Author: Laurence Slater
Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Enormous presence and clarity; no serious collector will want to be without this set [TH]
Glass: The Hours (Nonesuch)
(Déjà Review) A Glass soundtrack with a different sort of musical emphasis to what has often gone before [NHo]
Ch’amor mi prese – Sacred and Secular Love in Medieval Italy (Tactus)
Music from the age of Boccaccio, performed colourfully, with sensitivity and imagination [GH]
Mahler: Symphony 5 (SWR Music)
A newly released live recording reminds us of the legacy of a great Mahlerian [DHa]
Jelly d’Arányi (violin): Columbia recordings (Biddulph)
The cultured elegance of violinist Jelly d’Arányi in recordings from the 1920s and 30s [JW]
Eleonora Buratto (soprano) Indomita (Pentatone)
Committed, full-throated bel canto singing – but it must be measured against formidable competition [RMo]
Gulda & Weill: Violin Concertos (Gramola)
Brilliant performances of unusual, even quirky, repertoire [NB]
JS Bach: English Suites (Brilliant Classics)
Rübsam brings a fresh and intoxicating musicality to these captivating scores [SG]
Nathan Milstein (violin): Works by Brahms and Beethoven (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Aristocratic playing and transfers that sound extremely well [JW]
Boccherini: Cello Sonatas (Hyperion Helios)
(Déjà Review) The players are clearly at home with these sonatas providing high expression combined with superb technique [MC]
Coral: Aurora Borealis (Tempus Clasico)
Sonic and structural explorations from a leading Mexican composer [JW]
Osgood: Stabat Mater (Convivium)
This pleasant setting may interest choirs looking for a new(ish) work [EJW]
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (LSO Live)
As fine a modern, live account of this most pictorial of ballets as you could wish [RMo]
Hailstork: Chamber works (Navona)
Two affecting works by an African-American master [PRJ]
Wyner: Chamber works (Naxos)
A deconstruction of traditional Jewish music via modern compositional techniques and perspectives, giving it new life [JFl]
Dreames & Imaginations (TYXart)
Lovely singing and playing, with a special role for the lyra viol [JV]
Bartók: Piano Concertos (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) A splendid release that is self-commending [HC]
Donizetti: Francesca di Foix (Opera Rara)
(Déjà Review) All lovers of the bel canto genre will want to add this well-packaged and presented performance to their collection [RJF]
Bruckner: Symphony 7 (Janus Classics)
The first two movements here of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony are mostly fine and measured – but the Scherzo and finale are erratic [RMo]
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (BIS)
A recreation of the 1868 Bremen Cathedral premiere of Brahms’ German Requiem with massed choirs and players [PH]
Bennett: Orchestral Works Vol. 5 (Chandos)
The excellence of the first four volumes is triumphantly maintained [NB]
Music for viola de gambe (Alpha Classics)
Outstanding in terms of programming, performance and sound quality, will delight all interested in the viol [GPu]
In the Cabinet of Wonders (False Azure Records)
A Hamburg organ-and-violin duo of the Baroque comes alive [JW]
Shostakovich: Symphony 10 (Signum Classics)
Very well played and engineered, but only intermittently achieving the drive and intensity of Barshai, Shipway and Karajan [RMo]
