The King’s Singers (ensemble): Wonderland (Signum Classics)
Challenging works commissioned and inimitably performed by the King’s Singers [LW]
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Hänssler Classic)
(Déjà Review) One of the finest recordings of the Goldberg Variations on piano currently available [KM]
Eva Zöllner (piano accordion) – voces, señales (Genuin)
Contemporary Columbian music for the piano accordion which takes a great deal of getting used to [GH]
Tabakova: Orpheus’ Comet, Earth Suite & Concertos (Hallé)
The portrait of a fine composer – two concerti and recent orchestral music, all quite beautiful [HC]
Mozart: Complete Masses, Vol. 2 (Naxos)
A laudable addition to the discography of Mozart’s unfinished ‘Great’ Mass [DF]
Mompou: Música callada – Books 1-4 (Hyperion)
Like the cool stone of a monastery on a scorching hot Spanish summer’s afternoon [DMD]
Mendelssohn: Fantasies, Caprices, Variations (Dynamic)
Shihyun Lee never misses the mark in this wonderful collection of Mendelssohn’s sometimes overlooked piano works [RCh]
Grahl & JS Bach: Organ Works (Cobra Records)
A remarkable première for Amsterdam’s hyperorgan [DC]
Bosmans & Chapiro: Forgotten Voices Rediscovered (Fineline)
Music of great charm [SG]
Chaminade: Mots d’amour (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) A tonic for the winter months [IL]
Carolyn Sampson (soprano) but I like to sing… (BIS)
A delight from start to finish – Carolyn Sampson is on effervescent form [JQ]
Puccini: I Canti (BR Klassik)
Charles Castronovo breathes new life to these smart orchestrations of Puccini’s piano songs [MC]
Ravel: Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 3 (Danacord)
The performance captures all the nuances of Ravel’s pianism [JF]
Nardini: Complete Music for 2 Violins (Brilliant Classics)
A well-deserved recognition of a neglected composer [JV]
Shura Cherkassky (piano): The Complete 78-rpm Recordings 1923-1950 (APR)
An opportunity to savour Cherkassy’s seductive magic [SG]
Decker: Ørnen 1897 (Antarctica Records)
An unusual and attractive work inspired by an obscure and ill-fated Swedish attempt on the North Pole [RHa]
Hélène Grimaud (piano) Mozart & Schumann (C major)
A very fine orchestra and pianist in a concert of some distinction [RWe]
Thomas Demenga (cello) Bach, Hosokawa & Yun (ECM)
The contemporary pieces featured here would have been unthinkable without Bach’s innovative thinking [HC]
Bach: Cello Suites (Artway Records and Claves)
Two fine new accounts of Bach’s cello suites but the Artway issue is clearly preferable [RMo]
Dusman: Flashpoint (Neuma Records)
A varied selection of instrumental, chamber and ensemble works from a quietly accomplished if little-known figure [RHa]
Shostakovich: Symphony No 8 (ICA Classics)
A concert that marks the beginning of a great conductor/orchestra relationship hampered by poor sound [NB]
Luzzaschi: Il Concerto Segreto (Ricercar)
An impressive revival of the art of the Concerto delle donne [JV]
Franck: Piano Works (Hänssler Classic)
Fabulous playing shows off Franck’s early virtuosity while impressing in the familiar late works [RCh]
Wigmore Soloists: Chamber Works (BIS)
Committed and inspiring performances of important chamber works [JF]