February 2025
Smaldone: What no one else sees … (New Focus)
Thrilling contemporary music with strong jazz influences [GF]
Bliss conducts Bliss (Pristine Audio)
Bliss conducts excellent recordings of two of his major works, refreshed in fine transfers [JQ]
Ligeti: Ligeti Project Vol 1-3 (Teldec)
(Déjà Review) A beguiling combination of clarity and sheer weirdness. Whether a Ligeti fan or not, heartily recommended – a rare sonic experience! [TH]
Martinů: Julietta (Supraphon)
(Déjà Review) Surreal music drama defying operatic convention, illuminated by Martinů’s gorgeous yet poetically fastidious palette [RB]
Bestiary on Ivory (Bridge)
Very well performed and recorded, this disc should be heard by all who love the repertoire of the piano [GPu]
Aline van Barentzen (piano) Radio Archives Edition (Meloclassic)
Pianophiles will warmly embrace this latest addition to the Meloclassic roster [SG]
Beethoven: Piano Concertos (Pristine Audio)
Classic concerti in vintage stereo from Rudolf Firkušný [PH]
G Williams: Missa Cambrensis (Lyrita)
A compelling and profound work in a very fine premiere recording [JQ]
Wurmser: Piano Works (Hortus)
A near-forgotten man of French music reappears with a piano retrospective [JW]
Schumann: Violin Concerto
by Alan George
Schubert: String Quartet “Death and the Maiden”
by Alan George
Shostakovich: String Quartet 6
by Alan George
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) A superb rendition of the opera [RMg]
Coates: Orchestral Works (Lyrita)
(Déjà Review) One of the most handsome Coates collections [RB]
Schumann: Symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon)
A generation after his first brilliant recordings, Bernstein again champions the symphonies of a favourite composer [RMo]
Contemporary Colours Vol 2: New Music by Maltese Composers (Navona)
A wide range of creative achievement by contemporary Maltese composers [GH]
Loeillet: Six Suites for Harpsichord (Prelude Classics)
A beautifully performed and recorded set of six modestly-conceived and barely known harpsichord suites [JW]
Haydn: Die Schöpfung (BR Klassik)
A special Creation from Rattle with his beloved Bavarians [PH]
A monk’s life (Hyperion)
An indispensable addition to any collection of Renaissance music [JV]
Beethoven: Piano Concerti No.4-5 (Regis)
(Déjà Review) Classic accounts of Beethoven that demand to be heard [CC]
Alwyn: Elizabethan Dances, Oboe Concerto, Aphrodite in Aulis (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Two premiere recordings at bargain cost and generally excellent performances [JW]
Gipps: Orchestral Works Volume 3 (Chandos)
Another group of exemplary performances show this composer in the best possible light [NB]
Palestrina Revealed (Harmonia Mundi)
A most auspicious way to mark the 500th anniversary of Palestrina [JQ]
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Featured Naxos review |
Featured Naxos review |
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