Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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I expected this to be good; but just how good it was was still a surprise…Ólafsson creates a ravishing musical sequence. Every track has its own allure, and many reflect a virtuosity which is... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2018
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2018
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Winner - Instrumental
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Recording of the Year
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2019, Winner - Solo Recital (piano)
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2019, Nominated - Instrumental
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Rachmaninov: The Bells & Symphonic Dances
RecommendedSymphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons
This superlative performance…is one of those stratospherically accomplished, ‘cosmic’ ones that Jansons says he is always trying to attain… Jansons has Rachmaninov in his very soul; but he is... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2018, Recording of the Month
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Record Review, 3rd February 2018, Recording of the Week
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Shortlisted - Choral
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Grammy Awards, 61st Awards (2019), Nominee - Choral Performance
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Diapason d’Or, April 2018, Nouveauté
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Special offer. Finzi: Cello Concerto, Op. 40
RecommendedPaul Watkins (cello)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Sir Andrew Davis’s feeling for the composer’s sensitive, harmonically conservative language is abundantly clear in these vivid readings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Soloists too are well... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2018, Concerto Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Presto Recording of the Week, 21st December 2018
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Bělohlávek clearly knew that Smetana, far from being a cheap purveyor of catchy melodies and moment-to-moment thrills, was a sure-footed musical architect, and this recording pays the long... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2018, Orchestral Choice
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Record Review, 6th January 2018, Recording of the Week
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Building A Library, May 2021, Also Recommended
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Special offer. Walton: Viola Concerto, Partita for Orchestra & Sonata for String Orchestra
RecommendedJames Ehnes (viola)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Ehnes, long established as one of the world’s leading violinists, doesn’t offer the same hefty, almost cello-like weight of tone on the viola as some of his specialist colleagues. Then again,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2018, Editor's Choice
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Record Review, 28th April 2018, Recording of the Week
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Recommended& other works for two pianos four hands
Marc-André Hamelin (piano), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
The two-piano transcription is arguably as exhilarating as the full orchestration [of The Rite], and Andsnes and Hamelin offer a reading that is in turns thrilling, unsettling and beautiful…... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, February 2018, Record of the Month
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Record Review, 10th February 2018, Recording of the Week
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Finalist - Instrumental
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2018
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Grammy Awards, 61st Awards (2019), Nominee - Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2018, Nominated - Instrumental
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Special offer. Bartók: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
RecommendedChristian Tetzlaff (violin)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu
This is altogether a fine performance [of the Second Concerto], with Christian Tetzlaff a touch more rhythmically alert and characterful than Renaud Capuçon on his recent recording of these... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, May 2018, Recording of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine, August 2018, Concerto Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Winner - Concerto
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Finalist - Concerto
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Diapason d’Or, July/August 2018, Nouveauté
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2018, Nominated - Orchestral
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International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Winner - Concerto
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Bach: Magnificats
RecommendedJoélle Harvey (soprano), Olivia Vermeulen (mezzo), Thomas Walker (tenor), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Thomas Bauer (baritone)
Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
You would be hard-pressed to find a more illuminating disc than this latest offering from Arcangelo…There’s nothing overfamiliar about the captivating freshness and buoyancy that both chorus... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, February 2018, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, March 2018, Choral &Song Choice
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Presto Editor's Choice, February 2018
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Shortlisted - Choral
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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By now, Ma’s wings are fully grown. His capacity for soaring seems limitless, his ability to minutely alter dynamics and tempos at the least prompting and the joy of his lilting rhythms are... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 17th August 2018
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2018, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2018, Nominated - Instrumental
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Special offer. Copland: Orchestral Works Volume 4
RecommendedSymphony No. 3, Letter from Home, Down a Country Lane & Connotations
BBC Philharmonic, John Wilson
Sonically, the Chandos recording [of the Symphony] has enormous impact…But the interpretation itself is too soft-grained and often oddly tentative…Wilson and the orchestra are far more successful... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 9th November 2018
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Building A Library, January 2026, Top Choice - Symphony No. 3
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