Classical Reviews
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Paul Lewis plays early Schubert and Weber
15th Feb 2019
The British pianist radiates sympathy and imagination in two piano sonatas from the 1810s by young composers who both died before their fortieth birthdays.
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Weber & Schubert: Piano Sonatas
Paul Lewis (piano)
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Kirill Karabits conducts the world premiere of Liszt's Sardanapalo
8th Feb 2019
Reconstructed by the musicologist David Trippett, the single completed act of Liszt's abandoned opera on a subject by Byron reveals what the composer's son-in-law Wagner described as 'the claw of a lion'.
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Steven Isserlis and Olli Mustonen perform cello sonatas by Shostakovich and Kabalevsky
1st Feb 2019
The cello sonatas by Shostakovich and Kabalevsky are given expressive performances by Steven Isserlis and Olli Mustonen, alongside Prokofiev's Ballade and a handful of shorter works.
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Maurizio Pollini performs late piano works by Chopin
25th Jan 2019
The Italian pianist revisits works by Chopin including the Third Piano Sonata, the Berceuse, and the two Nocturnes, op. 55, alongside his first recording of the three Mazurkas, op. 56.
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Berlioz from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles
18th Jan 2019
Tabea Zimmermann and Stéphane Degout are the soloists in period-instrument performances of Harold en Italie & Les nuits d'été.
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Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch from Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau and Helmut Deutsch
11th Jan 2019
The German tenor, soprano and pianist have a ball with Wolf's 46 miniatures on love, loss and fickleness, recorded live in concert in Essen last year.
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Orchestral Works by George Antheil
4th Jan 2019
The BBC Philharmonic and John Storgårds present the second volume in Chandos's survey of the orchestral works of American composer, George Antheil.
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George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence
28th Dec 2018
The British composer's third opera, based on the downfall of Edward II and starring French baritone Stéphane Degout as the conflicted monarch, has a compact, claustrophobic beauty.
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George Benjamin: Lessons in Love and Violence (DVD)
Stéphane Degout (King), Barbara Hannigan (Isabel), Gyula Orendt (Gaveston/Stranger), Peter Hoare (Mortimer), Samuel Boden (Boy/Young King) Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, George Benjamin, Katie Mitchell
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Presto Personal Favourites from 2018
21st Dec 2018
Bach, Schubert, Finzi, Liszt and Saint-Saëns feature among the editorial team's individual picks of the year.
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Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov from Vasily Petrenko and the Liverpool Philharmonic
14th Dec 2018
The Russian conductor presides over sparkling, taut accounts of two avian fairy-tales: the complete ballet music for The Firebird and the suite from the posthumously-premiered opera Le Coq d’Or.
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François-Xavier Roth conducts orchestral works by Debussy
7th Dec 2018
James listens to a captivating account of three orchestral works by Debussy from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles, performed on authentic instruments.
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100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols from King's
30th Nov 2018
David enjoys a retrospective recording from the choir of King's College, looking back on a century of festive music-making and forward to a new era.
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Vivaldi from Cecilia Bartoli and Ensemble Matheus
23rd Nov 2018
Nearly twenty years after her landmark album devoted to the operas of the 'Red Priest', the Italian mezzo is as dazzling as ever in arias from works including Orlando furioso, Il Giustino and Ottone in Villa.
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Late Debussy sonatas from Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov and friends
16th Nov 2018
Harmonia Mundi's ten-album series commemorating the centenary of Debussy's death continues with the Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata, and Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp.
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John Wilson conducts Copland's Third Symphony and Connotations
9th Nov 2018
Chandos's superb survey of the American composer's orchestral music with the BBC Philharmonic continues to raise the roof as the Fanfare for the Common Man returns transformed.
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Teodor Currentzis conducts Mahler's Sixth Symphony
2nd Nov 2018
Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna present an impassioned, highly dramatic account of Mahler's Sixth Symphony.
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Mahler: Symphony No. 6
MusicAeterna, Teodor Currentzis
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Requiem: The Pity of War from Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano
26th Oct 2018
The tenor and pianist join forces for a programme of Butterworth, Rudi Stephan, Kurt Weill and Mahler to commemorate the centenary of Armistice Day next month.
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Jiří Bělohlávek conducts Martinů's What Men Live By
19th Oct 2018
The world premiere recording of a 1952 'pastoral opera' based on Tolstoy, captured three years before the Czech conductor's death in 2017.
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Martinů: What Men Live By
Czech Philharmonic, Jiří Bělohlávek
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Daniil Trifonov brings freshness and clarity to Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos
12th Oct 2018
Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov brings his customary thoughtfulness and virtuosity to an impressive new account of one of the most familiar of all piano concertos.
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A moving recital from Igor Levit with music by Bach, Liszt and Wagner
5th Oct 2018
Igor Levit explores music of transfiguration and transcendence in his Life Album, an eclectic recital of Bach-via-Busoni and Wagner-via-Liszt.
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Igor Levit: The Life Album
Igor Levit (piano)
