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Orchestra of the Year - Gramophone Awards 2025

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra have won a Gramophone award for Orchestra of the Year!

Created 260 years ago, this is an orchestra with local focus as well as international relevance – and it continues to evolve through a strong sense of tradition - Gramophone

Matilda Lloyd & Richard Gowers | Fantasia

Fantasia, the new album from Matilda Lloyd and Richard Gowers, is out on September 19th!

Here is the latest video on Matilda's YouTube channel, where Matilda Lloyd and Richard Gowers perform Adagio in A minor BWV 564 by Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Richard Gowers, which is the third single from the album.

Watch now!

King of Kings | Sir Andrew Davis

Big news! King of Kings is No. 1 in the Specialist Classical Chart, and has been selected as Gramophone's Recording of the Month!

Order the No.1 album now

 

Sir Roger Norrington

We are saddened by the news of the death of the esteemed conductor and musicologist Sir Roger Norrington, who passed away on Saturday 18th July aged 91. Throughout his long and successful career a Sir Roger was a true pioneer, driven to unveil the composer's original intention in every score that he studied. His final recordings - the Mozart Violin Concertos with Francesca Dego for Chandos - are as much an example of this dedication as were his ground-breaking Beethoven Symphony recordings of the 1980s & 90s. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year 2025

Brilliant news! Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra have been nominated for Gramphone's Classical Music Awards 2025.

This is the only Gramphone award decided by public vote, so your vote really does matter.

Please show your support

and vote here!

 

Gramophone's Recording of the Month

“A passionate, powerful account of Strauss’s great opera, with sumptuous orchestral playing and a dramatically astute cast”

Salome, the new album from Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra has been selected as Gramophone Magazine's Recording of the Month!

 

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2025

HUGE NEWS! Both of our nominated albums have won in their categories at the BBC Music Magazine Awards.
 

Premiere Winner  

To celebrate, we're offering a HUGE 30% OFF the winning albums!
 
Use code BBCMM25 at checkout
Ends 30 April
 

Great News! Another No. 1 Album...

Following in Volume 3's footsteps, Ruth Gipps: Orchestral Works Volume 4 is No. 1 in the Official Specialist Classical Chart! Congratulations to Rumon Gamba, BBC Philharmonic, Charlie-Lovell Jones and Bill Anderson.

 

No. 1 Album! Walton: Violin Concerto

John Wilson and Sinfonia of London's new album with violinist Charlie Lovell-Jones has secured the number one spot in the Official Specialist Classical Chart!

WINNER! RPS Awards

 

Congratulations to the wonderful cellist Laura van der Heijden who has won The Intrumentallist Award at the 2025 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards!

 

 

 

Juanjo Mena Shares Health Update

Watch Juanjo's video update on Instagram or X/Twitter.

The Chandos team send our best wishes to conductor Juanjo Mena following his recent Alzheimer's Disease diagnosis. We look forward to working with him soon!

 

 

2025 BBC Music Magazine Awards

Big news! We have two nominations in the 2025 BBC Music Magazine Awards!

Schumann: Works for Oboe and Piano from Nicholas Daniel and Julius Drake is up for a Chamber Award, and Adrian Sutton's Violin Concerto, with Fenella Humphreys, Michael Seal and BBC Philharmonic, is a Premiere Nominee.

Please vote for the recordings here!

 

 

 

 

 

No.1 in the Specialist Classical Chart

Ruth Gipps: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 is No. 1 in the Specialist Classical Chart this week!
 
The new album has also been selected as BBC Radio 3 and Presto Music's Recording of the Week. What fantastic news!
 

Customer's Choice Album of 2024

The votes are in for our Customer's Choice Album of 2024! Here are the top three albums...

WINNERS

1. Adrian Sutton: Orchestral Works

2. Sibelius: Works for Violin & Orchestra

3. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

VOTE NOW CLOSED! Keep an eye out on our social media platforms for the top voted album. All prize winners will be randomly selected and contacted shortly.

Vote closes 6th January at 4pm (GMT)

It's your last chance to vote for your favourite Chandos release of 2024.

You could win...

One person will win EVERY 2024 album. That's 45 CDs!

Five people will win all three January releases!

 

The Guardian Classical Recording of the Year

Nicholas Daniel and Julius Drake's latest album, Schumann: Works for Oboe and Piano, has been named as one of The Guardian's top recordings of 2024!

“Pure delight from first note to last.”

 

Classical Winner - Presto Music Awards 2024

Fantastic news! Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel has been awarded Classical Winner in Presto Music's Top 10 Recordings of 2024.

 

Diapason D'Or Arte Award

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel from John Wilson and Sinfonia of London has been awarded the Diapason D'Or Arte in Diapason's December issue!

 

Presto Music Awards 2024

We have five recordings in Presto Music's Top 100 Classical Recordings 2024! The Top 10 recordings and the winners in six special award categories will be announced on the evening of Thursday 5th December.

See the finalists here.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

Bridge/Walton/Frances-Hoad: Cello Concertos

Eric Coates Orchestral Works, Vol. 4

Bliss: Works for Brass Band

Tippett: A Child of Our Time.

 

ICMA Awards 2025

Chandos has four nominations in the Symphonic Music and Chamber categories of the International Classical Music Awards 2025!

Nominated in the Symphonic Music category

 

 

Nominated in the Chamber category

 

 

Nominated in the Chamber category

 

 

Nominated in the Chamber category

 

 

 

Release Spotlight

Trumpet virtuoso Matilda Lloyd is a true master of her instrument.

Matilda's second album with Chandos, featuring Weinberg's Trumpet Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Lee Reynolds, is out now.

'Resonance is a multi-faceted word with many different meanings, all of which are explored in this album of music for trumpet and orchestra.'

Order the album!

 

BBC Music Magazine

Fantastic news! Three Chandos albums have been featured in BBC Music Magazine's November and December issues.

 Choral & Song - December Recording of the Month

Welcome Joy: A Celebration of Women's Voices receives a brilliant five star review. *****

"The 12 superb sopranos and altos of the Corvus Consort sing the complex, close-knit textures of these works with delicacy and pinpoint accuracy. Louise Thomson’s immaculate, virtuosic harp playing conjures scenes that take us from scented gardens to sun-baked landscapes and haunted moonlit forests. The vocal/instrumental balance is well-nigh perfect in Chandos’s clear, nuanced recording."

Orchestral Choice - December

Adrian Sutton's Violin Concerto secures the spot as December's Orchestral Choice. *****

"A colourful selection of imaginative new works"

Chamber - November Recording of the Month

Schumann: Works for Oboe and Piano obtains ***** from Rebecca Franks.

"Played with such warmth and eloquence, the arrangements chosen here often feel as if they were tailor-made for the instrument, while the sensitive programming paints a loving portrait of the Schumann household."

 

Download Service has closed

Chandos Records sincerely thanks our loyal digital download customers for their support over the last 20 years. Due to the continuous decline in the popularity of digital downloads, ‘The Classical Shop’ will be closed for all digital download services on 29th November.

Our website is now dedicated to exclusive news, special offers and information about Chandos label and artists:CD and SACD sales will continue as usual. We are excited for the next chapter!

 

RIP Benjamin Luxon

One of Britain’s finest international singers, Benjamin Luxon, died on the 25th July aged 87. Born in Redruth, Cornwall, Luxon began his career as a member of the English Opera Group, the company formed by Benjamin Britten for the performance of his own and other contemporary operas. Luxon became one of Britten’s key singers and the composer wrote the role of “Owen Wingrave” specifically for Luxon’s voice. Luxon became an important singer internationally, performing at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, Tanglewood, the Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Wiener Staatsoper, and the Metropolitan Opera. He went on to work with some of the most important conductors and orchestras and made over 100 recordings, including many for Chandos. Luxon was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1986 for his service to music.

 

RIP Sir Andrew Davis 

We are saddened by the news that Sir Andrew Davis, the renowned British conductor, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 20, 2024, surrounded by family after a battle with leukaemia. Sir Andrew recorded exclusively for Chandos Records from his first album Elgar’s Crown of India in 2009, making almost 50 recordings and gathering countless accolades and awards in the process. We will miss a wonderful musician who imparted so much to all who worked with him in such a generous, self-deprecating and humble way. RIP Andrew.


Sir Andrew Davis's obituary

 

https://www.chandos.net/list/ artist/Sir_Andrew_Davis/10807

 

Sinfonia of London win big at BBC Music Magazine Awards 2024

John Wilson and Sinfonia of London’s première recording of the complete original score of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! took home the Opera Award, while the same forces also scooped their fourth Orchestral Award with their album of works for strings by Vaughan Williams, Howells, Delius and Elgar. Described by the magazine’s reviewer as ‘a stunning benchmark for the digital generation’, this recording also went on to win the coveted Recording of the Year.

To say thank for all the BBCMM24 at checkout!

Pictured above from left, Francis Williams, Jonathan Allen, Rosenna East and Ralph Couzens.

 

This Thursday! 

Good luck to Sinfonia of London and John Wilson ahead of this week's award ceremony! 'Music for Strings' and 'Oklahoma!' have been nominated in the Orchestral and Opera categories respectively.

 

Margaret Fingerhut appointed MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours

To celebrate pianist Margaret Fingerhut being recognised for services to music and charitable fundraising why not explore her brilliant back-catalogue.

 

Brian Pidgeon GRAMMY nominated for Producer of the Year!

Sinfonia of London's latest album 'Record of the Week' on Record Review!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new release from Sinfonia of London and John Wilson, Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, was featured on BBC Radio 3's much-loved Saturday morning Record Review show (4/11). We're delighted to report that the new recording was picked as RECORD OF THE WEEK. The show remains available all month on-demand so don't worry if you missed it live, listen here!

 

This week we will be celebrating the upcoming launch of Oklahoma! from John Wilson and Sinfonia of London at The Savile Cub in Mayfair. This landmark album will be the first full recording of the original Rodgers & Hammerstein score, to commemorate this very special release we have produced a series of limited edition numbered vinlys available to pre-order now! Don't miss this historic album, out on Friday 15th September!

 

Gramophone Awards Shortlist 2023

We are delighted to have FOUR albums shortlisted for the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2023! See the shortlist here, including albums from Kaleidscope Chamber Collective, Arcadia Quartet, and Sinfonia of London.

 

Gramophone Editor's Choice: October

'Parry's compelling response to Shelley's lyrical drama is given a superb performance of real conviction, conduction by William Vann and with a line-up of starry soloists'

Listen in full on Chandos

'Orchestra of the Year' nomination!

Our friends and collaborators BBC Philharmonic have been nominated for Orchestra of the Year at the Gramophone Awards 2023! 

Listen to their Apple Playlist 

Artist in Focus
 

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

25% discount on BPO Recordings

One of the world’s oldest orchestras, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, a Norwegian National Orchestra, dates back to 1765. Edvard Grieg had a close relationship with the Orchestra, serving as its artistic director from 1880 to 1882. Edward Gardner has been Chief Conductor since 2015 and has taken the Orchestra on multiple international tours. These have included appearances at the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie, in Hamburg, Edinburgh International Festival, Southbank Centre, and BBC Proms. Previous international tours have included performances at the Wiener Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, in New York, and Philharmonie Berlin. Sir Mark Elder is the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor.

The Orchestra has an active recording schedule, and critics worldwide applaud its energetic playing style and full-bodied string sound. The Orchestra has recorded Tchaikovsky’s ballets and critically acclaimed series of works by Johan Halvorsen and Johan Svendsen with Neeme Järvi, orchestral works by Rimsky-Korsakov with Dmitri Kitayenko, and music by Berlioz, Delius, Elgar, Sibelius, and Vaughan Williams with Sir Andrew Davis.

Subsequent recordings with Edward Gardner are a critically acclaimed series devoted to orchestral works by Janácek, including a Grammy-nominated recording of his Glagolitic Mass, Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder, orchestral songs by Sibelius with Gerald Finley as soloist, a disc of orchestral works by Bartók, the Piano Concerto and incidental music from Peer Gynt by Grieg, and the Grande Messe des morts by Berlioz. The latest releases by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra include recordings of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with John Relyea and Michelle DeYoung, Brahms’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 3, Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande and Erwartung with Sara Jakubiak, Britten’s Peter Grimes with, among others, Stuart Skelton and Erin Wall, tone poems and other works by Sibelius with Lise Davidsen, orchestral songs by Britten and Canteloube with Mari Eriksmoen, and MANMADE with the saxophonist Marius Neset. The Orchestra received a nomination for Orchestra of the Year at the Gramophone Awards 2020. In 2021, Peter Grimes won the Orchestra two Gramophone Classical Music Awards: Opera Recording of the Year and Recording of the Year.

25% discount on BPO recordings 

Latest Reviews
'I have heard a number of Hanslip’s recordings and they’re never less than fine but this one is special and I am not sure if I have heard her play better on disc than here. With top class booklet notes from Mervyn Cooke, excellent recorded sound and an orchestra firing on all cylinders marshalled by a conductor who knows where the music should go, this is a quality disc.'
'I have heard a number of Hanslip’s recordings and they’re never less than fine but this one is special and I am not sure if I have heard her play better on disc than here. With top class booklet notes from Mervyn Cooke, excellent recorded sound and an orchestra firing on all cylinders marshalled by a conductor who knows where the music should go, this is a quality disc.'
Jonathan Woolf - MusicWeb International - 5 November 2025
'Litton and Hanslip strike me as an ideal partnership, the former one of the very best at this kind of jazz-inflected repertoire while Hanslip remains one of my favourite violinists...They are backed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in sparkling form with the Chandos SA-CD recording again ideal – natural sounding but rich weighty and detailed.'
'Litton and Hanslip strike me as an ideal partnership, the former one of the very best at this kind of jazz-inflected repertoire while Hanslip remains one of my favourite violinists...They are backed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in sparkling form with the Chandos SA-CD recording again ideal – natural sounding but rich weighty and detailed.'
Nick Barnard - MusicWeb International - 29 October 2025
'This is another attractive entrant in the series not least for the fact that, as so often in the series, these are all premiere recordings. All the performers prove adept, sensitive and stylish exponents.'
'This is another attractive entrant in the series not least for the fact that, as so often in the series, these are all premiere recordings. All the performers prove adept, sensitive and stylish exponents.'
Jonathan Woolf - MusicWeb International - 28 October 2025
'Michael Seal and the BBC Philharmonic turn in a fine, incisive and dramatically convincing performance in their MediaCity'
'Michael Seal and the BBC Philharmonic turn in a fine, incisive and dramatically convincing performance in their MediaCity'
Jonathan Woolf - MusicWeb International - 3 November 2025
'I detect in Gregson’s music something of the same lyricism one finds in Ireland’s music. This means that Gregson has earned his place as one of the most distinguished living British composers...The performances are all superb and the recorded sound is natural and warm. An excellent disc to play to anyone who finds contemporary music intimidating.'
'I detect in Gregson’s music something of the same lyricism one finds in Ireland’s music. This means that Gregson has earned his place as one of the most distinguished living British composers...The performances are all superb and the recorded sound is natural and warm. An excellent disc to play to anyone who finds contemporary music intimidating.'
Martyn Strachan - British Music Society - 25 October 2025
'Walton, John Wilson, Chandos – the recommendation writes itself...I was much impressed by Mr Aasgaard’s playing – agile, very accurate and focussed, and beautifully projected, a performance to which I will certainly return.'
'Walton, John Wilson, Chandos – the recommendation writes itself...I was much impressed by Mr Aasgaard’s playing – agile, very accurate and focussed, and beautifully projected, a performance to which I will certainly return.'
Geoffrey Atkinson - British Music Society - 26 October 2025
'This is a most impressive record, full of cheer and colour and brave in its exploration of the unfamiliar.'
'This is a most impressive record, full of cheer and colour and brave in its exploration of the unfamiliar.'
Philip Harrison - MusicWeb International - 3 November 2025
'...piano that delights in Kanitz's arrival in the New World. All get convincing performances from the ARC Ensemble.'
'...piano that delights in Kanitz's arrival in the New World. All get convincing performances from the ARC Ensemble.'
Richard Fairman - Financial Times - 1 November 2025
'As before, stellar performances from the ARC Ensemble offer the best possible case for reappraising this neglected composer.'
'As before, stellar performances from the ARC Ensemble offer the best possible case for reappraising this neglected composer.'
Joanne Talbot - The Strad - 24 October 2025
'Here again, the players of the ARC Ensemble really find the music's sardonic, tender and deeply melancholy soul: an affecting centrepiece to this rewarding and important release.'
'Here again, the players of the ARC Ensemble really find the music's sardonic, tender and deeply melancholy soul: an affecting centrepiece to this rewarding and important release.'
Richard Bratby - Gramophone - November 2025

Editor's Choice

'Vividly immediate sound, with informative notes by Paul Hindmarsh and the composer, enhance a release that presents Gregson’s music in an unfailingly positive light.'

Editor's Choice

'Vividly immediate sound, with informative notes by Paul Hindmarsh and the composer, enhance a release that presents Gregson’s music in an unfailingly positive light.'

Richard Whitehouse - Gramophone - November 2025

Recording of the Month

'Jonathan Aasgaard is a beautifully lyrical soloist in the concerto, and throughout John Wilson an absolute master of this music, details articulated with pin-point precision.'

Recording of the Month

'Jonathan Aasgaard is a beautifully lyrical soloist in the concerto, and throughout John Wilson an absolute master of this music, details articulated with pin-point precision.'

Edward Seckerson - Gramophone - November 2025
'John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London return to William Walton in first-rate style'
'John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London return to William Walton in first-rate style'
Richard Fairman - Financial Times - 8 November 2025
'Bavouzet's playing has an irrepressible quality that perfectly suits the young Mozart's idiom, while bypassing the ever-contentious issues of period-instrument style as if these have no need to exist.'
'Bavouzet's playing has an irrepressible quality that perfectly suits the young Mozart's idiom, while bypassing the ever-contentious issues of period-instrument style as if these have no need to exist.'
Malcom Hayes - BBC Music Magazine - December 2025
'Seal again secures a confident, colourfully projected performance from the BBC Philharmonic...'
'Seal again secures a confident, colourfully projected performance from the BBC Philharmonic...'
Terry Blain - BBC Music Magazine - December 2025
'... a perfect example of how conductor John Wilson’s vital, yet penetrating, approach combines with the orchestra’s trademark lustre to fit this composer’s music like a glove. It’s evident from the outset in a rumbustious reading of the Scapino overture that positively snaps, crackles and pops.'
'... a perfect example of how conductor John Wilson’s vital, yet penetrating, approach combines with the orchestra’s trademark lustre to fit this composer’s music like a glove. It’s evident from the outset in a rumbustious reading of the Scapino overture that positively snaps, crackles and pops.'
Clive Paget - The Guardian - 30 October 2025
'Those following this series may be assured of Bavouzet's fully committed responsiveness even to such slight works as these; the variation finale of the second concerto, accelerating to its conclusion before a cheeky recap of the theme, is delicious.'
'Those following this series may be assured of Bavouzet's fully committed responsiveness even to such slight works as these; the variation finale of the second concerto, accelerating to its conclusion before a cheeky recap of the theme, is delicious.'
David Threasher - Gramophone - Awards Issue 2025
'There's a whirlwind Scherzo (rollocking horns in evidence) and a kindred finale, all of it brilliantly dispatched by Hanslip and Litton...Smashing album.'
'There's a whirlwind Scherzo (rollocking horns in evidence) and a kindred finale, all of it brilliantly dispatched by Hanslip and Litton...Smashing album.'
Edward Seckerson - Gramophone - Awards Issue 2025

Editor's Choice

'This is essential listening for anyone who loves musical theatre. Enchantment really does pour out of every door; this is a landmark recording, destined to give enormous and lasting pleasure.'

Editor's Choice

'This is essential listening for anyone who loves musical theatre. Enchantment really does pour out of every door; this is a landmark recording, destined to give enormous and lasting pleasure.'

Richard Bratby - Gramophone - Awards Issue 2025
'...the musicians who play with Onyx Brass here are fully up to their high standard, especially Viv McLean in Price’s Octet. This is no surprise as they are led by John Wilson, who usually joins Onyx Brass in its more extended productions.'
'...the musicians who play with Onyx Brass here are fully up to their high standard, especially Viv McLean in Price’s Octet. This is no surprise as they are led by John Wilson, who usually joins Onyx Brass in its more extended productions.'
William Kreindler - MusicWeb International - 5 October 2025
'No praise could be too high for the performance of the Sinfonia of London'
'No praise could be too high for the performance of the Sinfonia of London'
Stephen Barber - MusicWeb International - 9 October 2025
'Edward Gardner and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra, ably supported by the Chandos engineers, provide us with a superb experience...This is an enticing programme, and the performances are very fine indeed, so why hesitate?'
'Edward Gardner and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra, ably supported by the Chandos engineers, provide us with a superb experience...This is an enticing programme, and the performances are very fine indeed, so why hesitate?'
William Hedley - MusicWeb International - 9 October 2025
'...where this new set absolutely trounces the originals is the orchestral accompaniment. Firstly, we have the original scoring, with much more transparent textures, especially compared to the film. The small background details are revelatory. Of course the Chandos sound engineers have also played their part here.'
'...where this new set absolutely trounces the originals is the orchestral accompaniment. Firstly, we have the original scoring, with much more transparent textures, especially compared to the film. The small background details are revelatory. Of course the Chandos sound engineers have also played their part here.'
David Barker - MusicWeb International - 16 October 2025
'The programme starts off most promisingly with one of the best accounts of the lovely Helios Overture I have ever encountered. With an expansive dynamic range and orchestral clarity, the quiet horns at the beginning lead to a glorious climax as the sun has fully risen. The atmosphere is palpable and the quiet ending is equally moving.'
'The programme starts off most promisingly with one of the best accounts of the lovely Helios Overture I have ever encountered. With an expansive dynamic range and orchestral clarity, the quiet horns at the beginning lead to a glorious climax as the sun has fully risen. The atmosphere is palpable and the quiet ending is equally moving.'
Leslie Wright - MusicWeb International - 20 October 2025
'This is an important and excellent release. All admirers of the music of Sir Arthur Bliss should lose no time in acquiring a copy.'
'This is an important and excellent release. All admirers of the music of Sir Arthur Bliss should lose no time in acquiring a copy.'
John Quinn - MusicWeb International - 26 October 2025
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Essex
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