The New York jazz veteran sits down to discuss his ECM solo debut, the joy of finding the right musical partners and the many surprises the piano still holds in store for him.
Jazzwise Editor's Choices from the May 2024 issue include new music from Equal Spirits, Amaro Freitas, Bill Frisell, Fred Hersch and Mark Lockheart, as well as Record Store Day releases from Cannonball Adderley, Yusef Lateef, Sun Ra, Art Tatum and Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy.
A long-term champion of Tippett's music, the British conductor leads a meticulously-detailed account of his wartime oratorio with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and soloists Pumeza Matshikiza, Dame Sarah Connolly, Joshua Stewart and Ashley Riches.
Yuja Wang's 2022 Vienna recital, a feast of music for piano four hands from Alexander Tharaud & friends, new recordings of Elgar's Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 from the Hallé & Sir Mark Elder, and Scarlatti & Scriabin from young German pianist Julius Asal in his debut on Deutsche Grammophon.
Folklore is the name of the game this week, with two new releases that capture the magic of this sceptred isle from a mystical Northern ensemble and a critically acclaimed Scottish pianist. Elsewhere, a pair of sensitive European trios (including one that swaps their drummer for a clarinettist) plus a sensational UK diva with some stories to tell...
Following the release of his latest project with Gabrieli, the conductor talks about the differences that period instruments bring to the music, the extensive work he carries out in rehearsal with singers, and the importance of the Gabrieli Roar scheme in involving young people in classical music.
The Leeds-based musician's sophomore album is a convincing reminder of her skills as bandleader, composer and soloist. Expanding on a message of quiet strength and resilience, this unique talent is truly coming into her own.
Our first episode features a conversation with one of ECM's finest legacy artists and his partner, the grande dame of Nordic jazz, interviewed at their home near Oslo during a snowstorm.
April heavyweights include Neville Marriner's Handel recordings on Decca, a celebration of Simon Rattle's long relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker, and JS Bach's complete vocal works from Bach Collegium Japan & Masaaki Suzuki.
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by a Chopin recital from South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim which 'radiates joyful, youthful exuberance'.
A guide to the upcoming BBC Proms Festival, a paperback edition of Alice Farnham's examination of what it means to be an orchestral conductor, collections of essays exploring the life and work of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Leonard Bernstein, a revised and expanded edition of Jeremy Dibble's biography of Stanford, and a companion to tango music.
Using instruments from around the time of the work's premiere in 1900, Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli offer an illuminating recording that not only provides great textual clarity but also shows off the fine details of Elgar's orchestration.
Gluck's *Orfeo ed Euridice* starring Jakub Józef Orliński, Haydn's 'La Reine' from Kammerorchester Basel & Giovanni Antonini, John Williams's Violin Concerto No. 1 from James Ehnes, and Kevin Puts's Virginia Woolf-inspired opera *The Hours* (with Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming & Kelli O'Hara).
A Snarky Puppy member tries his hand at writing for string orchestra, a brilliant Danish pianist steps up to the plate and two new releases in Verve's *Great Women of Song* series are complemented by a talented young entry onto the European scene... and more!
Ahead of the release of his debut solo recording (due out on Delphian tomorrow), the veteran British bass discusses his 'upside-down' singing career, overcoming his anxieties about song-recitals, and being told to give up the trumpet by Janet Baker...
The violinist talks about his new album of pieces by two titans of twentieth-century American culture, what their music has meant to him throughout his life, and his thoughts on the differing stylistic qualities and requirements of writing for film as opposed to the concert hall.
In this latest episode of Presto Presents, violinist Fenella Humphreys performs a selection of pieces from her most recent album, 'Prism' (including her renditions of Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D minor, BWV565 and Davies: A Last Postcard from Sanday) released on Rubicon Classics.