Rossini italiana 4758275

Rossini: L’italiana in Algeri (Decca)

A pleasing but hardly essential recording of Rossini’s opera, noteworthy for being the first recorded in stereo [MP]

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Biber: Harmonia artificiosa (Archiv Produktion)

(Déjà Review) It will be very difficult to find a performance which more convincingly explores these brilliant compositions [JV]

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Dvořák: Complete Works for Violin & Orchestra (Hänssler Classic)

Violinist Mikhail Pochekin performs these Dvořák works with compelling verve [MC]

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Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (Danacord)

A near-complete 1930s Brandenburg Concerto cycle from Berlin and interesting additions [JW]

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Britten: Albert Herring (Decca)

A touchstone recording which is hard to beat for its general excellence and superbly detailed sound [MP]

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P Glass: Solo (Orange Mountain Music)

An invaluable insight into a master at work and play [PRJ]

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Noè Rodrigo Gisbert (percussion) Paraules (IBS Classical)

A rich variety of musical language bought to life by an admirably virtuosic and intelligent musician [MBu]

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Sibelius: Symphony No 4 (Alpha Classics)

A performance to convert the Sibelian reluctant to appreciate the bleak Fourth’s special qualities, in a death-laden programme complete with two superb companion pieces [RMo]

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Mahler: Symphonies Nos 5, 7 & 8 (Pristine Audio)

Revelatory Boult in Mahler from the archives [LD]

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Mischa Maisky (cello) & Martha Argerich (piano) In Concert (Deutsche Grammophon)

(Déjà Review) A magnificent triumph for all concerned [CC]

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Zayt Gezunterheyt – The Folk Soul of the Eastern Clarinet (Antarctica Records)

A simply outstanding meeting of stunning musicians and glorious music [PJ]

Rózsa: Overture to a Symphony Concert, Hungarian Serenade, Tripartita (Capriccio)

If you like this programme, you will like these performances [EJW]

Smetana: Má Vlast (Pentatone)

A very enjoyable account of Má Vlast, superbly played [JQ]

Hartmann: Piano Works Volume 5 (Danacord)

Trondhjem continues exploring the pleasant piano music of this long-lived Dane [RCh]

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Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music (Albion Records)

This important historical document must be judged on its own terms [JF]

Pejačević: Chamber music (Brilliant Classics)

A new recording highlights the lyricism and structural strength of Pejačević’s chamber music [JW]

Gloire immortelle! Grandes oeuvres patriotiques (Château de Versailles)

A pleasant romp through the realm of French patriotic music and beyond [MP]

Shostakovich: Chamber Symphonies (BIS)

(Déjà Review) This is a challenging and absorbing listening experience [PJL]

Tcherepnin: Three generations of Chamber Works (Capriccio)

Nikolai’s quartet and Alexander’s piano quintet are the stand-out works here [SB]

Schubert: Winterreise (Genuin)

An imaginative and thoroughly rewarding re-working of Schbert’s Winterreise for voice, chorus and two accordions [PT]

Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Decca)

Perhaps not the finest La Gioconda recording but a deeply satisfying one nonetheless [MP]

Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn: Choral Works (Chandos)

A full-blooded account of Mendelssohn’s weird pagan ballad, although his sister’s works will reward the curious listener in equal measure [RH]

Les Hautbois à la Chambre du Roi (Ricercar)

A fascinating picture of music at the time of Louis XIV [JV]

Jarrell: Orchestral Works (BIS)

Gripping, inventive, often beautiful music in superb performance and recording [HC]