Music to my Ears

In this week's episode of the Music to my Ears podcast, we speak to Paul Morley, the pop journalist and musician and, more recently, classical music devotee . 

Brought up in Stockport, Paul cut his teeth in music journalism in Manchester. He then went on to write for the New Musical Express, where he rapidly became one of the paper’s most respected critics, leading to regular appearances on radio and TV.

In 1983, Morley and producer Trevor Horn founded ZTT Records, which soon hit both the top of the charts and the headlines with the release of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Welcome to the Pleasuredome album. In the same year, they also formed the group The Art of Noise, which had a string of hits including a cover of Prince’s Kiss, featuring Tom Jones.

In more recent years, however, Paul has turned his attention towards classical music, and in 2010 took part in a BBC Four documentary called The Art of Composing, which saw him study at the Royal Academy of Music for a year. In 2020, he charted his developing interest in a new book called A Sound Mind: How I Fell In Love with Classical Music, which has now been published by Bloomsbury.

Paul talked to BBC Music Magazine’s deputy editor Jeremy Pound over Zoom during the second period of lockdown in England, and told him how, from his pop and rock background, he gradually fell under classical music’s spell.

Recordings featured:

Brian Eno: Fullness of Wind (Variation on Pachelbel's Canon in D)

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande: 'Je les tiens dans le mains'

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

LSO Live LSO0790

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2: I. Overture

Borodin Quartet

Decca 4834159

Janáček: Words Fail

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In this week's episode of the Music to my Ears podcast, we talk to the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, violinist and producer Caroline Shaw about the music that underscores her day-to-day life and how she balances the various facets of her fascinating career. Orange, her album of string quartets recorded and performed by the Attacca Quartet, was nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award earlier this year. Freya Parr spoke to Caroline over Zoom from her home in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Recordings featured:

Verdi: La Traviata ‘Dite alle giovine’ ­– Anna Netrebko, Vienna Philharmonic/Carlo Rizzi (DG 475933)

Tune-Yards: Water Fountain

Bach: Partita No. 2: V. Chaconne (Itzhak Perlman (violin) – Warner Classics 2564612981

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) (Erato 5615522)

The Bangles: Eternal Flame

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This week, reviews editor Michael Beek sits down with the Russian-British conductor Vasily Petrenko. Vasily recently said farewell as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and is about to embark on final season as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Speaking from his father’s home in St. Petersburg, Vasily talks about returning to the condtuctor’s podium after months in lockdown, saying goodbye to the RLPO and his new appointment with the Royal Philharmonic in 2021.

Recordings featured:

Bernstein: West Side Story – Mambo (New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein)

JS Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I – Prelude No. 1 in C major (Sviatoslav Richter, piano)

Sounds of Nature

Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133 (arr. string orchestra) (Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Peter Oundjian)

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This week, reviews editor Michael Beek sits down with the award-winning British film and television composer Debbie Wiseman OBE (Wolf Hall, Father Brown, Wilde) for a chat about her work. Debbie shares insights into her methods, conducting, her favourite music to listen to and a sneak preview of her latest film score, To Olivia.

Recordings featured:

Chopin: Preludes Op. 28 – No. 4 in E minor

Eric Lu (piano)

Warner Classics 9029529234

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K364 – Presto

Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Bruno Giuranna (viola); Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner

Warner Classics 7543022

Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphony – III. Turangalîla I

Mannheim National Theatre Orchestra/Alexander Soddy

Oehms OC472

Joseph Horovitz: Oboe Concerto – Lento Moderato

Nicholas Daniel (oboe); Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Joseph Horovitz

White Line CDWHL2114

Debbie Wiseman: To Olivia – An Everlasting Gobstoppper and a Shivery Smile

National Symphony Orchestra/Debbie Wiseman

Decca

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In this episode, BBC Music Magazine’s editor Oliver Condy talks to the former Guardian editor and now principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Alan Rusbridger.

While the editor of a national paper during the Arab Spring, Wikileaks controversies, the newspaper hacking scandal, riots in the UK and more, Alan Rusbridger found time to learn and perform Chopin’s Ballade No. 1, a feat he describes in his book Play It Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible.

Recordings featured:

Chopin: Ballade No. 1

Murray Perahia (piano)

Sony Classical 

Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein

Sony Classical 

Bach arr. Busoni: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland

Alfred Brendel (piano)

Decca

Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131

Takacs Quartet

Decca 

Schubert: Variations on an Original Theme

Andreas Staier & Alexander Melnikov (piano)

Harmonia Mundi

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In this episode of the Music to my Ears podcast, BBC Music Magazine speaks to Karina Canellakis, who is currently chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and has been recently appointed as principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Karina was born and brought up in a very musical family in New York. She initially studied and began her career as a violinist and played in a number of the world’s leading orchestras, and it was while she was playing with the Berlin Philharmonic as a member of its Orchester-Akademie that she was encouraged to take up conducting by Sir Simon Rattle. From that moment, she has never looked back, and has since led top ensembles across the globe, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra where she held her first post, as assistant conductor. She is equally at home in opera, and has conducted major productions of works by composers ranging from Mozart to Maxwell Davies.

Karina talked to BBC Music Magazine’s deputy editor Jeremy Pound over Zoom during the second period of lockdown, and talked to him about the thrill of of working with contemporary composers, the rarity of female role models and the sheer joy of Wagner.

Recordings featured:

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf Op. 67 No. 5

Alexander Armstrong (narrator), Richard Casey, Ian Buckle (piano duet)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko

Warner Classics 9029575952

Wagner: Die Walküre: Prelude

Wolfgang Windgassen (Tristan), Birgit Nilsson (Isolde), Christa Ludwig (Brangäne), Martti Talvela (King Marke), Eberhard Waechter (Kurwenal), Peter Schreier (Seemann Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Karl Böhm

DG 4497722

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Act III): 'Denn einer nur freie die Braut'

Vienna Philharmonic/Georg Solti

Decca 4786192

Stephen Sondheim: Sweeney Todd

Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paul Daniel

DG 4778554

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Poet Wendy Cope joins our editorial assistant Freya Parr over Zoom from her home in Cambridgeshire to discuss how her enduring relationship with classical music has changed throughout the course of her life, with various careers as a primary school teacher, journalist and now poet. Introduced to the piano at the age of five, music has been a constant in Wendy’s life, with many of her poems having now been set by the UK’s leading composers. She tells us all about this fascinating process, and how it feels to hear your words set to music.  

Website: classical-music.com/podcasts

Recordings featured:

Mozart: Serenade No. 13 ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’: I. Allegretto (Vienna Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan Warner Classics 4768762)

Bach: ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’ Cantata BWV 140 (English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir/John Eliot Gardiner Deutsche Grammophon 4807512)

Bach: Concerto for Two Violins and Strings in D minor (2nd movement): Isabelle Faust, Bernhard Forck (violins), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Harmonia Mundi HMM90233536)

Schubert: Im Frühling (Ian Bostridge (tenor), Julius Drake (piano) Warner Classics 5563472)

Peter Maxwell Davies: Farewell to Stromness (Peter Maxwell Davies (piano) Naxos 950161)

Tibetan Singing Bowls and Ocean Waves Sounds for Relaxation

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Irish soprano Ailish Tynan talks to BBC Music Magazine's editor Oliver Condy about her musical experiences in lockdown, recent streamed performances at the Royal Opera house and at Wigmore Hall and at home with her family, as well as the music that has inspired her throughout the year.

Recordings featured:

Wolf: Ganymed

John McCormack (tenor), Edwin Schneider (piano)

Symposium SYMPCD1164

Schubert: Die Forelle

Ailish Tynan (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

Delphian DCD34165

Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Ablösung im Sommer

Christiane Karg (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano)

Harmonia Mundi HMM905338

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Editorial assistant Freya Parr meets virtually with composer Errollyn Wallen. They discuss how lockdown effects a composer and what music Errollyn counld not live without.

Website: classical-music.com/podcasts

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Comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast Deborah Frances-White joins our editorial assistant Freya Parr at her home in central London. She tells stories about sneaking into the opera when she first arrived in London from Australia, her experiences of music as part of the Jehovah’s Witness religion and the breadth of music she’s discovered through hosting The Guilty Feminist podcast.

Website: classical-music.com/podcasts

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Familiar to BBC Radio 4 listeners as an announcer, newsreader and, perhaps above all, the voice of the Shipping Forecast, Zeb Soanes has been a classical music enthusiast from a young age. He tells us about the music that has inspired him over the years.

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/69MDC2lhe97UXwT1EKfWv8?si=A8I3CUNUR6iRxeUisPF7oA

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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British composer Sally Beamish joined us via video conferencing software in lockdown to discuss the surprising musical discoveries she’s been making while at home with her partner, falling in love with Bartók’s string quartets and a vibrant Colombian joropo concert she attended earlier this year.

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5CUCWUTOQEalD9Ieu4Uqjm?si=cYv6JIpcTcaCQCuwcAVbRQ

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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Organist, choirmaster and presenter Anna Lapwood talks about her role at Pembroke College as director music, her first recording with the choir there and her musical loves that ranges from Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky to the choral music of Caroline Shaw. Oliver Condy met her before the lockdown at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, just down the road from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where Anna had been presenting BBC Young Musicians for BBC Four.

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2kOOe5tCIBMkgqi3e7ZzAl?si=Ri4uAFhtTyK75doNasckUA

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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Founder and conductor of the groundbreaking Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon explores the music that has inspired him over the years, from the Bach piano pieces he learnt as a child to glorious moments of English choral music.

Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/36bnWpyFELm1D9vW0qw5jx?si=WhTnLEVjTnqhbgzBLrUVqA

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson tells us about the music that’s shaped her life, from the Spanish piano music she listened to in the car as a child to Philip Glass’s violin transcriptions, which helped her learn how to circular breathe.

Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Le4hLRhoSU2QAXtVBdnsg?si=mCttrkKcSZmjmniPi2xMnA

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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Following his recital with recorder player Michaela Petri at the Bath Bachfest, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani strolled around the centre of the Georgian city with Oliver Condy and shared his favourite music, including a symphonic discovery and the single piece of music he couldn’t live without…

Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2v78HC0EKL7tiArRw4ApM7?si=qT5om-FHTFqiIzh3vCsMLQ

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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BBC Music Magazine’s brand new podcast, Music to my Ears, features a series of interviews with well-known classical musicians and composers about their musical passions and discoveries. Join us for a new episode every Wednesday and Subscribe to stay updated.

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Introducing a brand new season of BBC Music Magazine’s Music to my Ears podcast. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be joined by a raft of famous faces from the classical music world and beyond, including comedian Deborah Frances-White, former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, composer Errollyn Wallen, poet Wendy Cope and conductor Vasily Petrenko. Join us for a new episode every Wednesday and subscribe now to stay updated.

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Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason joins our managing editor Rebecca Franks at the Royal Academy of Music to share the music she’s listened to throughout her life. From discovering Rachmaninov on CD in the car with her parents and seven highly musical siblings to streaming Yuja Wang and Beyoncé today, we hear about the music that’s shaped who she is as both a performer and avid listener.

Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FaFkcK2TQLVg50BNYvk9A?si=a0hckCZxRySz1rI4vEPZ9A

Website: classical-music.com/podcasts

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Jake Heggie is one of America’s busiest and most popular composers. Music for voices sits at the heart of what continues to be a varied career, from his first opera – Dead Man Walking – to his latest song cycle based on poems by Margaret Attwood. In this podcast he talks to Michael Beek about his craft, finding his voice with opera and his greatest musical loves and inspirations.

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2vLnj9bKq67FCw9LMU5Ejw?si=DDlmzIUBRrmOWfP8IiA4dQ

Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts

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In this month's podcast, we discuss Yo-Yo Ma's intrepid musical exploration across the globe, from the Silk Road to Appalachian America. Plus, we discuss the plans for this year's slightly different BBC Proms season and what London's Wigmore Hall is doing to welcome artists back to its stage.

We've also each brought along a new recording we've been enjoying, including a fresh interpretation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, plus works by Morton Gould and Louis-Gabriel Guillemain.

NEWS:

Pentecost - Sequentia - Veni Sancte Spiritus

Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fidélité of Jouques, Provence

THE MAGAZINE

Scarcely Cricket

Not Our First Goat Rodeo

Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Stuart Duncan (violin), Edgar Meyer (bass), Chris Thile (mandolin)

Sony Masterworks 19439738552

Shostakovich

Piano Concerto No. 1: IV. Presto

Alina Ibragimova (violin), State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’/Vladimir Jurowski

Hyperion CDA68313

FIRST LISTEN

Freya's choice:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5: I. Allegro con brio

MusicAeterna/Teodor Currentzis

Sony 19075884972

Michael's choice:

Louis-Gabriel Guillemain : Symphony in E flat major, Op. 14 No.2 : I. Allegro

Brillance Indéniable

Alana Youssefian (violin), Le Bien Aimé

Avie AV2412

Jeremy's choice:

Morton Gould – Symphonettes

Conga from Symphonette No. 4

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Arthur Fagen

Naxos 8559869

This podcast was presented by BBC Music Magazine’s deputy editor Jeremy Pound, with reviews editor Michael Beek and editorial assistant Freya Parr. The jingles were composed by Christopher Maxim and the episode was produced by Jack Bateman and Ben Youatt. 

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In this month's podcast, we announce the winners of this year's BBC Music Magazine Awards and listen to a track from our Recording of the Year. Plus, we discuss the enduring relationship between two artistic forms: classical music and fashion.

We also look back on the recent highlights of musicians innovating during the lockdown period while they're not able to work in the usual way. These include mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston's new cookbook: Notes from Musicians' Kitchens, and the English National Opera's plans for drive-in opera at Alexandra Palace. We also discuss the handful of orchestras and concert halls that are offering concert tickets to NHS workers following the lockdown.

As usual, we've each brought along a recording we've been enjoying, including a violin arrangement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto and José Serebrier's Flute Concerto.

THE MAGAZINE

BBC Music Magazine Awards Recording of the Year:

Purcell: King Arthur

Anna Dennis, Mhairi Lawson, Rowan Pierce, Carolyn Sampson (sopranos), Jeremy Budd (high tenor), James Way (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Ashley Riches (bass-baritone)

Gabrieli Players, Paul McCreesh

Signum SIGCD589

Recording of the Month:

Debussy & Rameau

Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)

DG 4837701

FIRST LISTEN

Freya's choice:

José Serebrier: Flute Concerto

Sharon Bezaly (flute), Australian Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tognetti 

BIS BIS2423

Oliver's choice:

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Part 2

Inon Barnatan (piano), Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Pentatone PTC5186824

Michael's choice:

Amours, toujours!

Smoking Joséphine

Naive V5469

This podcast was presented by BBC Music Magazine’s editor Oliver Condy, with reviews editor Michael Beek and editorial assistant Freya Parr. The jingles were composed by Christopher Maxim and the episode was produced by Jack Bateman and Ben Youatt. 

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In this month's podcast, we reflect on some of our favourite concerts that have been streamed online over the past few weeks, and suggest a few to look out for in the coming months. Plus, we discuss the new virtual festival of the arts 'Culture in Quarantine' on BBC Arts.

Also this month, we discuss the fabulous virtuosity of violinist and conductor Maxim Vengerov as he marks 40 years on stage, and Ravi Shankar, whose centenary we are celebrating in our May issue.

As usual, we've each brought along a recording we've been enjoying, from an orchestral work inspired by the Canary Islands to a choral piece based on an Estonian folk hymn.

THE MAGAZINE

Maxim Vengerov

Ravel: Violin Sonata

Maxim Vengerov, Roustem Saïtkoulov at Carnegie Hall in 2018 (available on Idagio)

Cover CD:

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Donald Runnicles

FIRST LISTEN

Freya's choice:

Chigaday (La Gomera) - for Orchestra

Gustavo Díaz-Jerez: Maghek – Seven Symphonic Poems About The Canary Islands

Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Eduardo Portal

Signum Classics SIGCD612

Oliver's choice:

Whilst greater is our poverty, still greater is our blessing

Kreek: The Suspended Harp of Babel

Vox Clamantis

ECM 4819041

Jeremy's choice:

Mathias: Harp Sonata, Second Movement: Allegro Vivo

A Vision of Time and Eternity

Michelle Gott (harp)

Naxos 8.574053

This podcast was presented by BBC Music Magazine’s editor Oliver Condy, with deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Freya Parr. The jingles were composed by Christopher Maxim and the episode was produced by Jack Bateman and Ben Youatt. 

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In the April issue of the BBC Music Magazine Podcast, we discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on music festivals across the globe. We also look at the recently released list of PRS Women Changing Music, which features a number of film composers. 

Also this month, we flick through the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine, which features pianist Angela Hewitt on the cover. We reflect on the tragic story of her broken Fazioli piano, which hit headlines earlier this year. You’ll also get to hear an extract from our Recording of the Month: Federico Colli performing Domenico Scarlatti’s piano sonatas.

As always, we’ve each brought along a new recording we’ve discovered this month, including works by Caroline Shaw, Bernard Hughes and Nikolai Tcherepnin. 

* PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded a couple of weeks ago. Because of the fast-paced nature of the coronavirus outbreak, some of our references to its impact on the music scene may already be out of date.

THE MAGAZINE:

D Scarlatti:  Sonata KK427 in G major 

D Scarlatti: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2

Federico Colli (piano)

Chandos CHAN20134

FIRST LISTEN:

Michael’s choice:

Not Now, Bernard – Part 1

Not Now, Bernard and other stories

Alexander Armstrong (narrator), Orchestra of the Swan/Tom Hammond

Orchid Classics ORC100115

Oliver’s choice:

Caroline Shaw: Schisma

Healing Modes

Brooklyn Rider

In A Circle Records IRC014

Jeremy’s choice:

Nikolai Tcherepnin: Narcisse et Echo, Op. 40

Bamberger Symphoniker/Łukasz Borowicz

CPO 555250-2

This podcast was presented by BBC Music Magazine’s editor Oliver Condy, with deputy editor Jeremy Pound and reviews editor Michael Beek. The jingles were composed by Christopher Maxim and the episode was produced by Jack Bateman and Ben Youatt. 

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Welcome to the March 2020 edition of the BBC Music Magazine Podcast! This month we discuss the news that the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will only travel by train (rather than plane) on its upcoming tour, as part of its commitment to becoming carbon neutral. We also look at new research which uncovers the fact that Beethoven may not, in fact, have been completely deaf when his final symphony was premiered. 

Also this episode, we explore the genius of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz and hear one of her stunning string quartets. Another iconic Eastern European composer is also celebrated this month: Sofia Gubaidulina, who is featured in this month’s issue having recently been awarded the prestigious RPS Gold Medal.

As always, we’ve each brought along our favourite new musical discoveries this month, including chamber works by Lili Boulanger, piano miniatures by Kancheli and new orchestral works by Lithuanian composer Raminta Šerkšnytė. 

This episode is presented by managing editor Rebecca Franks, who is joined by editorial assistant Freya Parr and deputy editor Jeremy Pound. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman.

News:

Molto Vivace from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

Minnesota Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä

BIS BISSACD1616

The Magazine:

Vivo from Bacewicz's String Quartet No. 3

Lutosławski Quartet

Naxos 8572806

Sofia Gubaidulina: Chaconne

Anna Vinnitskaya (piano) 

Ambroisie AM177

First Listen:

Rebecca's choice:

Demain fera un an (Tomorrow it will be a year)

Clairières: Songs by Lili and Nadia Boulanger

Nicholas Phan (tenor), Myra Huang (piano)

Avie AV2414

Jeremy's choice:

Extraordinary Exhibition

Kancheli: 33 Miniatures

George Vatchnadze (piano), Suren Bagratuni (cello)

Piano Classics PCL10198

Freya's choice:

Songs of Sunset and Dawn: III. Morning. Eternal Morning

Works by Raminta Šerkšnytė

Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra/Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

Deutsche Grammophon 4837761

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In our February 2020 podcast, we discuss cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s entry into the Official UK Album Chart, the first cellist in history to do so. We also analyse the nominees for Best Original Score at this year’s Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes, and look at who from the classical music was named on the New Year’s Honours list this year.

Also this episode, we listen to extracts from both our cover CD and our Recording of the Month, the latter of which is pianist Angela Hewitt performing Bach’s Partitas. Plus, we bring you the nominees for this year’s BBC Music Magazine Awards!

As usual, we each bring along a recording we’ve discovered and have been enjoying this month, from piccolo music by Thea Musgrave to Spanish piano music by Granados.

This episode is presented by editor Oliver Condy, who is joined by editorial assistant Freya Parr and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman.

News:

Judith Bingham: The Drowned Lovers

Maria Forsström (mezzo-soprano), Swedish Chamber Choir/Simon Phipps

Chandos CHSA5255

Elgar: Enigma Variations – Nimrod

Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Ben Davies (cello), Hannah Roberts (cello), Josephine Knight (cello), Caroline Dearnley (cello), Ashok Khluda (cello)

Decca 4850241

The Magazine:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5: I. Allegro con brio

BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea Noseda

JS Bach: Partita No. 1 in B flat: VI. Gigue

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Hyperion CDA68271/2

First Listen:

Phantasm: Clavierubung III

The Well-Tempered Consort

Phantasm

Linn CKD618

Granados: Oriental (Danza Espanola)

Saudades

Romain Nosbaum (piano)

ARS Produktion ARS38287

Thea Musgrave: Piccolo Play: IV. Les Papillons

Mighty Metamorphoses

Peter Verhoyen (piccolo), Stefan De Schepper (piano)

Etcetera Records KTC1668

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In our January 2020 podcast, we find out about violinist Nicola Benedetti's latest venture, an impressive educational initiative that she's been dreaming of starting for years. She's our cover star on the January issue of BBC Music Magazine, and in this podcast we also enjoy a clip from our cover CD of works by Mozart and Schubert, played by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists.

Plus, in this episode we pay tribute to the late conductors Mariss Jansons and Stephen Cleobury, bring news of the winners at the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards and hear about Olga Neuwirth's Orlando, which became the first opera by a woman to be staged in 150 years at the Vienna State Opera.

And, as usual, we each bring along a new recording we've been enjoying this month.

This episode is presented by deputy editor Jeremy Pound, who is joined be managing editor Rebecca Franks and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman.

Recordings:

Mahler Symphony No. 3

Randi Stene; Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus/Mariss Jansons

Simax PSC1272

Jeremy's choice:

Forgotten Treasures

Buffalo Philharmonic/JoAnn Falletta

Beau Fleuve 6059960998531

Rebecca's choice:

The Etudes Project: Volume One

Jenny Lin (piano)

Sono Luminus DSL-92236

Michael's choice

Vivaldi/Jupiter

Lea Desandre, Bruno Philippe, Peter Whelan, Thomas Dunford

Alpha Classics ALPHA550

Stories:

Mariss Jansons (1943-2019)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50630050

Sir Stephen Cleobury (1948-2019)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/24/sir-stephen-cleobury-obituary

Winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards:

http://www.classical-music.com/news/winners-royal-philharmonic-society-awards-2019-revealed

Orlando world premiere review:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/14/orlando-vienna-state-opera-review-olga-neuwirth-world-premiere-virginia-woolf

January 2020 issue of BBC Music Magazine

http://www.classical-music.com/magazine/next-issue/bbc-music-magazine

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We have mince pies, sherry and crackers: it must be time for the Christmas podcast! Join us for an episode packed with Yuletide joy, beautiful new carols by Dobrinka Tabakova, Toby Young, Cecilia McDowall and Michael Finnissy, as well as our favourite festive musical jokes. Plus hear all about our Christmas isssue. Our cover feature takes a look at a masterpiece that has redefined the sound of Christmas, Handel's Messiah; we also explore the parish church choir scene, and find out what concert-hall horrors cause musicians to see red. And, of course, we've brought along a batch of the latest Christmas CDs we've been enjoying. Merry Christmas!

This episode is presented by editor Oliver Condy, who is joined by deputy editor Jeremy Pound, managing editor Rebecca Franks, editorial assisstant Freya Parr and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman.

Recordings:

Dobrinka Tabakova Good-will to men, and peace on Earth

Choir of Queen's College, Oxford/Owen Rees

BBC Music Magazine Christmas 2020 Cover CD

Toby Young The Owl

Choir of Queen's College, Oxford/Owen Rees

BBC Music Magazine Christmas 2020 Cover CD

Extracts from Handel's Messiah

Taverner Choir and Players/Andrew Parrott

Virgin Veritas 562 0042

Peter Warlock Bethlehem Down

Christmas at St George's Windsor

Choir of St George's Windsor/James Vivian

Hyperion CDA 68281

First Listen Choices:

Christmas at St George's Windsor

Choir of St George's Windsor/James Vivian

Hyperion CDA 68281

Advent Carols from King's College, London

Choir of King's College, London/Joseph Fort

Delphian DCD34226

Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker

State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov'/Vladimir Jurowski

Pentatone PTC5186761

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In our December 2019 podcast, we pay tribute to the late soprano Jessye Norman and listen to one of her best recordings. We also discuss the new 'Music for Trees' app created by the Royal Parks in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Music. The app follows the roaming user as they walk around Regent's Park, playing corresponding compositions by RAM students. Plus, we take a look at this year's shortlist for the RPS Awards.

We flick through the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine and listen to our superb Recording of the Month. As Hildegard von Bingen is our Composer of the Month, we discuss what it is about her music that has stood the test of time and has made it so adaptable for musicians across all genres. Plus, we explore the new phenomenon of implanting movie-style age ratings on operas.

As usual, we all bring along our favourite new recordings from the last month, including Gabriela Montero's new 'Latin' piano concerto and a new disc from the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge.

Recordings:

Black Voices Rise: African American Artists at the Met, 1955-1985

Wagner: Tannhäuser – 'Dich, teure Helle'

Met Opera Productions

The Sun Rising

The Beloved

Shostakovich

24 Preludes: V. Allegro vivace

Andrey Gugnin (piano)

Hyperion CDA68267

Jeremy's choice:

Magnificat

Glen Dempsey (organ), Choir of St John's College, Cambridge/Andrew Nethsingha

Signum SIGCD588

Michael's choice:

Hanns Eisler: Leipzig Symphony

MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Kammersymphonie Berlin/Jurgen Bruns

Capriccio C5268

Freya's choice:

Gabriela Montero & Ravel: Piano Concerto

Gabriela Montero (piano), Orchestra of the Americas/Carlos Miguel Prieto

Orchid Classics ORC100104

Stories:

Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2019 shortlists announced: http://www.classical-music.com/news/royal-philharmonic-society-awards-2019-shortlists-announced

Music for Trees mobile app: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park/things-to-see-and-do/music-for-trees-mobile-app

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In our November 2019 podcast, we discuss the news that the English National Opera has stopped offering established critics a second free ticket to opening nights, and instead gives those free tickets to 10 novice bloggers. It's a story which has received a huge amount of debate on Twitter, so we dive in and give our opinions. We also celebrate the appointment of the new BBC National Orchestra of Wales principal conductor, 29-year-old Californian Ryan Bancroft. Plus, we introduce our November issue, in which we talk to the formidable pianist Igor Levit about the challenges of recording all Beethoven's 32 sonatas. To mark St Andrew's Day, we look back on all the great works that have celebrated the rugged Scottish landscape. In light of the release of a new book on Shostakovich and football, we explore how his love of the beautiful game found its way into his music. As usual, we all bring along a recording we've been enjoying this month, including new works by Wynton Marsalis and Stephen Hough.

Recordings:

Veprik: Orchestral Works

BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Christoph-Mathias Mueller

MDG MDG9012133

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas

Igor Levit (piano)

Sony 90175843182

Olly's choice:

Bizet: Te Deum

Angela Maria Blasi (soprano), Christian Elsner (tenor), Münchner MottenChor, Munich Symphony Orchestra/Hans Rudolf Zöbeley

Hänssler HC19046

Jeremy's choice:

A Love Letter to Liverpool

Jennifer Johnston (mezzo-soprano), Alisdair Hogarth (piano)

Rubicon RCD1044

Freya's choice:

Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto

Nicola Benedetti (violin), Philadelphia Orchestra/Critistan Macelaru

Decca 485013

Stories:

Chorus of rage as ENO gives critics' coveted extra tickets to young bloggers: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/07/chorus-of-disapproval-eno-gives-critics-coveted-tickets-to-young-bloggers

BBC National Orchestra of Wales chooses Ryan Bancroft as next principal conductor: http://www.classical-music.com/news/bbc-national-orchestra-wales-chooses-ryan-bancroft-next-principal-conductor

Our November issue: http://www.classical-music.com/issue/november-2019-0

Subscribe to BBC Music Magazine: https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/bbc-music-magazine-subscription

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: http://www.classical-music.com/user/register

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In our October 2019 podcast, we discuss the news that Jules Buckley has been taken on the role of creative artist in association at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the family of a girl chorister has sued Berlin Cathedral Choir after it rejected her application for an audition. Plus, we introduce our October issue, in which we talk to husband-and-wife team mezzo Magdalena Kožená and maestro Simon Rattle about their recording of works for voice and piano. We also try out the BBC Philharmonic’s new in-concert app, and, as usual, we each bring along a new recording we’ve been enjoying this month. 

This episode is presented by editor Oliver Condy, who is joined by deputy editor Jeremy Pound and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman.

Recordings:

Brahms String Sextet No. 1 in B flat

Raphael Ensemble

Hyperion CDA66276

‘Il volo cosí fido al doce’ from Handel’s Riccardo Primo

Handel’s Queens

Lucy Crowe, Mary Bevan, London Early Opera/Bridget Cunningham

Signum SIGCD579

Olly’s choice: Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon Overture

Malmö Symphony Orchestra/Darrell Ang

Naxos 8573859

Jeremy’s choice: Lassen Violin Concerto

Linus Roth, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Antony Hermus

Hyperion CDA68268 

Michael’s choice: ‘The Duel’ from John Williams’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Across the Stars

Anne-Sophie Mutter, The Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles/John Williams

Deutsche Grammophon 4797553

Stories:

Bagpiper receives noise complaints for practising in back garden: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/4601608/alan-jamieson-wishaw-bagpipes-sunderland-hate-mail/

Berlin choir accused of gender discrimination by girl chorister: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/09/berlin-choir-accused-of-gender-discrimination-by-nine-year-old-girl

Jules Buckley announced as creative artist in association: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/26/stormzy-collaborator-jules-buckley-bbc-symphony-orchestra

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In our September 2019 podcast, we bring you news of the London Philharmonic Orchestra's new conductor, the Royal Philharmonic Society's new membership offer, and a choir that hopes to bring the message of environmentalism to its audience. Plus we introduce our September issue, in which Julian Lloyd Webber delves into the world of Elgar's Cello Concerto, one hundred years after its premiere. He's also the soloist on your free cover CD. And, as ever, we bring along the new recordings that we've been enjoying this month.

This episode is presented by editor Oliver Condy, who is joined by editorial assistant Freya Parr and managing editor Rebecca Franks. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman.

Recordings:

A Scots Tune (From the Rowallan Manuscript) from SoftLoud

Sean Shibe (guitar)

Delphian DCD34213

Leopold Mozart Missa Solemnis

Das Vokalprojekt, Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie/Alessandro De Marchi

Aparté AP205

Rebecca's choice: 'Allegro Moderato Leggiero (Four to the Floor)' from Gabriel Prokofiev's Bass Drum Concerto

Branford Marsalis, Joby Burgess, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra/Alexei Bogorad

Signum Classics SIGCD584

Freya's choice: Hildegard von Bingen O vos felices radices from Supersize Polyphony

Armonico Consort, Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge/Geoffrey Webber, Christopher Monks

Signum Classics SIGCD560

Olly's choice: First movement from Bryce Dessner's Concerto for Two Pianos

Marielle and Katia Labèque (piano); Orchestre de Paris/Matthias Pintscher

Deutsche Grammophon 4818075

Stories:

Our September issue is on sale now: http://www.classical-music.com/issue/september-2019

Subscribe to the magazine today: http://www.classical-music.com/subscribe/bbc-music-magazine/worldwide

Edward Gardner appointed to the London Philharmonic Orchestra: http://www.classical-music.com/news/edward-gardner-announced-next-principal-conductor-london-philharmonic-orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Society: https://www.rhinegold.co.uk/classical_music/royal-philharmonic-society-announces-new-membership-offer/

Nature's Voice: https://www.templemusic.org/shop/thesoundofnature/?yr=2019&month=6&dy=&cid=mini

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In this episode of the BBC Music Magazine podcast we introduce our August issue, which stars the great Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini. A stunning new recording of Weinberg symphonies is our Recording of the Month, and we also give you a taster of your free cover CD, featuring works by Ravel, Debussy and Lili Boulanger. It's been a busy month in the world of news, and we bring you details about BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and new initiatives from the CBSO and Tanglewood. Plus we bring along three of our favourite new recordings to share.

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Welcome to the July issue of the BBC Music Magazine podcast. This month we’re celebrating all things Proms! We discuss the Proms we’re particularly looking forward to in this year’s season, from a Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra double concert to a Prom curated by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. Also this month, we discuss the various new conductor appointments in orchestras across the globe.

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Welcome to the June episode of the BBC Music Magazine podcast. This month we're celebrating Clara Schumann – astounding pianist, brilliant composer and general all-round musical powerhouse. Hear a clip of her Piano Trio in this podcast, as featured on your cover CD this month. Plus, we explore the turbulent life of Alma Mahler and take a look at the legendary Battle of the Baritones at the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

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The votes have been counted and the results are in! In our May issue podcast, we celebrate the winners of the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2019 – including the wonderful Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, whose album Johann Sebastian Bach has won Recording of the Year.

Elsewhere in the news, we hear that the Hallé is launching a new conducting competition, the Royal Opera House joins other leading arts organisations to offer courses for female conductors and the Warner record label has announced its latest signing… an algorithm.

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In our April podcast, we discuss this year's BBC Ten Pieces scheme and the works that have been chosen, the Southbank Centre's new 'Encounters' scheme and the new programmes announced on Radio 3. 

We also explore this month's magazine, and reveal the results of our poll with RadioTimes.com to find the greatest film theme of all time.

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In our March podcast, we discuss the plans that have been revealed for the London Concert Hall, the new conductor appointments in orchestras across the UK and the decision by BIS Records to embrace eco-packaging.

Plus, we share our favourite works by Berlioz - this month's cover star - and listen to a track from our Recording of the Month.

As ever, we each bring along a recording we've been enjoying, with Polish and female composers taking centre stage.

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It's Awards season! In our February podcast we launch the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2019, featuring the best recordings reviewed in the magazine in 2018. Plus in this episode we chat about this month's cover star, pianist James Rhodes, and find out about the bad behaviour and glamorous lives of opera divas in the 1920s.

We've got music by Finzi and Lutoslawski to share with you, the latest news from the classical music word, as well as our favourite new recordings, which take us from Tchaikovsky's Russia to Florence Price and Charlie Chaplin's USA.

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New year, new podcast episode! Welcome to the January edition of the BBC Music Magazine podcast, which kicks off with a look at the latest music news, from the Grammy nominations to a gender pay dispute.

With Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the cover of our January magazine issue, we take a whistle-stop tour of the colourful and virtuosic violin concertos that have become known around the globe.

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Welcome to the Christmas episode of the BBC Music Magazine podcast, presented by editor Oliver Condy along with reviews editor Michael Beek and editorial assistant Freya Parr.

This month, we discuss the winners of Young Chorister of the Year 2018, the bank-breaking Pavarotti art case and the research that shows that classical music recordings are getting significantly faster by the year. 

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Welcome to the December episode of the BBC Music Magazine podcast, presented by deputy editor Jeremy Pound along with managing editor Rebecca Franks and editorial assistant Freya Parr.

This month, we chat about the news that conductor Omer Meir Wellber has been appointed to the BBC Philharmonic, the death of the legendary Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, and the launch of the BBC's Our Classical Century.

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What's been going on in the classical music world this month? Join the BBC Music Magazine team for a look at the latest news, including the London Symphony Orchestra's new East London Academy and the Royal Opera House's revamped Linbury Studio.

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Welcome to the October BBC Music Magazine podcast. In this episode, we bring you the latest classical music news, including details of BBC Radio 3's Christmas carol competition and a look at the decline in people studying music at GCSE level.

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September brings one of the biggest concerts in the classical music calendar, the Last Night of the Proms. In this month's magazine – and this podcast – we celebrate saxophonist Jess Gillam, who has a starring role at this year's event. Plus, in this episode you can sample our dazzling saxophone cover CD. It features saxophonist John Harle and the BBC Concert Orchestra, playing concertos by Richard Rodney Bennett and Dominic Muldowney.

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Welcome to the Proms issue podcast! This month we chat about the BBC Symphony Orchestra's new East London home, find out which musicians have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours, and ponder who would win in a piano duel between robot and human.

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Should audiences be allowed to bring food and drink into operas? Which age group is now most interested in orchestral music? And how much money do orchestral musicians make? These are just three of the questions the BBC Music Magazine team grapples with in this month's episode, which also features the podcast's first 'Meet the Artist' interview. That's with Vladimir Jurowski, who has won the Royal Philharmonic Society's conductor award this year.

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In our May 2018 issue episode, we discuss the critic-composer Twitter spat, France's contract to help Saudi Arabia set up an opera house and orchestra, the death of El Sistema founder José Abreu, and a  

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In this month's episode, we talk about the BBC Proms's pledge to achieve a 50:50 gender balance for commissioned pieces, a bid to buy part of a hoard of gold sovereigns found in a Broadwood piano, the plans for the new Edinburgh Concert Hall, and an unusual wager between two conductors…

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For the March 2018 episode, editor Oliver Condy, deputy editor Jeremy Pound, reviews editor Rebecca Franks and editorial assistant Freya Parr chat about the ambitious centennial season in 2018-2019 from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the retirement of music director Stephen Cleobury from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, how music venues and churches will now have better protection from local residents and the launch of Irish National Opera  

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Ann Hallenberg's wonderful exploration of the Venice Carnival in 1729 is our September Recording of the Month. The Swedish mezzo joins Il Pomo d'Oro and Stefano Montanari for a programme of Albinoni, Giacomelli, Leo, Vinci and others on this Pentatone Recording.

Find out more and hear extracts from the disc in this podcast presented by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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Welcome to the new-look First Listen podcast! Every episode, the BBC Music Magazine team will be chatting about four exciting new CDs, and playing clips from each disc.  

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The first instalment of Alexander Melnikov's Prokofiev piano sonata cycle is our February 2017 Recording of the Month. The Russian pianist begins with Sonatas Nos 2, 6 and 8; the recording is out now on Harmonia Mundi.

Find out more about this wonderful performance in this episode of the BBC Music Magazine podcast, presented by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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On the cover CD of the February issue of BBC Music Magazine, the Aurora Orchestra present music by our cover star Philip Glass, and fellow minimalist John Adams. In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works, complete with extracts.

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For her latest disc, violinist Tasmin Little turns to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. She pairs this popular masterpiece with the premiere recording of a companion piece, Roxannna Panufnik's Four World Seaons for violin, string orchestra and Tibetan singing bowl. The recording is on Chandos.

Find out what the BBC Music Magazine team made of the recording, plus enjoy clips from the disc, in this episode of our monthly First Listen.

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On the cover CD of the Christmas issue of BBC Music Magazine, the King's Singers present a festive feast of Christmas music from across the ages. In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works, complete with extracts.

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Elgar is the focus of our December Recording of the Month. In this superbly programmed disc for Hyperion, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Martyn Brabbins perform the ever-popular Enigma Variations and In the South (Alassio). They also turn the spotlight on several First World War rarities – Une voix dans le désert, Carillon and Le drapeau belge – and give us the first recording of Elgar's own orchestral arrangement of his song Pleading.

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In this episode of 'First Listen', the BBC Music Magazine team explores a disc of brass band music played by the Tredegar Town and Cory Bands. War Memorials pays tribute to those lost in the two world wars and features on-disc premieres of pieces by Robin Holloway, Gavin Higgins, John McCabe, Lucy Pankhurst, Simon Dobson and Paul McGhee. Music by Britten frames the programme.

Find out what the team made of this recording and hear clips from the disc in this podcast.

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Our November Recording of the Month features CPE Bach's three Cello Concertos. Nicolas Altstaedt is the brilliant soloist in these works, which are important links between the Baroque and Classical concerto and also brilliant pieces in their own right. The German-French cellist appears with Arcangelo and director Jonathan Cohen, and the disc is out on the Hyperion label.

Join deputy editor Jeremy Pound and reviews editor Rebecca Franks for a discussion of the music and to hear clips from the recording.

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On the cover CD of the November issue of BBC Music Magazine, we present JS Bach's The Art of Fugue, arranged and played by Mahan Esfahani, with the help of instrumentalists from the Academy of Ancient Music. In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the work, complete with extracts.

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On the cover CD of the November issue of BBC Music Magazine, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers perform works by giants of contemporary American music, Steve Reich and John Adams. In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works, complete with extracts.

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On the cover CD of the October issue of BBC Music Magazine, we present ten modern British masterworks, all commissioned by BBC Radio 3. The works were chosen and performed by the orchestras for which they were commissioned. In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works, complete with extracts.

To read an interview with Judith Weir about her two works on this disc, click here.

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The American composer Ben Johnston has spent much of his musical career exploring the world of microtonality. His ten string quartets are incredibly challenging for the performers, but in 2002 the Kepler Quartet was formed to perform and record this complete cycle.

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Our September Recording of the Month is Where'er you walk: arias for Handel's favourite tenor. This wonderful recital features tenor Allan Clayton, Classical Opera and conductor Ian Page, who explore the life and music of the 18th-century tenor John Beard. Handel forms the core of the programme, but there's also music by William Boyce and Thomas Arne.

Hear extracts from this recording in this podcast, and find out more about the disc. This episode is presented by the magazine's acting deputy editor Rebecca Franks and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper.

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Cellist Raphael Wallfisch and pianist John York explore music written by the British composer Rebecca Clarke on their latest recording, on the Lyrita label. A professional viola player and composer, Clarke is best known for her Viola Sonata, heard here in her transcription for cello, and Piano Trio. But in this disc Wallfisch and York also turn the spotlight on her unpublished Cello Rhapsody. Find out what the BBC Music Magazine editorial team made of the disc, and hear clips from the recording in this podcast.

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On the cover CD of the September issue of BBC Music Magazine, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony No. 3, conducted by Donald Runnicles.

In this podcast, acting deputy editor Rebecca Franks and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the work, complete with extracts.

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This year it's the 150th anniversary of Erik Satie. So raise your bowler hat to soprano Barbara Hannigan and pianist Reinbert de Leeuw, who have put together one of the most interesting discs of the French composer's music to come out this year so far.

Satie's 1919 cantata Socrate is the centrepiece of this programme. Find out more about this unusual masterpiece in this podcast, plus hear extracts from the recording. This episode is presented by acting deputy editor Rebecca Franks and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper.

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The Beethoven symphonies remain a true test for any orchestra, and here the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic and its conductor Sir Simon Rattle record them together for the first time. This lavish set is our July Recording of the Month.

Hear clips from the recordings and discussion about the music here, in this podcast presented by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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On the cover CD of the August issue of BBC Music Magazine, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists give live performances of early works by Beethoven, Brahms, and Webern.

In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works on the disc, complete with extracts.

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Leoncavallo is best remembered for his opera Pagliacci, but Zazà was a big success in its time too. Now Opera Rara has revived it in this recording by the BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maurizio Benini. The cast includes Ermonela Jaho in the title role, Stephen Gaertner, Riccardo Massi and Patricia Bordon.

Join the BBC Music Magazine team for this episode of First Listen for chat about the recording and excerpts of the music.

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On the cover CD of the July issue of BBC Music Magazine Donald Runnicles conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Mahler's epic ninth Symphony, recorded live at the BBC Proms in 2014.

In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works on the disc, complete with extracts.

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On the cover CD of the June issue of BBC Music Magazine, we celebrate the music of Felix Mendelssohn, as we ask whether Schumann was right to call him the 'Mozart of the 19th century'. 

In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works on the disc, complete with extracts.

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Our June issue Recording of the Month features Martinu's piano trios, wonderful but still underrated chamber works by one of the great 20th-century Czech composers. They are brilliantly performed here by the Smetana Trio, on a recording for the Supraphon label.

Join editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks to find out more about the music and this recording, and hear clips from the CD.

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Our Recording of the Month in the May 2016 issue features Janáček's life-affirming Glagolitic Mass. Edward Gardner conducts the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the Edvard Greig Chor, the Bergen Cathedral Choir and Choir of Collegiûm Mûsicûm on this disc, which also includes Janáček's Adagio for orchestra, Hail Mary and Lord's Prayer.

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Trinity College Choir follows up its superb 2012 Howells Requiem album with a recording exploring the music he wrote for King's College, Cambridge. Stephen Layton conducts; the disc is out now on the Hyperion label.

Hear clips from the recording and find out what the BBC Music Magazine team made of the performances in this episode of First Listen.

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Handel's famous Water Music is given a vibrant, fresh performance by the Akademie für Alte Musik on a new Harmonia Mundi recording. It's our April Recording of the Month.

In this podcast hear clips from the recording as well as discussion about the music with editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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On the cover CD of the April issue of BBC Music Magazine, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yehudi Menuhin by featuring the great violinist in performances of Bartók's Second Violin Concerto, plus sonatas by Brahms and Tcherepnin.

In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works on the disc, complete with extracts.

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As a follow-up to her Seven Sisters album featuring British female composers, pianist Diana Ambache turns to chamber music by their French counterparts. In this episode of 'First Listen', the BBC Music Magazine team discusses Liberté, egalité, sororité, featuring music by Louise Farrenc, Lili Boulanger, Claude Arrieu, Germaine Tailleferre, Mel Bonis and Pauline Viardot-Garcia.

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On the cover CD of the March issue of BBC Music Magazine, pianist Anne Queffélec plays solo works by Satie, Honegger, Hahn, Poulenc and Mompou, and is joined by fellow pianist Frank Braley and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Grant Llewellyn for Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos.

In this podcast, deputy editor Jeremy Pound and editorial assistant Elinor Cooper introduce the works on the disc, complete with extracts.

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Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and conductor Teodor Currentzis join forces for their first recording together, with the orchestra MusicAeterna. The programme brings together Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Stravinsky's ballet Les noces, and it's Recording of the Month in the March 2016 issue.

Join editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks to find out more about these two Russian works and hear clips from the recording.

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John Wilson and his orchestra sell out the Albert Hall in minutes when it comes to their MGM musical and Hollywood film Proms and he's a dab hand at British light music. But for his latest disc he's turned to Copland. It's the first in a new series exploring the American composer's orchestral works with the BBC Philharmonic, and begins with the suites from the ballets Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid.

Join the BBC Music Magazine team to find out what they made of this American adventure and to hear clips from the recording.

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Beatrice Rana's impressive concerto debut on Warner Classics is our March 2016 Recording of the Month. The Italian pianist, who won second place at the Van Cliburn competition three years ago, has chosen Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto and Prokofiev's Second for this recording. She performs with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Sir Antonio Pappano.

You can hear clips from both of these great Russian concertos in this podcast, presented by BBC Music Magazine's editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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Patricia Kopatchinskaja's latest album takes an imaginative and quirky look at music for two players. Her programme of 'duets from a thousand years of musical history for young people from 0-100 years' is dedicated to her daugher Alice and features a cast of guest musicians including clarinettist Reto Bieri and viol player Laurence Dreyfus.

Join the BBC Music Magazine team in this podcast to find out more about the disc and hear extracts of Biber, Milhaud, Sanchez-Chiong and Sotelo.

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Many pianists would be happy to record either Bach's Goldberg Variations or Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. But Igor Levit has plunged in and recorded both, along with Frederic Rzewski's vast variation work from the 1970s, The People United Will Never Be Defeated.

Levit's three-disc set the BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month for the January 2016 issue and you can hear clips from it in this podcast.

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Two musical giants of the Romantic era, Brahms and Bruckner were often seen as being aesthetically and ideologically opposed. So it's fascinating to compare their choral works on a beautifully sung new disc from Tenebrae and its conductor Nigel Short.

Hear clips from the recording and find out more about the music with editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks in this podcast.

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The Lahti Symphony Orchestra and its principal conductor Okko Kamu have recorded the complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies. But how do they measure up?

Join the BBC Music Magazine team to explore these seven orchestral works, in a podcast packed with musical clips and discussion.

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Alina Ibragimova's solo Bach was one of the standout events of the 2015 BBC Proms. Here she turns to the composer's violin concertos, with equally captivating results. In this podcast, you can hear clips from her recording with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen for Hyperion, as well as discussion of the disc by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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Marin Alsop returns to the music of Leonard Bernstein, her mentor, for a new recording with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Joined by the Maryland State Boychoir, the Washington Chorus, soprano Kelly Nassief and narrator Claire Bloom, Alsop and her Baltimore musicians perform the Kaddish Symphony. Find out what the BBC Music Magazine team made of the disc, which also includes Bernstein's Missa Brevis and The Lark, and listen to clips from the recording in this episode of First Listen.

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Strauss's Symphonia Domestica isn't heard that often in concert but Die Tageszeiten is even more of a rarity. Yet it's a wonderful piece of music, as this recording by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Marek Janowski proves. Find out more about in this podcast with editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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A studio recording of a Verdi opera by a major label is a rarity nowadays. But Antonio Pappano has brought together an all-star cast, headed up by soprano Anja Harteros and tenor Jonas Kaufmann, for this project with his Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia orchestra. It's our November 2015 Recording of the Month, and in this podcast you can find out more about the piece and project, as well as hear clips from the disc.

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The BBC Music Magazine editorial team listens to a disc of Vaughan Williams's complete original organ works and transcriptions of his music played by organist David Briggs, on Albion Records. Join us for discussion and clips from the recording.

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It's not so often that the recorder gets to step into the spotlight on disc, so a new recording of modern concertos for the instrument was the ideal choice for this episode of 'First Listen'. Join the BBC Music Magazine team to find out their thoughts on Michala Petri's new recording.

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Elizabeth Watts is the soloist on this uplifting and engaging disc of Mozart opera arias and overtures with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and conductor Christian Baldini. Hear clips from the disc and discussion about the music on this podcast with editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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Les Siècles and conductor François-Xavier Roth turn to the colourful Spanish-inspired works of four French composers: Chabrier, Massenet, Debussy and Ravel. The orchestra plays on period instruments in this live recording for its own label. Hear clips from the disc and discussion about the recording in this edition of 'First Listen', presented by the BBC Music Magazine editorial team.

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Choral works by Barber, Copland, Bernstein and Thompson all feature on the August issue's Recording of the Month, a superb new disc from Polyphony and Stephen Layton. Hear clips from music by all four in this podcast, presented by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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This month the team has been listening to James MacMillan's St Luke Passion, in the world-premiere recording conducted by Markus Stenz for the Challenge Classics label. Hear clips from and discussion about the disc in this episode of the monthly BBC Music Magazine podcast.

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András Schiff's new Schubert disc is BBC Music Magazine's July issue Recording of the Month. It's not the first time the Hungarian pianist has recorded this music, but it's given a completely different character thanks to the instrument he has chosen to play – a fortepiano from 1820. Hear extracts from the recording in this podcast, presented by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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Our June Recording of the Month is a fantastic new disc of Tchaikovsky from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andris Nelsons, featuring the Manfred Symphony and Marche Slave. Join editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks for a discussion of the music, and to hear extracts of this superb recording, out now on Orfeo.

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Our April cover CD features three pieces by British composers inspired by the sea: Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Bax’s Tintagel and Stanford’s Songs of the Sea.  

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Simone Dinnerstein explores the transatlantic friendship between America and France on her new CD. As well as Ravel’s Concerto in G and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, this disc includes the premiere of Philip Lasser’s concerto The Circle and the Child. Find out what the BBC Music Magazine team made of this CD in this podcast.

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Will you vote for Handel’s Tamerlano, Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg or Vivaldi’s L’incoronazione di Dario in this year’s Opera category?  

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Joyce DiDonato, Christiane Karg and Julian Prégardien are the three singers nominated in this year’s Vocal category. Find out more about their three recitals and hear clips from all the discs in this special Awards podcast.

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Pianist Nelson Goerner turns to Schumann for his latest disc – with magical results. It’s our Recording of the Month for the March issue and you can find out more about it in this podcast, presented by editor Oliver Condy and reviews editor Rebecca Franks.

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This year’s Chamber nominations range widely across the genres: string quartets by Zemlinsky, piano trios by Beethoven and violin sonatas by Prokofiev. Tune in to this special Awards podcast to find out more about these three superlative recordings – and then cast your vote!

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To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sviatoslav Richter's birth, our March 2015 cover CD features the pianist's 1969 Royal Festival Hall recital of works by Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Debussy<  

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