pbw

Philip Borg-Wheeler

Beethoven: Symphonies 7 & 8 (Pristine Audio)

Great, essential performances, clearly recognisable even with less than ideal sound quality [PBW]

R Schumann: Piano Trios, Vol. 2 (BIS)

Superb performances of lesser-known but deeply rewarding Schumann [PBW]

Mozart Piano Quartets CHAN20179

Mozart: The Piano Quartets (Chandos)

Fine playing, but the interpretations are a matter of personal taste [PBW]

Weber clarinet EPRC0053

Weber: The Clarinet as Prima Donna (Evil Penguin)

Thoroughly musical, but rather plain, sober and lacking in panache [PBW]

beethoven trios casals sony

Beethoven: Piano Trios (Sony Classical)

A terrific Ghost Trio, less impressive E flat major Trio [PBW]

Poulenc: Stabat Mater (BR Klassik)

An unusual programme, attractive, but somewhat generic performances [PBW]

Bartók: Chamber Works (Decca)

A stunning CD – fantastic performances of strongly contrasting works [PBW]

Jones Piano Music Lyrita SRCD410

Jones: Piano Music (Lyrita)

Martin Jones proves a strong advocate for this intriguing repertoire [PBW]

sibelius lemminkainen forgotten

Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Legends (Forgotten Records)

A strong performance, if sometimes tending towards literalness [PBW]

sibelius sym4 fr2085

Sibelius: Symphony 4 (Forgotten Records)

An interesting but largely disappointing CD, mainly because of an underpowered performance of the symphony [PBW]