Author: Laurence Slater
Handel: Orlando (Erato)
Not perhaps one of Handel’s greatest operas but still much to enjoy and as well performed as one could wish [RMo]
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1 & Piano Concerto No. 3 (Appassionato)
The first of a projected cycle of live recordings, made to a high standard [EJW]
Player Piano 10 (MDG)
(Déjà Review) Another terrific instalment [DC]
Rachmaninov: Aleko (Chandos)
Déjà Review) Noseda conducts intelligently, sensitively, with full structural awareness of the dramatic trajectory [CC]
Shostakovich & Łukaszewski: Works for viola and piano (Chopin University of Music)
Shostakovich’s final work is the main item in a fulfilling programme [WH]
Fauré: Barcarolles (Decca)
Pascal Rogé celebrates his 75th birthday with a fine new disc of Fauré [WK]
Songs of love, beauty and the passing of time (SOMM)
Immaculate performances [JQ]
Austrian Harpsichord Music of the Late 17th Century (Dux)
Agata Meissner deserves accolades both for the choice of repertoire and her superb performances [JV]
Gershwin: Overtures and Songs (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) Gershwin as he was meant to sound, performed by artists who love him [WK]
Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (MDG)
(Déjà Review) A knock-out from the very first bars of the overture [GF]
Ann Schein (piano): Chopin and other recordings (APR)
Superb transfers of obscure KAPP LPs reveal the lyricism and musical maturity of a remarkable American teenager [JW]
From Venice to Buenos Aires (Pentatone)
A very diverse program which simply doesn’t hang together [DJB]
Flem: Piano Concerto & Cello Concerto (Capriccio)
Accessible, sharply chiselled, engaging at emotional and intellectual levels [RB]
Vivaldi: Violin Concertos (Arcana)
A collection of highlights from start to finish [DC]
Toscha Seidel (violin): American Columbia Recordings (Biddulph)
A disc that straddles the acoustic/electric divide and showcases the glorious art of violinist Toscha Seidel [JW]
Early One Morning: Finnish Orchestral Favourites (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) I loved this two-disc sampler of lesser-known Finnish composers [BR]
Barbella: Sei trii per due violini e violoncello (Tactus)
(Déjà Review) These sonatas make pleasant listening – the performers realise often truly swinging performances [JV]
Pelēcis: Chamber Music (SKANi)
Simple, hypnotic, sweet and soothing [DJB]
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 (Orchid Classics)
Caroline Shaw and Beethoven 3 bring Jonathan Biss’s ‘Beethoven /5’ project to a superb close [DHa]
Czerny: Piano Music Vol 2 (Toccata Classics)
Sparkling performances of Czerny’s brilliant duets [JF]
Wagner: Orchestral Music (Sony Classical)
Another splendid vintage collection of Wagner overtures from two great pairs of American orchestras and conductors [RMo]
Zelenka & Handel: Choral Music (Prospero Classical)
Outstanding performance of Zelenka’s little-known mass [JV]
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos (Hyperion)
Déjà Review) A triumph [IL]
Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Hallé)
(Déjà Review) Strongly competitive in a hotly contested field [BW]
