Champagne! The Sound of Lumbye and His Idols (Dacapo)
An entertaining, historically interesting tribute to Lumbye and his contemporaries, played with precision and admirable elan [GF]
Mahler: Symphony No 1 (Pentatone)
A recording in which those who have been following the Bychkov cycle can invest with confidence [JQ]
Bruch: Songs and Dances (cpo)
An ingenious collection of dances, though perhaps not to be played straight through [JW]
Ataúlfo Argenta (conductor) (Decca)
Two LPs’ worth of Argenta’s legendary performances in classic Decca sound [PSe]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Warner Elatus)
(Déjà Review) Excellent interpretations of these great works [KM]
N Berg: Song of Songs & Symphony No 4 (Phono Suecia)
(Déjà Review) A warming chance to sample the music of Berg the Swedish romantic [RB]
English Orchestral Anthems (Delphian)
I will be returning to this disc often [WK]
Wagner: Orchestral Selections from Der Ring des Nibelungen (RCA/Sony)
It would be hard to find a more sumptuously played and superbly recorded Wagner disc than this one [MB]
Cowie: Where the Wood Thrush Forever Sings (Métier)
A committed performance of Cowie’s visionary, numinous new composition [JF]
Verdi: Falstaff (Pristine Audio)
Pristine revitalises another indispensable gramophone classic but the improvement over the RCA issue is only marginal [RMo]
Brahms: String Quartets (Hänssler Classic)
(Déjà Review) No lover of fine chamber music should be without this disc [KS]
Bridge: Orchestral Works (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) An authoritative introduction to Bridge’s orchestral music … an ideal place to start [JQ]
Ichiro Suzuki (guitar): Intimate (IBS Classical)
The intimate guitar at its best [ZT]
Respighi: Gli uccelli, Antiche danze ed arie (BIS)
A stylish, entertaining conclusion to John Neschling’s excellent Respighi series [JQ]
The Last Epiphany (Challenge Classics)
Thought-provoking juxtaposition of light and shade, of joy and horror, so valuable in the world of today [GF]
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Naxos Historical)
(Déjà Review) Spiritual engagement of the profoundest kind [JW]
Tučapský: Concertos (SOMM Recordings)
(Déjà Review) The sort of disc which makes reviewing ‘peripheral’ repertoire a joy [RB]
Shostakovich: Symphony No 6 & 15 (LSO Live)
A slightly tame 6th coupled with a magnificent 15th [WH]
Schultz: Efterklange (Echoes) (Danacord)
Well-wrought and ultimately charming repertoire [JF]
Roth: The Traveller, Earth and Sky (Signum Classics)
A welcome addition to the representation on disc of Alec Roth’s music [JQ]
Chopin: 24 Preludes, 14 Waltzes (APR)
Expert re-masterings breathe new life into these treasured recordings [SG]
Frankel: Complete Symphonies (cpo)
(Déjà Review) Frankel’s symphonies have now – at long last – been given their due [HC]
Dvořák: Symphony No 9, Serenade for Strings (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) Anyone who is more interested in genuine music-making rather than state-of–the-art sound will not be disappointed [TH]
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