Manfred's makeover: Byron's gilt-tripper carries a little extra weight.

Freire spans Brahms' keyboard output from go to whoa.

Today marks ten years since Pavarotti’s death. In 2013, we spoke to Richard Bonynge about the remarkable tenor.

The runner-up at the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition has signed an exciting new partnership deal. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Competition Artistic Director Piers Lane praises the young Chinese pianist on his contract with Universal Music Australia.

The ne plus ultra of Mozart boxes: with curation like this, Amadeus’s 225th death-day box will be hard to surpass.

The American label adds the French star to a stable that already includes Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flórez. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Taiwanese-Australian violinist, formerly part of Sony’s stable, celebrates a new contract with a comical video. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The unconventional Austrian pianist talks to Limelight about life at 85, his long career and taking stock of his remarkable legacy. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Lincoln Center’s 2015 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1951 musical The King and I was well reviewed. Ben Brantley in the New York Times called it “a colonialist-minded musical that… should probably embarrass us in the age of political correctness.” His contention was that it did not. I’m less certain. On disc the Overture reminds you immediately that this is Rodgers’ show. His ability to craft a memorably turned melody with unexpected harmonic underpinnings is superb. I Have Dreamed and Hello Young Lovers are masterpieces. Yet, as the songs progress, you can’t help feeling that Hammerstein’s work remains stubbornly of its time. Kelli O’Hara sings Anna perfectly, although her English vowels are too studied. Ken Watanabe was strong as The King onstage, but makes little impression vocally. Ashley Park’s Tuptim has all the notes, but it’s a squally voice with a fast, wide vibrato; by contrast, Conrad Ricamora as her lover Lun Tha sounds very 21st-century Broadway. Ruthie Ann Mills performs Lady Thiang’s song Something Wonderful beautifully, and it’s good to hear Robert Russell Bennett’s original orchestrations. The Small House of Uncle Thomas is included, which is long… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already…

Decca and Erato revisit the works and early recordings of the recently departed French nonagenarian. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Messiaen’s masterwork goes for the lot: rocks, birds and throws in the song of the star Aldebaran for good measure. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in