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A unique overview of the finest classical music recordings of the 21st century, with links to the original Gramophone reviews

When three Australians appear on the same bill at one of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, it’s an occasion worthy of celebration.

Let me begin – most unusually – with the orchestra. The ENO's production of Peter Grimes (they're still, thankfully, at the Coliseum – despite the best efforts of the Arts Council) is remarkable in many ways, but the orchestra under Martyn Brabbins is quite outstanding. Their ability to draw the rapturous and rhapsodic from Benjamin Britten's score was met with deservedly tumultuous applause. Rapturous? Rhapsodic? This is Peter Grimes we're talking about here, an opera famed for its grimness and desolation. The music itself, though, rolls in great glorious waves, the ...

This Peter Grimes is great crashing, complex, artistry encapsulated in a fine production and a showcase of ENO’s extraordinary talent. 

Sparkling musical invention pierces the gloom of George Benjamin’s mysterious new chamber opera; Britten’s masterpiece holds its own at ENO; and one woman, 7,866 pipes and resounding fun