February 2024
Salzedo: Scintillation (Da Vinci Classics)
A valuable and thoroughly enjoyable anthology of works for solo harp, played with insight and vivacity [GPu]
Rachmaninov: Symphony 1 (Red Note)
An interesting, well-presented performance on a budget issue [EJW]
Andre Schoch (trumpet) Core (Es-Dur)
Readings that don’t match up with the best, and an ungenerous runtime [DJB]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Dynamic)
Bach, beautifully embroidered [PJ]
Shostakovich: Symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon)
The final instalment in Andris Nelsons’ Shostakovich symphony cycle [JQ]
D Scarlatti: Sonatas (Navona)
Metz’s playing has admirable directness of approach, but the lovely Clementi square piano is a revelation [MG]
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (High Definition Tape Transfers)
If you want to hear Stravinsky conduct his own most famous work in what is by far the best sound to date, this is it [RMo]
Beethoven: Piano Trios (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) It’s difficult adequately to describe the essential rightness of these performances [SV]
Montgeroult: Piano Sonatas (Brilliant Classics)
Remarkable piano sonatas but check whether you are happy with the fortepiano [SB]
Dans nos yeux – recital (Warner Classics)
Crossover, yes, but don’t let that deter you from some very enjoyable music [DJB]
Leiviskä: Orchestral Works Volume 1 (BIS)
An auspicious first volume of orchestral music by an unfamiliar Finnish composer [NB]
Palmgren: Complete Piano Works Vol. 7 (Grand Piano)
Very attractive music, lots of first recordings and another success in an exciting series [RCh]
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor) Berg, Stravinsky & Vaughan Williams (SOMM Recordings)
A significant addition to the Boult discography [SG]
Saint-Saëns, Glazunov: Violin Concerti (Challenge Classics)
Virtuosic but not exceptional performances of a pair of Romantic concertos [NH]
Ravel: Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 3 (Danacord)
The main works are ill-served by eccentric tempi and phrasing [RWe]
Alfvén: Symphony No. 4, Festival Overture (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Should win many new friends for Alfvén’s music [WT]
Farrenc: Piano Trios, Cello Sonata (Brilliant Classics)
A good introduction to the chamber music of this underrated and under-recorded composer [DJB]
Korngold, Coll & Brahms: Piano Trios (Rubicon)
Trio Isimsiz leave a positive impression [LW]
de Monte: Madrigali spirituali (Passacaille)
Superb performances – the best possible case for Philippus de Monte [JV]
Puccini: Tosca (Unitel Edition)
The staging will divide opinion, but watch, listen, and let the performers convince you [WH]
Verdi: I Lombardi alla prima crociata (BR Klassik)
An exciting, red-blooded performance, captured live in the clearest sound of any available version [MP]
Wilms: The Piano Concertos, Vol 2 (BIS)
If you like the fortepiano, you’ll enjoy this [SFV]
Winter Whispers: Ukrainian Piano Tales (Ars Produktion)
Simple music, but repeated listening brings rewards [SA]
The Nightingale and the Sparrow (Guild)
(Déjà Review) Plenty to enjoy in this delicate, yet never lightweight, repertoire [PW]
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