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Ian Bostridge sings Britten songs
The tenor brings formidable musical intelligence to the *Michelangelo Sonnets*, *Who are these children?*, *Winter Words* and the *Hölderlin Fragments* (with Antonio Pappano), and is joined by guitarist Xuefei Yang for *Songs from the Chinese*. -
Pappano conducts Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle
So theatrical that you can practically smell the greasepaint, Rossini’s ‘old man’s folly’ receives luxury treatment from the conductor and his Roman orchestra, with Marina Rebeka, Sara Mingardo, Francesco Meli and Alex Esposito making up a full-blooded operatic solo quartet. -
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Bach Cantatas from Sir John Eliot Gardiner
As a coda to his mighty Bach Pilgrimage, Gardiner and his Monteverdi Choir present the Ascension Cantatas, which were originally scheduled to be recorded as part of the project but had to be abandoned due to noise issues. -
Julia Lezhneva: Alleluia
The young Russian soprano makes her solo debut on Decca with cantatas by Handel, Mozart, Porpora and Vivaldi which showcase her scintillating coloratura, tonal clarity and warmth, and radiant middle register; Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini accompany with panache. -
Moeran Cello Concerto from Guy Johnston
Eloquent yet never saccharine, the British cellist is a wonderful ambassador for Moeran’s 1945 concerto, written for his wife-to-be Peers Coetmore and shot through with glimpses of Britten, Vaughan Williams and Walton. -
Salonen conducts Lutosławski Symphonies
The Finnish conductor and his Los Angeles orchestra mark the centenary of Lutosławski’s birth with a recording of his complete symphonies in performances which tap into the full range of exciting colours which the composer employs. -
Mahler and Berg from Boulez
Anna Prohaska is on mesmerising form in Berg’s *Lulu-Suite*, whilst the veteran conductor’s trademark attention to detail and balance pays huge dividends in Mahler’s early cantata *Das klagende Lied*, featuring outstanding contributions from Johan Botha, Anna Larsson and Dorothea Röschmann. -
Gesualdo - Sacred and Secular
James Wood directs Vocalconsort berlin in the second book of *Sacrae Cantiones*, whilst La Compagnia del Madrigale are on flamboyant form in the Sixth Book of Madrigals – dark, disorientating works which could scarcely be more different from their English counterparts. -
Vaughan Williams from the Hallé and Mark Elder
Following a splendid *London Symphony* last year, Elder and his Manchester orchestra continue a cycle which is shaping up to be one of the finest modern sets on disc with magnificent accounts of the Fifth and Eighth symphonies, with the Hallé’s horns emerging as first among equals.Featured product
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8
Hallé, Sir Mark Elder
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JS Bach: St John Passion from Polyphony and Layton
The crowd-scenes crackle with terrifying energy and Ian Bostridge’s volatile Evangelist brings great narrative momentum, whilst Iestyn Davies and Richard Tunnicliffe’s eloquence in ‘Es ist vollbracht’ is worth the price of the set alone. -
Wagner from Jonas Kaufmann and others
Gergiev conducts an electrifying *Walküre* starring René Pape as Wotan, Nina Stemme as his rebel daughter, and Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Kampe as the Walsung Twins; Kaufmann’s solo album of opera scenes and the *Wesendock-Lieder*, meanwhile, is the best thing he’s ever done. -
Elgar & Carter from Alisa Weilerstein
The American cellist worked closely with Carter (who died last year) whilst preparing his 2001 Cello Concerto, and brings a touching elegiac lyricism to the Japanese-influenced slow movement; her introverted and tender account of the Elgar is no less engaging. -
James Gilchrist on Britten
The English tenor discusses his new recording of the *Serenade for tenor, horn and strings* with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, out now on Channel Classics. -
I was glad: Sacred Music by Stanford & Parry
Robert King and his Consort present lavish orchestrations (on period instruments) of Parry’s *Te Deum*, *I was glad*, *Blest Pair of Sirens* and *Jerusalem*, and four of Stanford’s canticle settings, with Carolyn Sampson and David Wilson-Johnson as soloists. -
Steven Osborne plays Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition
Osborne’s journey through Mussorgsky’s gallery proves a highly intelligent, thoughtful interpretation that aims to be more than just a showy series of programmatic events. -
Little Britten
Cellist Matthew Barley marks the centenary of the composer’s birth with a recital centring on the Third Cello Suite, whilst Edward Higginbottom and The Choir of New College Oxford bring a vital, pleasingly rough-round-the-edges approach that recalls Britten’s own children’s choirs to the scared choral music. -
Mendelssohn from the Quatuor Ebène
The award-winning young French quartet bring their trademark commitment and passion to chamber-music by the Mendelssohn siblings, including Felix’s ‘quartet-Requiem’ for his beloved sister.Featured product
Quatuor Ebène play Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn
Quatuor Ebène
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Looking ahead to 2013 - Verdi, Britten and Wagner
Previews of boxed sets and new recordings marking next year’s three significant anniversaries, including *The Rape of Lucretia* from Oliver Knussen (starring Ian Bostridge and Angelika Kirchschlager), Wagner scenes from Jonas Kaufmann, and a comprehensive Verdi collection from EMI Classics.Featured product
Verdi: The Great Operas
Matteo Manuguerra (Nabucco), Veriano Luchetti (Ismaele), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Zaccaria), Renata Scotto (Abigaille), Elena Obraztsova (Fenena), Robert Lloyd (Gran Sacerdote), Kenneth Collins (Abdallo), Anne Edwards (Anna), Plácido Domingo (Ernani), Mirella Freni (Elvira), Renato Bruson (Carlo), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Silva), Gianfranco Manganotti (Riccardo), Alfredo Giacomotti (Iago), Jolanda Michieli (Giovanna), Montserrat Caballé (Giovanna), Plácido Domingo (Carlo VII), Sherrill Milnes (Giacono), Keith Erwen (Delil), Robert Lloyd (Talbot), Samuel Ramey (Attila), Giorgio Zancanaro (Ezio), Cheryl Studer (Odabella), Neil Shicoff (Foresto), Ernesto Gavazzi (Uldino), Giorgio Surjan (Leone), Sherrill Milnes (Macbeth), Fiorenza Cossotto (Lady Macbeth), Ruggero Raimondi (Banco), José Carreras (Macduff), Giuliano Bernardi (Malcolm), Maria Borgato (Dama), Carlo Del Bosco (Medico), Tito Gobbi (Rigoletto), Maria Callas (Gilda), Giuseppe di Stefano (Il Duca di Mantova), Nicola Zaccaria (Sparafucile), Adriana Lazzarini (Maddalena), Giuse Gerbino (Giovanna), Plinio Clabassi (Monterone), William Dickie (Marullo), Renato Ercolani (Borsa), Carlo Forti (Il Conte di Ceprano), Elvira Galassi (La Contessa di Ceprano), Luisa Mandelli (Un paggio), Roberto Alagna (Manrico), Larissa Diadkova (Azucena), Angela Gheorghiu (Leonora), Thomas Hampson (Il Conte di Luna), Ildebrando d' Arcangelo (Ferrando), Federica Proietti (Ines), Enrico Facini (Ruiz), Riccardo Simonetti (Un vecchio zingaro), Andrew Busher (Un messo), Giorgio Zancanaro (Guido di Montforte), Enzo Capuano (Il Sire di Bethume), Francesco Musinu (Il Conte Vaudemont), Chris Merritt (Arrigo), Ferruccio Furlanetto (Giovanni da Procida), Cheryl Studer (La Duchessa Elena), Gloria Banditelli (Ninetta), Ernesto Gavazzi (Danieli), Paolo Barbacini (Tebaldo), Marco Chingari (Roberto), Ferrero Poggi (Manfredo), Tito Gobbi (Simon Boccanegra), Boris Christoff (Jacopo Fiesco), Victoria de los Ángeles (Amelia/Maria), Giuseppe Campora (Gabriele Adorno), Walter Monachesi (Paolo Albiani), Paolo Dari (Pietro), Silvia Bertona (Un'ancella), Paolo Caroli (Un capitano dei balestrieri), Plácido Domingo (Riccardo), Piero Cappuccilli (Renato), Martina Arroyo (Amelia), Fiorenza Cossotto (Ulrica), Reri Grist (Oscar), Giorgio Giorgetti (Silvano), Gwynne Howell (Samuele), Richard Van Allan (Tom), Kenneth Collins (Un Giudice), Giorgio Zancanaro (Don Carlo), Plácido Domingo (Don Alvaro), Mirella Freni (Leonora di Vargas), Giorgio Surjan (Il Marchese di Calatrava), Dolora Zajick (Preziosilla), Sesto Bruscantini (Fra Melitone), Francesca Garbi (Curra), Paul Plishka (Padre Guardiano), Ernesto Gavazzi (Mastro Trabuco), Frank Hadrian (Un Chirurgo), Silvestro Sammaritano (Un Alcalde), Plácido Domingo (Don Carlo), Ruggero Raimondi (Filippo II), Sherrill Milnes (Rodrigo), Giovanni Foiani (Il Grande Inquisitore), Simon Estes (Un Frate), Montserrat Caballé (Elisabetta di Valois), Shirley Verrett (La principessa Eboli), Delia Wallis (Tebaldo), Ryland Davies (Il Conte di Lerma), John Noble (Un Araldo Reale), María-Rosa del Campo (Una voce dal cielo), Birgit Nilsson (Aida), Franco Corelli (Radamès), Grace Bumbry (Amneris), Mario Sereni (Amonasro), Bonaldo Giaiotti (Ramphis), Ferruccio Mazzoli (Il Re di Egitto), Mirella Fiorentini (Una Sacerdotessa), Piero De Palma (Un Messaggero), Jon Vickers (Otello), Mirella Freni (Desdemona), Peter Glossop (Iago), Aldo Bottion (Cassio), Michel Sénéchal (Rodrigo), José van Dam (Lodovico), Mario Macchi (Montano), Stefania Malagù (Emilia), Mario Macchi (Un Araldo), Tito Gobbi (Falstaff), Rolando Panerai (Ford), Luigi Alva (Fenton), Tomaso Spataro (Dr Cajus), Renato Ercolani (Bardolfo), Nicola Zaccaria (Pistola), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Alice Ford), Anna Moffo (Nannetta), Nan Merriman (Meg Page), Fedora Barbieri (Mistress Quickly), Renata Scotto (Violetta), Alfredo Kraus (Alfredo), Renato Bruson (Germont), Sarah Walker (Flora), Cynthia Buchan (Annina), Suso Mariategui (Gastone), Roderick Kennedy (Dottore Grenvil), Henry Newman (Barone Douphol), Richard Van Allan (Marchese d'Obigny) Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra, London Voices, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Haberdashers' Aske's School Girls Choir, Orchestra of Covent Garden, Ambrosian Singers, Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Oper, Riccardo Muti, James Levine, Tullio Serafin, Sir Antonio Pappano, Gabriele Santini, Carlo Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Herbert von Karajan
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