Latest News: Classical
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Obituary,
Richard Hickox 1st December 2008 -
Recording of the Week,
Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony 3rd November 2008The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and their principal conductor Vasily Petrenko give a ‘bright and characterful’ account of Tchaikovsky’s Byron-inspired symphony, coupled with the symphonic ballad The Voyevoda.
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Recording of the Week,
Vivaldi in a new light 13th October 2008Daniel Hope directs the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in a programme of music by the ‘Red Priest’, including the ‘Tempesta di mare’ concerto, the ‘La Follia’ sonata, and ‘Andromeda Liberata’, with guest soloist Anne Sofie von Otter.
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Recording of the Week,
Americans in Pyongyang 6th October 2008The New York Philharmonic’s visit to North Korea with Lorin Maazel is charted in an insightful and moving documentary, culminating in a concert of music by Wagner, Dvořák and Gershwin.
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Awards,
Paul Lewis and the Gramophone Awards 2008 29th September 2008 -
Recording of the Week,
Songs her mother taught her 22nd September 2008The Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená goes back to her roots with a programme of songs by Janacek, Dvorak, Leopold Kozeluch, Petr Eben and others, accompanied with style and sensitivity by Malcolm Martineau.
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Obituary,
Vernon Handley 15th September 2008 -
Recording of the Week,
Zig Zag and the Atrium Quartet 8th September 2008The French independent label zig-Zag Territoires go from strength to strength – as do the winners of the London International String Quartet Competition, who display ‘beautiful burnished tone’ in a programme of Beethoven and Shostakovich.
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Awards,
Gramophone Awards nominations 1st September 2008 -
Recording of the Week,
Beautiful Messiah and Exquisite Morales 25th August 2008Harry Christophers and The Sixteen offer a Messiah of ‘formidable achievement’, whilst The Brabant Ensemble present a compelling programme motets and lamentations by the Spanish Renaissance composer Cristóbal de Morales.
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Recording of the Week,
Chloë Hanslip and the unfamiliar 4th August 2008The young British violinist ventures off the beaten track with concertos by John Adams and John Corigliano, and a recital of virtuoso showpieces by Antonio Bazzini, best known for his fiendish ‘Dance of the Goblins’.
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Recording of the Week,
Leopold Godowsky and the virtuoso pianist 28th July 2008Marc-André Hamelin explores original compositions and transcriptions by the Polish-born pianist and composer (1870-1983) in an ‘attractive and strangely compelling’ recital on Hyperion.
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Recording of the Week,
Reginald Goodall's revelatory 'Mastersingers' 30th June 2008Broadcast by the BBC in 1968 and sung in English by a largely British cast, the controversial conductor’s take on Wagner’s only comedy impresses with its ‘immense depths of mood and meaning’.
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Recording of the Week,
Bach Fugues from Onyx and the Emersons 16th June 2008A British brass quintet and American string quartet (who recently recorded an impressive account of The Art of Fugue) tackle fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier.
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Recording of the Week,
Time to re-evaluate Miaskovsky 2nd June 2008A 16-CD of the Russian composer’s complete symphonies and orchestral works gives Chris a chance to explore the remarkable legacy of the ‘father of the Soviet symphony’.
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Recording of the Week,
Superb Scholl sings Dowland and his circle 26th May 2008The German countertenor captivates in a programme of lute and consort songs by the great Elizabethan ‘poet of melancholy’, John Dowland, with lutenist Julian Behr and Swiss-based viol quartet Concerto di Viole.
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Recording of the Week,
Fiesta! - Dudamel and the Venezuelans 19th May 2008The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra scintillate in a programme of Latin American showpieces including music by Revueltas, Romerto, Ginastera and Castellanos.
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Recording of the Week,
A La Bohème for all 5th May 2008Anna Netrebko is the Parisian seamstress with the cold hands and Rolando Villazón is the poet who finds her door-key on this new recording from Bertrand de Billy and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
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Recording of the Week,
Beethoven and Period Instruments 28th April 2008Belgian conductor Jos van Immerseel and his Amsterdam-based group Anima Eterna impress in an historically-informed cycle of the complete Beethoven symphonies, which will be an Editor’s Choice in the next issue of Gramophone…
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Recording of the Week,
The Jerusalem Quartet 21st April 2008The former BBC New Generation Artists display ‘excitement and vitality’ in Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and Quartettsatz.