Choral

Gaude Virgo!: Cappella Pratensis (2)

A stunning recording launching a valuable project

Opera

A new production of Verdi's Aida at the Royal Opera House

There is a lot to celebrate here, vocally and instrumentally. The production itself will have to percolate ...

Farrenc

Repost: The Symphonies of Louise Farrenc

Rarely can Farrenc's music have spoken with so much power and so much eloquence; rarely can her genius have shone through so brightly

Britten

Britten Solo Vocal Works: Les Illuminations, Serenade, Nocturne

A simply beautiful disc on all fronts

Xenakis

Berlin Festival (4): Berlin Radio SO / Jurowski in Xenakis, Bartók and Mahler

The Xenakis and the Bartók, certainly, will live long in the memory

Marenzio

Luca Marenzio: Primo Libro di Madrigali

All devotees of the madrigal should hasten forth to purchase!

Ethnic

Berlin Festival (3): Korean Ritual in Berlin

A fascinating, stirring occasion

Contemporary

Berlin Festival (2): Berlioz, Adès, Barry

Stimulating fare from Adès, Kuusisto and the Berliner Philharmoniker

Piano

Visions: Tamara Stefanovich and Pierre-Laurent Aimard

A terrific disc. Unmissable

20th Century

Berlin Festival (1): Ensemblekollektiv Berlin / Enno Poppe

Musikfest Berlin 2022 is in full flow ... A phenomenal concert

Baroque

Rapsodia Italiana: Stylus Phantasticus in Early Baroque

A truly illuminating experience, both beautiful and educational - all in stunning performances

Mozart

Mozart Violin Concertos, Volume 2

A simply superb disc

Wagner

Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer from Bayreuth

Dark, oppressive, strangely compelling

Haydn

Haydn Theresienmesse & Symphony 103, Harry Christophers

A stunning disc. Whether you buy it for the symphony with mass as bonus, or vice versa, there is no going wrong here. Superb

Interview

Maxim Vengerov in interview: 40+ years on stage

An interview with one of the greats: Maxim Vengerov

Opera

Mozart's Flûte enchantée: Hervé Niquet and a French flute

Unless you count Hoffmeister’s Magic Flute (which one shouldn’t, obviously) this is Classical Explorer’s second post on Mozart's masterwork, his opera Die Zauberflöte: previously, we had a look at David McVicar’s production at Covent Garden. A recent performance of Zauberflöte under Christophe Rousset at the Gstaad

Live Performance

The Berliner Philharmoniker in London: Mahler, Schnittke, Bruckner

Two Proms, one absolutely unforgettable ...

Mahler

Mahler's Das Lied revisited

This more than deserves to be heard - it shines a light into the very core of Mahler's score

Beethoven

Dem Erzherzog gewidmet: A noble Archduke in Gsteig

Chamber music in the gorgeous setting of Gsteig, Switzerland

Dowland

Lessons: John Dowland and the lute

One of the finest Early Music discs we have covered so far on Classical Explorer - a real treasure

Mahler

Mahler's Fourth Symphony revealed anew

François-Xavier Roth’s sterling restoration work with Les Sièces continues with Mahler

Patricia Kopatchinskaja in Gstaad: What's Next, Vivaldi?

Gstaad Menuhin Festival: Vivaldis Tod in Wien: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin); Il Giardino Armonico / Giovanni Antoninni. Saanen Church, Saanenland, Switzerland, 26.08.2022 Vivaldi    Concerto for Strings in G minor, RV 157 Enescu    Impressions d’enfance, Op. 28 Vivaldi    Violin Concerto in C, RV 191 Sciarrino   Capriccio for Solo Violin No.

Rameau's first opéra: Hippolyte et Aricie

The tragédie-lyrique Hippolyte et Aricie was Rameau's first opera. Few first forays can have had such influence: some claim it changed the course of French music forever. The piece was, admittedly, written when Rameau was 50 years old, so this is no novice essay. As part of his first period

Sibelius: Complete Symphonies (Mäkelä)

This is Classical Explorer's second complete cycle of Sibelius Symphonies - the first was Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on BIS. Klaus Mäkelä's Sibelius is characterised by  its intelligence and its clarity, two qualities that work in tandem with Sibelius’ core qualities of structural rigour and craggy expression. This

Beethoven

Interview and review: Pierre-Laurent Aimard in Beethoven

It was a pleasure to catch up with Pierre-Laurent Aimard during last year's Berlin Festival and to talk about his recording of Beethoven's “Hammerklavier Sonata,” which he has coupled with the “Eroica Variations”. The “Hammerklavier” has a massive reputation amongst pianists and non-pianists alike. Is he, I wonder, attracted to