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FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Four Hands Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) [ Erato / CD - released 9/Jan/2026 ] "[They] consistently transcend matters of ensemble synchronicity and textural balances, going directly to the music's heart and soul...An instant classic." Gramophone Award WINNER 2026 - Piano |
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GYORGY LIGETI
Ligeti: Violin & Piano Concertos, Concert Romanesc Isabelle Faust (violin) Jean-Frederic Neuburger (piano) / Les Siecles [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 30/May/2025 ] "No memorable performance of such a startling score should be deemed effortless, but this one has the riveting atmosphere of a manic yet fiercely constrained improvisation...the result is a stunning drama." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Concerto |
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J. S. BACH
Bach: Goldberg Variations Yunchan Lim (piano) [ Decca / CD - released 6/Feb/2026 ] "Lim's searching voice and powers of communication always come across in a performance well worth hearing." Gramophone Editor's Choice 2026 - Piano |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Belle Epoque! Adèle Charvet (mezzo) Florian Caroubi (piano) [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 22/Aug/2025 ] "It's all most beautifully done. Charvet's mezzo is warm and velvety...Caroubi, meanwhile, is a real revelation, a wonderful accompanist, marvellous in his understanding of colour, dynamics and rubato." Gramophone Award WINNER 2026 - Song |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Lieder Album Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Gerold Huber (piano) [ Sony Classics / CD - released 16/May/2025 ] "As so often, they cast a very individual spell over the music, their interpretative approach - introspective but alert, melancholy, often exquisite in its detail and delicacy." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Song |
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EMMERICH KALMAN / FRANZ LEHAR / PAUL ABRAHAM
Magische Töne Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Nikola Hillebrand (soprano) / Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Dirk Kaftan [ Sony Classical / CD - released 17/Apr/2026 ] "Kaufmann's fans will love it and operetta aficionados will find lots to enjoy, too, if they can overcome their reservations about opera stars as tourists in this music." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Song & Vision |
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JOHN DOWLAND / HENRY PURCELL
Songs of Passion Lea Desandre (mezzo) Thomas Dunford (lute), with with Alex Rosen (bass-baritone), Jess Dandy (contralto), Laurence Kilsby (tenor) [ Erato / CD - released 10/Sep/2025 ] "This is an embarrassment of riches, almost overwhelmingly good...the instrumental playing is so vital and responsive it's as if Dunford has Dowland on speed-dial." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Song |
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FELIX MENDELSSOHN / GEORGE ENESCU
Octets: Mendelssohn & Enescu Quatuor Ébène, Belcea Quartet [ Erato / CD - released 9/Jan/2026 ] "Recorded in the warm, generous acoustic of Schloss...Few octet recordings so fully reconcile orchestral amplitude with chamber accountability and make it sound inevitable." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Chamber |
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DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: The Piano Concertos, Solo Works Yuja Wang (piano) Thomas Rolfs (trumpet) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 16/May/2025 ] "A genuine collaborative spirit presides over these Shostakovich concerto performances, not to mention the dazzling execution and playful characterisation one expects from this particular piano soloist." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Concerto |
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KAIJA SAARIAHO
Saariaho: Adriana Mater (complete opera) Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Christopher Purves, Nicholas Phan / San Francisco Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Esa-Pekka Salonen [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 19/May/2025 ] "The performances are strong. Fleur Barron, carries the title role well. Axelle Fanyo is very competent as the sister Refka...Nicholas Phan is tough and angry as Yonas." Gramophone Award WINNER 2026 - Opera |
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JACQUES OFFENBACH
Les Divas d'Offenbach Véronique Gens (soprano), Hervé Niquet, Choeur Et Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire [ Alpha / CD - released 17/Oct/2025 ] "But as we've come to expect from Palazzetto Bru Zane, this new recital is simultaneously a joy in its own right and a valuable piece of scholarship, with premiere recordings and previously unheard versions ..." Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Idomeneo (complete opera) Andrew Staples, Magdalena Kožená, Sabine Devieilhe, Linard Vrielink, Allan Clayton / Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ Br-Klassik / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2020 ] "Despite controversial moments, Rattle is every bit Gardiner's equal in theatrical energy, and arguably fields the strongest all-round cast in any recording of Mozart's ever-astonishing Enlightenment parable." Gramophone Award Finalist 2026 - Opera |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Le Villi (complete opera) Anita Hartig (soparno) Kang Wang (tenor) Boris Pinkhasovich (baritone) / Bavarian Radio Chorus; Munich Radio Orchestra, Ivan Repušić [ Br-Klassik / CD Box Set - released 18/Apr/2025 ] "This new Le Villi from Munich, it should be said at the outset, is the finest recording of Puccini's first opera since Lorin Maazel's 1979 performance, long regarded as the benchmark version of this uneven if oddly compelling work." Gramophone |
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CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Gluck - Arias Ann Hallenberg (mezzo-soprano) / The Mozartists, Ian Page [ Signum Classics / CD - released 26/Sep/2025 ] "As well as virtuosity, Hallenberg brings something vital to everything in this assortment, be it an insightful dramatic detail, a point of stylistic nous or a sheer sense of presence." Gramophone Award WINNER 2026 - Voice & Ensemble |
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EDMUND RUBBRA
Rubbra: Crucifixus pro nobis - Choral Music Benjamin Hulett (tenor) / Choir of Merton College, Oxford; Britten Sinfonia, Benjamin Nicholas with François Cloete, Owen Chan (organ) [ Delphian / CD - released 27/Mar/2026 ] The Choir of Merton College and Benjamin Nicholas here place Rubbra's sacred music at the heart of his creative life, tracing through his career the composer's conviction that faith was not a subject to be illustrated but a principle that governed... |
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JOHANN LUDWIG BACH
Johann Ludwig Bach: The Leipzig Cantatas Sebastian Myrus, Richard Resch, William Shelton, Flore Van Meerssche, Carine Tinney, etc / Capella Sollertia, Johanna Soller [ Ricercar / 3 CD - released 20/Feb/2026 ] "This seminal project is a revelation in the sheer weight of first-rate 'Bach', previously under the radar, and now in premiere recordings delivered with exceptional attentiveness and care" Gramophone Award WINNER 2026 - Choral |
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WILLIAM MUNDAY
Mundy - Vox patris caelestis Choir of New College Oxford, Robert Quinney [ Linn Records / CD - released 6/Jun/2025 ] "Robert Quinney and the Choir of New College Oxford aim for a steady and safe reading in most cases, supported particularly by a seriously energetic team of boy trebles, who are in general favoured in the acoustic here." Gramophone Award Finalist '26 |
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THOMAS ADES / EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar & Ades: Violin Concertos Christian Tetzlaff (violin), BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds [ Ondine / CD - released 21/Nov/2025 ] "...Adès Concerto here becomes the version that establishes this brilliant and probing work as a repertoire classic, regardless of style, period or place - quite simply, a knockout new album" Gramophone Award Nomination 2026 - Concerto |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN / MICHAEL TIPPETT / WILLIAN WALTON
Tippett, Britten, Walton: Works for Piano and Orchestra Clare Hammond (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 17/Oct/2025 ] "Intensely concentrated and memorably articulate, Hammond is comprehensively equipped to tackle this music's formidable technical challenges, her exquisitely variegated tonal palette, deft touch and quiet authority truly things of wonder." Gramophone |
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AGRESTA / BOLOGNINI / DENTICE / FONTANELLI / LACORCIA / GESUALDO / etc
Stravagante pensiero: Gesualdo & Napoli Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini [ Naive / CD - released 24/Oct/2025 ] "The more you listen, the more they reveal themselves to be at one with every facet of this demanding music's restless expressive language. Full of surprises and superbly done, this is an almost intoxicatingly pained addition to the catalogue." |