R Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) A reminder of all the strengths of this cruelly-underrated conductor/composer. Certainly, this is a major addition to the Strauss discography [CC]
Angela Gheorghiu: A Te, Puccini (Signum Classics)
Not my cup of tea – in spite of some sensitive, nuanced singing, Gheorghiu’s vibrato is now too much to stomach [GF]
Malcolm Frager (piano) – The Young Malcolm Frager (Parnassus)
Pianism of the highest calibre [SG]
American and English Orchestral Music (Claves)
A fascinating juxtaposition of the familiar and the unfamiliar [PJ]
Suder: Dona Nobis Pacem, Symphonic Music II (Hänssler Classic)
Committed performances of two mid-twentieth-century German works [WK]
Mahler Pioneers (SOMM)
This release will be of great interest to all Mahler devotees [JQ]
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (Decca)
This remains a powerful experience 49 years after its initial release [MP]
Biber: Violin Sonatas (ECM)
(Déjà Review) I’ve been returning to this superb disc again and again over the past few weeks [GS]
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (High Definition Tape Transfers)
If you want to hear Stravinsky conduct his own most famous work in what is by far the best sound to date, this is it [RMo]
D Scarlatti: Sonatas (Navona Records)
Metz’s playing has admirable directness of approach, but the lovely Clementi square piano is a revelation [MG]
Shostakovich: Symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon)
The final instalment in Andris Nelsons’ Shostakovich symphony cycle [JQ]
Andre Schoch (trumpet) Core (Es-Dur)
Readings that don’t match up with the best, and an ungenerous runtime [DJB]
Rachmaninov: Symphony 1 (Red Note)
An interesting, well-presented performance on a budget issue [EJW]
Salzedo: Scintillation (Da Vinci Classics)
A valuable and thoroughly enjoyable anthology of works for solo harp, played with insight and vivacity [GPu]
Beethoven: Piano Trios (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) It’s difficult adequately to describe the essential rightness of these performances [SV]
Ravel: Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 3 (Danacord)
The main works are ill-served by eccentric tempi and phrasing [RWe]
Saint-Saëns, Glazunov: Violin Concerti (Challenge Classics)
Virtuosic but not exceptional performances of a pair of Romantic concertos [NH]
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor) Berg, Stravinsky & Vaughan Williams (SOMM Recordings)
A significant addition to the Boult discography [SG]
Palmgren: Complete Piano Works Vol. 7 (Grand Piano)
Very attractive music, lots of first recordings and another success in an exciting series [RCh]
Leiviskä: Orchestral Works Volume 1 (BIS)
An auspicious first volume of orchestral music by an unfamiliar Finnish composer [NB]
Dans nos yeux – recital (Warner Classics)
Crossover, yes, but don’t let that deter you from some very enjoyable music [DJB]
Montgeroult: Piano Sonatas (Brilliant Classics)
Remarkable piano sonatas but check whether you are happy with the fortepiano [SB]