Madeleine de Valmaléte & Monique Haas (piano) The Swiss Piano Recitals (Meloclassic)
It is wonderful to hear these pianists who have been undeservedly forgotten and in new works to their discography [RCh]
Strohl: Songs (La Boîte à Pépites)
Many fine songs, all presented in first-rate performances [JQ]
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Pristine Audio)
De los Ángeles is a winning Butterfly in this classic set, now reissued by Pristine [PT]
Borgstrøm: Symphonic Poems (cpo)
Cosmic space and Jesus – two tone poems from the baffling Hjalmar Borgstrøm [JW]
Handel: Arias (Linn)
(Déjà Review) I will treasure this disc as a record of a fine singer at a wonderful peak in her career [RH]
Smetana: Orchestral music (SOMM Ariadne)
George Szell’s Smetana in live American performances [JW]
Joseph Szigeti (violin): European Columbia Records Volume 2 (Pristine Audio)
An evergreen Beethoven Concerto with delightful encores as a bonus [RMas]
Tal, Kaufmann and Rubin: Orchestral Works (Avie)
Three works by unfamiliar composers, with much to commend them [DJB]
Dean: Rooms of Elsinore (BIS)
Fascinating companion pieces to a stunning opera [PRJ]
Wagner: The Wagner Project (CAvi-Music)
Once again, I find myself questioning the validity and purpose of such arrangements [RMo]
In terra aliena: 15th/16th Century Spanish music (Cobra Records)
Something special: the subject, the music it illustrates, and the performance [JV]
Farrenc: Chamber music (Naïve)
(Déjà Review) Entices me to seek out more music by this fine and unjustly neglected composer [KS]
Arnold, Horovitz, Stanford, Finzi: Music for Clarinet and Piano (BIS)
Michael Collins revisits his British repertoire for BIS [JW]
Bruckner: Mass No 3 in F minor (BR Klassik)
A captivating live performance of the Bruckner F minor Mass [MC]
Cazzati: Motets & Sonatas (Pan Classics)
A very good case for a composer who fortunately is on his way to being restored to his rightful place in music history [JV]
Di Martino: Chamber Works (Da Vinci Classics)
A real discovery, the Cello Sonata is quite exceptional [DJB]
Jakub Józef Orlínski (vocals): #LetsBaRock (Erato)
A highly professional crossover album, that should be attractive to lovers of rock music, but is not quite my cup of tea [GF]
Schurmann: Orchestral Works (Chandos)
Brilliant recordings of wonderfully evocative music [PRJ]
Smetana & Schubert: Piano Trios (Supraphon)
Trio Bohémo play with both passion but also precision, they listen to one another and they clearly love this music [SB]
Dupré: Le Chemin de la Croix (cpo)
(Déjà Review) One of the finest organ discs I’ve heard in years [JQ]
Thieriot: Chamber Music Vol 3 (Toccata Classics)
A top-notch production, with performances of high order [SG]
Phibbs: String Quartets Nos 2-4 (Nimbus Records)
Strikingly lyrical ideas that conspire to batter at the heart and the mind [RB]
Carols from Herefordshire (Albion Records)
An ideal Christmas present for enthusiasts of RVW’s folksong transcriptions [JF]