December 2025
Sibelius: Symphonies No. 6 & No. 7 (ESO Records)
A successful launch for a new Sibelius cycle [JQ]
Schubert: Piano Sonatas Volume 1 (Alpha Classics)
Illuminating Schubert from Martin Helmchen [DHa]
Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Book 2 (BIS)
Suzuki offers a brilliant, structurally transparent perspective that combines historical insight with spirit and verve [PB]
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no. 2 (Alto)
Red hot Gilels burns through the sound barrier [RMay]
Ravel: Nash Ensemble (Onyx)
Performances that the composer would have greatly admired but … [DJB]
Boccherini: Symphonies & Cello Concerto (cpo)
(Déjà Review) Packed with immediately appealing music by a sadly neglected composer [JPJ]
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (Soli Deo Gloria)
(Déjà Review) Marvel afresh at the musical skill, imagination and invention [JQ]
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (Hyperion)
Expressive, dramatic and compelling – what’s not to love? [DC]
Bowen: Piano Concertos 3 and 4 (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) Derivative but delightful. A wonderful romantic wallow [IL]
Elgar: Orchestral Music (Hallé)
(Déjà Review) High standards … a fascinating programme [GPJ]
Bartok: Piano Concerto 2 & Mahler: Symphony 5 (C major)
Bronfman excels in Bartók, Nelsons indulges in Mahler [LW]
Hymns by Vaughan Williams and others (Albion Records)
A fascinating album, which sheds light on Vaughan Williams’s association with hymnody [JQ]
Renaissance music for women’s convent (Lucky Music)
A fascinating picture of the liturgical practice in a women’s convent [JV]
Dvořák: Piano Trios 3 & 4 (cpo)
Fine recordings of beloved chamber music [DHa]
Tim Rumsey (piano): Transcriptions (Luminate Records)
A triumphant transcription recital that shows the golden age of the piano is alive and well [RCh]
Finnissy: Piano Works (Métier)
Definitive recordings of piano music by Michael Finnissy [DHa]
Ustvolskaya: Symphonies (BIS)
All five symphonies of the enigmatic Russian composer, in scrupulous performances [SB]
Piano Concertos from the Netherlands (Brilliant Classics)
A fascinating collection of tremendous little-known Dutch works [PRJ]
Gibbs: Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo (First Hand Records)
A little-known East Anglian with a flair for synthesising violin sonatas, played with energy and finesse [JW]
Moeran: Symphony, Violin Concerto (SOMM Ariadne)
An exceptional performance: Albert Sammons’s mastery and sensitivity, in excellent sound [JQ]
Bach: Stokowski Transcriptions Vol. 2 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) They don’t make them like Stokowski any more! [BBr]
Bacewicz: Music for string orchestra (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) Bacewicz’s centenary year is further celebrated with persuasive accounts of four major works for strings [CT]
Valentine: Chamber Music (Brilliant Classics)
Inspirited performances of works by a little known Rome-based Englishman [CR]
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Erin Morley (soprano): Golden Age (Pentatone)
A superb recital which should find a welcome home under any Christmas tree [MP]
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