Concertos
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Shostakovich: Violin Concertos
RecommendedAlina Ibragimova (violin), State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov', Vladimir Jurowski
Ibragimova is the latest to make you think you’ve never heard [the First Concerto] played better, and her intense relationship with Vladimir Jurowski and the current incarnation of Yevgeny Svetlanov’s... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 29th May 2020
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Record Review, 6th June 2020, Record of the Week
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2020, Recording of the Week
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2020, Editor's Choice
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Diapason d’Or, July/August 2020, Nouveauté
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Concerto
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Winner - Concerto
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Alina Ibragimova makes a strikingly distinctive contribution, albeit subtle and restrained…she introduces minute expressive emphases and nuances into her solo line, sustaining the hypnotic motoric... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 23rd October 2015
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2015, Disc of the month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2015
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Building a Library, November 2023, Also recommended - BWV1041
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The Romantic Piano Concerto 27 - Saint-Saëns
RecommendedStephen Hough (piano)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
If Saint-Saëns's idiom once answered – and maybe still does – to qualities fundamental to the French musical character, it must be said straight away that Hough sounds the complete insider.... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 2002, Recording of the Year
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Gramophone Awards, 2002, Winner - Concerto
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2001, Editor's Choice
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Gramophone Awards, 2008, Gold Disc
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Beethoven & Berg: Violin Concertos
RecommendedIsabelle Faust (violin)
Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado
listening to these wonderful performances side by side is cathartic...The journey is vividly delineated from the outset of the Berg. With Abbado drawing sonorities from his first-rate orchestra,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 13th February 2012
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Building a Library, October 2015, First Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2013, Orchestral Finalist
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2012, Disc of the month
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2012, Disc of the Month
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Gramophone Awards, 2012, Winner - Concerto
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Ravel: Piano Concertos & Falla: Nights in the gardens of Spain
RecommendedSteven Osborne (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ludovic Morlot
Full of colour, both Osborne’s poetry and his exceptional touch are to the fore, the sparkling cascades in the final movement being especially breathtaking…strong performances of a programme... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd June 2017
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
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Record Review, 22nd July 2017, Recording of the Week
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Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Alexandre Kantorow (piano), Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
The virtuosity is breathtaking, yet nothing is hard-pressed, for the younger Kantorow has that hallmark of the greatest performers of always appearing to have plenty of time...In short, this... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2022, Concerto Choice
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Schallplattenkritik Quarterly Critics Choice, Autumn 2022, Orchestral Music & Concertos
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Concerto
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Shortlisted - Concerto
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Tchaikovsky & Sibelius Violin Concertos
RecommendedLisa Batiashvili (violin)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim
Batiashvili focuses on poetic intimacy in this deeply thoughtful performance. —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 18th November 2016
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2017, Concerto Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2017, Disc of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2017, Finalist - Concerto
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2016
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Record Review, 28th January 2017, Recording of the Week
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Building a Library, November 2023, Recommended Recording
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Elgar: Violin Concerto
RecommendedVilde Frang (violin), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati
A new version which stands comparison with the best. Frang’s initial entry is immediately soulful and introspective, intently tuning in to Robin Ticciati’s compelling account of the long orchestral... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2024, Recording of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2024, Concerto Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Concertos
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2024
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2025, Winner - Concerto
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Gramophone Awards, 2025 Winners, Concerto
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Special offer. Walton: Symphony No. 1 & Violin Concerto
RecommendedTasmin Little (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Little's way with the virtuoso passages is a notch less headlong than [on her earlier recording], allowing the ear to savour her phenomenal accuracy, yet with no loss of fire...Gardner and the... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 21st April 2014
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BBC Music Magazine, June 2014, Disc of the month
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2014, Disc of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2014
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Building A Library, July 2022, Also Recommended
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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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