Based on Dante's *La Divina Commedia*, Thomas Adès's three-part ballet receives a virtuosic performance from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with music that moves from the grotesque to the sublime, incorporating a touch of Franz Liszt along the way.
Reich's *Music for 18 Musicians* from The Colin Currie Group, Baroque rarities from Michael Spyres & Il Pomo d'Oro, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 from Semyon Bychkov, and the physical release of Fabio Luisi's acclaimed Nielsen cycle with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
A glowing return to form for the Manchester-based trio, this time digitally manipulating their unique acoustic sonorities to tackle post-human anxieties.
The artistic director of Alamire talks about his new recording with Fretwork of Byrd's 1589 collection of church and domestic songs, complementing an album from two years ago in which they explored the previous volume from 1588.
*Jazzin' About Piano Anthology*; uplifting, cinematic, and classical tear-jerker collections for piano; a royal celebration for organ; new Bärenreiter, Carus, and Breitkopf & Härtel publications; ABRSM's latest series *Violin Mix*; 18th Century Swedish music for cello and piano; and Vieuxtemps' *Gypsy Airs, Op. 40a*.
Julia Bullock, Joyce DiDonato and Jakub Józef Orliński star in the British director's hard-hitting Covent Garden production from 2022, with other highlights including Dvořák and Coleridge-Taylor from the Takács Quartet, scenes of childhood from Isata Kanneh-Mason, and American countertenor Reginald Mobley's debut recording of spirituals on Alpha Classics.
On her gorgeous new album *Brand New Life* Brandee Younger moves the jazz harp into lush new territory, embracing hip-hop-inspired beats and R&B moods in her hypnotic sound world.
The Argentinian countertenor is at the top of his game in a programme exploring Mozart's writing for castrati, including the motet *Exsultate, jubilate* and arias from *La finta giardiniera*, *Lucio Silla* and *La clemenza di Tito*.
The Argentinian countertenor discusses his new album of sacred and secular Mozart (out today on Pentatone) - and recounts how his love-affair with singing the composer's music was ignited when he was cast as First Boy in *Die Zauberflöte* aged 11...
Mercadante's *Il Proscritto* from Carlo Rizzi & Opera Rara, a German Baroque Requiem from Vox Luminis & Lionel Meunier, an eclectic Marian-themed recital from Patricia Kopatchinskaja & Anna Prohaska, and Bruckner from François-Xavier Roth in Cologne.
The violinist talks about his recent album of ensemble music by Biber - twelve sonatas for various combinations of instruments, interleaved with twelve duos for trumpets, all coming from Biber's time in the service of the Salzburg court.
The *Jazzin’ About Piano Anthology* celebrates Pam Wedgwood’s best-selling series in a collection of the author’s favourite pieces. Presented progressively for the first time in one volume, pieces range from early elementary to intermediate level. Find out more.
Chris introduces this month's selection, headed by Quatuor Ebène and Antoine Tamestit's 'new benchmark' recording of Mozart's string quintets on Erato...
Scottish composer Helen Grime discusses her second string quartet, which features on the second volume of *Bracing Change* string commissions from NMC and the Wigmore Hall.
Reflections on music and performance from tenor Ian Bostridge, a history of music across different cultures through the millennia, an exploration of how A=440 hertz became the international standard for concert tuning, the life and times of Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock, a study of minstrels in late medieval England, and an examination of how Spanish folk music was collected during the early years of the Franco regime.
Super smooth harp from Brandee Younger, a cinematic tribute from Erik Truffaz, and Walter Smith III's debut for Blue Note are some of the highlights from this week's batch of new releases.
The spotlight is squarely on the strings on this clear-eyed, almost Classical account of Rachmaninoff's 1908 symphony, with balance and restraint the order of the day until the final few minutes of the piece...