Orient DynamicCDS8046

Journey to the Orient – Music for Flute and Guitar (Dynamic)

An enchanting musical journey towards the Orient involving familiar and brand new music [KT]

Smetana Gramola92005

Smetana: Má Vlast (Gramola)

A pioneering version still has appealing elements despite the appearance of many later rivals [PCG]

Quintets SIGCD775

Schumann & Taneyev: Piano Quintets (Signum Classics)

The Schumann is excellent; the Taneyev can be skipped (SV)

Kaleidoscope GP944

Kaleidoscope – Contemporary Piano Music by Female Composers (Grand Piano)

This is a disc to savour through repeated hearings [SA]

Britten Arthaus109151

Britten: Gloriana (Arthaus Musik)

The closest recorded representation of the full operatic experience [MG]

contemporary landscapes bpo

Contemporary Landscapes (Beau Fleuve Records)

Contrasting, accessible and enjoyable [DJB]

Hetu Symph 5 Analekta AN28890

Hétu: Symphony No 5 (Analekta)

A splendid performance of Jacques Hétu’s final masterpiece [HC]

keel road ecm

Danish String Quartet: Keel Road (ECM)

Immaculate production, impassioned musicianship, impeccable planning – do not let it pass you by [RHa]

de Machaut Fount of Grace Hyperion CDA68417

Machaut: The Fount of Grace (Hyperion)

The penultimate release in The Orlando Consort’s Machaut Edition explores more highlights of this master of the Middle Ages [PH]

Mozart Serenades Salzburg Berlin Classics 0302997BC

Mozart: Serenades (Berlin Classics)

Rapturous: two Mozart Serenatas composed (and recorded) in Salzburg [DF]

Vaclav Neumann Lucerne Festival Czech PO Audite 97832

Václav Neumann (conductor): Lucerne Festival (Audite)

Convincing examples of Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic heard during Lucerne Festivals of the 1980s [JW]

Art of Harpsichor Duets Da Vinci C00956

The Art of Harpsichord Duets (Da Vinci Classics)

Energetic performances of pieces for two keyboards [JV]

Deja Faure Debussy Cello Sonatas Elatus 0927490122

Fauré and Debussy: Cello Sonatas (Elatus)

(Déjà Review) Indispensable [CH]

Alan George

A Profile

block chamber chandos

Block: Chamber Works (Chandos)

The rediscovery of Frederick Block is another success in the Music in Exile series [WK]

Corfield Godfrey: Blithe Spirit (Prima Facie)

A fascinating and entertaining black comedy bordering on surrealism; maybe not for listeners with weak hearts [GF]

elgar sammons biddulph

Albert Sammons plays Elgar (Biddulph)

Sammons’ classic Elgar recordings offer virtuosity and tonal beauty as well as thrust [JW]

puccini turandot pristine

Puccini: Turandot (Pristine Audio)

A thrilling – though not flawless – performance enhanced by Pristine’s remastering [RMo]

esenvalds mass eternal flame acis

Ešenvalds: Mass of the Eternal Flame (Acis)

Admirers of the music of Ēriks Ešenvalds should seek out this disc [JQ]

bowen portrait prospero

Bowen: Portraits (Prospero)

An attractive, well-recorded and enjoyable disc, serving Bowen’s piano music very well indeed [SG]

schoenberg arrange hortus

Schoenberg: L’arrangeur arrangé (Hortus)

Interesting versions for the committed Schoenbergian [SB]

hoof symphonies phaedra

van Hoof: Orchestral Works (Phaedra)

(Déjà Review) Warmly recommended to all who relish beautifully crafted, colourful and tuneful late-Romantic music [HC]

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos 9 & 10 (Centaur)

Performances where the stars align [SG]

Bruckner: Symphony No 3 (Profil)

Some will find Schaller’s tempi in the first two movements controversial [RMo]