Verdi: Rigoletto (Warner Classics)
An under-rated, somewhat overlooked recording featuring an array of superb voices, very well conducted [RMo]
Rodgers: Carousel (Chandos)
Wilson and his colleagues do full justice to this Broadway masterpiece [JQ]
Michael Rabin (violin): On the Bell Telephone Hour (Parnassus)
The conclusion of a focused, chronological look at Rabin’s ‘Bell Telephone Hour’ broadcasts [JW]
Puccini: Messa di Gloria, Preludio sinfonica (BR Klassik)
Ivan Repušić’s impressive conducting helps create a distinct sense of occasion [MC]
Padding: Greatest Hits (So Far!) (Attacca)
Lively new music from a lost concert hall [DC]
Claire Huangci (piano): Made in USA (Alpha Classics)
Claire Huangci impresses in her American showcase [PH]
Victor Nicoara (piano): Polyphonic Dreams (Hänssler Classic)
The version here of Busoni’s magnus opus for piano should now become the standard one [SB]
Le Flem: Works for Solo Piano (Accord)
(Déjà Review) Melancholy, heroic, sombrely optimistic – I cannot overstate the high quality of this music [RB]
The Balkan Piano Vol 1 (Toccata Classics)
Fabulous music, a worthy champion [SA]
Howells & Wood: String Quartets (SOMM Recordings)
Contrasting works by pupil and teacher in an intelligent, interesting programme [NB]
Jésus Léon (tenor & guitar): Passione (Rubicon)
A mix of well-known and unhackneyed songs, first class playing and agreeable singing [GF]
Dvořák: Symphony No 9, American Suite (Erato)
A mightily impressive debut recording from Stutzmann in Atlanta [RMo]
Schumann: Lied Edition (Berlin Classics)
Classic performances from Schreier and Shetler [RMas]
Elgar: Overtures (Chandos)
A much-admired Elgar Overtures disc still sounds resplendent [JW]
Hat Trick (flute, viola and harp trio): Big Sky (Bridge Records)
Richness of musical colour and tone, virtuosic playing and a well-chosen programme make this a delightful CD [KT]
Janáček: The Eternal Gospel & other orchestral works (Hyperion)
All Janáček fans should be acquiring this without delay as should those as yet unconverted [ED]
Splendid Tears: Settings of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (EM Records)
Uneven performances of two British song cycles but there’s a world première of another [JW]
Saxton: Orchestral Works (Nimbus Records)
Robert Saxton’s two recent substantial works, well played and recorded [HC]
Martin: Symphonies (Chandos)
A welcome reissue of Martin orchestral works [LW]
Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite and String Quartet No 3 (The Cleveland Orchestra)
Stunning playing reveals there’s more to the Mandarin than brutality [DMD]
Langgaard: Antikrist (Naxos)
Langgaard’s richly iconoclastic opera undermined and subverted by an over-rich iconoclastic staging [PCG]
Emily Sun (violin): Film Fantasia (ABC Classic)
Glorious works, born of the cinema but perfect for the concert hall [PRJ]
Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Pristine Audio)
Pristine’s splendid enhancement of this recording into Ambient Stereo further minimises the differences between this and Callas’ recording seven years later [RMo]
Schumann: Symphonies Nos 1-4 (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) Unassuming, confident, middle of the road performances very well recorded [RB]
 |
 |
 |
Featured Naxos review |
 |
 |
 |
 |
