Elgan Llŷr Thomas (tenor) Unveiled (Delphian)
A themed recital with three first recordings [WH]
Rissmann: Wonderland (LSO Live)
Witty, irreverent, lush scores aimed at the kid in all of us [DMD]
Gounod: Faust (Malibran-Music)
A beautifully sung Faust, expertly conducted and superior to the later studio recording in everything but sound [RMo]
Bach: Arias (Archiv Produktion)
(Déjà Review) A splendid disc with an exceptional new voice that you should hear
Gerber: Orchestral Works (Chandos)
(Déjà Review) A group of first recordings that deserves to do well [JP]
Leighton: Every Living Creature (SOMM Recordings)
A valuable collection of Leighton’s choral music, with several first recordings [SB]
Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky: Romances (Pentatone)
An attractive selection from this marvellous repertoire, very well performed [RWe]
Kristina Marinova (piano) Loves Me Not (Navona Records)
A low key and reflective recital that mostly satisfies [RCh]
Giordano: Fedora (Malibran-Music)
A powerful, idiomatic vintage recording of an unjustly neglected opera with some fascinating bonuses [RMo]
Bolcom: The Complete Cabaret Songs (Rattle)
Fascinating music from the borderland between classical modernism and popular idioms [GF]
Wagner: Orchestral Music (Beulah)
Neglected Gallic Wagner from Detroit proves a winner [DMD]
Saint-Saëns: Chamber Works (Apex)
(Déjà Review) Simply wonderful chamber works superbly performed [MC]
Simpson: Symphony 11 (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) This release, appropriately dedicated to the late Ted Perry, is up to Hyperion’s best [HC]
Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3, The Bells (Biddulph)
Astonishingly vivid off-air survivors from London’s Queen’s Hall in the 1930s [JW]
Bach: Suites for Solo Cello (Sono Luminus)
A fleet yet sonorous and profound account of these masterworks, played without repeats and delightfully absorbing [RMo]
Schubert: Piano Sonatas (Hyperion)
Attractive performances whose strength is in the happy times and finding consolation in still facing the unhappy [MG]
A Year at Llandaff (Regent)
A splendidly eclectic church music mainly from the past two centuries [JF]
Delibes / Maillot: Coppél-i-A (Unitel Editions)
A worthwhile supplement to more conventional productions [RMay]
Mozart: Piano Concerti No. 15-17 (Alpha Classics)
Sparkling and exuberant playing makes the most of these three Viennese concerti [RCh]
Mendelssohn: Piano Sonatas (Harmonia Mundi)
(Déjà Review) Chiu’s playing is interesting and sensitive … the most obvious choice for a single disc of Mendelssohn’s sonatas [PCW]
Müller: Chamber Works (Capriccio)
(Déjà Review) My first meeting with Müller and I hope it won’t be my last … music which is animated, warm and intriguing [JW]
Wendling Quartet: DG and Electrola Recordings (Biddulph)
An important cache of early chamber music recordings heard in debatable transfers [JW]
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 (Reference Recordings)
An enterprising pairing of two works given thrilling, gripping performances and sound [RMo]