Classical Interviews
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Aulis Sallinen at 90
30th Apr 2025
In the wake of his ninetieth birthday earlier this month, the Finnish composer talks to Ben Hogwood about how his style has changed over the decades - and why he's enjoying life at ‘tempo molto sostenuto’ in semi-retirement.
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Holy Week with The Bevan Family Consort
17th Apr 2025
Four members of the British choir of cousins and siblings discuss their new album of music for Lent and Passiontide Attende Domine, released on Signum Classics earlier this month and featuring works by composers including Alfonso Ferrabosco, Girolamo Giacobbi, Mel Bonis and family friend Neil Wright.
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Rosa Feola on Niccolò Piccinni
16th Apr 2025
The Italian soprano discusses her new album of opera arias by the Bari-born composer (1728-1800), who enjoyed enormous early success in Rome before relocating to Paris at the invitation of Marie Antoinette.
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Sean Hickey on Sapiens
14th Apr 2025
The American composer (and Managing Director of Netherlands-based label PENTATONE) discusses his dual career and the genesis of his new solo piano work Sapiens, released on Dorian Sono Luminus earlier this month.
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Jeannette Sorrell on Le Tre Soprano
10th Apr 2025
The founder and music director of Apollo's Fire talks about the group's new album, placing the spotlight on the all-female 'concerto delle donne' that arose in Ferrara towards the end of the 16th century.
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Samantha Ege on Maestra
9th Apr 2025
The pianist and musicologist discusses her new recording of piano concertos by Julia Perry (the eponymous 'maestra') and Doreen Carwithen, released on Lorelt at the end of last month with Lontano and Odaline de la Martinez.
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Nobuyuki Tsujii on Beethoven
26th Mar 2025
Coinciding with the release of his Deutsche Grammophon debut album, and the reissue by DG of his earlier recordings, pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii spoke to Matthew Ash about his experiences, approaching Beethoven and learning new repertoire as a blind musician.
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Beethoven
Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano)
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Harry Christophers on 'Angel of Peace'
24th Mar 2025
The conductor talks about his new album of choral works, released to accompany The Sixteen's 2025 Choral Pilgrimage.
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Jeneba Kanneh-Mason on Fantasie
19th Mar 2025
Pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason talks about making her debut solo album (released earlier this month on Sony Classical), her journey with Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, the attractions of Scriabin's soundworld, and the music of Margaret Bonds.
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Paavo Järvi on Mahler
17th Mar 2025
As he embarks upon a cycle of Mahler’s symphonies with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi talks about his early exposure to the composer’s music listening at home to recordings with his father, and how Mahler’s own experience as a conductor helps inform interpreters of his music today.
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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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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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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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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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Fatma Said on Lieder
26th Feb 2025
In the wake of her recent recording of songs by Schubert, Brahms, Robert Schumann and the Mendelssohns, the Egyptian soprano discusses how her passion for the German language and literature was ignited during her childhood in Cairo, the joy of making music with true friends - and why her heart lies in the concert-hall rather than the opera-house for the moment...
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Benjamin Appl on Lines of Life
24th Feb 2025
The German baritone discusses working with György Kurtág (who turned 99 last week) on his Hölderlin-Gesänge and other works - and why the resulting album 'turned out to be the most extensive (and expensive) recording I’ve ever made'...
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Abel Selaocoe on Hymns of Bantu
20th Feb 2025
The award-winning South African cellist discusses his new album (out tomorrow on Warner Classics), which sets traditional Bantu music alongside compositions by Bach and Marais.
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Christian Li on Tchaikovsky
18th Feb 2025
The young Australian violinist (who signed to Decca when he was just twelve) discusses his 'coming of age' recording, which is released this Friday and sees him joining forces with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and a selection of miniatures.
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Tom Coult on Pieces That Disappear
17th Feb 2025
The British composer discusses the inspirations behind the works on his debut album, released on NMC at the end of last year and including the violin concerto Pleasure Garden (written for Coult's friend Daniel Pioro).
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Christopher and Geoffrey in the Lions' Den
12th Feb 2025
Conductor Christopher Monks and musicologist Geoffrey Webber talk about their work bringing Francesco Scarlatti's dramatic Biblical oratorio Il Daniele nel Lago de' Leoni back to life - featuring dragons, demons and more.
