2020by Flora Lucas
Including Mahler from Esa-Pekka Salonen, Bach from Charles Rosen, and several recordings from Anner Bylsma and Tafelmusik.
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Xuefei Yang on Sketches of China
7th Aug 2020by David Smith
Guitarist Xuefei Yang talks about her new album of transcriptions, arrangements and new commissions originating from her native country.
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Nicola Benedetti plays Elgar
7th Aug 2020by Katherine Cooper
The Scottish-Italian violinist embraces the heart-on-sleeve qualities of a work which the composer ruefully described as 'awfully emotional', her passion and responsiveness matched by Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
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New Release Round-Up - 7th August 2020
7th Aug 2020by Chris O'Reilly
Dvořák from Kian Soltani and Daniel Barenboim, Rachmaninov from Sergei Babayan, the world premiere recording of Ethel Smyth's choral symphony The Prison, and a new large-scale recording project from Max Richter.
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The Presto Chart - July 2020
5th Aug 2020by Chris O'Reilly
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for July, with Paul Lewis's Beethoven Bagatelles on Harmonia Mundi in first place...
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Robert Trevino on Beethoven
4th Aug 2020by Katherine Cooper
The American conductor talks to Katherine about his recording of the complete symphonies with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, released in June on Ondine.
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Leon Fleisher (1928-2020)
3rd Aug 2020by Chris O'Reilly
The American pianist, who spent much of his career unable to use his right hand due to focal dystonia, has died aged 92.
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John Wilson and Sinfonia of London perform Respighi's Roman Trilogy
31st Jul 2020by James Longstaffe
For his third album with Sinfonia of London, John Wilson turns to Respighi's dazzling triptych of orchestral works depicting the city of Rome through the ages.
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New Release Round-Up - 31st July 2020
31st Jul 2020by Chris O'Reilly
Vaughan Williams and Finzi from Michael Collins and the Philharmonia Orchestra, Satie from Noriko Ogawa, and two new works for baroque orchestra and voices by Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning American composer Caroline Shaw.
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Presto Editor's Choices - July 2020
30th Jul 2020by Katherine Cooper
A terrific debut solo recording featuring Britten and Liszt confirms the young British tenor Stuart Jackson as a major talent, whilst Chandos release two twentieth-century masterpieces centring on incarceration.
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Episode 2: The Art of Music Criticism with Harriet Smith
29th Jul 2020by Matt Groom
For the second Presto Music Podcast, Paul is joined by music critic Harriet Smith, to discuss the art involved in reviewing classical music recordings.
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Boxed Set Selections - July 2020
29th Jul 2020by Chris O'Reilly
Centenary celebrations of Isaac Stern and the Salzburg Festival, a seventy-fifth birthday tribute to Itzhak Perlman, and Delitiae Musicae's complete Monteverdi madrigals on Naxos.
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Adrian Chandler on Extra Time
28th Jul 2020by David Smith
Adrian Chandler talks about his latest album of rarely-encountered Baroque gems with La Serenissima, released this Friday on Signum.
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Presto CD additions on DG, Decca and DG Archiv
27th Jul 2020by Flora Lucas
Including Beethoven from Krystian Zimerman, Bernstein conducting Bernstein, Bach from Alexis Weissenberg, and the complete works of Varèse.
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Beethoven songs and folksongs from Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano
24th Jul 2020by Katherine Cooper
The tenor and pianist are joined by violinist Vilde Frang and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt for selections from the Scottish and Irish folk-songs, following an exquisitely tender account of An die ferne Geliebte.
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New Release Round-Up - 24th July 2020
24th Jul 2020by Chris O'Reilly
Elgar from Elīna Garanča and Daniel Barenboim, Telemann from Barthold Kuijken, an arresting debut recording from The Hermes Experiment, and three neglected British clarinet concertos from Robert Plane.
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Peter Sheppard Skaerved on Schubert, Cowie and more
23rd Jul 2020by David Smith
The violinist talks to David about his three recent releases – ranging from a redisovered Baroque manuscript, via intimate Schubert, to an often dark album of recordings by contemporary composer Edward Cowie.
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Ermonela Jaho's debut solo recording and other forthcoming highlights
22nd Jul 2020by Katherine Cooper
The Albanian soprano celebrates the legacy of Rosina Storchio on Opera Rara, plus new albums from Diana Damrau, Alexandre Kantorow, Jonas Kaufmann and others.