Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
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Grieg & Liszt: Piano Concertos
RecommendedStephen Hough (piano)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton
These two like-minded musicians manage to bring to these much-recorded works not merely thrilling virtuosity and lyrical depth but a Mendelssohnian lightness of touch where needed...Litton,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 24th October 2011
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Building a Library, February 2014, Modern Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2012, Editor's Choice
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Grieg: Piano Concerto & Incidental Music to 'Peer Gynt'
RecommendedJean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano), Lise Davidsen (soprano), Ann-Helen Moen (soprano), Victoria Nava (soprano), Johannes Weisser (baritone), Håkon Høgemo (Hardanger Fiddle)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs, Edward Gardner
Gardner and the splendid team tackle the whole work with all the verve and drama one could possible want…But perhaps most illuminating is the contribution of Håkon Høgemo on the Hardanger fiddle,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 5th January 2018
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Shortlisted - Concerto
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Special offer. Vaughan Williams: Job & Symphony No. 9
RecommendedBergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
a performance of striking composure, lustre and palpable dedication. Not only do the Bergen Philharmonic respond with notable poise and eagerness (solo contributions are of the highest quality... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 10th February 2017
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2017, Recording of the month
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2017, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2018, Finalist - Orchestral
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Record Review, 4th February 2017, Recording of the Week
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Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright
RecommendedPeter Herresthal (violin), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, James Gaffigan, Arctic Philharmonic, Tim Weiss
The orchestras here hail from Norway, where their own experience of dark light perhaps enables their instinctive response to Mazzoli’s arresting blend of apparent opposites. —
Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 66th Awards (2024), Nominee - Best Classical Compendium
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Grammy Awards, 66th Awards (2024), Nominee - Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Dark With Excessive Bright)
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2024, Shortlisted - Premiere
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Special offer. Elgar: King Olaf
RecommendedEmily Birsan (soprano), Barry Banks (tenor), Alan Opie (baritone)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Collegium Musicum Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor, Sir Andrew Davis
there's nothing stilted about Elgar's music: it crackles with confident vitality...the Norwegian choruses respond with crisp vigour and superb English diction, only faintly (and appropriately)... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 26th January 2015
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Sunday Times, 2015, Albums of the Year
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2015, Choral & Song Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2015
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Special offer. Richard Strauss: Elektra
RecommendedIréne Theorin (Elektra), Jennifer Holloway (Chrysothemis), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Klytemnestra), Nikolai Schukoff (Aegisth), Iain Paterson (Orest), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs, Edward Gardner
Gardner’s conducting gives maximum scope to the phenomenal range of light and shade conjured by Strauss’s orchestration, all delivered superbly by the Bergen Philharmonic. While there’s no shortage... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 27th February 2026
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2026, Opera Choice
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Special offer. Britten: Peter Grimes
RecommendedStuart Skelton (Grimes), Erin Wall (Ellen), Roderick Williams (Balstrode), Susan Bickley (Auntie), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Mrs Sedley), Robert Murray (Bob Boles), James Gilchrist (Horace Adams), Marcus Farnsworth (Ned Keene)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
The best feature of this new Grimes is the orchestral playing, similar in tempo and character to Britten’s own recording. Where Edward Gardner really scores is the Bergen Philharmonic’s precision,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2020, Recording of the Month
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Presto Editor's Choice, September 2020
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Opera, November 2020, Disc of the Month
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Winner - Opera
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Recording of the Year
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Janáček: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1
RecommendedJean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
we have a fine interpreter of Janáček and a distinguished orchestra...Orchestral ensemble is good though not always the intonation. still, the remaining movements are more compelling, with vivid... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 29th September 2014
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2014
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Schoenberg: Gurrelieder
RecommendedAlwyn Mellor (soprano), Anna Larsson (mezzo-soprano), Stuart Skelton (tenor), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (tenor), James Creswell (bass) & Sir Thomas Allen (speaker)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Edward Gardner
The hero is Edward Gardner, under whose wonderfully flexible beat this hyper-Romantic music positively breathes in long lyrical phrases and paragraphs. Nor are the excitements lacking: the coda... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, March 2017, Also Recommended
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2016, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2016
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Special offer. Vaughan Williams: Sinfonia Antartica, Concerto for Two Pianos & Four Last Songs
RecommendedMari Eriksmoen (soprano), Louis Lortie, Hélène Mercier (pianos), Roderick Williams (baritone)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Either [Lortie] or Hélène Mercier could probably polish off the original [Concerto] by themselves, but their partnership develops its intensity without strain, particularly attractive in rich... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 29th September 2017
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
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Diapason d’Or, December 2017, Nouveauté
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