Glöden: Polish & Swedish orchestral works (Swedish Society)
An outstanding disc of joyous and inspiring string music for these troubled times [PRJ]
Wagner: Siegfried (Opus Arte)
This Siegfried definitely had me hooked from beginning to end [GF]
Roberto Alagna (tenor) French Opera Arias (Deutsche Grammophon)
Alagna brings to each aria his familiar intelligence and musicality [RH]
Bartók: Piano Concertos (Supraphon)
A new, enjoyable recording of Barók’s three piano concertos [MBu]
Monteverdi: Messa per Maria Salute (CPO)
A convincing reconstruction, but no texts [SB]
Delair: The Violin Sonatas (Warbling Quire)
Rich, multi-layered performances of obscure music from the French Baroque [RMas]
Alma: Ibero-American Songs (SOMM Recordings)
A song-recital recording to convert those who think they are not keen on song-recital recordings [DC]
Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) An authenticity that makes you tingle [PCW]
Sibelius: Luonnotar and Orchestral Songs (Ondine)
(Déjà Review) This is a glorious disc that will delight lovers of Scandinavian song as well as Sibelians everywhere [RB]
Britten: Suite from The Prince of the Pagodas (Chandos)
A welcome reissue of an excellent recording placing Britten’s ballet in context [DHa]
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (CRQ Editions)
Tito Gobbi in one of his great roles at Covent Garden, by way of the BBC [PH]
Skrzydlewski: Piano works (Acte Préalable)
Acte Préalable have unearthed another forgotten name for this recital of idiomatically romantic music [RCh]
Organ Music in New England (Acis Productions)
One of the most imaginative organ discs to come my way in some time [WK]
Korngold: Captain Blood & other filmscores (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) An object lesson in swashbuckling film music [SA]
Ben Heppner sings Scenes from Wagner’s Ring (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) This is a coup for Mr. Heppner, a disc deserving of any number of awards [KS]
Cowie: Rock Music (Métier)
A complex cycle of sonatas inspired by geological processes [JF]
La belle époque des Geloso (Ciar Classics)
World premiere recordings of cheerful, tuneful, uplifting Belle Époque music by a mother and son [RMo]
Donizetti: Alfredo il Grande (Naxos)
Alfred battles with the Danes and the lack of star-quality singers in this slightly disappointing release [MP]
Pictures from Finland (Chandos)
An enjoyable, well performed disc with not much originality or interest [BSt]
Schubert: String Quintet, Symphony No.5 (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) One classic and one slight disappointment [JW]
Shostakovich & Prokofiev: String Quartets (Nimbus)
(Déjà Review) How wonderful to see Nimbus demonstrating all its strengths in this superb issue [CC]
Leif Segerstam (conductor): Segerstam in Aarhus (Danacord)
Brilliant final testimony to Leif Segerstam’s recording career [JF]
French School Pianists play French concertos (APR)
A great piano tradition is celebrated in style [PH]
Holst: Beni Mora & Choral Symphony (SOMM Ariadne)
A fine interpretation of the Choral Symphony added to a sparse field [WK]
