The Secrets of Andalusia (First Hand Records)
An enjoyable excursion through Southern Spain across three hundred years [GH]
Sweelinck: The Orpheus of Amsterdam (Pan Classics)
These excellent performances offer a different perspective on Sweelinck’s vocal and keyboard works [JV]
Glerup: Perhaps Thus The End (Dacapo)
If you are looking for harmony and easily accessible melodies this probably isn’t for you but it’s well played and full of emotion [KT]
Beethoven: Symphony No 5, Leonore Overture No 3 (BR Klassik)
Not necessarily so great an improvement over previous issues but wonderfully grand and energised [RMo]
Copland and his American Contemporaries (Avie)
(Déjà Review) A very good disc, which nicely rounds off a most stimulating mini-series [JQ]
Ysaÿe: Poème nocturne (Musique en Wallonie)
More varied fare from Eugène Ysaÿe’s seemingly inexhaustible workbench [JW]
Schubert: Lieder (Erato)
Dynamically small-scale but vocally very attractive readings, sensitively nuanced [GF]
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: Má Vlast (Gramola)
A pioneering version still has appealing elements despite the appearance of many later rivals [PCG]
Schumann & Taneyev: Piano Quintets (Signum Classics)
The Schumann is excellent; the Taneyev can be skipped (SV)
Kaleidoscope – Contemporary Piano Music by Female Composers (Grand Piano)
This is a disc to savour through repeated hearings [SA]
Britten: Gloriana (Arthaus Musik)
The closest recorded representation of the full operatic experience [MG]
Contemporary Landscapes (Beau Fleuve Records)
Contrasting, accessible and enjoyable [DJB]
Hétu: Symphony No 5 (Analekta)
A splendid performance of Jacques Hétu’s final masterpiece [HC]
Danish String Quartet: Keel Road (ECM)
Immaculate production, impassioned musicianship, impeccable planning – do not let it pass you by [RHa]
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 (Berlin Classics)
Rapturous: two Mozart Serenatas composed (and recorded) in Salzburg [DF]
Václav Neumann (conductor): Lucerne Festival (Audite)
Convincing examples of Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic heard during Lucerne Festivals of the 1980s [JW]
The Art of Harpsichord Duets (Da Vinci Classics)
Energetic performances of pieces for two keyboards [JV]
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]