June 2023

Regondi: A 200th Birthday Bouquet (Bridge Records)

Virtuosic renditions of past gems [ZT]

Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (Colin Currie Records)

A superb new version of Reich’s finest work [SB]

Brahms: The Sextets (Signum Classics)

(Déjà Review) Few performances are fresher [CC]

Biber sonatas PAS1088

Biber: Mystery Sonatas (Passacaille)

An exciting, intense and often dramatic performance of these masterpieces [JV]

Surinach acrobats BMOP1089

Surinach: Acrobats of God (BMOP Sound)

Light of heart yet with substance and a certain misty-eyed nostalgia [RB]

Selva Ciar CC012

Hommage à Blanche Selva (Ciar Classics)

A pleasing disc of rarities – a worthy tribute [SG]

Schubert Insomnia 0302961BC

Schubert: Insomnia (Berlin Classics)

This delightful collection of songs takes the listener on a gentle trip both down memory lane and on an expedition into some obscure backyards [GF]

Sirmen qts cpo5554882

Sirmen: String Quartets (cpo)

A recording which does justice to the fascinating music of a remarkable woman [GPu]

Portraits VW Albion ALBCD057

Portraits of a Mind (Albion Records)

This CD is a wonderful, enduring celebration of Ralph Vaughan Williams [JQ]

Mahler sym5 PTC5187067

Mahler: Symphony 5 (Pentatone)

A neat, modern Mahler 5 a little lacking in personality [DMD]

Beach sym 8559139

Beach: Symphony, Piano Concerto (Naxos)

A brilliant bargain performance of Amy Beach’s two major orchestral works – snap it up [NH]

Ries Chamber Nash Hyperion CDA68380

Ries: Piano Trio & Sextets (Hyperion)

The fine recording and engineering on this disc are applied to rather drab and workmanlike performances [MZ]

Schumann Lieder Schreier Berlin 0302928BC

Schumann: Lieder (Berlin Classics)

These fifty-year-old recordings are classics and admirers of Schumann and Peter Schreier should own them, but the documentation is scanty [GF]

Auerbach 24 Preludes Naxos 8.574464

Auerbach: 24 Preludes (Naxos)

A Danish Duo do justice to Auerbach’s Preludes for violin and piano [LW]

Holst Planets Harding BR Klassik 900208 

Holst: The Planets (BR Klassik)

Harding’s relaxed run around Holst’s solar system [LD]

Coleridge Requiem Gough Convivium CR081

Coleridge: Requiem (Convivium Records)

A very good recording of Matthew Coleridge’s beautiful Requiem [JQ]

Kahn Chamber Hohenstaufen Hänssler HC22075

Kahn: Chamber Music (Hänssler Classic)

This protégé of Brahms had a definite gift for melody [DJB]

Violin Concertos by Black Composers Barton Pine Cedille CDR90000214

Violin Concertos by Black Composers (Cedille)

The programme has lost none of its ground-breaking importance [SA]

Beethoven Symp 1 6 Mravinsky Elatus 0927498332

Beethoven: Symphonies 1 and 6 (Elatus)

(Déjà Review) Mravinsky’s Beethoven is revealed to be of considerable importance, and completely idiomatic [CH]

mozart bacchetti classicvoice piano

Mozart: Piano Works (ClassicVoice)

Nice performances, but more one for the Bacchetti completists [DC]

bruckner symphony dausgaard bis

Bruckner: Symphony 4 (BIS)

Another weak instalment in this ongoing Bruckner cycle series [RMo]

messiaen canyons hyperion

Messiaen: Des canyons aux étoiles (Hyperion)

A superb performance of Messiaen’s visionary score [JQ]

beethoven sonatas cambria takacs

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas (Cambria)

Top-drawer interpretations in every respect [SG]

stock chicago pristine

Frederick Stock (conductor) Chicago Symphony Vol. 2 (Pristine Audio)

Frederick Stock and his Chicago forces excel in major repertory [JW]