Author: Laurence Slater
Bach: Fugues arranged for String Quartet (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) Gorgeous playing, wonderful music, but more of a supplement than a Bach staple [DC]
L Anderson: Orchestral Music Vol. 3 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Leroy Anderson hits in uninhibited performances full of joie de vivre [IL]
Barraine: Symphonies 1 and 2 (cpo)
Impressive music, very well performed and recorded presents an unfamiliar composer with a confident musical personality [NB]
Chopin: Piano music (Decca)
A rewarding recital, if you can take to the first Ballade [SB]
Farkas: Orchestral Music Vol. 6 (Toccata Classics)
A happy addition to Toccata Classics’ enterprising Farkas cycle [PRJ]
Sacred Treasures of Rome (Hyperion)
Excellent performances which demonstrate that Palestrina’s music is anything but boring [JV]
Bloch: Piano Quintets (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) It is never too late to make good personal discoveries of great music [JFL]
Bruckner & Mahler: Symphonies (Tahra)
(Déjà Review) These performances repay careful listening and study [JQ]
Eva Zaïcik (mezzo-soprano) Rebelle (Alpha Classics)
Eva Zaïcik gives a fitting tribute to the artistry of Célestine Galli-Marié who created the role of Carmen [MC]
Poulenc: Gloria & Schubert: Mass No 5 (Berlin Classics)
The youth choir Dresdner Kreuzchor struggles to produce a sound strong enough for these works [GPJ]
Beethoven & Mozart: String Quartets (Biddulph)
The short-lived brilliance of the Primrose Quartet heard in 1939 broadcasts [JW]
Alkan: Early piano works (Piano Classics)
A considerable achievement, unlikely to be bettered any time soon – if at all [BSt]
Bacevičius: Orchestral works (Toccata Classics)
(Déjà Review) Anyone remotely interested in 20th century Eastern European Music will make a wonderful discovery [DWa]
Bach: Cantatas (Accent)
(Déjà Review) If you are partial to the ‘one voice to a part’ experience, Kuijken’s approach has much to commend it [TB]
Britten: Suite from The Prince of the Pagodas (Chandos)
A welcome reissue of an excellent recording placing Britten’s ballet in context [DHa]
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (CRQ Editions)
Tito Gobbi in one of his great roles at Covent Garden, by way of the BBC [PH]
Skrzydlewski: Piano works (Acte Préalable)
Acte Préalable have unearthed another forgotten name for this recital of idiomatically romantic music [RCh]
Organ Music in New England (Acis Productions)
One of the most imaginative organ discs to come my way in some time [WK]
Korngold: Captain Blood & other filmscores (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) An object lesson in swashbuckling film music [SA]
Ben Heppner sings Scenes from Wagner’s Ring (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) This is a coup for Mr. Heppner, a disc deserving of any number of awards [KS]
Benjamin Appl (baritone) Hommage à Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Alpha Classics)
A cornucopia of wonderful songs, superbly sung, for every lover of art songs to delve into [GF]
Bach: Organ Favourites on the Mighty Willis Organ (Alto)
Cathedral power meets Baroque brilliance: Bach unleashed on Liverpool’s Titan [JF]
Bartók: Complete String Quartets (Forgotten Records)
Outgunned by the competition, but still worth a listen [PH]
McCormack: mine but for its sublimation (Another Timbre)
The first recording of a spellbinding composition for piano [DHa]
