Reviews
Written by the expert critics of BBC Music Magazine and with over a hundred new reviews added every month, the archive dates back to the magazine's launch in 1992 and now includes over 30,000 album reviews. We also provide our albums of the month that we recommend.
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You can search through our extensive database of thousands of releases from Orchestral and Opera to Choral, Jazz and beyond.
Recording of the Month
Korngold’s Symphony brilliantly reassessed in John Wilson recording
‘The playing of the Sinfonia of London is astonishingly brilliant, with Hollywood-dream glories in the string tone’
Orchestral
The Minnesota Orchestra shines a new light on Mahler’s First Symphony
‘Every dynamic marking, every nuance of rubato is scrupulously adhered to’
Concerto
Patricia Kopatchinskaja journeys through time and back
‘Camerata Bern accompanies the violinist on this latest foray into the meaning of life, the universe and everything’
Opera
A bold new take on Monteverdi’s L'incoronazione di Poppea
‘Cognitive dissonance reigns as gorgeous music engulfs a drama about moral implosion’
Choral & Song
Dennehy’s ‘docu-cantata’: an arresting portrayal of the Great Irish Famine
‘Katherine Manley and Iarla Ó Lionáird bring tremendous colour and clarity to the storytelling’
Chamber
Bach, Schnittke and Beethoven more connected than ever
‘A revelatory connected soundscape in which Beethoven’s introspection feels more unsettling than usual’
Instrumental
Schumann’s multi-faceted work is painted with new colours
‘Tong’s playing reveals Schumann as a thrilling new love rather than a familiar old friend’
Jazz
Come rain or snow, Iiro Rantala delivers with inventive humour
‘The music affectionately and self-deprecatingly presents traditional Finnish sentiments about the seasons’
