Creston: Piano Music (Toccata Classics)

Savage … touchingly melodic, melting and romantically inclined [RB]

Shostakovich: Hamlet (Naxos)

(Déjà Review) That very rare bird indeed – an original film score that can stand on its own [PSe]

Vásquez: The Complete Impresiones For Piano (Toccata Classics)

Sumptuous Romantic melancholia from Mexico, best in small doses [NC]

Schubert: Symphonies – Unfinished & The Great (Pentatone)

Virtuoso playing and an excellent recording but Janowski’s tempi are not invariably well judged [RMo]

Nordheim: The Tempest (Lawo Classics)

Speaks directly and pleasurably to the composer’s creative impulse [RB]

Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright (BIS)

Music that fascinates but has no place for ingratiation or meeting the general listener half-way [RB]

Leighton: Every Living Creature (SOMM Recordings)

Valuable premiere recordings of beautiful music in impressive performances [NB]

Lauro: Guitar Music (Brilliant Classics)

Superior original guitar music; very credible performances [ZT]

Mendelssohn-Hensel: Lieder (First Hand Records)

With seventeen never-before-recorded songs, this issue is a valuable addition to the growing discography of Fanny Hensel [GF]

Mompou: Complete Piano Works (Brilliant Classics)

(Déjà Review) A chance to admire Mompou the composer-pianist in his maturity and playing that gets to the heart of the matter [JW]

Hofmann piano HC22014

Hofmann: Complete Piano Chamber Music (Hänssler Classic)

Full of melodies that please, but do not linger in the memory [DJB]

Bruckner sym3 09026613742

Bruckner: Symphony 3 (RCA)

As fine a performance of the 1889 version of Bruckner’s Third Symphony as you could wish from a great partnership [RMo]

Monteverdi orfeo CVS080

Monterverdi: L’Orfeo Château de Versailles

An excellent production of a much-recorded opera that vies with the best [GF]

Novak vol2 8574369

Novák: Orchestral Works Vol. 2 (Naxos)

Dewy-eyed, romantic and uncloyingly amorous [RB]

strauss wind capriccio

Strauss: Complete Music for Wind Instruments (Capriccio)

Precious jewels, delightfully played [ST]

Songs travel ALBCD055

The First Songs of Travel (Albion)

A historical release that wears its age lightly – excellent restoration and attractive singing of well-chosen repertoire [NB]

Manchester beethoven 1526155680

Manchester Beethoven Studies (Manchester University Press)

A variegated ocean of writing by and for the worlds of deep dive enthusiasts and academics [RB]

dvorak quintets mdg

Dvořák: Quintets (MDG)

(Déjà Review) Hugely impressive performances from first note to last [MC]

Impromptus Chopin Faure Margain Naive V7860

Impromptus (Naïve)

Margain is very much at home in this music, and is its ideal exponent [SG]

Beethoven Symphonies Trevino Ondine ODE1348-5Q SACD

Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies (Ondine)

Beethoven for the 2020s [LD]

Gal Music for Voices Vol 2 Toccata TOCC0644

Gál: Music for Voices Vol 2 (Toccata Classics)

A most interesting collection of choral songs by Hans Gál [JQ]

Liebestod Hrusa Accentus ACC30599

Liebestod (Accentus Music)

A parcel of bleeding chunks that don’t quite add up [DMD]

Eileen Farrell Sings Verdi Presto Sony MHK62358

Eileen Farrell (soprano) Sings Verdi (Sony Classical)

Stunning singing from a great dramatic soprano who might have done more but chose otherwise [RMo]

Muffat Harpsichord Suites Akutagawa Naxos 8.574098

Muffat: Suites for Harpsichord Vol 3 (Naxos)

A splendid conclusion to Naoko Akutagawa’s outstanding Gottlieb Muffat series [GPu]