Clarke: Music for violin, viola and piano (Brilliant Classics)
Compact, youthful interpretations of Rebecca Clarke’s works for strings with piano [JW]
Nowel: Advent and Beyond (Delphian)
An exceptional disc in every way [JQ]
Vaughan Williams: Mantegna – Hymnody and Beyond (Albion Records)
Hymns reimagined, Vaughan Williams gloriously illuminated [JF]
Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Naxos)
A typically thought-provoking Calixto Bieito production of Handel’s masterpiece, well sung and played [DHa]
Tippett, Britten & Walton: Works for Piano & Orchestra (BIS)
An intelligent, generous and well-played survey of three fine British keyboard concertante works [NB]
Bax & Ireland: Works for Piano & Orchestra (Somm)
(Déjà Review) The Bax premiere is a revelation [RB]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Alba)
(Déjà Review) State of the art Goldbergs [DC]
Rosa Ponselle: Songs and Arias (Naxos Great Singers)
(Déjà Review) We must be grateful for the opportunity to hear this great soprano [ABo]
The Jazz Album (Classics for Pleasure)
(Déjà Review) An enjoyable album of jazz-influenced music, London Sinfonietta on good form [GPu]
Coleridge-Taylor: Orchestral Music (Somm)
A potpourri of largely unrecorded Coleridge-Taylor [JW]
Prokofiev: The Gambler (Unitel Edition)
Prokofiev’s masterly opera about greed and desperation is presented in brilliant performances and a fine if somewhat controversial production [RC]
Choir of St John’s Cambridge: O Holy Night (Signum)
A most enjoyable Christmas programme, superbly performed [JQ]
Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Pristine Audio)
Once again, Pristine breathes new life into an imperishable classic of the gramophone [RMo]
Gouvy: Chamber Music (Farao Classics)
An album of valuable Théodore Gouvy wind chamber works [MC]
Victor Schiøler (piano): The Great Danish Pianist Volume 7 (Danacord)
Rare and previously unpublished material enliven another Schiøler release from Danacord [JW]
Vidimus Gloriam Eius (Hymnus)
A joyous traditional Christmas service, beautifully sung [RMo]
Wagner: Parsifal (Marston)
The Holy Grail available complete at last: The 1938 Met Parsifal [PH]
Robert Bennett & Duke: Violin Concerti (Chandos)
Unfamiliar music presented with skill, authority and conviction [NB]
Kaufmann: Orchestral works (MDG)
My admiration for Kaufmann’s music continues to grow [DJB]
Unaccompanied: Paganini, Bartók, Skalkottas, Ysaÿe (Divine Art)
(Déjà Review) An encounter with excellence [JW]
19th Century French Music for Winds (MSR Classics)
(Déjà Review) Character, energy and great ensemble playing [SP]
Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher (Brilliant Classics)
An attractive viola concerto with an unusual coupling [SB]
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 5 & 9 (LSO Live)
The notorious Barbican acoustic has been noticeably tamed in this compelling disc of two iconic symphonies in superb performances [EJW]
Schreker: Die Gezeichneten, Korngold: Sinfonietta & Krenek: Potpourri (BIS)
An excellent survey, skilfully played and in fine sound [NB]
