April 2023

A curious combination of an 18th-century mass, 17th-century organ music and ‘neo gregorian’ chants [JV]

A gorgeous, imaginative Mahler 2nd plagued by bottomless sound [DP]

Insightful, stylish Kathleen Long – a pianist too often taken for granted [JW]

A fine achievement all around [MP]

Netrebko’s star shines brightly in the otherwise dull Salzburg night’s sky [LD]

Pleasant, undemanding and unremarkable [DJB]

(Déjà Review) Both performance and engineering are of the highest quality [GD]

(Déjà Review) One of the most sheerly beautiful and instantly recognisable mezzos of the last fifty years [RMo]

Slatkin’s cycle emphasises the composer’s structural mastery [PCG]

These performances of Handel’s Anthems are among the best that I have heard [JV]

(From the Archive) A conspectus in four parts by Bob Farr

Unalloyed listening pleasure [DF]

Despite some premiere recordings this is a disappointing recital [SB]

Rare British solo violin music [JW]

Rattle’s ‘Romantic’ replete with missed opportunities [LD]

(Déjà Review) If the rest of this series is of this standard, it will be a compulsory acquisition for all lovers of this composer [GA]

(Déjà Review) This goes straight to the top of my list of favourite Chopin CDs [RMo]

Three applicants for the cantor position in Leipzig in 1723 [DF]

A very measured Elgar Sonata and a world premiere of the Gurney Sonata [JW]

Mompou fans will want this, but it remained a closed book to me [DJB]

This smorgasbord of fine English piano music demands exploration [JF]

A stunning CD – fantastic performances of strongly contrasting works [PBW]

In vocal terms this is arguably the finest complete recording of Aïda in the catalogue, in a sterling new transfer [MP]

(Déjà Review) Verdi singing does not come much better than this [RJF]