November 2025
Beethoven: Theatre Music (cpo)
Colourful, Powerful Performances of Beethoven’s Music for the Theatre [DF]
Shostakovich & Saariaho: String Quartets (Rubicon)
Compelling Shostakovich and Saariaho from the Dudok Quartet [DHa]
Moeran: Orchestral Music (SOMM Ariadne)
Another treasure trove of archive broadcast performances crowned by a definitive version of the Violin Concerto from Albert Sammons [NB]
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No.5-6 (London Philharmonic Orchestra)
Karina Canellakis and the LPO deliver thrilling live Tchaikovsky [DHa]
Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Unitel Editions)
A challenging production, but very rewarding if you give it a go, and the singing is sensational [ST]
Andrea Lam (piano): Piano Diary (ABC Classics)
A dramatic mix of favourites and rarities as Lam explores the joys, sorrows and challenges of her life at the piano [RCh]
Rolle: Sinfonias, Harpsichord Concerti (cpo)
Delightful mid-18th century rarities [DC]
Bloch: Schelomo; Strauss: Don Quixote (Pristine Audio)
(Déjà Review) A deserved classic [JW]
Brahms: String Quintets (Onyx)
(Déjà Review) Bold excursions into some of Brahms’ most striking music [JFL]
Robert Bennett & Duke: Violin Concerti (Chandos)
Not just Samuel Barber – the American Violin Concerto, School of 1941-1943, revived with élan [JW]
Rutter: A Clare College Celebration (Harmonia Mundi)
A fitting 80th birthday tribute to John Rutter [JQ]
Lofstrom: Myths and Accidents (Diversions)
Songs of real originality from Doug Lofstrom [DHa]
Brahms: Complete Works for Viola, Vol 1 (Challenge Classics)
Brahms and the viola: a new series explores the connection [PH]
Bosmans: Cello Concertos 1 & 2, Poème (cpo)
Some wonderful writing in these concertos that have lain unheard for nearly a century [RCh]
Gassmann: Opera Overtures (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) A feel-good CD that will put a smile on one’s face [MMB]
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas (Decca)
(Déjà Review) Still one of the best at any price [DC]
Leopold Stokowski (conductor): Great Recordings, Vol 2 (ICA Classics)
A second tranche of Stokowski from ICA contains the known and issued and some novelties [JW]
Schumann & Brahms: Piano Quintets (Virgin Classics)
I was entranced, enraptured and enthralled – you have to have this one [DJB]
Bériot: Violin Concertos 2, 3 & 5 (Naxos)
Fireworks and songful concertos [JW]
Valls: Mapa Armónico Práctico 1742 (MDG)
Impressive display of Valls’ daring use of harmony [JV]
Firsova and Smirnov: Love and Loss (OUR Recordings)
Moving works from this husband and wife team [SB]
Sir Adrian Boult: The Warner Classics Edition (Warner Classics)
A 36-CD remastered box that restores (almost) all Boult’s mono legacy for the Warner umbrella of labels [JW]
Sparks from Ashes – Czech Song Cycles (Chandos)
A satisfying collection of songs from Czech and Slovak lands from a tenor in fine fettle [PH]
Bliss: Miracle in the Gorbals & Metamorphic Variations (Chandos)
Mid and late period Bliss contrasts an underappreciated ballet with a curious orchestral work [JW]
