September 2023

wagner orchestral beulah

Wagner: Orchestral Music (Beulah)

Neglected Gallic Wagner from Detroit proves a winner [DMD]

bolcom cabaret rattle

Bolcom: The Complete Cabaret Songs (Rattle)

Fascinating music from the borderland between classical modernism and popular idioms [GF]

giordano fedora malibran

Giordano: Fedora (Malibran-Music)

A powerful, idiomatic vintage recording of an unjustly neglected opera with some fascinating bonuses [RMo]

loves me not marinova navona

Kristina Marinova (piano) Loves Me Not (Navona)

A low key and reflective recital that mostly satisfies [RCh]

Rachmaninov Tchaikovsky Romances Pentatone PTC5186866

Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky: Romances (Pentatone)

An attractive selection from this marvellous repertoire, very well performed [RWe]

Leighton Every Living Creature SOMMCD 0667

Leighton: Every Living Creature (SOMM Recordings)

A valuable collection of Leighton’s choral music, with several first recordings [SB]

simpson symphony hyperion

Simpson: Symphony 11 (Hyperion)

(Déjà Review) This release, appropriately dedicated to the late Ted Perry, is up to Hyperion’s best [HC]

saint-saens chamber apex

Saint-Saëns: Chamber Works (Apex)

(Déjà Review) Simply wonderful chamber works superbly performed [MC]

Mozart: Piano Concerti No. 15-17 (Alpha Classics)

Sparkling and exuberant playing makes the most of these three Viennese concerti [RCh]

Delibes / Maillot: Coppél-i-A (Unitel Editions)

A worthwhile supplement to more conventional productions [RMay]

A Year at Llandaff (Regent)

A splendidly eclectic church music mainly from the past two centuries [JF]

Schubert: Piano Sonatas (Hyperion)

Attractive performances whose strength is in the happy times and finding consolation in still facing the unhappy [MG]

Bach: Suites for Solo Cello (Sono Luminus)

A fleet yet sonorous and profound account of these masterworks, played without repeats and delightfully absorbing [RMo]

Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3, The Bells (Biddulph)

Astonishingly vivid off-air survivors from London’s Queen’s Hall in the 1930s [JW]

Müller: Chamber Works (Capriccio)

(Déjà Review) My first meeting with Müller and I hope it won’t be my last … music which is animated, warm and intriguing [JW]

Mendelssohn: Piano Sonatas (Harmonia Mundi)

(Déjà Review) Chiu’s playing is interesting and sensitive … the most obvious choice for a single disc of Mendelssohn’s sonatas [PCW]

CPE Bach: Piano Concertos (Hänssler)

Soloist Orazio Sciortino is in splendid form, so there is much to enjoy here [MC]

Bruckner: Symphony No.8 (Alpha)

An oddly bland and inconsistent account which in no sense challenges established favourite recordings [RMo]

faure piano hyperion

Fauré: Piano Works (Hyperion)

Magical performances, illuminated and musically informed, recorded in superior sound [SG]

Mendelson & Bacewicz: Chamber Works (Chandos)

Four ‘lost’ works of Polish modernism presented in splendid performances (GPu)

tchaikovsky symphony reference

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 (Reference Recordings)

An enterprising pairing of two works given thrilling, gripping performances and sound [RMo]

Wendling Quartet: DG and Electrola Recordings (Biddulph)

An important cache of early chamber music recordings heard in debatable transfers [JW]

Diamond: Symphony No.3 (Naxos)

(Déjà Review) Fresh, devoted performances of music fully worthy of continued attention [CC]

Elgar: Cello Concerto (Hallé)

(Déjà Review) A masterly reading of a great score … Elder draws stunning playing from the Hallé [GPJ]