May 2023

A beautifully burnished sound, but the dominance of slow tempos is a negative [DJB]

Makes a very strong case for treating these sonatas as violin sonatas [GPu]

(Déjà Review) A delightful release which is a joy from first to last [HC]

An offbeat concept produces a very rewarding album [MP]

A second souvenir of the art of this guitar duo, with special emphasis on the youthful brilliance of Ida Presti [JW]

Versions for hard-core period instrument enthusiasts [RMo]

A fascinating journey through Baudelaire’s and Goethe’s poetic landscapes [GF]

Brawn turns out thoroughly impressive accounts of these last three very challenging sonatas [RC]

Controversial and underwhelming Bruckner from Rattle [LD]

First recordings of works that deserved to stay buried [DJB]

(Déjà Review) Lisztians need to hear Argenta’s Faust; his El Amor Brujo is perhaps the best ever [RB]

Excellent Mahler, with a unique coupling [LD]

Musically excellent and dramatically intriguing re-imagining of Schubert’s story [RWe]

Some marvellous Strauss tone poems that mark the beginning of Rouvali’s stewardship of the Philharmonia [ST]

An interesting corner of John Cage’s output expertly performed by a choir and conductor who really understand and enjoy working in the idiom [MS]

Lively performances of little-known compositions from the end of the Baroque period [CRo]

Masterful, ideally executed and engineered recordings of Mozart’s three greatest symphonies [RMo]

The sonatas are fabulous, but the trumpet duos do rather drag on [DJB]

(Déjà Review) Recorded just a week after 9/11, this stunning performance heralds a new era for Rattle in Berlin [CT]

Regarding his new recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony by Lee Denham

An Interview with Jonathan Leshnoff by Lee Denham

(From the Archive) A conspectus in four parts by Bob Farr

One of the best recordings with a small ensemble [JV]

A very enjoyable disc, full of delightful textures, infectious rhythms and inventive juxtapositions [GPu]