Sinner, Don’t Let This Harvest Pass (Métier)
Variations for piano that cannot fail to inspire awe and catharsis [ACG]
Scriabin: Bright Lights, Dark Flames (Azure Sky)
Playing that truly draws you into both the more lyrical and dissonant worlds of a notoriously difficult composer [SGa]
Blake: Chamber Works (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Blake’s accessible music never fails to impress with its invention and generous melody [IL]
Beethoven & Brahms: Symphonies (Forgotten Records)
(Déjà Review) An outstanding Beethoven Seventh, but the rest of the programme is very mixed [WH]
Adès, Kurtág & Tippett: Concertos (Hallé)
Modern masterpieces in superb accounts [LW]
Schumann: Das Paradis und die Peri (Alia Vox)
An aural and artistic treat from Jordi Savall and co, but give more time to the music than to the libretto [SGa]
Britten: Saint Nicolas & A Ceremony of Carols (Signum Classics)
An excellent pairing of two of Britten’s most popular choral works [JQ]
Haydn: Cello Concertos (En Phases)
Pared back Haydn that will divide opinion [DJB]
Bartók: Violin & Viola Concertos (Chandos)
(Déjà Review) A disc of superb value in playing time terms as well as anything else [NB]
Alfano: Violin Sonata, Piano Quintet (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) This is late-romantic music that sings with its face looking into radiance [RB]
Partout amour me vient chercher – 17th Century French sacred works (Indesens)
An excellent recording of little-known music, which also raises some questions [JV]
Shostakovich in France (Boydell Press)
An original and perceptive account of the reception of Shostakovich’s music in France [DHa]
Wellesz: Complete Symphonies & Works for Chamber Orchestra (cpo)
A comprehensive survey of the Austrian emigré composer [SB]
Ball: Works for Cello (Musical Concepts)
(Déjà Review) Music designed to please then – mission accomplished [RB]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Hyperion)
Captivating, mesmerising, and life-enhancing [DC]
Moszkowski: Orchestral Music – Vol 4 (Toccata Classics)
The symphony is real discovery [RMay]
Brian: Symphonies 11 and 15 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) It’s very good [BBr]
CPE Bach: The Hamburg Symphonies (Brilliant Classics)
(Déjà Review) If you do not know these extraordinary works then this as good a place as any to start [GH]
Elgar: Violin Concerto (Rubicon)
Love, passion, heartbreak and reconciliation – everything you want from Elgar at his best [DC]
Frederick Ashton’s La fille mal gardée (Opus Arte)
Perhaps not quite perfect, but still a delight [RMay]
Her Symphonic Voice: Live in Concert (Albany)
A thoroughly enjoyable and varied program of works by a quartet of composers spanning 120 years. [ACG]
Karl Richter (conductor): The Complete Teldec & Ducretet-Thomson Recordings (Warner)
Exquisite musicianship: Baroque and Classical repertoire by a radical reformer [DF]
Hiller: Symphonies (cpo)
A pair of surprising and rousing symphonies from a little-known source [DC]
Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano): Mujer Fatal (Decca)
A very welcome addition to the catalogue [MP]
