Latest stories
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Presto Presents... Edward Picton-Turbervill and Michael Waldron
21st Jul 2026
The conductor and composer talk about Edward's music and influences, and his new album Eden, released recently on Orchid Classics and featuring some of his compositions concerned with nature and the environment.
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Presto Presents... Claire Booth and Christopher Glynn
9th Jul 2026
The soprano and pianist take us behind the scenes of their new album Cocteau's Music, out now on Orchid Classics and featuring Poulenc's La voix humaine alongside songs by Maurice Delage, Darius Milhaud, Georges Auric and others.
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Cocteau's Music from Claire Booth and Christopher Glynn
26th Jun 2026
The British soprano and pianist explore the extraordinary legacy of French poet, playwright and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, including songs by Milhaud, Honegger and Auric, and culminating in a visceral account of Poulenc's La Voix humaine.
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Michael Waldron on Arthur Oldham
13th Apr 2026
To mark the release of Mentor (out now on Orchid Classics), the conductor of London Choral Sinfonia discusses the unique relationship between Benjamin Britten and his only private pupil, whose centenary falls this year.
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Claire Booth on Life Stories
24th Mar 2026
The soprano discusses her recent cabaret-themed album on Orchid Classics, featuring the world premiere recording of Zoë Martlew's theatrical song-cycle Hôtel Babylon plus music by Gershwin, Eisler, Poulenc and Adès.
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Michael Waldron on his new Christmas album with London Choral Sinfonia
27th Nov 2025
The Musical Director of London Choral Sinfonia visited Presto to talk about his latest album of Christmas music, released on Orchid Classics to celebrate the ensemble's tenth anniversary.
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Ed Long on Songs of Ourselves
17th Nov 2025
The chair of London-based LGBTQ+ vocal ensemble The Fourth Choir talks about the group's new album, marking their début recording.
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Claire Booth on Schoenberg
10th Jun 2024
To mark the composer and polymath's 150th birthday, the soprano talks about her new album exploring his rich and varied song output, curated with pianist Christopher Glynn and themed around Schoenberg's Expressionist paintings.
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Berginald Rash and Fiona Gryson on 'Dathanna'
2nd Apr 2024
The duo talk about their new album 'Dathanna: Hues & Shades', released in February on Orchid Classics and featuring works for clarinet and harp - both originals and arrangements.
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Charles Owen & Katya Apekisheva on the art of the piano duo
27th Dec 2023
The curators of the London Piano Festival reflect on what makes the perfect partner on the piano-bench, and discuss their new album of music by Poulenc, Milhaud and Debussy (released on Orchid Classics last month).
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Robyn Allegra Parton on Burnished Gold
19th Jul 2023
The British soprano discusses her Klimt-inspired debut solo album on Orchid Classics, exploring music by composers associated with the Viennese Secession movement and featuring songs by Joseph Marx, Alma Mahler, the teenage Erich Korngold and Johanna Müller-Hermann.
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Burnished Gold
Robyn Allegra Parton (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)
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Kirill Troussov on his EP of violin duos with Julia Fischer
11th Jul 2023
The violinist discusses his recently-released EP, pairing Shostakovich's Five Pieces for Two Violins & Piano with Prokofiev's Sonata for Two Violins.
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Michael Waldron on Sword in the Soul
22nd May 2023
Conductor Michael Waldron shares some of his thoughts on Francis Grier's contemporary Passion oratorio 'Sword in the Soul', which he conducts on a new recording with the London Choral Sinfonia alongside works by Park, Bednall and Elgar.
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Julian Marshall and James Gilchrist on The Angel in the Forest
22nd Dec 2022
The British composer discusses his atmospheric song-cycle for tenor and chamber ensemble (released as an EP on Orchid Classics last month) with its dedicatee.
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Michael Waldron on Colourise
17th Aug 2022
The director of London Choral Sinfonia discusses their new album, featuring the world premiere recordings of Lennox Berkeley's Variations on a Hymn by Orlando Gibbons and Vaughan Williams's arrangement of the Five Mystical Songs for voice, choir, piano and strings .
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Lola Descours on Bassoon Steppes
27th Jun 2022
The bassoonist discusses her new album of transcriptions, featuring Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and more, and the unique relationship between the instrument and Russian repertoire.
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Bassoon Steppes
Lola Descours (bassoon), Paloma Kouider (piano)
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Coco Tomita on Origins
3rd Mar 2022
The violinist talks about her debut album Origins, released tomorrow on Orchid Classics, and discusses her musical upbringing and influences.
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Coco: Origins
Coco Tomita (violin), Simon Callaghan (piano)
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Schubert on Tape
14th Feb 2022
Edna Stern talks about her new album of Schubert, in which she deliberately turns back the clock on today's recording techniques to capture a more authentic performance.
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Schubert on Tape
Edna Stern (piano)
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Jack Liebeck on Ysaÿe
22nd Nov 2021
The violinist talks about his new album of the six sonatas of Eugène Ysaÿe for solo violin.
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Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas
Jack Liebeck (violin), Daniel Grimwood (piano)
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Elizabeth Llewellyn on Heart and Hereafter
3rd Jun 2021
The soprano talks to Katherine about her album of songs by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor with pianist Simon Lepper, released last week on Orchid Classics.
