rmo

A competent, somewhat episodic account of no special distinction [RMo]

Vocally flawed and dramatically inert; you can do much better with either a vintage recording or the recent Decca issue [RMo]

Apart from the tenor’s contribution and spritelier tempi here, nothing else about this new recording sways my loyalty to the old Ledger recording [RMo]

A thoroughly invigorating, newly conceived approach to this greatest of symphonies [RMo]

A sparkling pair of Ravel’s contrasting operas, justifying their status as “gramophone classics” [RMo]

An artfully devised and beautifully performed double programme, melding liturgical music for the Catholic Mass and the Anglican Choral Evensong [RMo]

These three works present a perfect summation of both Ravel’s and Monteux’s art, now sonically enhanced by Pristine [RMo]

A celebration of Palestrina on his quincentenary supplemented with works by eight Roman contemporaries [RMo]

Grand, weighty performances suffused with a wise humanity [RMo]

An intriguing rarity, mostly adequately sung but musically very patchy and dramatically incoherent [RMo]

Once again, Pristine breathes new life into two established and indispensable recital classics [RMo]

Lim’s superb musicianship and technical brilliance do not quite match the magic of the Horowitz-Ormandy live performance [RMo]

As much an adjunct to spiritual elevation as a musical experience which will appeal to practising Catholics and lovers of liturgical music alike [RMo]

A pleasing, generally very well sung performance of what remains essentially second-rank Donizetti but one with some rewarding passages [RMo]

Superb sound and sincere, committed playing without quite the heft and sonority of the greatest Mahler orchestras [RMo]

A trio of classic “lollipops” is given the typically energised Mitropoulos treatment [RMo]

World premiere recordings of cheerful, tuneful, uplifting Belle Époque music by a mother and son [RMo]

A swings-and-roundabouts recording of the Dresden version of Tannhäuser – stick with Konwitschny and Solti [RMo]

A remarkably listenable and comprehensive survey, showcasing the extraordinary depth of vocal talent available in Moscow in the first decade of the 20C [RMo]

Clear, cool, lucid performances, short on passion but interpretatively consistent and coherent [RMo]

Varied, energetic, colourful music by a composer who never found a distinctive, individual voice before his premature death [RMo]

Superlative, daringly innovative accounts of two Romantic chamber music masterpieces [RMo]

A lovely pairing of Brahms’ last two symphonies, elegantly and fluidly played, in ideal sound [RMo]

A hugely enjoyable and wholly satisfying account of some wonderfully uplifting music [RMo]