Reviews
Review: Huw Watkins: Symphony No. 2, etc (Hallé / Mark Elder)
Mark Elder and the Hallé expertly showcase
Huw Watkins’s delightful works, notes Geoff Brown
Review: Handel: Messiah (Irish Baroque Orchestra et al)
This terrific recording boasts a lively chorus
and top-rate soloists, writes Nicholas Anderson
Review: Hartmann: Esther (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Karabits et al)
Hartmann’s score pulses with moral drama and unrelenting energy, says Ashutosh Khandekar
Review: Beyond Vivaldi (Evangelina Mascardi et al)
Evangelina Mascardi is an elegant advocate for her instrument, writes Kate Bolton-Porciatti
Review: Barraine, Symphonies Nos 1 & 2, etc
What's new?
Review: Lead, Kindly Light (The Sixteen)
Review: Prophecy (Ksenija Sidorova et al)
Three Baltic composers are admirably served on this engaging album, writes Jan Smaczny
Review: Poulenc: Sonatas (Pascal Rogé et al)
Poulenc’s light and shade is vividly brought into focus by performers including Pascal Rogé, notes Jo Talbot
Review: Schumann: Fantasie, etc (Nikolai Lugansky)
Nikolai Lugansky brings an orchestral richness to Robert Schumann, writes Jessica Duchen
Review: Cello works by Franck, Boulanger, Debussy et al
Chamber
Review: Haydn 2032, Vol. 18: Il maestro di scuola
Misha Donat praises Giovanni Antonini’s lively and detailed accounts of Haydn and Lessel
Review: Debussy • Szymanowski Quartets (Belcea Quartet)
Michael Jameson is entranced by the Belcea Quartet’s brilliant pairing of French and Polish composers
Review: Harry Partch – The Wayward (Partch Ensemble)
Kate Wakeling is captivated by the Partch Ensemble’s compelling realisation of a truly original body of works
Choral & Song
Review: Stravinsky: Late Works (Cappella Amsterdam, etc)
Malcolm Hayes is bowled over by Cappella Amsterdam’s exceptional clarity and control
Review: Little Wanderer (works by Britten, Imogen Holst et al)
Christopher Cook enjoys the debut album from well-matched musical partners
Review: Bach Cantatas (Ensemble Correspondances/Sébastien Daucé)
Sébastien Daucé turns to Bach in accounts of fervour and tenderness, writes Nicholas Anderson
Concerto
Review: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, etc (Francesco Piemontesi)
Jessica Duchen is captured by Francesco Piemontesi’s compelling interpretations of Brahms’s piano works
Review: Walton: Cello Concerto etc (Jonathan Aasgard, cello)
John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London is virtuosic and eloquent in vital orchestral works, writes Jo Talbot
Review: Kalevi Aho – Moonlight Concerto, etc
Claire Jackson is mightily impressed by Sharon Bezaly’s mastery of the rare alto flute
Instrumental
Opera
Review: My Fair Lady (Sinfonia of London / John Wilson)
This new studio recording from the Sinfonia of London and its music director John Wilson gives you the original theatrical score complete
Review: Rameau – Platée
Berta Joncus enjoys a 2024 Versailles take on Rameau’s rarely recorded Platée
Review: Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Gerald Finley and Lise Davidsen plumb the
depths of their shared predicament, and they are supported by a first-class cast
Orchestral
Review: Mahler: Symphony No. 7 (NSO/Noseda)
Michael Jameson is wowed by Noseda’s interpretation of Mahler's madcap Seventh Symphony
Review: Nicolaus Richter de Vroe: Shibuya Movements, etc
Steph Power is wowed by Nicolaus Richter de Vroe’s orchestral experimentalism
Review: Schreker • Korngold • Krenek
This superb album brings together three Austrian composers who would go on to fall foul of the Nazi regime
