Schubert: Symphony No 9 (Challenge Classics)
This finely considered account combines freshness with thematic and structural clarity [MG]
Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Naxos)
This praiseworthy live recording of L’Africaine will undoubtedly assist Meyerbeer’s rehabilitation [MC]
Beethoven: The Mahler Re-Orchestrations (Capriccio)
Beethoven’s genius emerges triumphantly – which is exactly as Mahler intended [NB]
Shostakovich: The 15 String Quartets (Doremi)
An indispensable document for those who value unvarnished honesty of performance and a sense of direct link to the mind of the composer [EMc]
Alessandro Scarlatti: Dixit Dominus, Magnificat (Naïve)
Recommended for the bright, powerful and yet sensitive attention to detail and texture [MS]
Stanford: Te Deum and Elegiac Ode (Lyrita)
Stanford’s two fine choral works, composed when there was public appetite for such performances [JWe]
Bononcini: How are the mighty fallen – Choral Music (Signum Classics)
This release deserves an unequivocal welcome. The choral singing is outstanding and the Academy of Ancient Music delivers fine performances [JV]
Silvestrov: Symphony for Violin and Orchestra ‘Widmung’ (Naxos)
Two of the works which made Silvestrov’s reputation, in good performances [SB]
Brahms: The Piano Trios (La Dolce Volta)
Excellently conceived and performed piano trios [WK]
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos 7 & 8 (SWR Classic)
Flawless performances of Bruckner’s two finest symphonies by a master Brucknerian, in excellent sound [RMo]
Tippett: Orchestral works (Decca)
(Déjà Review) Something special – treasurable and pleasurable, all in excellent sound [RB]
Sibelius: Tone Poems (BIS)
(Déjà Review) Vänskä is keeping up to the incredibly high standards he has set himself [TH]
H Koppel: Piano Works Vols 1-3 (Dacapo)
A great achievement, recommended for those who want something off the beaten track [GF]
Mahler: Symphony 3 (Sony Classical)
In many ways this is an admirable Mahler Third [JQ]
Pina Carmirelli (violin) Concert Tours (Meloclassic)
A significant discographical addition [SG]
Andrea Belmonte (guitar) Latin Within (KHA Records)
The programme and musicality make this an appealing disc, despite some technical shortcomings [ZT]
Fritz Kreisler (violin/piano) American Portrait (Rhine Classics)
The piano rolls are real but the concert is not what it says on the tin [JW]
Rózsa: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Tadlow Music)
(Déjà Review) A winning performance of a colourful, exciting and atmospheric score [IL]
Rossini: La donna del lago (Opera Rara)
(Déjà Review) Sets the gold standard for recorded performances of this work [RJF]
Lloyd: The Works for Brass (Lyrita)
George Lloyd in bandsman mode in the latest volume of his ‘Signature Edition’ [JW]
Bruckner: Symphony No.4 (Profil)
A predictably fine performance of a rarer edition of this symphony [NB]
Lopes-Graça: Canções portuguesas (Naxos)
A pleasant mix of arrangements and original compositions – a lovely disc [HC]
Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano): Aigul (Decca)
By far the best mezzo-soprano to emerge for a generation [RMo]
Tchaikovsky’s Empire: A New Life of Russia’s Greatest Composer (Yale University Press)
An invigorating shattering of myths, both long-held and recent, about this perennially beloved composer [NC]
