Presto Recordings of the Year, Mendelssohn (composer)

Mendelssohn’s Variations Concertantes packs a lot of variety into its nine minutes...The players here capture its changing moods, and the plangent song-like quality of the Assai Tranquillo,... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2024, 5 out of 5 stars More…

From imposing sonatas to salon bonbons, these recordings constitute a deft salute not just to Tertis the man and multifaceted musician, but also to an enduring legacy which lives on in distinguished... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2024, 5 out of 5 stars More…

The Takács Quartet has sustained an admiring following through its changes of personnel down the years, and their exceptional precision of tuning and ensemble, especially at full-tilt Mendelssohnian... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2021, 3 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

[Pires] has the enviable ability to make everything sound fresh but natural, and her tone is enchanting...The definition on [the Blu-ray] is superb and the camera work actually helps the viewer... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2015, 3 out of 5 stars/5 out of 5 stars More…

Gardiner keeps the LSO on its toes both in the C minor work and the Italian symphony, the winds producing crystal-clear articulation the hair-raisingly fast account of the latter’s concluding... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2016, 3 out of 5 stars More…

a real winner on all counts - the individual players are hugely impressive when required to step into the spotlight, and the intensity of the collective sound in tutti passages is overwhelming... — Katherine Cooper, Presto Music, January 2022 More…

There are many versions of the Beethoven to choose from, yet this performance stands tall among them, an interpretation that balances introspection and drama, wisdom and freshness. — BBC Music Magazine, September 2022, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

…much to enjoy here…pinpoint precision of melody-carrying flutes and violins, the sure footed bass and above all a sense that the composer is being taken seriously. — Gramophone Magazine, April 2017 More…

Pappano makes the most of his extensive experience in the opera house to bring a compelling sense of purpose and dramatic thrust to this new recording, which positively fizzes and crackles with... — James Longstaffe, Presto Music, 2nd November 2024 More…

This new release of Mendelssohn’s complete symphonies confirms the symbiotic relationship Järvi has forged with the orchestra, and is jam-packed with exciting, at times electrifying, music-making...Many... — BBC Music Magazine, June 2024, 5 out of 5 stars More…