Recommended
Defending the Music (Oxford University Press)
An absorbing book which will entertain and enlighten you on page after page [JQ]
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 (Orchid Classics)
Caroline Shaw and Beethoven 3 bring Jonathan Biss’s ‘Beethoven /5’ project to a superb close [DHa]
Cowie: Darkness into Light (Métier)
Evocative, iridescent, masterfully performed chamber music [JF]
Bach: Johannes-Passion (Alia Vox)
Reflective and intimate [DF]
Manuel Tomadin (organ): Valvasone Organ Book (Da Vinci Classics)
Recordings like these can make one addicted to early Italian organs and their repertoire [JV]
Stevenson: Piano Music Vol. 8 (Toccata Classics)
Brilliant premiere recordings of masterly originals and transcriptions [JF]
Late Romantic Music for Violin and Piano (Et’cetera)
A delightful recital, beautifully planned and brilliantly played [DHa]
Schubert: Irrlichter (BIS)
An intrinsically beautiful voice delivers as fine a Schubert recital as we have heard in many a year [RMo]
Fiddlers Three – Music from Charles II’s ‘Private Musick’ (Barn Cottage Records)
An exciting recording given an exemplary production [JV]
Beethoven: Symphonies 1 & 2 (High Definition Tape Transfers)
Brilliant, driven performances from an orchestra and conductor in top form, in extraordinarily good sound for its vintage [RMo]
Sibelius: Violin Concerto (Alpha Classics)
A really impressive, beautifully balanced partnership resulting in a memorable account of Sibelius’ wonderful concerto paired with a superb Lemminkäinen Suite [RMo]
Strauss: Salome & Elektra (Pristine Audio)
Straussian excellence from seven decades ago silences any of the more recent competition [MP]
Kuula: Complete Solo Songs Volume Two (Toccata Classics)
This disc is completely worthy of its predecessor [WK]
Mahler: Symphonies 1-9 (Pentatone)
A very significant Mahler cycle [JQ]
Kahn and Others: Songs (Delphian)
The songs of Robert Kahn represent a major discovery [JQ]
Rubbra: Crucifixus pro Nobis (Delphian)
The Rubbra discography advances with very fine performances and three premieres [GH]
Holst: The Planets Bax: Tintagel (LSO Live)
A terrific disc [JQ]
Dodgson: Turn Ye to Me (SOMM Recordings)
A wonderful demonstration of the craft of the song composer from Stephen Dodgson [DHa]
Vine: Child’s Play (Hyperion)
A wonderful introduction to the chamber music of one of the contemporary greats [PRJ]
Leonkoro Quartet play Berg, Schulholff & Webern (Alpha Classics)
Leonkoro Quartet impress in works of Berg, Webern and Schulhoff [LW]
Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila & Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (SOMM Recordings)
A fabulous live performance of Scheherazade, caught on the wing [JQ]
Schoenberg: Orchestral Music (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings)
An outstanding Schoenberg set from the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko [MBe]
Gildemann: Chamber Music (Kairos)
Eerily atmospheric and meticulously designed, Ms Gildemann’s distinctive pieces uncannily evoke their titles [RHa]
Schubert: Irrlichter (BIS)
A beautiful performance of a number of Schubert’s most atmospheric Lieder – some old favourites and some less-known gems [DJa]
