December 2025
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 [CRo]
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Erin Morley (soprano): Golden Age (Pentatone)
A superb recital which should find a welcome home under any Christmas tree [MP]
Ravel: Piano Concertos (Naïve)
An unremarkable coupling of the Ravel concertos with some intriguing Wittgenstein fillers [PRJ]
Finzi: Cello Concerto & Leighton: Suite Veris Gratia (Chandos)
Well-paired works in perfectly judged performances [DHa]
Brahms: Symphony 1 (Berliner Philharmoniker)
A terrific account of the Brahms First Symphony [JQ]
Beethoven: String Quartets Live (Nimbus)
(Déjà Review) A wonderful document of a significant segment of the core quartet repertoire [CC]
Flute Sonatas by the Bach Sons (Accent)
(Déjà Review) An enjoyable disc with excellent playing [CR]
Handel: Acis and Galatea (Linn)
A strong contender for the Recording of the Year [BW]
Byström: Persuasion (Phono Suecia)
I wish I could receive discs such as this every week [HC]
Martin, Ullmann & Fauré: Chamber works (Berlin Classics)
An atypical programme of chamber works, well performed and recorded [LW]
Works for Solo Piano by British Women Composers (Artalinna)
Excellently crafted but unjustly neglected music, happily restored [PJ]
Sir Thomas Beecham (conductor) The Complete Acoustics 1910-18
Characterful examples of Beecham’s first recordings performed by his zestful orchestra [JW]
