New. Puccini: Orchestral Music
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 13th March 2026
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Editor's Choice
It's all wonderfully done, as one might expect. Wilson, who made his operatic debut with Madama Butterfly at Glyndebourne in 2016, is an excellent Puccinian, conducting with a mix of passion...
New. Puccini: Orchestral Music
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 13th March 2026
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Editor's Choice
It's all wonderfully done, as one might expect. Wilson, who made his operatic debut with Madama Butterfly at Glyndebourne in 2016, is an excellent Puccinian, conducting with a mix of passion...
About
Puccini is renowned as one of the greatest opera composers of all time and his early works – before Manon Lescaut catapulted him to international fame – offer a fascinating insight into his development as a composer. John Wilson and Sinfonia of London explore this repertoire with characteristic style and commitment, leading us on a journey through student compositions and orchestral extracts from his earliest operas. Studying under Amilcare Ponchielli at the Milan Conservatory from 1880 to 1883, he created the Preludio sinfonico (loosely based on Wagner’s Prelude to Lohengrin), the Scherzo, Trio, and Adagetto, and Capriccio sinfonico, his graduation piece, which famously pre-echoes the opening of La bohème by a decade.
The one-act opera Le villi was composed for a competition launched by the publisher Sonzogno (Puccini didn’t win), whilst themes from the contemporaneous Tre minuetti and Crisantemi (both for string quartet) were subsequently re-cycled in Manon Lescaut. Verdi’s publisher, Ricordi, bought the rights to Le villi, and commissioned a new work at the same time: Edgar, which, largely owing to the absurd plot, is arguably Puccini’s only failure, despite some fully mature music easily the match of the more celebrated scores.
Contents and tracklist
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Early Puccini from Sinfonia of London and John Wilson
13th Mar 2026
With the emphasis on clean lines and rhythmic drive, this collection of student symphonic works, upscaled chamber music and orchestral excerpts from the first three operas presents a fully-rounded Portrait of the Composer As A Young Man.
Awards and reviews
-
Presto Recording of the Week13th March 2026
-
Gramophone MagazineApril 2026Editor's Choice
April 2026
It's all wonderfully done, as one might expect. Wilson, who made his operatic debut with Madama Butterfly at Glyndebourne in 2016, is an excellent Puccinian, conducting with a mix of passion and finesse that proves well-nigh ideal.
March 2026
This is just the kind of music in which you might expect Wilson and the Sinfonia to excel: lush, melodious and passionate...Wilson is not afraid to apply some heavy-duty rubato, as the idiom cries out for it, right from the lovely first number, the Preludio sinfonico.
13th March 2026
Wilson's love and understanding of Puccini’s distinctive soundworld (already instantly recognisable in the student works) is writ large in every phrase. Rubato in particular is immaculately judged throughout: every action indeed has an equal and opposite reaction, so that nothing becomes sloppy, distorted or self-indulgent and the underlying rhythmic drive of the music never dissipates.
