Handel: Messiah (Erato)
Period-instrument Messiah, not to be missed [DF]
Cage: Music for Three, Music for One (CAvi-Music)
Cage’s ‘thing’ advocated by three superb musicians, in sympathetic sonics [RHa]
Puccini: A te, Puccini (Signum Classics)
These songs deserve more recordings but here the vocal shortcomings are hard to ignore [MBu]
Bacewicz: Complete Orchestral Works Volume 2 (cpo)
A balanced orchestral portfolio follows Bacewicz from neo-classicism to her late style [JW]
Catalan Cello Works (Naxos)
A thoroughly enjoyable disc, fascinating music atmospherically played and well recorded [GPu]
Verdi: Nabucco (Deutsche Grammophon)
Sinopoli and a powerhouse cast reveal unsuspected depths in Verdi’s early opera [MP]
Elly Ney (piano): Brahms & Schubert (APR)
There is some beautiful playing in these wartime recordings [RCh]
Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, Nocturne, Phaedra (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Overall a superlative disc, with flawless and very characterful performances [EML]
Wagner: Das Liebesverbot (Orfeo)
A colourful Wagnerian romp with two outstanding interpreters among the large cast [MP]
Sofya Melikyan (piano): Présence lointaine (Rubicon)
An attractive homage to influential Catalan pianist Ricardo Viñes [MC]
Papandopulo: The Complete String Quartets (cpo)
Folklore and colour, rhythmic variety and classical forms along with contemporary slants [JW]
Mahler: Symphony No 8 (BIS)
Not a library choice but there’s a lot going for this recording of the Eighth [JQ]
Chopin: Chopin Project (CD Accord)
Intriguing and consistently well performed arrangements for cello quartet [RM]
Clarke, Britten & Bowen: British Music for Viola and Piano (Claves)
An international version of some very British works [SB]
Piotr Anderszewski (piano): Janáček, Szymanowski & Bartók (Warner Classics)
Anderszewski impressively realizes the character of these folk-inspired pieces [LW]
Beethoven: Overtures (Elatus)
(Déjà Review) There’s some great music here, so go and treat yourself [TH]
Brahms: Piano Concertos (Linn)
Trpčeski delivers interesting if flawed performances of these two warhorse concertos [RC]
O L Fernândez: Piano music (Nimbus Records)
Imaginative and evocative music vividly played makes for a fabulous addition to this series [RCh]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Decca)
A classic Wagner recording in magnificently remastered sound [JQ]
Cavalieri: Lamentations (Pan Classics)
Incisive performances of stylistically groundbreaking and expressive works [JV]
American Counterpoints (Bright Shiny Things)
Committed performances of works by distinguished but underperformed Black composers [JH]
Mozart: Zaide (Orfeo)
A very good cast in a version with more linking dialogue than on other recordings [MP]
Path to the Moon Works for cello & piano (Chandos)
Three sonatas and a raft of transcribed songs offer fruitful material for the Chandos pairing [JW]
Bach: Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord Vol. 1 (Analekta)
A disc that will have pride of place on my shelf and one that is sure to get repeated listening [KS]
