Mozart's Cosi fan tutte in Building a Library with Sarah Lenton and Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor is joined by Kathryn Stott to highlight some of week's best new classical releases, and Sarah Lenton chooses her favourite recording of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.
Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.
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Pianist Kathryn Stott selects her pick of the best new releases.
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Sarah Lenton chooses her favourite recording of Mozart's opera Cosi fan tutte.
Cosi fan tutte was Mozart's third collaboration with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, following The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, and was first performed in January 1790 in Vienna. The title literally translates as "So do all women", and the plot concerns two affianced couples who swap partners at the instigation of the men, who are waging a dubious bet about women's fidelity. The subject matter did not offend Viennese sensibilities of the time, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries was considered risqué, vulgar and immoral, and the opera was rarely performed. From the mid-20th century it gained a reputation as one of Mozart's most sublime scores despite the work's outdated misogynistic views, and the opera has a very rich recorded history.
Top choice:
Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano), Agnes Baltsa (mezzo soprano), Stuart Burrows (tenor), Thomas Allen (baritone)
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Colin Davis (conductor)
Opus Arte OACD9005D
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Record of the Week: Andrew’s top pick.
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Music Played
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Antonín Dvořák
Slavonic Dances Op.46 (no.5 in A major)
Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.- Dvořák: Slavonic Dances.
- PENTATONE.
- 05.
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Georg Philipp Telemann
Loure der gesitteten Houyhnhnms - Furie der unartigen Yahoos (Suite in D major 'Gulliver')
Performer: Isabelle Faust. Orchestra: Academy for Ancient Music Berlin. Orchestra: Bernhard Forck.- Telemann: Violin Concertos. Overture. Suite. Fantasie.
- Harmonia Mundi.
- 18.
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Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto in D major TWV.53:D5 (1st mvt)
Performer: Isabelle Faust. Performer: Ute Hartwich. Performer: Katharina Litschig. Orchestra: Academy for Ancient Music Berlin. Conductor: Bernhard Forck.- Telemann: Violin Concertos. Overture. Suite. Fantasie.
- Harmonia Mundi.
- 24.
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Neapolitan Song; Sweet Dreams (Children's Album Op.39)
Performer: Daniil Trifonov.- DG.
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Fanny Mendelssohn
Piano Trio in D minor Op.11 (1st mvt)
Ensemble: Trio Zadig.- Naive.
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Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor Op.54 (1st mvt)
Performer: Fanny Davies. Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Ernest Ansermet.- APR.
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Richard Strauss
Morgen (4 Lieder Op.27)
Singer: Mary Bevan. Performer: Joseph Middleton.- ELEGY.
- Signum Classics.
- 119.
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Bohuslav Martinů
String Quartet no.3 (3rd mvt)
Ensemble: Pavel Haas Quartet.- Martinu: String Quartets Nos 2,3,5,7.
- SUPRAPHON.
- 7.
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Frederick Loewe
With a little bit of luck (My Fair Lady)
Music Arranger: Robert Russell Bennett. Singer: Alun Armstrong. Orchestra: Sinfonia of London. Conductor: John Wilson.- Lerner & Loewe: My Fair Lady.
- Chandos.
- 106.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
Symphony no.5 in D major (1st mvt)
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Antonio Pappano.- Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9.
- LSO Live.
- 1.
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Edward Elgar
Violin concerto in B minor Op.61 (3rd mvt)
Performer: Christian Tetzlaff. Orchestra: ѿý Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Storgårds.- Elgar & Thomas Adès: Violin Concertos.
- Ondine.
- 3.
Broadcast
- Sat 4 Oct 2025 14:00ѿý Radio 3
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