SACD, BIS (label)
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First, you can take his peerless technical ability for granted. Next, he is blessed with a remarkable personal sound: it has the quality of a dark, warm roar from deep within the instrument,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2024, Editor's Choice
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Sunday Times, 20 Best Classical Albums of 2024
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BBC Music Magazine, January 2025, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2025 Winners, Piano
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Shortlisted - Instrumental
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Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Alexandre Kantorow (piano), Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
The virtuosity is breathtaking, yet nothing is hard-pressed, for the younger Kantorow has that hallmark of the greatest performers of always appearing to have plenty of time...In short, this... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2022, Concerto Choice
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Schallplattenkritik Quarterly Critics Choice, Autumn 2022, Orchestral Music & Concertos
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Concerto
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Shortlisted - Concerto
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the result is coherently put together, with Hughes's resourceful vocal imagination and use of tone, plus the subtlety and careful placement of her decorations, drawing the ear again and again. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2026, Editor's Choice
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Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 3, 4 & 5 'L'Égyptien'
Alexandre Kantorow (piano)
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
It is no hardship to review yet another Saint-Saëns piano concerto recording when it is as good as this…Believe me, [Kantorow] is the real deal – a firebreathing virtuoso with a poetic charm... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2019, Editor's Choice
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Diapason d’Or, September 2019, Nouveauté
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International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Nominee - Concerto
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2019, Critics' Choice
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What's never in doubt is this music's strange power and magnificence, qualities amplified by the polish and dedication of Christian Lindberg and the Norrköping orchestra, a team that has spent... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2026, Editor's Choice
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Bach - Motets
RecommendedYukari Nonoshita & Aki Matsui (soprano), Damien Guillon (counter-tenor), Satoshi Mizukoshi (tenor) & Dominik Wörner (bass)
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
The performance is, as you'd now expect from [Suzuki's] Collegium, excellent. Voices range from delicate soloists to a splendidly light and transparent 18-strong chorus. Instrumental support... —
Awards:
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2011, Choral Award Winner
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2010, Winner - Musique Chorale
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Building A Library, May 2021, Recommended Recording
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Martinů: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša
Zimmermann has fully absorbed the slightly eclectic style of [the First Concerto] and produces a performance of conviction, not to mention dazzling virtuosity. Hrůša accompanies with understanding... —
Awards:
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Record Review, 5th December 2020, Record of the Week
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2021, Recording of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine, February 2021, Concerto Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Concerto
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2022, Shortlisted - Concerto
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They seem to have assimilated the music into their cells, performing it with an energetic vitality and colour that is all special effects...The group offers high-pixel definition of character,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, February 2025, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, February 2025, Chamber Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Shortlisted - Chamber
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Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle
RecommendedMika Kares (Bluebeard), Szilvia Vörös (Judith), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki
Both Kares and Vörös offer a subtle, understated approach…As well as conveying the piece’s taut structure and the orchestral writing’s sheer sweep, conductor Susanna Mälkki seeks out the detail... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2021, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Opera
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
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Ravel & Saint-Saëns: Piano Trios
Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin), Isang Enders (cello), Wu Qian (piano), Sitkovetsky Trio
It’s ravishingly done by the Sitkovetsky Trio, who more than inhabit the scope of Ravel’s expressive language and ambition in his attempt to expand the form’s musical language. —
Awards:
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Chamber Music
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2022, Winner - Chamber
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