October 2026
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]
Britten: Saint Nicolas & A Ceremony of Carols (Signum Classics)
An excellent pairing of two of Britten’s most popular choral works [JQ]
Haydn: Cello Concertos (En Phases)
Pared back Haydn that will divide opinion [DJB]
Bartók: Violin & Viola Concertos (Chandos)
(Déjà Review) A disc of superb value in playing time terms as well as anything else [NB]
Alfano: Violin Sonata, Piano Quintet (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) This is late-romantic music that sings with its face looking into radiance [RB]
Partout amour me vient chercher – 17th Century French sacred works (Indesens)
An excellent recording of little-known music, which also raises some questions [JV]
Shostakovich in France (Boydell Press)
An original and perceptive account of the reception of Shostakovich’s music in France [DHa]
