Classical Reviews
-
Donizetti's Il Paria from Opera Rara
15th Jan 2021
Sir Mark Elder conducts a scintillating account of Donizetti's 1829 opera about religious persecution in sixteenth-century India, starring Albina Shagimuratova, René Barbera, and Misha Kiria.
-
Elmas Piano Concertos from Howard Shelley and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
8th Jan 2021
David enjoys the latest instalment in Hyperion's inexhaustible series, featuring the earliest-known piano concertos by an Armenian composer.
-
Verklärte Nacht from Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
1st Jan 2021
Schoenberg's masterpiece is framed by works for voice and orchestra (also on the theme of 'transfigured night') by Franz Lehár, Oskar Fried, and Erich Korngold.
-
Presto Personal Favourites from 2020
24th Dec 2020
Recordings from the Emerson Quartet, Paavo Järvi and Paul Wee feature among the editorial team's individual picks of the year.
-
Vivaldi's Argippo from Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante
18th Dec 2020
Emőke Baráth and Delphine Galou head a small-but-perfectly-formed cast in Vivaldi’s pasticcio from the early 1730s, which also features arias by Galeazzi, Pescetti, Hasse, Porpora, Fiorè and Vinci.
-
Saint-Saëns from Renaud Capuçon, Edgar Moreau and Bertrand Chamayou
11th Dec 2020
The French triumvirate pays early tribute to the centenary of the composer's death with lucid, affectionate accounts of the Violin Sonata No. 1, Cello Sonata No. 1, and Piano Trio No. 2.
-
Mark Simpson's Geysir and Mozart's Gran Partita for Winds
4th Dec 2020
Mark Simpson leads an ensemble in radiant performances of two works for wind instruments: his own composition, Geysir, alongside Mozart's Gran Partita.
-
A Christmas double-bill from Mexico and Ireland
27th Nov 2020
Two glorious albums from Siglo de Oro and the Choral Scholars of University College Dublin bring us onto the final straight to Christmas – focusing on Central American and Gaelic festive celebrations.
-
Carnival of the Animals from the Kanneh-Masons
20th Nov 2020
The seven siblings bring Saint-Saëns’s menagerie to teeming life, with Michael Morpurgo delivering his own new narration with avuncular charm.
-
Amici e Rivali - Michael Spyres and Lawrence Brownlee
13th Nov 2020
The two American tenors trade vocal fireworks in a thrilling all-Rossini programme which pays homage to Andrea Nozzari and Giovanni David, who created major roles in several of the composer's operas for Naples.
-
Daniil Trifonov's Silver Age
6th Nov 2020
The Russian pianist is by turns balletic, poetic and dramatic in solo works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev, whilst the Mariinsky Orchestra match his precision and imagination in concertos by the the latter composer and Scriabin.
Featured product
Silver Age
Daniil Trifonov (piano)
-
Vasily Petrenko conducts Stravinsky & Respighi
30th Oct 2020
Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra perform two contrasting ballets from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes - Stravinsky's unnerving Petrushka and Respighi's sparkling Boutique fantasque.
-
Mahler from Christiane Karg, Malcolm Martineau - and Gustav Mahler
23rd Oct 2020
The German soprano and her regular recital-partner beguile in the Rückert-Lieder and songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, whilst the composer himself makes an appearance (via a 1905 piano-roll) for ‘Das himmlische Leben’.
-
Bertrand Chamayou and Alexandre Kantorow
16th Oct 2020
Two contrasting recitals from award-winning French pianists - one fuelled by melatonin, the other by adrenaline.
-
Giovanni Antonini conducts Haydn's Die Schöpfung
9th Oct 2020
The Italian conductor makes a slight detour from his project to record all of Haydn's symphonies with an incisive, characterful account of the Creation oratorio.
-
Handel's Semele from John Eliot Gardiner
2nd Oct 2020
John Eliot Gardiner revisits Handel's tempestuous tale of gods and mortals, with show-stopping performances from Louise Alder, Hugo Hymas and Lucile Richardot.
-
Ermonela Jaho's Anima Rara
25th Sep 2020
The Albanian soprano's debut solo recording on Opera Rara pays tribute to Rosina Storchio, who created the role of Madama Butterfly and was also muse to Leoncavallo, Giordano and Mascagni.
-
Beethoven and Gossec from François-Xavier Roth & Les Siècles
18th Sep 2020
François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles put a revolutionary new spin on Beethoven's immortal Fifth, and make the case for his much-neglected contemporary Gossec.
-
Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch: Selige Stunde
11th Sep 2020
Recorded 'in private quarters' during lockdown, the German tenor and pianist's recital of songs by Schubert, Strauss, Grieg, Zemlinsky, Mahler and others is a 'blessed hour' indeed.
Featured product
Selige Stunde
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano)
-
Simon Rattle conducts Janáček's Sinfonietta and The Cunning Little Vixen
4th Sep 2020
Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and a cast including Lucy Crowe and Gerald Finley in an exquisitely characterful performance of Janáček's opera.
