Handel Messiah, HWV 56. Joanna Songi, Sofia Kirwan-Boaz (sopanos); Marha Jones, Kate Symonds-Joy (mezzos); Guy Elliot, Harry Jacques (tenors); Timothy Nelson (baitone); Edward Hwkins (bass); The Wild Arts Ensemble (Sijie Chen, Will McGahon, violins; Hannah Shaw, viola; George Ross, cello; Mairanne Schofield, double-bass; Leo Duarte, Geoff Coates, oboes; Chris Rawley,

Although more associated with operas that really reside in the cracks of the repertoire, Opera Rara does investigate – or reconstruct – versions of better-known opera. Their release of the original 1857 version of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra is one of those cases; and here we have Puccini’s La rondine. And

An Opera Rara repost today as a reminder that thee is a performance of the final 1921 version of Puccini's Rondine at the Babican tonight (report to follow!; this wlll be broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on September 2026; he wold pemiee recoding of this version will be

LSO Futures; Seong-Jin Cho Artist Portrait. Seong-Jin Cho (piano); London Symphony Orchestra / Maxime Pascal (conducto). Barbican Hall, London, 20.11.2025 Omri Kochavi gilufim (2024/25, LSO Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Commission, World Premiere Sasha Scott Sly (2024/25, LSO Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Commission, World Premiere Donghoon Shin Piano Concerto (2025,

Previously, Classical Explorer has featured the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam: we saw them at Wigmore Hall in Mozart and Tchaikovsky, then looked at the first volume of Tchaikovsky Quartets here. This new disc, Terra Memoria, certainly comes with an arresting promo video: the music is from the Saariaho, her Terra Memoria,

Each year, the vocal group The Sixteen releases a new album on the CORO label to accompany the choir’s nationwide Choral Pilgrimage tour, which sees them visit over 20 locations across the span of 7 months, which began on Monday 17 March at Croydon Minster. Here's the

Beethoven NOVO Quartet. Wigmore Hall, London, 3pm, 19.01.2025 (CC)  String Quartets: No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18/4 (1799/1800); No. 9 in C, Op. 59/3, Razumovsky’ (1806)  The NOVO Quartet of Denmark won the 77th Concours de Genève; I was lucky enough to be present

Following on from my report on the European premiere of Zou Ye's Symphony Kūkai the other day, this pos presents another aspect of that composer's art: film music. The Goddess (神女, Shénnǚ) is a film that premiered in Shanghai on December 7, 1934, telling the story

This is Volume Six of Somm's Bruckner series; we looked at Volume One here. This contains the monumental Eighth Symphony. If thee is one orchestra the seems perfect for Bruckne, with its rich tradition, its creamy brass, its lush strings and its individualised woodwind, it is the Bavarian

This disc showcases Jascha Heifetz at the very height of his powers