Colin Clarke

News item: the Kanneh-Masons and Through the noise launch music initiative

Through the noise launch music education initiative with Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason as part of homecoming tour  Highlights include: * Landmark tour from 26 November – 3 December, visiting 7 cities across the UK and reaching up to 10,000 people * Showcasing classical music in unexpected venues including two shows at London

Opera

The Delights of Donizetti: Elixir at ENO

A wonderful night out, full of young talent

Wolf-Ferrari: Il segreto di Susanna from Berlin

Wolf-Ferrari's short opera is perfect for a one-night coupling, as Opera Holland Park have proved both this year, with Pagliacci (review), and, in 2019, with Tchaikovsky's Iolanta (review). Susanna's secret? As you can see from the disc cover, she smokes. The plot? Gil (baritone

Montréal's Orchestre symphonique conquers London

Habibi, Beethoven, Berlioz Javier Perianes (piano); Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal /  Rafael Payare. Barbican Hall, 19.11.2024 Iman Habibi Jeder Baum spricht (2020)  Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C, Op. 15 (1795, revised 1800)  Berlioz Symphonie fantastique (1830)  Launching their 2024 European tour at London’s Barbican Centre, the

21st Century

Josef Bardanishvili: Complete PIano Music

A fine traversal of the piano music of Josef Bardanashvili; the recorded sound, like the playing, is exemplary

London Festival of American Music

London Festival of American Music: A. Sierra, Lerdahl, Asia, Nicholls, Karchin. Lontana / Odaline de la Martínez (conductor). The Warehouse, Waterloo, London, 14.11.2024 Arlene Sierra Butterflies, Remember a Mountain (piano trio)  Fred Lerdahl Give and Take (violin and cello)  Charles Schadle Limestone Gap  Daniel Asia Sonata (violin and piano,

Mozart

Mozart from Khatia Buniatishvili and the ASMF

Buniatishvili's Mozart concertos are certainly worth hearing

Imogen Holst

The Magic of Imogen Holst

This disc goes a long way in reminding us of Imogen Holst's importance to British music

The Ivors Classical Awards 2024

ELEVEN COMPOSERS HONOURED WITH IVOR NOVELLO AWARDS TONIGHT AT THE IVORS CLASSICAL AWARDS, INCLUDING ERROLLYN WALLEN, ROXANNA PANUFNIK AND GAVIN BRYARS  #TheIvorsClassicalAwards   In a glittering, buzzing night at he BFI Southbank, a plethora of awards acted as a reminder of the vibrant world we actually do live in. On a

Christmas

Christmas with The Bevan Family Consort

A tremendous Christmas album, warm and welcoming yet full of beauty and depth

Organ

MAGNIFICENT Bach Organ Works from Masaaki Suzuki

One of the finest organ discs I know

German Baroque

Graupner, Solo & Dialogue Cantatas II

A phenomenal disc, beautifully recorded and performed impeccably.

21st Century

Joseph Phibbs, Quartets Nos. 2-4

Phibbs has an individual voice: compelling, expressive

Busoni

Busoni Piano Music #12: the end nears

A superb, varied disc notable for both pianism and recording quality

Jonathan Dove's The Monster in the Maze at Sheffield

Dove (arr. Dove/Lyon) The Monster in the Maze Music Makers of Sheffield (including Ensemble 360, Consone Quartet, Bridge Ensemble, Sheffield Hub Senior Strings, Sheffield Youth Choirs and singers of Sheffield) / John Lyon (conductor). Crucible Theatr, Sheffield, 02.04.2024, 11am Production:  Director – Rosie Kat  Designer – Fenna de Jonge  Lighting

Stanford

REPOST. Stanford: Two String Quintets and Three Intermezzi

It is well-nigh impossible to find any criticism at all for this disc

Christmas

Benjamin Appl: The Christmas Album

A lovely disc, superbly planned, expertly executed.

Contemporary

The Vocal and Choral Music of Josef Bardanashvili

A phenomenal disc, the perfect introduction to Josef Bardanashvili

Ravel

Ravel and de Falla from Alexandre Tharaud

Alexandre Tharaud and Louis Langrée provide a refreshing alternative for these pieces; well worth a go.

20th Century

American String Quartets: Florence Price & Leo Sowerby

Compelling music in compelling performances

Ghostly Beethoven: The Sitkovetsky Trio on BIS

Here on Classical Explorer, we met the Sitkovetsky Trio (Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Isang Enders, cello; Wu Qian, piano) before in works by Ravel and Saint-Saëns. This is volume three of their ongoing Beethoven piano trios series on BIS, and features the so-called “Ghost” Trio (Op. 70/1) and the very

Marin Alsop meets the Mahlers

G. Mahler, A. Mahler Sasha Cooke (mezzo); Philharmonia Orchestra / Marin Alsop (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 24.10.2024 Gustav Mahler Blumine (1888)  Alma Mahler Four Songs from Fünf Lieder (1910, orch. D. & C. Matthews)  Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 (1902)  This was a wonderful programme, on paper. Gustav

Sibelius

James Ehnes returns in Sibelius Violin Concerto

Violinist James Ehnes in exceptional form in music both familiar and unfamiliar

Violin

Beach & Corigliano Violin Sonatas

A terrific disc, beautifully recorded and performed

20th Century

Khachaturian Symphony 1 on cpo

As the youth of today say, this is "fire"