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Simon Thompson
Schubert: Chamber Music (MDG)
Performances that need fear comparisons with no other [ST]
Verdi: Requiem (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) Turn to this with confidence [ST]
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Doppelgänger (Sony)
A peculiar but wonderful release that showcases Kaufmann’s developing and deepening insights into the art of Lieder [ST]
Brahms: Piano Concerto No 2, Three Intermezzi (Pentatone)
A Brahms concerto full of poetry and quiet confidence [ST]
Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride (Decca)
(Déjà Review) Fully in touch with Gluck’s keen sense of drama [ST]
Little Wanderer: Songs by Britten, Imogen Holst & Kidane (Signum)
An enormously strong recital by a major pairing in the world of English song [ST]
Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Unitel Editions)
A challenging production, but very rewarding if you give it a go, and the singing is sensational [ST]
The Verdi Tenor: Marcelo Alvarez (Decca)
(Déjà Review) A worthy survey of Alvarez’s Verdi career [ST]
O Holy Night: Christmas Carols From St John’s (Signum Classics)
A lovely Christmas disc with lots to enjoy [ST]
Wagner: Lohengrin (Unitel)
Fully cooked singing in a half-baked production [ST]
Bernstein: Mass (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Do not hesitate [ST]
Handel: Chandos Anthems, Vol 2 (Chandos)
A reminder that there is more than one way to do “authentic” performance [ST]
Schubert: Quintette Imaginaire (Alpha)
A curiosity, but also a missed opportunity [ST]
Strauss: Salome (Opus Arte)
(Déjà Review) I’ll be coming back to this again and again [ST]
Handel: Chandos Anthems (Alpha Classics)
Four of Handel’s Chandos Anthems, stripped back and spring cleaned [ST]
Brahms & Wolf: Lieder (Linn)
Marvellous and treasurable, the finest song disc to have come my way in some considerable time [ST]
Contemporaries of Brahms Vol. 2 (Chandos)
An enjoyable less well-known work, and the brilliant Brahms worth coming back [ST]
Brahms & Schubert: Piano music (BIS)
Clever programming and remarkable playing: Kantorow is the real deal [ST]
Brahms: Lieder (Sony Classical)
Gerhaher isn’t quite on his finest form here, but his expressivity still marks him out as a consummate lieder interpreter [ST]
Mozart: Complete Works With Clarinet Vol. 1 (Alpha Classics)
Nicholas Baldeyrou assembles a union of equals that is enormously appealing – bring on volume two! [ST]
Mahler: Symphony No.3 (Pentatone)
All kinds of everything: Bychkov throws the kitchen sink at Mahler 3, and it works triumphantly [ST]
Beethoven & Lentz: Violin Concertos (Pentatone)
Two violin concertos: Lentz’s is the USP, but Beethoven’s is the winner [ST]
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, A Tale (Alpha Classics)
Scheherazade in a new guise: a disc for the Rimsky curious [ST]
Bernard Haitink (conductor): Portrait Volume II (BR Klassik)
A marvellous testament to Haitink’s longstanding work with one of his great orchestral partners [ST]
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