April 2025
Für Beethoven: Arrangements for Guitar & Piano (MP Editions)
The unlikely pairing of guitar and fortepiano yields surprising musical discoveries in this engaging collection of Beethoven arrangements and related works [SSc]
Virtuoso – Music for Euphonium and Brass Band (Naxos)
Intriguing arrangements for brass band of some well-known works [KT]
Mussorgsky: Songs (Warner Classics)
Christoff is delightfully over the top, hugely enjoyable and making more straight-laced versions sound boring [TH]
Mahler: Symphony 9 (Decca)
An interesting, provocative reading of the Symphony and the performances of the songs are very good [JQ]
Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (Brilliant Classics)
An admirable new version of Messiaen’s much-recorded work [SB]
Walton: Violin Concerto and other orchestral works (Chandos)
John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London embark on a Walton odyssey [PH]
Bach: Keyboard Concertos (Warner Classics)
Spectacularly virtuosic playing of some of Bach’s most joyously inventive music [RMo]
Kelly: St Francis of Assisi (Regent)
A much-needed boost to the limited Bryan Kelly discography [PRJ]
Stravinsky: Le Rossignol (Erato)
Roth andLes Siècles provide enough musical revelations to make this the top choice among stereo versions [MP]
Busoni: Piano Music Vol. 13 (Naxos)
Wolf Harden brings his survey to end with something of a miscellany to tie up loose ends [RCh]
Corigliano: Symphony 2 (Chandos)
This new version of the Second Symphony now takes pride of place on the Corigliano part of the shelf [CC]
Jascha Heifetz (violin) Sonatas (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) No Heifetz admirer should be without this [JW]
Cécile Chaminade and her contemporaries play Chaminade (APR)
Treasures a plenty in this fabulously explorative and enjoyable release [RCh]
Holst: Beni Mora and Choral Symphony (Somm Recordings)
Sargent’s charisma shows these scores in their best light [NB]
Prokofiev: Symphony 6 (LSO Live)
A great version of one of Prokofiev’s finest works from the LSO and Noseda [PH]
Donizetti: Alfredo il Grande (Naxos)
No masterwork but an interesting find reawakened after two centuries [GF]
Sibelius and Barber: Violin Concertos (Erato)
Capuçon is ponderous in Sibelius but well attuned to Barber [LW]
The Convict Harpsichordist (Move)
(Déjà Review) An fascinating recital themed around the first harpsichord to arrive in Australia [RH]
Dances of our Time (BIS)
(Déjà Review) A modern counterpart to the ‘orchestral lollipops’ discs we all used to love, and is equally enjoyable on those terms [TH]