Latest News: Classical
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Presto Chart,
The Presto Chart - February 2024 4th March 2024
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for February, with Théotime Langlois de Swarte's 'compelling' album of Vivaldi concertos and transcriptions with Le Consort on Harmonia Mundi in first place...
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Favourites,
Bedřich Smetana at 200 2nd March 2024
A selection of some of the best recordings of music by the great Czech Romantic composer - best known for his stirring pictorial tone poem Má vlast and opera The Bartered Bride.
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Recording of the Week,
In The Shadows with Michael Spyres 1st March 2024
The American singer teams up with Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset to explore some of the operas which influenced Wagner - including works by Méhul, Beethoven, Meyerbeer and Spontini.
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Favourites,
St David's Day - Music from Wales 1st March 2024
A selection of music from Wales - Welsh and English songs for voice and piano, orchestral works, choral music and more.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 1st March 2024 1st March 2024
Smetana's Má Vlast from Semyon Bychkov & the Czech Philharmonic, a live recording of Wagner's Parsifal from Vienna (starring Jonas Kaufmann, Elīna Garanča & Ludovic Tézier), Saint-Saëns from Lang Lang, and Donizetti's L'esule di Roma from Carlo Rizzi on Opera Rara.
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Recollections,
The Unsung Composers of the Golden Age of Hollywood 29th February 2024In the fourth instalment of our Recollections series, Briana Hilton delves into the legacies of three giants of film music: Max Steiner, Franz Waxman and Bernard Herrmann.
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Box Set Selections,
Boxed Set Selections - February 2024 27th February 2024
This month's heavyweights include Copland's collected recordings of his own works on Columbia, an anthology of Nordic symphonies, Gianandrea Noseda's Beethoven cycle with the National Symphony Orchestra, and a celebration of John Williams released by Universal Music France.
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Interview,
Bartók, Janáček and Szymanowski from Piotr Anderszewski 26th February 2024
The pianist talks about his new album of piano works from Central Europe, featuring Bartók Bagatelles, the second book of Janáček's On an Overgrown Path and Szymanowski Mazurkas.
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Presto Music Classical Podcast,
Episode 48: Doubling Brahms - Busoni and his violin concerto with Francesca Dego 24th February 2024
The violinist talks about her new recording of violin concertos by Brahms and Busoni on Chandos - explaining why she was drawn to the Italian composer's music, how his violin concerto reveals his profound admiration for Brahms's, and what happens when a wife-and-husband musician couple take to the stage together.
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Recording of the Week,
Janáček's Katya Kabanova from Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra 23rd February 2024
Amanda Majeski is riveting as the doomed heroine grasping for happiness in the face of a loveless marriage (and a monstrous mother-in-law) in provincial Russia, with Rattle expertly balancing the score's elemental power and claustrophobic intensity.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 23rd February 2024 23rd February 2024
Bruckner from Domingo Hindoyan and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Stravinsky & Falla from Pablo Heras-Casado & the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Handel's Theodora from Jonathan Cohen & Arcangelo, and Gershwin from Jean-Yves Thibaudet & Michael Feinstein.
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Coming Soon,
Chopin from Yunchan Lim and other forthcoming highlights 22nd February 2024
The youngest-ever winner of the Van Cliburn Competition makes his debut on Decca with the complete Chopin Études, with other stand-outs for the spring including new operas based on Stephen King's The Shining and Michael Cunningham's The Hours.
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Early Music Round-up,
Early Music Round-Up - February 2024 20th February 2024
A double-bill of French Baroque Te Deums from Ensemble Les Surprises and Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, a second helping of Locke's adventurous consort music from Phantasm, magnificent English rediscoveries from Solomon's Knot, world-premiere recordings of Barbara Strozzi from Giulia Bolcato and REMER Ensemble, and more.
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Interview,
Edmund Finnis & Clare Hammond on Youth 19th February 2024
The composer and pianist discuss Finnis's collection of short piano pieces Youth - released as an EP on Pentatone earlier this month, alongside a touching lullaby for Hammond's young daughter.
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Recording of the Week,
A Lifetime of Vivaldi from Théotime Langlois de Swarte 16th February 2024
A lively re-telling of Vivaldi's life through a selection of his violin concertos, from perhaps the most exciting young Baroque violinist around - including a number of world premiere recordings, and a gorgeous recent rediscovery.
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New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 16th February 2024 16th February 2024
A voyage to the moon with Laura van der Heijden & Jâms Coleman, Brahms & Schumann from Christian Poltéra & Ronaldo Brautigam, a second album of film music from Renaud Capuçon, and Copland's collected recordings of his own works on Columbia.
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Box Set Deep-Dive,
Rob Cowan on Victoria de los Ángeles 15th February 2024
Our regular guest-contributor explores the Catalan soprano's collected recordings on Warner Classics, released at the end of last year to mark the centenary of her birth.
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Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - February 2024 14th February 2024
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by a display of 'compelling musicianship and awe-inspiring pianism' from Behzod Abduraimov in works by Prokofiev, Saidaminova and Ravel.
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Interview,
Julie Cooper on Oculus 13th February 2024
The composer talks about her second album of chamber music on Signum Records, inspired by ideas of colour through history and drawing on her extensive experience as a composer for film and television.
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Obituary,
Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024) 12th February 2024
The Japanese conductor, known particularly for his work with the Toronto Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and Boston Symphony Orchestras, has died aged 88.
