H2O (ANCLEF)
Water three ways with piano four-hands – superb! [DC]
Fraser-Simson: Songs of AA Milne (Prima Facie)
No one will go away unhappy after hearing this music [WK]
Maliszewski: String Quartets (PSCM Records)
Conventional and a little quirky; a minor composer slowly emerges [JW]
Elgar: Orchestral Works (LSO Live)
Best avoided – there are many far superior options [RMo]
Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis (DUX)
An admirable new account of Hindemith’s piano masterpiece [SB]
New Millenium (Signum Classics)
Anyone who cares about the role of music in the liturgy today should hear this disc [JQ]
Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve (Naxos)
A dazzling achievement all around [MP]
Claudio Arrau (piano) The Early Years (Marston)
(Déjà Review) No Arrau admirer would want to be without it [JW]
Müller-Hartmann: Chamber music (Chandos)
An interesting byway of twentieth-century music [WH]
Gilles: Messe des Morts (Château de Versailles)
Pleasant music in good but not exceptional performances [MP]
Beethoven: Symphonies No. 1-3 (ABC Classics)
Breathlessly executed – flashy, but no interpretative nuance [RMo]
Na’ama Goldman (mezzo-soprano): Legata (Solo Musica)
A fascinating new voice in a programme tied to her cultural heritage but with universal appeal [GF]
Spanish Impressions – Piano Trios (Reference Recordings)
An interesting program, with good if not outstanding performances [DJB]
Sperger: String Quartets (cpo)
Conventional Classical-era quartets, with some quirky details [SV]
Clarke: Viola Sonata, Violin Sonata (Oehms Classics)
Rebecca Clarke’s string sonatas chart her movement from Brahms to modernism [JW]
Trails of Creativity. Music from Between the Wars (Avie Records)
(Déjà Review) There’s something for everybody in this excellently played between-the-wars anthology of music [JL]
Wagner: Die Walküre (Sterling)
Fine conducting and orchestral playing and an impressive Brünnhilde – but compromised by a poor Siegmund and a weak Wotan [RMo]
Sean Shibe: Profesión (Pentatone)
An exciting album of South American solo guitar music [SW]
Popper: Complete Transcriptions for Violoncello and Piano (Paladino Music)
A valuable addition to the Popper discography and a chance to hear a Hubay rarity [RCh]
Migot: Complete Works for Guitar (Brilliant Classics)
Little known Migot given a chance to breathe again … a Fauré-like lambency and warmth [RB]
Lalo: Orchestral Works (Chandos)
Played with sensitivity balanced by enthusiasm [JF]
Handel: Total Eclipse (Somm Recordings)
Some of Handel’s most beautiful arias in instrumental versions, performed with vitality, sensitivity and rhythmical precision [GF]
Bach JS: The First Cantata Year, Vol. 1 (Hänssler Classic)
This first volume in the projected series of J.S. Bach’s First Cantata Year has got off to a most auspicious start [MC]
Oboe Concertos from Bohemia (Claves)
(Déjà Review) An excellently planned programme [NHo]
