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]
Biber: Mystery Sonatas (Passacaille)
An exciting, intense and often dramatic performance of these masterpieces [JV]
Surinach: Acrobats of God (BMOP Sound)
Light of heart yet with substance and a certain misty-eyed nostalgia [RB]
Hommage à Blanche Selva (Ciar Classics)
A pleasing disc of rarities – a worthy tribute [SG]
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: String Quartets (cpo)
A recording which does justice to the fascinating music of a remarkable woman [GPu]
Portraits of a Mind (Albion Records)
This CD is a wonderful, enduring celebration of Ralph Vaughan Williams [JQ]
Mahler: Symphony 5 (Pentatone)
A neat, modern Mahler 5 a little lacking in personality [DMD]
Beach: Symphony, Piano Concerto (Naxos)
A brilliant bargain performance of Amy Beach’s two major orchestral works – snap it up [NH]
Ries: Piano Trio & Sextets (Hyperion)
The fine recording and engineering on this disc are applied to rather drab and workmanlike performances [MZ]
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)
A Danish Duo do justice to Auerbach’s Preludes for violin and piano [LW]
Coleridge: Requiem (Convivium Records)
A very good recording of Matthew Coleridge’s beautiful Requiem [JQ]
Kahn: Chamber Music (Hänssler Classic)
This protégé of Brahms had a definite gift for melody [DJB]
Violin Concertos by Black Composers (Cedille)
The programme has lost none of its ground-breaking importance [SA]
Beethoven: Symphonies 1 and 6 (Elatus)
(Déjà Review) Mravinsky’s Beethoven is revealed to be of considerable importance, and completely idiomatic [CH]
Mozart: Piano Works (ClassicVoice)
Nice performances, but more one for the Bacchetti completists [DC]
Bruckner: Symphony 4 (BIS)
Another weak instalment in this ongoing Bruckner cycle series [RMo]
Messiaen: Des canyons aux étoiles (Hyperion)
A superb performance of Messiaen’s visionary score [JQ]
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas (Cambria)
Top-drawer interpretations in every respect [SG]
Frederick Stock (conductor) Chicago Symphony Vol. 2 (Pristine Audio)
Frederick Stock and his Chicago forces excel in major repertory [JW]
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