Record Review Podcast

Building a Library: Schumann's Liederkreis, Op. 24 29.04.2017 43:38 ↓

Liederkreis was written in the year he devoted to song composition after marrying Clara.

Building a Library: Mahler's Second Symphony 25.04.2017 1:10:52 ↓

William Mival assesses recordings of Mahler's epic Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection' and makes a recommendation. A journey from the darkness of a funeral march via the terror of the Last Judgement through to the light of redemption and, finally, resurrection is not to be undertaken lightly. Andrew McGregor celebrates Record Store Day 2017 and 60 years of Record Review with a special programme broadcas...

Building a Library: Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata 15.04.2017 50:51 ↓

Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata was overshadowed by the success of his Piano Concerto No. 2.

Building a Library: Kodaly's Dances of Galanta 08.04.2017 49:05 ↓

Kodaly's joyful work is based on the Hungarian dances of Galanta where he lived as a boy.

Building a Library: Verdi's Aida 01.04.2017 55:58 ↓

Set in the Egypt of the Pharaohs, Verdi's Aida premiered at the Cairo opera house in 1871

Building a Library: Mozart's Clarinet Concerto 25.03.2017 50:48 ↓

Mozart's final instrumental work was written for his friend, clarinettist Anton Stadler.

Building a Library: Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time 21.03.2017 48:16 ↓

Messaien's piece was premiered at a prisoner of war camp, outdoors in the rain, in 1941.

Building a Library: Schoenberg's Gurrelieder 11.03.2017 47:00 ↓

Building a Library on Schoenberg's epic cantata Gurrelieder. Nicholas Baragwanath guides us through this gargantuan late flowering of 19th-century Romanticism in which Schoenberg wove together a sumptuous score that can be surprising to people accustomed to the more astringent sound world of his later works.

Building a Library: Survey of Ethel Smyth recordings 04.03.2017 49:34 ↓

Kate Kennedy explores the music of an underrated English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement.

Building a Library: Ives's Second Symphony 27.02.2017 58:21 ↓

Edward Seckerson joins Andrew McGregor to assess recordings of Ives Symphony No. 2.

Building a Library: Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez 18.02.2017 47:33 ↓

Tom McKinney heads to Spain with the ever-popular Rodrigo Guitar Concerto.

Building a Library: Bach's B Minor Mass 11.02.2017 55:28 ↓

Sir Nicholas Kenyon sifts through the available recordings of Bach's B minor Mass. It was one of Bach's last compositions, completed in 1749, the year before his death. He refashioned music that he had composed throughout his career. The Mass was never performed in its entirety during Bach's lifetime but is now regarded as a supreme masterpiece.

Building a Library: Rossini's The Barber of Seville 04.02.2017 51:14 ↓

Ben Walton compares recordings of Rossini's hugely popular opera on Beaumarchais's play.

Building a Library: Sibelius's Tapiola 28.01.2017 44:17 ↓

Tapiola is Sibelius's final masterpiece for orchestra. Andrew Mellor recommends a version

Building a Library: Beethoven's String Quartet No 12, Op. 127 21.01.2017 53:44 ↓

Stephen Johnson compares recordings of the first of Beethoven's late string quartets.

Building a Library: Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony 14.01.2017 47:20 ↓

Rob Cowan sifts through "Tchaik 4," a piece written at a time of emotional turmoil.

Building a Library: Schubert's Fantasy in C, D934, for violin and piano. 07.01.2017 50:44 ↓

Harriet Smith compares recordings of Schubert's piece, which baffled its 1828 audience.

Building a Library: Bruckner's Third Symphony 31.12.2016 46:41 ↓

Dedicated to his hero Wagner, Bruckner revised his Third Symphony several times.

Building a Library: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 21 24.12.2016 48:58 ↓

David Owen Norris sifts through the available recordings of Mozart's Piano Concerto No 21

Building a Library: Lassus's Lagrime di San Pietro 17.12.2016 57:37 ↓

Caroline Gill compares recordings of Lassus's depiction of the sorrows of St Peter.

Building a Library: Puccini's La fanciulla del West 10.12.2016 49:42 ↓

Flora Willson pans for gold in available recordings of Puccini's California-based opera

Building a Library: Haydn's Symphony no. 99 03.12.2016 50:04 ↓

Symphony No.99 is an example of late, great Haydn. Richard Wigmore recommends a recording

Building a Library: Survey of Barbara Strozzi 26.11.2016 51:28 ↓

Dr Hannah French surveys recordings of music of 17th-century Venetian Barbara Strozzi.

Building a Library: Bach's Lutheran Masses 19.11.2016 53:15 ↓

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood surveys recordings of Lutheran Masses by JS Bach.

Building a Library: Vaughan Williams's London Symphony 12.11.2016 47:08 ↓

Mark Lowther makes a recommendation from the available recordings.