- Noskowski: Piano Music 5 (Acte Préalable)An engaging addition to the survey of Noskowski’s piano output [RCh]
- Dale & Bowen: Piano Works (Hyperion)(Déjà Review) Add this to your British piano collection without reservation [JW]
- Stevens: Orchestral Music Vol. 3 (Toccata Classics)A very welcome triptych of releases [PRJ]
- Myaskovsky: Symphonies No.24-25 (Northern Flowers)Myaskovsky’s symphonic brace that prioritises expansive tempi [JW]
- Beethoven: Fidelio (Decca)(Déjà Review) This Fidelio will surely be one of the most important releases of 2011 [JQ]
- Rangström: Kronbruden (Sterling)A fine first recording of Rangström’s most important opera [WK]
- Shostakovich: Symphonies No 6 & 9 (Challenge Classics)Two of Shostakovich’s most subversive symphonies, brilliantly played and sharply characterised [NB]
- Bruckner: Symphonies No 4 & 7 (Warner Classics)Monumental, spiritual performances [DF]
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No 8, 17 & 23 (Warner Classics)(Déjà Review) Outstanding performances of three favourite minor-key Beethoven sonatas [WH]
- Elgar: Piano Quintet & String Quartet (Hyperion)(Déjà Review) Striking performances of these late masterpieces [JF]
- Britten: Les Illuminations and other Works (Alpha Classics)A very good Britten concert [SB]
- Peter Donohoe (piano): The Chopin I Love (Somm Recordings)Delivers all of the pianism and musical depth for which one could ask [DC]
- Czerny: Sonatas for Solo Piano Vol 3 (Nimbus)A superb addition to Martin Jones’s marvellous one-man attempt to record everything unjustly neglected [Byz]
- Lopatnikoff & Juon: Piano Trios (Naxos)The Lopatnikoff is quite a discovery [DJB]
- Janitsch: Symphonies & Concertos (cpo)Janitsch’s work is ripe for discovery and revival, assisted by excellent recordings such as this [DC]
- Bartók: Piano Concertos 1-3 (Elatus)Peerless performances, alert, alive, astounding [DM]
- From Dennis Brain’s Library Vol 2 Plus! (MPR)Rare and well-chosen pieces from Dennis Brain’s library and some bonuses, all beautifully played [SJG
- Bridge: Piano Music – Volume 3 (SOMM Recordings)(Déjà Review) A worthy part of what is a major, important project in British recorded music [JF][RB]
- Mozart: Symphonies (Warner Classics)Luxuriant, emotionally stirring renditions of Mozart’s final six symphonies [DF]
- Akiho: Beneath Lighted Coffers (Reference Recordings)Two brilliant ear-opening works that show what steel pans are capable of [PRJ]
- Bach: Keyboard Concertos (Decca)(Déjà Review) Life-enhancing fun, and breathtakingly and movingly beautiful [DC]
- Jonas Kaufmann: Magische Töne (Sony)Kaufmann might sound like a tourist in this survey of Hungarian operetta, but it is an enjoyable indulgence [ST]
- Woyrsch: Symphonies (cpo)First and last symphonic efforts from Woyrsch which again show his very limited gift for melody [EJW]
- Telemann: Matthäus Passion (Christophorus)(Déjà Review) A creditable, persuasive yet less than perfect recording of Telemann’s 1730 Matthew Passion [MS]
- Biber & Aufschnaiter: Choral Music (Accent)Superb performances of three musical treasures from Austria’s musical heritage [JV]
- Chee & Ballard: Indigenous American Piano Music (Navona Records)One of the most original piano albums I’ve heard this year: engaging, cantabile works, beautifully played. [ACG]
- Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 and 4 (Deutsche Grammophon)Exuberant, big-boned, Romantic readings, far from the light classicality of other interpreters [RMo]
- Schmid: Chamber Music (cpo)(Déjà Review) Perhaps Schmid is due a revival for its melodic fluency and formal coherency, if slightly lacking in invention and adventure. Worth a listen though [GD]
- Rosa Franziska Maier (guitar) Scenes of Reverie (Genuin)A seductive programme skilfully executed [ZT]
- Bruckner: Symphony No.9 (Hänssler Profil)A swift, driven, thrilling and cohesive live performance of Schaller’s completion of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony [RMo]
- Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn: Complete String Quartets (cpo)An unusually comprehensive and rewarding set of Mendelssohn string quartets [SB]
- Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Pristine Audio)A classic Barber returns to the catalogue in better sound than ever [ST]
- Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust (Challenge Classics)(Déjà Review) A stunningly vivid live recording of what must have been an electrifying evening at the Concertgebouw [DC]
- Beach: Piano Works Vol. 3 (Guild)(Déjà Review) One of the very best piano recordings I’ve heard [DM]
- Steiger: String quartets (Kairos)Political music that turns its gaze inward [DHa]
- Ries: Piano Sonatas & Sonatinas, Vol 5 (Naxos)(Déjà Review) The finest possible tribute to Ries’s piano sonatas [Byz]
- Garrop: Piano Concerto (Cedille)An impressive recording of a dramatic, modern yet approachable piano concerto [EJW]
- Beck: Symphonies (cpo)Riveting accounts of dramatic early Classical symphonies [CRo]
- Organ Music from the Low Countries (Ricercar)Foccroulle pairs a thorough knowledge of the 17C organ landscape with an engaging style of playing [JV]
- Grieg: Violin Sonatas (Dynamic)(Déjà Review) It is hard to imagine a performance that Grieg himself would have liked more than this one [Byz]
- Saxophobia: Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s (Chandos)Hugely entertaining, backed up by phenomenal technique and rigorous research [NB]
Reviews of Classical Music Recordings
