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Cristian Măcelaru on Elsa Barraine
2nd Apr 2026
The Romanian conductor discusses the remarkable legacy of 'one of the most prominent figures in twentieth-century French cultural life', whose symphonies he recently recorded with the Orchestre National de France for Warner Classics.
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New Release Round-Up - 3rd April 2026
2nd Apr 2026
Shostakovich from John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic, Fauré from Pascal Rogé and Elena Font, a prayerful operatic recital from Elsa Dreisig, and super-sized Benevoli from I Fagiolini and Robert Hollingworth.
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The Presto Chart - March 2026
1st Apr 2026
Our 25 best-selling titles across all formats for March, with Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon's hyper-dramatic Johannes-Passion on Harmonia Mundi in the No. 1 spot.
Featured product
JS Bach: Johannes-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Huw Montague Rendall (Jesus), Ying Fang (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), Etienne Bazola (baritone), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
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Presto Team Choices - March 2026
31st Mar 2026
Haydn's Seven Last Words from the RIAS Kammerchor and Justin Doyle, songs by Madeleine Dring from Kitty Whately and Julius Drake, a portrait of Unsuk Chin from Ensemble Intercontemporain, and Szymanowski's Symphony No. 4 from Marin Alsop.
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Anne-Sophie Mutter on East Meets West
30th Mar 2026
To celebrate the launch of her new series on Alpha Classics, ASM Forte Forward, the violinist talks about her long history of commissioning and performing new works by composers including John Williams, Witold Lutosławski, Unsuk Chin, and Aftab Darvishi.
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World Piano Day Round-Up
29th Mar 2026
There's much to celebrate this World Piano Day, with a plethora of exciting new releases to look forward to. After hours of listening, Matthew Ash has picked out some highlights for you to explore, including an album not to be judged by its cover, Mozart without a wasted note, Brahms with humanity, effortlessly atmospheric Ireland, propulsive Prokofiev and a box of romantic treasures.
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Antonio Pappano and the LSO perform Holst's The Planets
27th Mar 2026
The London Symphony Orchestra and their Chief Conductor perform a powerful yet mystical account of Gustav Holst's survey of the solar system, alongside a majestic reading of Arnold Bax's Cornish tone poem, Tintagel.
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New Release Round-Up - 27th March 2026
27th Mar 2026
Mendelssohn from Andris Nelsons in Leipzig, Handel's Messiah from Peter Whelan in Dublin, Baroque songs and arias from Jakub Józef Orliński and Michał Biel, and the first instalment of Anne-Sophie Mutter's ASM Forte Forward project.
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Rosa Feola on Donizetti
25th Mar 2026
The Italian soprano discusses collaborating with Carlo Rizzi on the seventh instalment of Opera Rara's mammoth Donizetti Song Project, masterminded by musicologist Roger Parker and launched in late 2024.
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Donizetti Songs Vol. 7
Rosa Feola (soprano), Carlo Rizzi (piano)
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Claire Booth on Life Stories
24th Mar 2026
The soprano discusses her recent cabaret-themed album on Orchid Classics, featuring the world premiere recording of Zoë Martlew's theatrical song-cycle Hôtel Babylon plus music by Gershwin, Eisler, Poulenc and Adès.
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Gramophone Editor's Choices - April 2026
23rd Mar 2026
Chris introduces next month's selection, headed by a St John Passion of 'unyielding quality' from Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon on Harmonia Mundi.
Featured product
JS Bach: Johannes-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Huw Montague Rendall (Jesus), Ying Fang (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), Etienne Bazola (baritone), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
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Bach's St John Passion from Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion
20th Mar 2026
Raphaël Pichon follows up his benchmark recording of the St Matthew Passion with a much-anticipated account of the St John - with the raw immediacy of the narrative tempered by moments of tenderness.
Featured product
JS Bach: Johannes-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Huw Montague Rendall (Jesus), Ying Fang (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), Etienne Bazola (baritone), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
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New Release Round-Up - 20th March 2026
20th Mar 2026
Beethoven from the Chiaroscuro Quartet, Schubert and Schumann from Can Çakmur, Madeleine Dring from Kitty Whately and Julius Drake, and Holst and Bax from the London Symphony Orchestra and Antonio Pappano.
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Kazuki Yamada on Walton
19th Mar 2026
The Japanese conductor discusses his recent recording of the symphonies with the CBSO, settling into life in Birmingham, his first brush with English music as a high-school student, and inspirational visits to Ischia, Malvern and Aldeburgh.
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Nimrod Borenstein on his concertos and Shakespeare Songs
18th Mar 2026
The composer talks about his new album on SOMM, featuring concertos for mandolin and for oboe plus his Shakespeare Sonnets for soprano and orchestra.
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Michael Finnissy at 80
17th Mar 2026
On his eightieth birthday, the English composer talks to our contemporary music guest-contributor about his student days at the Royal College of Music, drawing inspiration from country hedgerows, and why he's 'still amazed by Verdi'...
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Christian Immler on Be Still My Heart
16th Mar 2026
In the run-up to the release of Raphaël Pichon's recording of the St John Passion (on which he sings the bass arias and Pilatus), the German singer discusses a recent passion-project of his own - a beguiling recital of songs by Wilhelm Grosz and Robert Gund with pianist Helmut Deutsch on Alpha Classics.
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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.
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New Release Round-Up - 13th March 2026
13th Mar 2026
The world premiere recording of Clémence de Grandval's 1892 opera Mazeppa, Mahler from Paavo Järvi in Zürich, Nico Muhly from The Tallis Scholars, and Telemann from Florilegium with Elizabeth Watts and Rachel Podger.
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Martin James Bartlett on Bach, Mozart and Britten
12th Mar 2026
The British pianist discusses his new album of early concertos by Bach and Mozart plus Britten's Young Apollo, recorded in Salzburg with the Mozarteumorchester and Howard Griffiths.
