Mustonen: Chamber Music (Lawo)
Two impressive new works by this versatile musician [SB]
Gaubert: Chamber Music (Claves)
Assured and attractive music by a major figure in the history of the flute, well played and recorded [GPu]
Tchaikovsky: Ballets (Doráti Edition)
Pioneering full-length accounts of Tchaikovsky’s ballets that will appeal to Doráti’s many admirers [RMay]
Ariosti: Lessons for viola d’amore (Brilliant Classics)
A perfect disc to become acquainted with the viola d’amore and Ariosti’s sonatas [JV]
Opera – The Autobiography of the Western World
Enjoyable and engaging if not fulfilling [MMB]
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 6 & 9 (Pristine)
Pristine remastering of the first Boult cycle of Vaughan Williams symphonies reaches a triumphant conclusion [PCG]
Britten: The Turn of the Screw (Alpha)
A vivid rollercoaster approach, the listener smarting on the front row stalls [MG]
Gál: Music for Voices Vol. 2 (Toccata)
An absorbing cross-section of vocal works composed over a period of four decades [JF]
L Glass: Symphony 4 (CPO)
A commanding recording of Louis Glass’s (occasionally) problematic Fourth Symphony [JW]
Szymanowski: Piano Works (DG)
Wonderful playing and the disc is worth buying for the Masques alone [SB]
Launy Grøndahl (conductor) Legacy Vol. 7 (Danacord)
The Grøndahl legacy series reaches volume 7 with a question mark or two [JW]
Musique lyrique pour cor et piano (Danacord)
A rewarding exploration of a variety of virtuosic works – technical wizardry and sheer lyricism [JF]
The Silver Swan (Convivium)
A clever conjoining of British song-writing contemporaries [JW]
Schulhoff: Piano Concerto (Hänssler)
Two of Schulhoff’s finest works, both well performed and recorded [MC]
British Choral Anthems (Naxos)
This recording of the Five Mystical Songs is touched by greatness [JQ]
de Lalande: Les soupers du roi (Château de Versailles)
Lively and colourful performances of Louis XIV’s favourite music [JV]
Nelson Freire (piano): The Unreleased Recordings (Decca)
Previously unreleased Nelson Freire recordings enrich the catalogue [JW]
Rachmaninov: Orchestral Works (RCA)
Responds to every seething texture, supple moment and elemental fury [RB]
R Strauss: Orchestral Works (RCA)
A welcome re-issue of three justly famous Strauss recordings in superb sound [RMo]
Eugene Ormandy (conductor) (Testament)
An interesting document, but only the Emperor adds significantly to the discography [SV]
Matiegka: Sonatas for Guitar (Bridge)
An outstanding, indeed revelatory recording which makes an irresistible case for Matiegka’s sonatas [GPu]
Martinů: Larmes de couteau (Capriccio)
Martinů’s one-act operas heard in persuasive, lively performances [JW]
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