May 2026
American Tapestry: Calidore String Quartet (Signum Classics)
A well-planned, enjoyable selection of American string quartets [LW]
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (SOMM Recordings)
A live Beecham Scheherazade that generates the heat and drive sometimes missing from his commercial recording [JW]
Woodgates: The System Made Me Do It (Delphian)
A somewhat enigmatic release that raises more questions than it answers [PRJ]
Tye: Peterhouse Mass (Hyperion)
Exemplary performances of sacred Latin works, some reconstructed, by a composer who is still a rather mysterious figure in Renaissance music [GH]
Aitchison: Piano Quintets (Métier)
Two recent, uncompromising piano quintets [RB]
My Fayre Ladye – Tudor Songs & Chant (Nimbus)
(Déjà Review) This fine disc has worn very well [JW]
Sir Thomas Beecham: The Great Communicator (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) An excellent insight into the human relationships and stories behind some of the great symphonic and vocal music on record [DBe]
Pioneering Haydn On Record: Symphony 43
by Christopher Howell
Sibelius: Pelléas et Mélisande
by Alan George
Luceat Choir fundraiser
by Ralph Moore
Berlioz: Les Troyens (SOMM Beecham)
(Déjà Review) No enthusiast for Les Troyens should be without this set [JS]
Adès: Orchestral Music (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) An important disc of remarkable contemporary music [LW]
The Great Forgotten Danish Violinist Henry Holst (Danacord)
Fascinating concerto survivors from Henry Holst’s British days [JW]
Schubert: Piano Music (Pentatone)
A marvellous rendition of Schubert’s final sonata [ST]
Holst: The Planets (LSO Live)
A Planets that just about justifies itself thanks to Pappano’s colourful theatricality [ST]
Beethoven & Brahms: Orchestral Music
Old-fashioned, perhaps, but big, bold and sometimes surprisingly effective accounts [RMay]
López-Gavilán: Orchestral Music (Reference Recordings)
Sit back and enjoy a plenipotentiary’s sound-picture [RB]
MacMillan: The Birds of Rhiannon (Chandos)
A good primer to start exploring Sir James MacMillan’s music [ST]
Mozart: Serenades (Nimbus Records)
Fresh as a daisy: beguiling playing and a big sound [RB]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Pristine Audio)
A fine performance in excellent sound for the provenance, well enhanced, but with attendant flaws and failings [RMo]
Darkness (Challenge Classics)
An interesting if sombre compilation of German songs; the singing may not rival the very best [DJa]
Wood: String Quartets No.2, 4 (SOMM Recordings)
Continued reclamation of Charles Wood’s string quartets in generous performances [JW]
Bella Napoli (Alba)
(Déjà Review) Lively and energetic performances of music by Neapolitan composers [JV]
Beethoven and His Teachers (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Another insightful, informative album of early Beethoven from Naxos [BR]
