The Critic's Chair

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Kenneth Young reviews the Atoll recording of Anthony Ritchie's Fourth Symphony. Audio

Trumpet soloist Alison Balsom has released a CD called Paris - a varied collection of Parisian-inspired works, from Ravel to Reinhardt. Dave Bremner talks to Hannah Sassman about Alison Balsom's new… Read more Audio

Robert Johnson reviews two recent recordings from the Seattle Symphony and their Music Director Ludovic Morlot. One is a disc of Dutilleux, including his Cello Concerto performed here by Xavier… Read more Audio

Robert Johnson reviews a new recording of Strauss tone poems - Andris Nelsons conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He offers some examples of clever scoring in Don Juan, and explains… Read more Audio

Robert Johnson reviews the last CD in The Beethoven Journey series. Solo pianist Leif Ove Andsnes also directs the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Read more Audio

This recording is the first in a new series of orchestral works by Czech composer Janácek. The Bergen Philharmonic are conducted by Edward Gardner. Robert Johnson gives us some background context on… Read more Audio

Peter Mechen reviews the latest recording from the Doric String Quartet, who you may have seen during their New Zealand tour earlier this year. He tells Hannah Sassman about this 2-disc set of Haydn's… Read more Audio

This recording features Mozart's final three symphonies, performed by the Concentus Musicus Wien. Conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt has chosen to interpret the three symphonies as a single work in three… Read more Audio

David Bremner reviews this new recording of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique and Varèse's Ionisation. He talks about conductor Mariss Janson's tempo choices in the Berlioz, and plays some excerpts that… Read more Audio

This new recording of Strauss' epic Alpine Symphony is from a live performance at the Saito Kinen Festival of 2012. Daniel Harding conducts the large orchestral forces needed for this work. In his… Read more Audio

We feature the brand new recording from bass trombonist Stefan Schulz. This disc is from a live recital, and highlights a selection of transcriptions for bass trombone and piano. David Bremner… Read more Audio