Bowen & Walton: Viola Concertos (SWR Music)
A near-hit and a miss; a good Bowen Concerto and an ordinary Walton [JW]
Delvincourt: Chamber Music Vol 2 (Ciar Classics)
Two intriguing scores which bookend the composer’s compositional life [SG]
The Madrigal Reimagined (Resonus Classics)
A model of creative programming and performance [JV]
Next Generation Mozart Soloists Vol 10 (Alpha Classics)
A showcase for the superb ‘Next Generation Mozart soloists’, a little flawed by the use of a hackneyed 19th century version of the Sinfonia concertante [MG]
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3 (Orchid Classics)
This is one of the finest Prokofiev piano discs issued in recent times [RCu]
Shura Cherkassky (piano) The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals 1981-9 (First Hand Records)
A desirable collection that captures the Cherkassky magic [SG]
Schulhoff: Chamber works Vol 2 (Supraphon)
Repeated listening to these Schulhoff scores offers revelatory rewards [MC]
Nelson Freire (piano) Schumann: Carnaval, Papillons, Kinderszenen (Decca)
Freire enthusiasts should love the performances, sound deficiencies or not [DS]
The Memory Garden – Guitar Music from England (Deux-Elles)
A great programme of solo guitar music by English composers, played with a special sensitivity and depth [KT]
Mozart: Requiem (Harmonia Mundi)
Pichon’s inventive programming and superb musicianship make this recording stand out in a crowded field [SSc]
Hynninen: Ratsut (Alba)
Colourful extended harp fare from Finland, a slightly underwhelming follow-up to Hynninen’s marvellous Otilia album [RHa]
Young: Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror (Warner Classics)
A brand-new score for a creepy classic silent movie that really pulls out all the stops [PHa]
Doráti: Piano Concerto; Seiber: Suites (Hänssler Classic)
An all-Hungarian disc of real pleasures – Doráti’s approachable Concerto and Seiber’s orchestral music in splendid performances [JW]
Martinů: The Six Symphonies (BIS)
(Déjà Review) A well documented, brilliantly recorded, excellently played and broadly sympathetic set of readings [JW]
Mussorgsky: Symphonic Transcriptions (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Whatever superlatives you hear about this disc I urge you to believe them [MC]
Vaughan Williams: Carols from Herefordshire (Albion Records)
Vaughan-Williams’s two versions of carols collected in Herefordshire in the early twentieth century [GH]
Tippett: Piano Concerto & Symphony No 2 (LPO)
British works you should know from a conductor establishing a reputation as a master of the genre [PHa]
Rarities of Piano Music at Schloss vor Husum 2023 (Danacord)
Treats galore in this annual release that never disappoints [RCh]
Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano): Falcon (Aparté)
Aleksandra Kurzak is in striking form with an album of arias sung by legendary French soprano Cornélie Falcon [MC]
Encircling: Works for Viola (Acis)
A viola-fanciers’ delight with a well-balanced recital offering two sonatas and two smaller, but compelling, pieces [JW]
Campkin: I Saw Eternity (Convivium Records)
An enjoyable disc of choral music by an English composer of whom we will surely hear more [GPu]
Telemann: Don Quixote Suite (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Pure delight, this. Buy it [KS] – Thoroughly enjoyable fare. This is a most approachable coupling. [CC]
Riisager: Ballet Music (Dacapo)
(Déjà Review) Brilliantly orchestrated and balanced – moving forward in a blizzard of detail; the very antithesis of drab [RB]
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