October 2026
Chopin: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) A desirable disc that will attract many listeners [MC]
Casella: Symphony 3 & Elegia eroica (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Probably the strongest and most symphonic symphony written by an Italian [CH]
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks & Water Music Suites Nos. 1-3 (Sony Classics)
Malgoire’s second recording of the two famous Handel suites in period style has worn remarkably well [RMo]
Carwithen: Film Music (Dutton Epoch)
(Déjà Review) Some really fine cinema music here high on sumptuous 1950s confidence [RB]
Farrenc: Complete Piano Works Vol. 5 (Grand Piano)
Farrenc’s later piano works in the fifth volume of this excellent survey [RCh]
Bach & Vivaldi: Cello Sonatas (Forgotten Records)
(Déjà Review) Sympathetic, legato-conscious performances [JW]
Brian: Psalm 23, By the Waters of Babylon & Doctor Merryheart (Lyrita)
Brian admirers will have acquired this disc long before reading this review [NB]
Saariaho: Songs (Ondine)
Two very late works and a brief early song cycle by this significant Finnish composer [GH]
Pioneering Haydn On Record: Symphony 12
by Christopher Howell
Mendelssohn: Three Great Overtures
by Alan George
Gertrude Meller (piano): British Homochord Piano Solo Recordings (Sakuraphon)
Pianist rescued in brilliant fashion from undeserved obscurity [RCh]
Elgar: The Kingdom (Hallé)
(Déjà Review) Elder and the Hallé offer the pre-eminent digital account of Elgar’s last oratorio [JQ]
Lumbye: Orchestral Music (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Joins my select list of music for cheering up [BW]
Bortniansky: Creonte (Toccata Classics)
An interesting curiosity uncovered after two centuries. The recording itself is a survivor of the challenges imposed by the war in Ukraine [MP]
Maria Callas Arias Vol 2 (Pristine Audio)
A stunning anthology of Callas at her very best, enhanced by being rendered into Ambient Stereo [RMo]
Mendelssohn: Sacred Works Vol 1 (Naxos)
If this first volume’s small treasures are a sign of what’s to come from Naxos’ complete Mendelssohn Choral Music cycle, we may eagerly await the remainder [SGa]
Jack Hancher (guitar): Muse (Deux-Elles)
Delightful, delicate arrangements for guitar of some very well-known piano works [KT]
In Search of Lost Time — Shchedrin, Stravinsky, Sergei Taneyev (Genuin)
Monumental input from each composer, and recording and performance quality to match [DC]
Sinner, Don’t Let This Harvest Pass (Métier)
Variations for piano that cannot fail to inspire awe and catharsis [ACG]
Scriabin: Bright Lights, Dark Flames (Azure Sky)
Playing that truly draws you into both the more lyrical and dissonant worlds of a notoriously difficult composer [SGa]
Blake: Chamber Works (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Blake’s accessible music never fails to impress with its invention and generous melody [IL]
Beethoven & Brahms: Symphonies (Forgotten Records)
(Déjà Review) An outstanding Beethoven Seventh, but the rest of the programme is very mixed [WH]
Adès, Kurtág & Tippett: Concertos (Hallé)
Modern masterpieces in superb accounts [LW]
Schumann: Das Paradis und die Peri (Alia Vox)
An aural and artistic treat from Jordi Savall and co, but give more time to the music than to the libretto [SGa]
