The pianist Mark Bebbington continues his invaluable service to British music with a new album for Resonus that gathers together four rarities from Vaughan Williams’s output, ranging from the Piano Quintet of 1903 to the Fantasia on the ‘Old 104th’ Psalm Tune of 1949. Joined by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for three of […]
Classical
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The violinist explores the composer’s music in our latest podcast Continues HERE
A diverse range of excellent recordings spanning a breadth of repertoire, reminding us just why the Britten Sinfonia is such a fine, not to mention versatile, ensemble, and sought after for the studio. Donizetti Il Paria Opera Rara / Britten Sinfonia / Sir Mark Elder cond (Opera Rara) ‘The music is splendid, well worth discovering…Shagimuratova […]
“Performers offer us listeners many things – transcendent playing perhaps, or interpretative insight. But some of our most meaningful encounters with musicians happen when they challenge or change our perspective.” Dip in HERE
Bělohlávek’s legacy is built on benchmark recordings of Martinů, Dvořák, Suk and Janáček Continues HERE
THE GUARDIAN: Best of the rest: the classical CDs we missed in 2022 We are able to review only a tiny fraction of the albums released each month. From Brahms to Berg, and Pejačević to Sohy, here are 10 recent releases worth going back to Despite more than a decade now of dire predictions of […]
From the archives “This month sees the issue of several records of Britten’s music from Decca including one in the ‘World of…’ series. It also marks the 25th anniversary of the night that transformed the face of British opera – the premiere of Peter Grimes on June 7, 1945, at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Britten himself […]
THE GUARDIAN / Andrew Clements It took Maurizio Pollini more than 30 years to complete his recordings of the Beethoven piano sonatas for Deutsche Grammophon. The first instalment of that series, which appeared in 1977, was devoted to the last five sonatas, including magisterial performances of the two paired on this new release, which was […]
Donald Macleod explores Mozart’s treatment of love in its many guises in Die Zauberflöte, Idomeneo, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Born in 1756, the theatre was a life-long passion for Mozart. Starting at the tender age of just 11, in the space of 22 years he produced […]
isa’s Piazza dei Miracoli, also known as the Piazza del Duomo, contains the Cathedral, the Baptistry, the Campanile (aka the Leaning Tower) – and the Camposanto Monumentale. Among its murals is an impressive fresco entitled Il trionfo della Morte: ‘The Triumph of Death’. Once attributed to Orcagna, nowadays to Buonamico Buffalmacco or, by some scholars, […]
Richard Wigmore marks the 300th anniversary of Handel’s era-defining move to London in 1712 Never short of confidence or savoir faire, the young Handel seems to have set out to become the supreme musical cosmopolitan. After a thorough grounding in the contrapuntal tradition of his native Saxony, he honed his command of form and fluid, […]
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“I have no real foundation on which to discuss the merits or shortcomings of symphonic music—I’m too busy contemplating Drake, Mike Posner, and Nicki Minaj—but I have heard that the Ninth is considered “the cursed” symphony. I think it begins with Beethoven, who died after completing his Ninth. Mahler, I’ve read, was so disturbed by […]
As a musician, as a man of ideals, and as a citizen of the world, Yehudi Menuhin made an extraordinary mark on his era. The Menuhin Century, a unique project to be released on 1 April, marks the 100th anniversary of his birth on 22 April 1916. Comprising a total of 80 CDs across five themed […]
https://www.project-audio.com/en/category/lps/
They report: These Lieder have enjoyed numerous recordings in both their orchestral and piano versions. Richard Wigmore surveys those featuring all 12 songs and recommends the one to own Continues HERE
Tom Service writes ….. There’s no doubt Anton Bruckner was an oddball, a man with an unhealthy interest in dead bodies and teenage girls. But the composer’s obsessions and terrors also gave us some astonishing music. A credulous yokel who propositioned girls half his age. A death-obsessed ghoul who kept a photo of his mother’s […]
A beginner’s guide to the music of one of the great composer-pianists Selecting a list of just 15 outstanding recordings of Franz Liszt’s music that everyone will agree with is impossible, but for those who are just embarking on a journey through Liszt’s sound world, these 15 selections represent 15 perfect starting points. And for […]
Riccardo Chailly talks to Philip Clark about how Beethoven’s symphonies have influenced generations of composers https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/how-beethoven%E2%80%99s-symphonies-changed-the-world?utm_content=How%20Beethoven%27s%20symphonies%20changed%20the%20world&utm_campaign=Gramophone%20Newsletter%20-%2014MAR17%20%28Subs%29&utm_source=Gramophone&utm_medium=adestra_email&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gramophone.co.uk%2Ffeature%2Fhow-beethoven%25E2%2580%2599s-symphonies-changed-the-world
Ian Skelly introduces a selection of great concert performances from around Europe with a focus on Romania, including a performance of Schubert’s last symphony from the 2022 George Enescu Festival, and the BBC Concert Orchestra playing Enescu’s first Romanian Rhapsody. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001h5ch Including: Bela Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances Sz56Pétri Kumela (guitar)Cecilia Zilliacus (violin) Joseph Haydn: Piano […]
A classic Gramophone article, by HC Robbins Landon, March 1964 Herbert von Karajan in 1969 (Reinhard Friedrich / Archiv Berliner Philharmoniker) SCENE I. A warm summer’s day in Salzburg. The square in front of the Festspielhaus is the scene of subdued activity; from within come sounds of rehearsing. Chorus members are lounging about, waiting for […]
Edward Seckerson discusses the greatest performers and recordings of the composer’s works This week’s Gramophone Podcast is a special longer edition focusing on the music of Mahler. It coincides with the publication of the latest in our series of our souvenir publications drawing together our century-long coverage of major composers, ‘Gramophone Presents Mahler’. For this […]
Ryan Wigglesworth conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers in a carefully curated concert of music by Stravinsky and Bach. Live from City Halls Glasgow. Presented by Kate Molleson Bach/Stravinsky: Chorale Variations ‘Vom Himmel hoch da komm’ ich her’Bach: Komm, Jesu, kommStravinsky: Symphony of Psalms 8.30 Interval, Kate introduces recent recordings which […]