It's the Gramophone Awards shortlist time again, and again Classical Explorer has covered a goodly amount of them. Here's pone I hope wins: Schoenberg on BIS: Arnold Schoenberg’s second string quartet – included on a previous release by the Gringolts Quartet – is often used as a

Prangcharoen, Elgar, R. Strauss Gautier Capuçon (cello); Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra / Kahchun Wong (conductor). Kulturpalast, Dresden, 02.09.2023 Narong Prangcharoen (born 1973) Reflection of Shadow (2023, World                   Premiere) Elgar               Cello Concerto in E minor (1919) R. Strauss             Also sprach Zarathustra (1896) The last time I was in Dresden’s Kulturpalast

Not one but two significant releases of the same core repertoire work: Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. They are well-timed, as Tchaikovsky's Fifth is still in many people's minds, surely, after Ryan Bancroft's stellar performance at this year’s Proms with the BBC National

For their second recital for Chandos (we covered the first on Classical Explorer), the Orsino Ensemble turns to the rich tradition of Bohemian wind music. Previously, it was French Music for Wind; here, the programme offers works by Reicha, Haas, Janáček, and Martinů. Many collectors will know of the rich

Music for a royal banquet!. Mid-1770s Versailles was immune to the revolutionary ideas already brewing in Paris. A succession of weddings was arranged to ensure the continuity of the throne, post-Louis XV: the Duke of Berry (1770), the Count of Provence (1771) and, germane to our purposes today, the Count

We have already covered a Carmen here on Classical Explorer: a live performance from Strasbourg, conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov with Elena Maximova in the title role. Here are two more, with teh emphasis on the first: Anna Caterina Antonaci is one of the great Carmens. She is all woman, carrying

PROM 50: Handel Samson, HWV 57 (1741-2, heard in the revised 1743 version). Allan Clayton (Samson); Jacquelyn Stucker (Dalila); Joélle Harvey (Israelite Woman); Jess Dandy (Micah); Brindley Sherratt (Harapha); Jonathan Lemalu (Manoa); Will Pate (Messenger); Philharmonia Chorus; Laurence Cummings (harpsichord / director). Royal Albert Hall, 23.08.2023 It is Milton’

I encountered the Bach of violinist Chiara Zanisi and harpsichordist Giulia Nuti this year in France, as part of “L'Itinéraire” in Ton Koopman’s festival, Baroque Itinéraire. Their superb concert, as one of the several concerts in one day, comprised a selection of movements from the Bach “Sonate

Some readers might be familiar with the fairly recent performances of The Golden Cockerel by English Touring Opera (I reviewed one at the Hackney Empire). Bizarrely, concluding that review I speculated what Barrie Kosky's production - then in Australia, initially premiered in Aix - would be like. Well.

Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano); BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Ryan Bancroft (conductor).  Royal Albert Hall, London, 1.8.2023 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 (1917-21) Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (1888) A relatively short Prom, this one, and a 7