Chandos
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New. Saxophobia - Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s
Chad Smith (saxophone), Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
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Delius: Sea Drift, Songs of Farewell & Songs of Sunset
RecommendedSally Burgess (mezzo-soprano), Bryn Terfel (baritone)
Waynflete Singers, Southern Voices, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Richard Hickox
The huge power of Bryn Terfel’s singing was already making waves when he made these recordings aged 27, showcasing both his once-in-a-generation baritone voice and superstar artistry (not least... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, March 2016, Also Recommended
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Gramophone Awards, 1994, Winner - Choral
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Stanford: Songs of the Sea, The Revenge & Songs of the Fleet
RecommendedGerald Finley (baritone)
BBC National Chorus of Wales & BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox
Songs of the Sea - which includes the long-popular 'Drake's Drum' and 'The Old Superb' - and the later, texturally richer and more thoughtful Songs of the Fleet are superb baritone vehicles... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2006, Disc of the Month
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Gramophone Awards, 2006, Winner - Editor's Choice
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Adrian Sutton: Violin Concerto and other works
Fenella Humphreys (violin), BBC Philharmonic, Michael Seal
Sutton’s natural métier is the theatre, and even the Violin Concerto has an external programme which concerns a seagull and its appearance around various coastlines...Sutton was himself a violinist,... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2024, Orchestral Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2025, Winner - Premiere
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Grażyna Bacewicz: Two Piano Quintets, Quartet for four Violins & Quartet for four Cellos
Szymon Krzeszowiec, Krzysztof Lasoń, Małgorzata Wasiucionek, Arkadiusz Kubica, Wojciech Świtała (piano)
Silesian Quartet, Polish Cello Quartet
For those invigorated by the Silesian Quartet’s complete quartet set, here’s an exciting new addition: two piano quintets. They are works of real substance and originality. The First (1952)... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2018, Chamber Choice
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Presto Editor's Choice, April 2018
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Finalist - Chamber
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Diapason d’Or, June 2018, Nouveauté
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Gardner makes the most of the taut rhythmic energy in the music...all the colours of this showpiece [the Concerto for Orchestra] are brightly painted, with a virtuosity which is never empty,... —
Awards:
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Sunday Times, 2010, Albums of the Year
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2010, Editor's Choice
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Sibelius: Luonnotar; Tapiola & Spring Song
RecommendedLise Davidsen (soprano), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
[Davidsen's] breath control and even fullness of tone across a two-octave range prove radiantly equal to Sibelius’s uncompromising demands. —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd July 2021
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
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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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Prokofiev: Complete Works for Violin
RecommendedJames Ehnes (violin), with Amy Schwartz Moretti (violin), with Andrew Armstrong (piano)
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda
I have not heard such a beautiful performance of the First Violin Concerto since Itzhak Perlman's 1982 EMI recording, and Ehnes enjoys the advantage of a more natural balance with the orchestra...Ehnes... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2013, Editor's Choice
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Building a Library, January 2023, Recommended Recording - Violin Concerto No. 2
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