August 2026
Pioneering Haydn On Record: Symphony 16
by Christopher Howell
Borodin: String Quartet No.2
by Alan George
Plácido Domingo – The First Recital (Warner Classics)
Déjà Review) Open-toned, virile and expressive singing [RJF]
Royer: Harpsichord Works (Ambroise)
(Déjà Review) Works, varying from tender to tumultuous, are given brilliant performances on a splendid historical harpsichord [JV]
Bruckner: Symphony No 9 (Gramola)
Ballot’s somewhat pacier re-make of the Ninth combines grandeur with a certain deliberateness, while the finale fragments provide scholarly interest [RMo]
Strange Loops: Clarinet Quintets (Signum Classics)
Lyric rhapsody, looping modernity, dazzling bravura [JF]
Duruflé: Messe Cum Jubilo (Psalmus)
Duruflé’s sacred masterpiece, restored in context [JF]
Orff: Carmina Burana (Pentatone)
An individual vision that doesn’t quite come off [DJB]
Saxophobia: Celebrating the saxophone craze of the 1920s (Chandos)
A fun disc for lovers of the saxophone or the 1920s [SB]
Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, Double Sextet, Radio Rewrite (Harmonia Mundi)
Second time around, but still just as good [DC]
Wagner: Die Walküre (Pristine Audio)
This reissue may still have sound issues, but Amy Shuard’s performance alone makes it a worthy addition to anyone’s collection [SGa]
Chimera (Urlicht)
An enriching and engaging album of improvised music led by the quixotic and brilliant Iva Bittová [JW]
Borrett: Interlude, Rebellion, Then (Signum Classics)
Lyrical works that follow in the long tradition of British string music [DJB]
Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine (Erato)
(Déjà Review) Sheer vitality and excitement [GH]
Liszt: Harmonies du soir (Decca)
(Déjà Review) An absolutely superlative recital [RBe]
Bach: Water Through Ice (Diversions)
Crudely played and recorded, this simply cannot be recommended [RMo]
The Viola Sonatas from the Royal Chapel of Madrid (Eudora Records)
An important recording of viola sonatas from the classical period in Spain [JV]
Brahms & Contemporaries: Piano Quartets, Vol 3 (Chandos)
The next volume in the Kaleidoscope’s Brahms series proves again that he is mightier than his contemporaries [ST]
JS Bach: The Cello Suites · Guitar Transcriptions (IBS Classical)
A thoroughly convincing, beautifully played, and sensitively transcribed version of these masterworks [RMo]
Čiurlionis: Complete Works for Orchestra (Northern Flowers)
Čiurlionis’s nature scores heard in eloquent performances by a foremost interpreter of his music [JW]
John Williams: Spotlight (Prospero Classical)
An enjoyable selection of lesser-known Williams, showcasing his versatility [DJB]
Minkus: La Bayadère (Opus Arte)
(Déjà Review) One of the best productions of a classical ballet that the ROH has ever staged or filmed [MMB]
Liszt: A Faust Symphony (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) White heat roller-coaster thrills [IL]
