Classical Reviews
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Purcell's Fairy Queen from Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli
10th Apr 2020
A glorious return to the Restoration stage, with a semi-opera if anything even more vivid than King Arthur - featuring a cast of gods, fairies, peasants, poets and... monkeys?
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Korngold's Violin Concerto from John Wilson, Andrew Haveron and the RTE Concert Orchestra
3rd Apr 2020
A bracing, unsentimentalised take on the composer's most popular work, plus an exuberant account of the youthful String Sextet from the Sinfonia of London Chamber Ensemble.
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Víkingur Ólafsson performs piano music by Debussy and Rameau
27th Mar 2020
The Icelandic pianist releases his third album on Deutsche Grammophon: an exquisitely-performed programme of music by Debussy and Rameau.
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Beethoven from Chen Reiss and Matthias Goerne
20th Mar 2020
The Israeli soprano is sparkling and technically fearless in a programme of arias with the Academy of Ancient Music, whilst Goerne's song-recital with Jan Lisiecki is an altogether darker affair.
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Three world premiere recordings of works by Erkki-Sven Tüür
13th Mar 2020
Paavo Järvi conducts the Estonian Festival Orchestra in three works by his long-time friend and musical collaborator Erkki-Sven Tüür - the 'Mythos' symphony, 'Incantation of Tempest' and 'Sow the Wind...'
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Erkki-Sven Tüür: Mythos
Estonian Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
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Two world premiere recordings of music by Thomas Adès
6th Mar 2020
Thomas Adès conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in performances of two of his own works: the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, and Totentanz.
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John Eliot Gardiner concludes his cycle of Schumann symphonies with the LSO
28th Feb 2020
With sparkling, joyous performances of the Spring and Rhenish symphonies, John Eliot Gardiner and the LSO bring their Schumann cycle to an exuberant conclusion.
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Charles Hubert Parry's Judith from William Vann and the London Mozart Players
21st Feb 2020
Parry’s 1888 oratorio on the Apocryphal tale of an avenging Jewish widow emerges as a worthy successor to Mendelssohn’s Elijah in this gripping world premiere recording with Sarah Fox, Kathryn Rudge and Toby Spence.
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Paavo Järvi conducts orchestral works by Bartók
14th Feb 2020
The NHK Symphony Orchestra and Paavo Järvi perform a trio of works by Bartók: Divertimento for String Orchestra, Dance Suite, and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.
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Cherubini from Riccardo Chailly and Filarmonica della Scala
7th Feb 2020
The Italian conductor and orchestra present nine world premiere recordings of occasional marches alongside energetic accounts of the Overture in G minor and Symphony.
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Handel's Agrippina starring Joyce DiDonato
31st Jan 2020
The American mezzo sings the title role of the scheming Roman matriarch in a starrily-cast recording of Handel's early opera with Il Pomo d'Oro, conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev.
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Liszt’s Dante Symphony plus a world-premiere recording from Kirill Karabits
24th Jan 2020
Kirill Karabits conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar in orchestral works by Liszt, including the world-premiere recording of the Künstlerfestzug zur Schillerfeier.
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Charpentier from Vox Luminis, A Nocte Temporis and Reinoud Van Mechelen
17th Jan 2020
The two Belgian early music ensembles pool their resources for two very different works depicting Orpheus's descent to the underworld, with Van Mechelen on outstanding form as the intrepid hero in each case.
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Vaughan Williams Symphonies from Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
10th Jan 2020
Martyn Brabbins continues his Vaughan Williams cycle with the sharply-contrasted Third and Fourth symphonies, as well as the première of a newly-restored work for tenor, chorus and orchestra.
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Lines Written During a Sleepless Night: The Russian Connection
3rd Jan 2020
The young British soprano Louise Alder traces her family history through a programme of Rachmaninov, Grieg, Medtner, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Britten, with superb support from Joseph Middleton.
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Osmo Vänskä conducts Mahler's Fourth Symphony
27th Dec 2019
Joined by soprano Carolyn Sampson, Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra continue their Mahler cycle with an exquisitely-detailed performance of the Fourth Symphony.
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Presto Personal Favourites from 2019
20th Dec 2019
Recordings from Sandrine Piau, Igor Levit and Jakub Józef Orliński feature among the editorial team's individual picks of the year.
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Franck and Chopin from Gautier Capuçon and Yuja Wang
13th Dec 2019
The two acclaimed soloists come together in a dazzling duo, with the rich warmth of Franck's Cello Sonata in A major sharply offset against the angst-wracked soul-searching of Chopin's in G minor.
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Franck - Chopin
Gautier Capuçon (cello), Yuja Wang (piano)
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Beethoven's Leonore from René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester
6th Dec 2019
The original 1805 version of Beethoven's only opera is a high-adrenaline experience in the hands of the Belgian conductor and his period-instrument band, with Marlis Petersen in the title-role and Maximilian Schmitt as her imprisoned husband.
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2019 Christmas Selections
29th Nov 2019
David picks out three of this year's Christmas releases, featuring Septura (with guest appearance from Derek Jacobi), Stile Antico, and the late Stephen Cleobury in his valedictory service at the helm of Carols from King's.
