Classical Reviews
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Mavra/Iolanta from the Bayerische Staatsoper
16th Dec 2022
The young artists of the Munich opera-house's training studio (including Mirjam Mesak and Freddie De Tommaso) shine brightly in Axel Ranisch's ingenious fusion of two contrasting one-act operas by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.
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Igor Stravinsky/Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Mavra/Iolanta (DVD)
Mirjam Mesak (Iolanta), Long Long (Vaudémont), Boris Prýgl (Robert), Markus Suihkonen (King René), Oğulcan Yilmaz (Ibn-Hakia); Anna El-Khashem (Parasha), Freddie de Tommaso (Vassili), Noa Beinart (Mother/Marta) Opernstudio der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Axel Ranisch, Alevtina Ioffe
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A piano double-bill from Leeds winners Alim Beisembayev and Eric Lu
9th Dec 2022
Masterful Liszt and delicate Schubert from the 2021 and 2018 winners of the Leeds International Piano Competition.
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Christmas with Diana Damrau
2nd Dec 2022
The German coloratura soprano's festive album is definitely a cracker rather than a turkey, with a first half of traditional German songs and carol medleys followed by a disc of seasonally-appropriate Baroque and Classical arias.
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Baroque instrumental music for Christmas from Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort
25th Nov 2022
Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort present an alternative Christmas sound-world, replacing vocal and choral music with string concertos and sonatas from around Europe.
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Berlioz's Les nuits d'été & Harold en Italie from John Nelson in Strasbourg
18th Nov 2022
Vocal shape-shifter Michael Spyres tackles the song-cycle in the original orchestral keys, whilst viola-player Timothy Ridout is a warmly collegiate soloist in Harold on this clear-eyed, affectionate recording from Strasbourg.
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Signor Gaetano from Javier Camarena and Gli Originali
11th Nov 2022
On the first of two albums devoted to the many and varied operas of Donizetti, the Mexican tenor brings fresh-faced charm to the comic heroes of L'elisir d'amore and Betly - but also excels in the darker and stormier waters of Roberto Devereux, Caterina Cornaro and Maria de Rudenz.
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Steven Isserlis explores the cello's Golden Decade
4th Nov 2022
Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih take us on a journey to uncover some lesser-known works from an astonishingly fruitful decade for the cello - sonatas from Strauss and Le Beau, Bruch connections and more.
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Handel's Theodora from Maxim Emelyanychev and Il Pomo d'Oro
28th Oct 2022
A starry cast headed by Lisette Oropesa and Joyce DiDonato offers a wealth of fresh insights into Handel’s oratorio about religious persecution and intolerance in ancient Rome on this new studio recording, made after a run of concert-performances across Europe.
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Hans Rott's Symphony in E major from Jakub Hrůša
21st Oct 2022
The Czech conductor and his Bamberg orchestra offer a magnificent account of a work not heard until more than a century after it was written, by a composer described by Gustav Mahler as "the founder of the new symphony".
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Hans Rott: Symphony No. 1
Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša
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Rossini's Messa di Gloria from Antonio Pappano
14th Oct 2022
The Cinderella of Rossini's sacred works goes to the ball in fine style, with stand-out performances from tenors Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres, and some delectable obbligatos from the woodwind principals of Pappano's Roman orchestra.
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Rossini: Messa di Gloria
Eleonora Buratto (soprano), Teresa Iervolino (contralto), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Michael Spyres (tenor), Carlo Lepore (bass), Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
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Telemann Fantasias from Alina Ibragimova
7th Oct 2022
The violinist adds a fourth album of unaccompanied repertoire to her tally - following Bach, Ysaÿe and Paganini up with Telemann's twelve fantasias, written to be technically approachable yet musically satisfying.
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Krystian Zimerman performs piano music by Szymanowski
30th Sep 2022
The Polish pianist offers a selection of pieces by his compatriot, in performances that are often highly idiosyncratic yet always thoughtful, intelligent, and full of staggering technical and expressive mastery.
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Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works
Krystian Zimerman (piano)
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Leoncavallo's Zingari on Opera Rara
23rd Sep 2022
Carlo Rizzi conducts a scintillating account of the Pushkin-inspired one-act opera from 1912, starring Krassimira Stoyanova and Arsen Soghomonyan.
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Igor Levit's Tristan
16th Sep 2022
Hans Werner Henze's brilliant, baffling set of ‘Preludes for piano, electronic tapes and orchestra’ sits at the heart of this Wagner-inspired recital, which also includes music by Liszt and Mahler via Ronald Stevenson.
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John Wilson conducts music from Hollywood's Golden Age
9th Sep 2022
Sinfonia of London and conductor John Wilson present a dazzling selection of music from classic movies including Rebecca, The Wizard of Oz, Laura, How to Marry a Millionaire, My Fair Lady, and Now, Voyager.
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Hollywood Soundstage
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
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Fatma Said's Kaleidoscope
2nd Sep 2022
Featuring music by composers including Léhar, Gounod, Weill and Piazzolla, the Egyptian soprano's beguiling, wide-ranging invitation to the dance proves impossible to resist.
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Alison Balsom's Quiet City
26th Aug 2022
Alison Balsom and the Britten Sinfonia offer a colourful collection of works and arrangements that place the trumpet firmly at the centre of attention.
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Anna Prohaska and Isabelle Faust perform György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragmente
19th Aug 2022
An extraordinary tour de force from the soprano and violinist duo, performing the Hungarian composer's great song cycle setting fragments of texts by Franz Kafka.
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American tenor Jonathan Tetelman's debut recording
12th Aug 2022
Featuring arias by Cilea, Massenet, Verdi, Ponchielli and Mascagni, the Chile-born tenor's first album for Deutsche Grammophon reveals a powerful dark-hued voice that's allied to real interpretative subtlety.
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Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch from Carolyn Sampson, Allan Clayton and Joseph Middleton
5th Aug 2022
All three artists are wonderfully attuned to the wit and warmth of Wolf's set of 46 delectable miniatures, with Middleton's characterful postludes proving in a joy in themselves...
