- Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Pristine Audio)The culmination of a great Ring cycle has a place among the best: scintillating singing, playing and conducting [RMo]
- Bertin: Fausto (Bru Zane)The first-ever Faust opera based on Goethe – and from a feminine perspective [PCG]
- Bruckner: From the Archives, Volume 1 (SOMM Ariadne)The auspicious launch of what promises to be a Bruckner series of uncommon interest [JQ]
- Tchaikovsky, Korngold: String Sextets (Hyperion)Two delightful string sextets, expertly played [SB]
- Elisabeth Schumann (soprano): Elisabeth Schumann’s Swan Song (Parnassus)Late recordings, issued in their entirety for the first time, do not show the much loved soprano at her best [PT]
- Kabeláč: Complete Chamber Music (Capriccio)An important set from a composer who had much to say, and said it without any compromise [HC]
- Piston: Symphony No. 4, Capriccio, Three New England Sketches (Naxos)(Déjà Review) A must-buy featuring some truly outstanding 20th century American music [NH]
- Mozart: Arias, Symphony No. 38 (Opus Arte)(Déjà Review) Excellent performances of these great works [PSh]
- Bach JS: Sonatas and Partitas (BIS)Dazzling virtuosity, sometimes at the expense of the music [ZT]
- Beethoven: String Quartets Vol 1 (Chandos)A very promising beginning to the Doric’s Beethoven cycle, marked by excellent engineering, superb emotion, and precise attention to detail [MZ]
- Bruckner: Symphony No 4 (Profil)A magnificent account of the last version of Bruckner’s most approachable symphony, beautifully played in ideal recorded sound [RMo]
- Sacred Treasures of Venice (Hyperion)A fine young male choir in known and little-known repertoire [GH]
- Seither: Lauschgut. Works for (Inside) Piano (Kairos)Seither’s piano oeuvre is conceptually consistent and superbly executed here, but it’s patently not for everyone [RH]
- Tarkiainen: Midnight Sun Variations (Ondine)A fine survey of Tarkiainen’s recent work, and a great introduction to her attractive sound world [HC]
- Elgar: Enigma Variations (Hallé)(Déjà Review) A radiant account of Enigma [CF]
- Jongen: Cello Concerto & Impressions d’Ardennes (Cyprès)(Déjà Review) Cyprès have done a sterling job kicking over the predictable traces [RB]
- The Queen’s Masque (Coviello Classics)The music can’t fail to entertain, but the performances are not really satisfying [JV]
- JS Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 (BIS)Excellent and compelling [SG]
- Center: Instrumental & Chamber Music Vol 3The final instalment of Christopher Guild’s imaginative survey of Center’s piano music [JF]
- Bruckner: Symphony 7 (Capriccio)A patchy account, hobbled by a particularly egregious bit of tinkering with the codas of the first movement and the finale [RMo]
- Hamelin: New Piano Works (Hyperion)Remarkable playing, remarkable music [RCh]
- Bizet: L’Arlésienne Complete stage music (SOMM Recordings)Bizet’s L’Arlésienne returns to its original theatrical roots, and the revelation is enchanting in the hands of Plasson [PCG]
- Marx: Natur-Trilogie (ASV)An impressionistic voice soaked in the quintessence of lyrical expression [RB]
- Grieg & Schumann Piano Concertos (Warner Classics)Grab this one [KS]
- Russian Variations (Hyperion)Well planned and brilliantly executed recital culminates in a superb set of Rachmaninov variations [NB]
- Bruckner: Symphony No 9 (Myrios Classics)A swift, coherent, absorbing onslaught upon Bruckner’s Ninth which carries its own conviction [RMo]
- Vecchi: Six-Voice Motets (Dynamic)Complete motets by a prolific but overlooked Italian renaissance master [GH]
- Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Pristine Audio)A good but not quite superlative recording in enhanced sound [MBu]
- Liszt: A Faust Symphony, Les Préludes (St Laurent Studio)Uncontrived, yet revelatory, interpretations from a neglected podium auteur [NC]
- Bach: (RE)inventio (Divine Art)An interesting exercise, with mostly winning results [DJB]
- Wallen: The Girl in My Alphabet (Avie)(Déjà Review) Wallen is a brashly creative, open-minded composer striding with confident abandon from jazz, to Tippett, to spirituals, to Schoenberg, to Mediterranean mystery [RB]
- Yoshimatsu: Symphony No 4, Trombone Concerto (Chandos)(Déjà Review) Much of this music is delightful, particularly the symphony, where Yoshimatsu wears his heart unselfconsciously on his sleeve. The BBC Philharmonic plays beautifully with Ian Bousfield a fine soloist in the concerto [CT]
- Wilhelm Kempff (piano) Live Concert Edition (Meloclassic)Indispensable for Kempff fans [SG]
- D Johnson: Preludes & Fugues (Divine Art)Another major contribution to Scottish classical music [JF]
- A Chronicle of First Performances at The Henry Wood Promenade Concertsby Alastair Mitchell & Alan Poulton
- Yixiang Hou (piano) Carnival (KNS Classical)Worthy performances in an unusual and intriguing programme [RCh]
- Sibelius: Symphonies (Brilliant Classics)A fine set but compromised by comparatively lacklustre Second and Seventh Symphonies [RMo]
- Mozart: Così fan tutte (Deutsche Grammophon)Despite cuts and a less than perfect ensemble, the sense of being a part of an exciting occasion is boldly realized here [MP]
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