DIAPASONS D’OR
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One of the highlights of last week’s concert for the Diapasons d’Or, the French equivalent of the Oscars for classical music, was the Young Talent of the Year, soprano Julia Lezhneva, whose sensational performance of one of the arias from her Rossini recording made me want to rush out and buy the album. Extraordinarily, she is still only 21 years old. Other standouts were Stephen Hough’s exquisite recital of two waltzes from his Chopin album, and the British choir I Fagiolini, conducted by Robert Hollingworth, which won a Diapason d’Or for its world-premiere recording of Striggio’s 16th-century Mass in 40 parts (the story of which can be found here). And the Diotima Quartet’s CD of modern American chamber music should be fascinating, judging by their performance of a piece by Steve Reich (involving one cellist and the three other performers playing wine glasses with violin bows). Click here for the full list of winners. Nick Hammond
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