classical cds

This is a major release, which widens our appreciation of the operas of Hans Werner Henze and reminds us, simultaneously, of his stature. At Classical Explorer, we have previously looked ay a Naxos disc that […]

This is a great opportunity to enjoy a terrifically inventive production of Tannhäuser from Tobias Kratzer, staged at the Wagner shrine of Bayreuth in 2019. From the off, it is clear this is no ordinary […]

This is a repost, to prepare the way for my upcoming post on Hans Werner Henze’s opera, Das verratene Meer. Contemporary music can seem forbidding. Back in the late twentieth century, the names of Pierre […]

Love Without Borders: A Journey in Three Chapters Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo); Jonathan Palmer Lakeland (piano). Milton Court Concert Hall, 30.09.2026 Rachmaninov Morning, Op. 4/2 (1891).  I Wait for Thee, Op. 14/1 (1894).  Balakirev Romances: No. […]

Cosmopoles: de l’aurore au zenith (from dawn to zenith, from zenith to dusk). Divertimento / Zahia Ziouani (conductor/director); Lyès Salem, actor; Clémence Colin (actor in sign language); Elisa Biagi (author); Christophe Naillet (lighting); Alain Blanchot, […]

The Mozartist’s projected seven-volume series of works from the “Sturm und Drang” period (early 1760s-late 1770s) is exemplified by this disc. The fire and high emotion of the cover painting says it all, Fire on […]

The Rautio Piano Trio has previously impressed on the Resonus label: we covered two of the three trios of Beethoven’s Op. 1 on this disc, with the balance of Op. 1 (Op. 1/3), and the […]

This is a vital Elgar Violin Sonata performance – it rethinks that composer’s late masterpiece, presenting it with a clear undercurrent of disquiet in the shadow of war and loss. The Songs of Night and […]

Projection 2 (1951) Three Voices (1982) Triadic Memories (1981) This was a celebration of the centenary of maverick composer Morton Feldman (1926-87). The title, Unsettled Memory, refers to the composer’s way of subtly altering repetitions […]

The third volume in the series Elgar from the Archives from SOMM Recordings includes two historic recordings conducted by Sir Adrian Boult: the oratorio The Kingdom, Op. 51 and the ever-popular Variations on an Original Theme ‘Enigma,’ Op. 36. These variations form an […]