The Nightingale Aria – Emma Matthews sings

  November 22nd commemorates the birthdate of Benjamin Britten as well as the Feast Day of the patron saint of music, Saint Cecilia. This is the Hymn to St Cecilia by Britten, with text by his friend W H Auden, performed by the Choir of King’s College Choir conducted by Sir David Willcocks I. In a…

On May 16th, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, performed the European premiere of an incomplete and forgotten by Dmitri Shostakovich – Orango, an opera originally commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre in 1932, but which became a satire on the Russian bourgeois press. The world premiere was given in December 2011, performed by the Los…

Pianist Kathryn Selby with violinist Grace Clifford and cellist Timo-Veikko Valve explore the complex relationship shared by Brahms, Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann in their May touring recital “Love & Devotion.” More information. Here’s a preview of the concert.

  An exquisite French carol, exquisitely performed by the gentlemen of Chanticleer.

  A week into December and there is an abundance of music that we hear but once a year. Mercifully in some cases, but in others, an all too infrequent excuse to indulge in some of the most beautiful works ever composed. Over the next few weeks we’ll bring you some of the rarely heard classics of…