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Simon Thompson
Wagner: Lohengrin (Unitel)
Fully cooked singing in a half-baked production [ST]
Bernstein: Mass (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Do not hesitate [ST]
Schubert: Quintette Imaginaire (Alpha)
A curiosity, but also a missed opportunity [ST]
Handel: Chandos Anthems, Vol 2 (Chandos)
A reminder that there is more than one way to do “authentic” performance [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]
Schubert: Symphonies Nos 5 & 8 (Linn)
Bursting with life [ST]
R Strauss: Tag und nacht (Supraphon)
A disc of Strauss songs that’s fine, but unremarkable in light of the competition [ST]
Dvořák: Symphonies Nos 7-9 (Pentatone)
Strong Dvořák performances for the Year of Czech Music, but they’re expensive in light of the competition [ST]
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie (C Major)
A ravishing Verklärte Nacht, but a lacklustre Alpensinfonie [ST]
Britten: Billy Budd (Orfeo)
An interesting Billy Budd, but not a library choice [ST]
Gesualdo: Silenzio Mio – Madrigals (PHI)
Musically sumptuous and alarmingly intimate [ST]
Günther Groissböck (bass) I live alone in my heaven (Gramola)
A profile of the singer Günther Groissböck – no revelations, but there’s always the voice [ST]
Tippett: A Child of Our Time (Chandos)
A fitting memorial to a magnificent musician [ST]
Mahler: Symphony No 9 (Alpha Classics)
Full of surprises, this is a disc that will change the way you hear Mahler 9 [ST]
