- Vaughan Williams: Mantegna (Albion Records)A skilfully planned and beautifully executed programme reaps unexpected rewards [NB]
- Moeran: Orchestral Music (SOMM Ariadne)Another treasure trove of archive broadcast performances crowned by a definitive version of the Violin Concerto from Albert Sammons [NB]
- Bach: Stokowski Transcriptions (Naxos Historical)(Déjà Review) An essential purchase for all Stokowski fans [IL]
- Shostakovich & Saariaho: String Quartets (Rubicon)Compelling Shostakovich and Saariaho from the Dudok Quartet [DHa]
- Blake: Orchestral Music (Sony Classics)(Déjà Review) Once heard, you’ll not want to be without this marvellous music [BBr]
- English music for flute and piano (Da Vinci Classics)Victorian voices revived: charm, wit and wistful song [JF]
- Beethoven: Theatre Music (cpo)Colourful, Powerful Performances of Beethoven’s Music for the Theatre [DF]
- Rolle: Sinfonias, Harpsichord Concerti (cpo)Delightful mid-18th century rarities [DC]
- Brahms: String Quintets (Onyx)(Déjà Review) Bold excursions into some of Brahms’ most striking music [JFL]
- 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]
- Robert Bennett & Duke: Violin Concerti (Chandos)Not just Samuel Barber – the American Violin Concerto, School of 1941-1943, revived with élan [JW]
- Bloch: Schelomo; Strauss: Don Quixote (Pristine Audio)(Déjà Review) A deserved classic [JW]
- Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No.5-6 (London Philharmonic Orchestra)Karina Canellakis and the LPO deliver thrilling live Tchaikovsky [DHa]
- Andrea Lam (piano): Piano Diary (ABC Classics)A dramatic mix of favourites and rarities as Lam explores the joys, sorrows and challenges of her life at the piano [RCh]
- Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas (Decca)(Déjà Review) Still one of the best at any price [DC]
- Lofstrom: Myths and Accidents (Diversions)Songs of real originality from Doug Lofstrom [DHa]
- Gassmann: Opera Overtures (Naxos)(Déjà Review) A feel-good CD that will put a smile on one’s face [MMB]
- Leopold Stokowski (conductor): Great Recordings, Vol 2 (ICA Classics)A second tranche of Stokowski from ICA contains the known and issued and some novelties [JW]
- Brahms: Complete Works for Viola, Vol 1 (Challenge Classics)Brahms and the viola: a new series explores the connection [PH]
- Bosmans: Cello Concertos 1 & 2, Poème (cpo)Some wonderful writing in these concertos that have lain unheard for nearly a century [RCh]
- Rutter: A Clare College Celebration (Harmonia Mundi)A fitting 80th birthday tribute to John Rutter [JQ]
- Bériot: Violin Concertos 2, 3 & 5 (Naxos)Fireworks and songful concertos [JW]
- Schumann & Brahms: Piano Quintets (Virgin Classics)I was entranced, enraptured and enthralled – you have to have this one [DJB]
- Firsova and Smirnov: Love and Loss (OUR Recordings)Moving works from this husband and wife team [SB]
- Valls: Mapa Armónico Práctico 1742 (MDG)Impressive display of Valls’ daring use of harmony [JV]
- Bliss: Miracle in the Gorbals & Metamorphic Variations (Chandos)Mid and late period Bliss contrasts an underappreciated ballet with a curious orchestral work [JW]
- Sparks from Ashes – Czech Song Cycles (Chandos)A satisfying collection of songs from Czech and Slovak lands from a tenor in fine fettle [PH]
- Sir Adrian Boult: The Warner Classics Edition (Warner Classics)A 36-CD remastered box that restores (almost) all Boult’s mono legacy for the Warner umbrella of labels [JW]
- Bax & Ireland: Works for Piano & Orchestra (Somm)(Déjà Review) The Bax premiere is a revelation [RB]
- Tippett, Britten & Walton: Works for Piano & Orchestra (BIS)An intelligent, generous and well-played survey of three fine British keyboard concertante works [NB]
- Nowel: Advent and Beyond (Delphian)An exceptional disc in every way [JQ]
- Bach: Goldberg Variations (Alba)(Déjà Review) State of the art Goldbergs [DC]
- Vaughan Williams: Mantegna – Hymnody and Beyond (Albion Records)Hymns reimagined, Vaughan Williams gloriously illuminated [JF]
- Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Naxos)A typically thought-provoking Calixto Bieito production of Handel’s masterpiece, well sung and played [DHa]
- Clarke: Music for violin, viola and piano (Brilliant Classics)Compact, youthful interpretations of Rebecca Clarke’s works for strings with piano [JW]
- Gouvy: Chamber Music (Farao Classics)An album of valuable Théodore Gouvy wind chamber works [MC]
- Rosa Ponselle: Songs and Arias (Naxos Great Singers)(Déjà Review) We must be grateful for the opportunity to hear this great soprano [Abo]
- Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Pristine Audio)Once again, Pristine breathes new life into an imperishable classic of the gramophone [RMo]
- Prokofiev: The Gambler (Unitel Edition)Prokofiev’s masterly opera about greed and desperation is presented in brilliant performances and a fine if somewhat controversial production [RC]
- Coleridge-Taylor: Orchestral Music (Somm)A potpourri of largely unrecorded Coleridge-Taylor [JW]
- Choir of St John’s Cambridge: O Holy Night (Signum)A most enjoyable Christmas programme, superbly performed [JQ]
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