Puccini: Tosca (Unitel Edition)
The staging will divide opinion, but watch, listen, and let the performers convince you [WH]
Verdi: I Lombardi alla prima crociata (BR Klassik)
An exciting, red-blooded performance, captured live in the clearest sound of any available version [MP]
Wilms: The Piano Concertos, Vol 2 (BIS)
If you like the fortepiano, you’ll enjoy this [SFV]
Winter Whispers: Ukrainian Piano Tales (Ars Produktion)
Simple music, but repeated listening brings rewards [SA]
The Nightingale and the Sparrow (Guild)
(Déjà Review) Plenty to enjoy in this delicate, yet never lightweight, repertoire [PW]
Rossini: Semiramide (Decca)
A feast of stylish bel canto singing for the two stars but the rest of the cast can only struggle though [MP]
Puccini: I Canti (BR Klassik)
A disc that no Puccini admirer can dispense with [GF]
Mozart: Piano concertos (Academy of Ancient Music)
A total delight [ST]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Deutsche Grammophon)
Freshness, new life, vitality and a wealth of new insights are bought to this oft-recorded work [SG]
Fairy Tales (Quartz)
An eclectic programme, dynamically played if lacking complete virtuosic ease [NB]
R Strauss: Choral works (Hyperion)
Choral singing of formidable accomplishment [JQ]
Glass: Signature (Analekta)
For the Glass waverers out there, this might be the disc that dispels doubts [DJB]
An Eternal Harmony (Coro)
A well-balanced recital, beautifully sung, mixing old and new [RH]
Dreams Desires Desolation – English Song (Divine Art)
An interesting disc of English Parlour Songs suffers from a lack of personality and variety [PT]
Mustonen: Symphonies Nos 2 & 3 (Ondine)
Two attractive works by this gifted Finnish composer [SB]
Wranitzky: String Quartets (cpo)
A good introduction to the chamber music of a marginalised composer [SA]
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (Prospero)
The original version of Mascagni’s masterpiece unfortunately let down by singing that cannot do justice to the music or drama [MBu]
Mozart: Sonatas for Piano & Violin (Deutsche Grammophon)
A magical new recording of the Mozart sonatas for piano and violin [RMa]
Hughes: Oratorio – Dewi Sant (Rubicon)
A fine new recording of a Welsh oratorio [JQ]
Maderna: Serenata per un satellite & other works (Dynamic)
An important Maderna monograph seems to fill some gaps in the catalogue. One for the specialist, however, rather than the general listener [RHa]
Holmboe: Preludes for Sinfonietta Vol 2 (Dacapo)
(Déjà Review) Anyone who loves the symphonies will find these works as satisfying as the larger pieces. They are easy to listen to, once the Holmboe idiom has been assimilated, and will repay the listener ten times over [JP]
Sciarrino: Paesaggi con macerie (Kairos)
A remarkably original voice in contemporary Italian music [GH]
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (Sony Classical)
A near total success that still wins the day among available recordings [MP]
Messiaen: Des Canyons aux Étoiles (Seattle Symphony Media)
This gorgeous recording now becomes my prime recommendation [DMD]
