A Room of Her Own (Chandos)
A handful of unfailingly accomplished, virtually unknown trios, in handsome performances and ideal sound [RHa]
Kaleidoscope (Ars Produktion)
Some dazzling playing and wonderful rarities to be found in this engaging recital [RCh]
Strauss: Metamorphosen, Piano Quartet (B Records)
An accomplished, early Strauss chamber work of mild interest and a tender, carefully wrought, but slightly too cautious Metamorphosen [RMo]
R Strauss: Intermezzo (Warner Classics)
The only studio recording of Strauss’s biographical opera is a complete winner on all front [MP]
La Caramba (Winter & Winter)
A fascinating disc, both for the enjoyable music it contains and for the cultural history which underlies it [GPu]
Fauré: Complete Songs Vol. 2 (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) This disc has given me enormous pleasure and will continue to do so [JQ]
Janáček: Káťa Kabanová (LSO Live)
A good cast and excellent sound are featured on Rattle’s challenge to the Mackerras hegemony [MP]
Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Legends, Rakastava & Karelia Suite (BIS)
Fine performances, presented in exemplary sound [JQ]
Eugene Goossens (conductor) – Cincinnati Symphony, Vol 3 (Pristine Audio)
Goossens’ final Cincinnati recordings complete a worthwhile 3-CD series [JW]
Légende – Solo harp works (Claves)
A consistently engaging anthology of ‘romantic’ music for solo harp, all perceptively played [GPu]
Schumann: Chamber works with wind instruments (B Records)
Minor Schumann, but very pleasant listening [SB]
Bax: String Quartets Nos 1 & 2 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) You must hear this! One of 2001’s top ten classical discs. Roll on the Naxos/Maggini Third Quartet – a work of symphonic impact and scale [RB]
Popes and Antipopes (Metronome)
(Déjà Review) There were times listening to this deeply impressive recording when I wondered whether the Orlando Consort were not, after all, the greatest ensemble of its kind anywhere. It’s that kind of disc [JW]
Vaughan Williams – A Birthday Garland (SOMM Recordings)
A fine representative collection; no more rustic accents, please [JW]
Klaus Tennstedt: Possessed by Music
Like Klaus Tennstedt himself, Georg Wübbolt’s biography is flawed, but fascinating [NC]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Pristine Audio)
A great performance revitalised in extraordinarily vivid sound – another Pristine remastering triumph [RMo]
Tartini: Violin Sonatas (Signum Classics)
Chandler fully explores the lyrical qualities of Tartini’s sonatas [JV]
C Stamitz: Cello Concertos (Claves)
(Déjà Review) Wonderfully wrought works, full of catchy, instantly memorable melody and magnificently harmonious [TM]
Tchaikovsky & Rachmaninov: Piano Trios (BIS)
(Déjà Review) Playing of great intelligence, intellectual rigour and keen spontaneity [TH]
Michael Spyres (tenor) In The Shadows (Erato)
I enjoyed some unhackneyed repertoire and the marvellous singing [GF]
Samuel Barber: His Life and Legacy (University of Illinois Press)
A first class study, well worth tracking down [SG]
Interconexiones – recital (Oboe Classics)
Contemporary Spanish-focused oboe quartets in a range of styles [JW]
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