Beethoven: Complete String Quartets Volume 1 (Chandos)
Consistently magnificent performances, but comparison has a sting in the tail [MG]
Schubert: Lieder. Love’s Lasting Power (Delphian)
Two recent competition winners in an impressive debut recital, more than promising [PT]
Labor: Piano Concertos for the left hand (Capriccio)
Three conservative concertante works for the left hand in exemplary performances [NB]
Lloyd: Symphonies (Lyrita)
George Lloyd conducts his first six symphonies in Lyrita’s reissues [JW]
Handel: Handel for Trumpet (Linn)
A superbly programmed set of pieces by Handel, reimagined for trumpet and piano [PB]
Leoni: L’Oracolo (Decca)
Worth getting to know even in a less than successful recording [MP]
Lauridsen: Choral music (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) This disc is a must – I hope you enjoy it as much as I have [JPh]
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, Carnival Overture; Smetana: The Bartered Bride Overture (RCA)
(Déjà Review) Ebullient and powerful and the finale sweeping but not overdone, and with tremendous inner rhythm [JW]
Tůma: Motets, Dixit Dominus & Sinfonia (Aparté)
Andreas Scholl’s fine performances should help in promoting Tůma’s music [JV]
Ruby Hughes (soprano): End of My Days (BIS)
An outstanding recital; elegantly conceived, ideally recorded and beautifully performed [RHa]
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (C Major)
Vocal riches in a depressingly hyperactive production that is devoid of amusement [MP]
Handel: Theodora (Alpha Classics)
A splendidly cohesive musically-rewarding example of integrated casting and performance [JW]
Liszt-Beethoven: Complete Symphonies Vol 3 (Dynamic)
Vigorous and purposeful performances with an eye for detail [RCh]
Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie (Harmonia Mundi)
A top-notch Turangalîla from Toronto; stellar sonics, too [DM]
Quatuor Kandinsky: French Piano Quartets (Erato)
(Déjà Review) A sultry recording of surgingly romantic music given the hot-blooded approach [RB]
Chopin: Reminiscences (Linn)
(Déjà Review) It depends on whether you’re a fan of Pizarro, or his personal selection [TH]
Ymaginacions – Mass upon John Dunstable’s square (Paraty)
A Lady Mass by a leading early Tudor composer in an exciting, unique performance [GH]
Beethoven: String quartets (Biddulph)
Two late acoustics from the Léner Quartet offer opportunities for contrast with their 1930s remakes [JW]
Łukaszewski: Symphonies Nos 1 & 2 (Dux)
Two impressive choral symphonies by this important Polish composer [SB]
Weber: Der Freischütz (Deutsche Grammophon)
One might go hunting for a more complete version of this opera, but this one does the trick in most respects [MP]
Stölzel: Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld (cpo)
Hearing this very fine performance makes it easy to understand why Bach esteemed Stölzel’s Passion oratorio [JQ]
Handel & Ferrandini: Choral works (Passacaille)
Convincing performances of two very different masterpieces [JV]
Browne: Music from the Eton Choirbook (Gimell)
Near perfect music from the late fifteenth century sung in glorious style [JF]
Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 (RCA)
Harnoncourt’s remarkable vision of this great symphonic master [TB]
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