Classical Explorer

This is exactly the sort of discovery that first got me “into” Classical music. Perhaps I’d find an obscure composer on a Turnabout LP (Koželuch sings to mind on one occasion), and the search for […]

Haydn, Mahler/Schnittke, Tchaikovsky Alena Baeva (violin); London Philharmonic Orchestra / Omer Meir Wellber. (conductor/harpsichord/piano). Royal Festival Hall, London, 01.03.2025 Haydn   Symphony No. 49 in F minor, ‘La Passione’ (1768) Mahler/Schnittke Piano Quartet (1878/1988, arr. Wellber/Kagarlitsky, 2024)  Tchaikovsky   Violin […]

We previously met Lucca-born Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) on a disc on Glossa’s “Cabinet” label, a set of superb performance software the composer’s Op. 2 Concerti grossi. That was in 2020, and revisiting the disc, the […]

Mauriaio Pollini’s death was a significant blow to the piano world. His concerts in London over the years were always highlights, a great pianist of unfathomable energy who always illuminated everything he touched. A musician […]

A coupling of the Elgar Violin Concerto and Violin Sonata today; plus, a truncated performance of the concerto, all led by Albert Sammons. Born in 1886 in West London, Sammons’ remarkable life includes leaving school […]

Miachael Sanderling (son of the great Kurt Sanderling) is a conductor I am aching to hear live. His contribution to this remarkable disc of Grieg and Schumann piano concertos with Elisabeth Leonskaja was notable indeed; […]

Two discs of Mozart Horn Concertos day: Pip Eastop, who we met most recently here, with the Hanover Band and fellow horn player Anthony Halstead, on Hyperion, and Alec Frank-Gemmill with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra […]

The Dudok Quartet Amsterdam is interesting firstly in that they boast beautiful vintage instruments and they perform Tchaikovsky with unwound gut brings nd period bows. It is the continuation of a journey begun in 2020 […]

The first disc of Alpesh Chauhn’s Tchaikovsky series on Chandos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra was well received critically, including here at Classical Explorer. Here’s the promo video for Volume Two: The disc begins […]

Vítězslav Novák (1870-1949) was a composition student of Dvořák. His music blends folk music with a late-Romantic opulence which can include hits of Impressionism. It is a fascinating mix which nevertheless always seems to keep […]