May 2026
Bryars: Piano Concerto (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Wistful, often romantic and without flourish, and deeply intimate in reach [JW]
Jill Crossland plays Mozart & Beethoven (Diversions)
(Déjà Review) A consistent and well thought-out recital that grew on me with each listening [OL]
Müller: Concertos for Clarinet and Orchestra (MDG)
Doesn’t quite make it into the Classical clarinet pantheon [SV]
Romberg: Symphony of Saints (Resonus)
Approachable, serpentine, valedictory [RB]
Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartets (cpo)
Impressive Mendelssohn, and more so than you might expect [DC]
Mozart: Don Giovanni (C Major)
A fitfully interesting, ultimately disappointing Don Giovanni from Barrie Kosky [DHa]
Min Kwon (piano): America/Beautiful (Delos)
An indispensable collection for those interested in American piano music [PRJ]
Pioneering Haydn On Record: Symphony 28
by Christopher Howell
Mozart: String Quartet K387
by Alan George
Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Hallé)
(Déjà Review) Strongly competitive in a hotly contested field [BW]
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos (Hyperion)
Déjà Review) A triumph [IL]
Zelenka & Handel: Choral Music (Prospero Classical)
Outstanding performance of Zelenka’s little-known mass [JV]
Wagner: Orchestral Music (Sony Classical)
Another splendid vintage collection of Wagner overtures from two great pairs of American orchestras and conductors [RMo]
Czerny: Piano Music Vol 2 (Toccata Classics)
Sparkling performances of Czerny’s brilliant duets [JF]
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 (Orchid Classics)
Caroline Shaw and Beethoven 3 bring Jonathan Biss’s ‘Beethoven /5’ project to a superb close [DHa]
Pelēcis: Chamber Music (SKANi)
Simple, hypnotic, sweet and soothing [DJB]
Elgar: Enigma Variations (Reference Recordings)
Beautiful, clean recording and stylish performances, but is the orchestra large enough? [SV]
Mozart: Symphony No.40; Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (Le Palais des Dégustateurs)
The jury is still out on Maestro Carlos Païta [RMay]
Joplin: King of Ragtime (Danacord)
This evergreen music would have benefited from a much simpler, more natural approach [PBW]
Bach: Johannes-Passion (Alia Vox)
Reflective and intimate [DF]
Cowie: Darkness into Light (Métier)
Evocative, iridescent, masterfully performed chamber music [JF]
Bach: St John Passion (Soli Deo Gloria)
(Déjà Review) A splendid new account, which all devotees of Bach’s vocal music should try to hear [JQ]
Alwyn: Violin Concerto (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Some very impressive and often very romantic music [JF]
Mahler: Symphony No 9 (Deutsche Grammophon)
Sheer beauty of sound coupled with high drama in a stunning live performance [RMo]
