Tchaikovsky: Iolanta & The Nutcracker (C Major)
A conflation of opera and ballet, well-staged and performed, more than a seasonal song-and-dance show [RWe]
Couperin: Les Concerts Royaux (Château de Versailles)
Elegance and refinement were highly appreciated at the time, and that is exactly what we get here [JV]
Górecki M P: Orchestral Music (CD Accord)
Polish orchestral music that steps forward purposefully and beguilingly [RB]
Belcea Quartet – Debussy, Dutilleux and Ravel (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) This disc represents the flowering of talent of an ensemble that, if they continue on their present well-chosen path, will achieve great things [CC]
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Pristine Audio)
Callas’ stereo remake is a more mature and inward reading of the role – now in even fresher sound [GF]
Polish String Quartets (Acte Préalable)
Too much programmatic conformity partially rescued by the engaging Rogowski [JW]
Hindemith: Cardillac (BR Klassik)
An excellent recording of a gripping but not loveable work [SB]
Blackburn: Ordo (Neuma Records)
Not everything works here, but so much of this music is colourful, affirmative, original and incontrovertibly beautiful [RHa]
Andrea Bacchetti (piano): In Concert (Monarda Music)
More than just a souvenir of a fine recital [DC]
Puccini: Tosca (Unitel Editions)
Three impressive lead singers in a remarkably innovative staging which leaves the historic context far behind [RWe]
Higdon: Concertos (Naxos)
Two attractive examples of this prominent American composer’s work [SB]
Purcell: Music for Queen Mary (Apex)
(Déjà Review) One of the crowning glories of John Eliot Gardiner’s early recordings [PB]
Cordelia Williams (piano): Cascade (SOMM Recordings)
Simply wonderful piano playing [DMD]
Ballard: Orchestral music (Naxos)
Committed performances of works of cultural rather than musical significance [NB]
Ivan Petricevic (guitar): Guitar Intersections (Hänssler Classic)
Refined playing with a big sound [ZT]
Bonis, Fauré, Hahn: Violin Sonatas (Chandos)
Three contrasting French sonatas offer rewarding virtues [JW]
Puccini: Tosca (Pentatone)
A sonically splendid recording of Tosca overshadowed by ghosts from the past [PT]
Sawyers: Mayflower on the Sea of Time (Nimbus)
A very interesting piece in a fine live performance [JQ]
The King’s Singers (ensemble): Wonderland (Signum Classics)
Challenging works commissioned and inimitably performed by the King’s Singers [LW]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Hänssler Classic)
(Déjà Review) One of the finest recordings of the Goldberg Variations on piano currently available [KM]
Eva Zöllner (piano accordion) – voces, señales (Genuin)
Contemporary Columbian music for the piano accordion which takes a great deal of getting used to [GH]
Tabakova: Orpheus’ Comet, Earth Suite & Concertos (Hallé)
The portrait of a fine composer – two concerti and recent orchestral music, all quite beautiful [HC]
Mozart: Complete Masses, Vol. 2 (Naxos)
A laudable addition to the discography of Mozart’s unfinished ‘Great’ Mass [DF]
Mompou: Música callada – Books 1-4 (Hyperion)
Like the cool stone of a monastery on a scorching hot Spanish summer’s afternoon [DMD]
