Erato
-
Special offer. Elgar: Violin Concerto & Violin Sonata
Renaud Capuçon (violin), Stephen Hough (piano), London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Accuracy matters, and violinist Renaud Capuçon has it in abundance..He is, though, much more than a technical sharp-shooter...Taken whole, this generous, richly enjoyable disc is an easy recommendation... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, Critics' Choice
-
Record Review, 6th March 2021, Record of the Week
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2021, Editor's Choice
-
Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Concerto
-
Sunday Times, 10 Best Classical Albums of 2021
-
-
Special offer. Contemplation
RecommendedHuw Montague Rendall (baritone), Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen, Ben Glassberg
The first thing one notices in this wide-ranging recital from rising baritone Huw Montague Rendall is his seriousness of purpose...There’s also top-rank work from the orchestra and conductor;... —
Awards:
-
BBC Music Magazine, December 2024, Opera Choice
-
Gramophone Magazine, November 2024, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024, Shortlisted - Debut Solo Album
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Vocal Music
-
Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2024
-
Gramophone Awards, 2025 Winners, Voice & Ensemble
-
International Opera Awards, 2025, Shortlisted - Solo Recording
-
-
Devieilhe has the ideal voice for the Ariettes oubliées, with a creamily dreamy opening to ‘C’est l’extase’. Her iridescent clarity is to the fore throughout...matched by Alexandre Tharaud’s... —
Awards:
-
BBC Music Magazine, November 2020, Choral & Song Choice
-
Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2020, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Vocal
-
Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Song
-
Opus Klassik, 2021, Winner - Solo Vocal Recital (Song)
-
-
Special offer. Rossini: Amici e Rivali
RecommendedMichael Spyres (tenor), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), I Virtuosi Italiani, Corrado Rovaris
Lawrence Brownlee takes the higher parts. Airy and buoyant in his top register, he can negotiate all the notes with ease. Michael Spyres is equally stylish, though there are a couple of moments... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 13th November 2020
-
Opera, January 2021, Disc of the Month
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2020
-
Record Review, 12th December 2020, Record of the Week
-
Gramophone Magazine, January 2021, Editor's Choice
-
Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Voice & Ensemble
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Vocal
-
Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2021, Récital lyrique
-
-
We very quickly learn just how characterful Desandre can be with her amused, laughing reactions to women in battle in ‘Non posso far’, and the dark glitter of her voice in the melancholic ‘Lasciatemi... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, Critics' Choice 2021
-
Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2021, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Editor's Choice, October 2021
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
-
Record Review, Records of the Year 2021
-
Opus Klassik, 2022, Female Singer of the Year
-
Gramophone Awards, 2022, Finalist - Voice & Ensemble
-
-
Special offer. Handel: Italian cantatas
RecommendedSabine Devieilhe (soprano), Léa Desandre (mezzo)
Le Concert d'Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm (harpsichord, organ and conductor)
This production is a delight throughout…Haïm retains control by preparing both the scores and the sopranos’ ornaments, her vision giving this carefully wrought performance a fiery intensity,... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
-
Presto Editor's Choice, November 2018
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2018, Recording of the Month
-
BBC Music Magazine, February 2019, Choral & Song Choice
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020, Finalist - Vocal
-
-
Special offer. Anima Aeterna
RecommendedJakub Józef Orliński (countertenor), Il Pomo d’Oro, Francesco Corti
Be prepared for some dazzling displays…in Zelenka’s psalm setting ‘Laetatus sum’, Orlinski is partnered by the assured, pliant and blended singing of Fatma Said…[Nucci's] aria ‘Un giusto furore’... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2021, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 22nd October 2021
-
Building A Library, November 2021, Also Recommended
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Winner - Baroque Vocal
-
-
Special offer. Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 & pieces for solo piano
RecommendedBertrand Chamayou (piano)
Orchestre National de France, Emmanuel Krivine
The nimbleness and fluidity of his playing is remarkable. It’s a zingy performance (of the Second Concerto) all round, with a vigorous performance from the Orchestre National de France, conducted... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 21st December 2018
-
Gramophone Awards, 2019, Recording of the Year
-
-
Special offer. Purcell: Dido & Aeneas
RecommendedJoyce DiDonato (Dido), Michael Spyres (Aeneas), Fatma Said (Belinda), Beth Taylor (Sorceress), Hugh Cutting (Spirit), Laurence Kilsby (Sailor), Alena Dantcheva and Anna Piroli (Witches)
Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev
DiDonato is magnificent as Dido, fully understanding how badly her story will end in her first aria as Purcell slides from minor to minor, then sumptuously sorrowful in 'When I am laid in Earth',... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 29th August 2025
-
BBC Music Magazine, October 2025, Opera Choice
-
Gramophone Magazine, October 2025, Recording of the Month
-
International Opera Awards, 2025, Shortlisted - Complete Recording
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Nominated - Opera
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
-
The Times, Best Classical Albums of 2025
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2026, Winner - Opera Recording
-
-
Special offer. Songs of Passion
RecommendedLea Desandre (mezzo), Thomas Dunford (lute, theorbo), with Alex Rosen (bass-baritone), Jess Dandy (contralto), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Huw Montague Rendall (baritone)
Jupiter
Across two discs, the performers shed any hint of 'whitewashed' English restraint, fathoming Dowland's twilight world and Purcell's exuberant theatricality. —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2025, Editor's Choice
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Winner - Baroque Vocal
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2025
-
The New York Times, Best Classical Music Albums of 2025
-
