Superbudget £5.99 or less 
Budget £6-7.99 
Medium £8-10.99 
Full price £11+ 
Download
RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827) Complete
Works for Piano and Orchestra 
Orchestra of Opera North/Howard Shelley (piano and conductor) rec. 2010/
2011,
CHANDOS CHAN10695(4) [4
CDs: 80:41 + 79:19 + 78:28 + 77:59]
Superlative
choice in every regard.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Arthur BENJAMIN
(1893-1960) Violin Concerto, Romantic Fantasy, Elegy, Waltz and
Toccata
Lorraine McAslan (violin) Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola) Royal Scottish
Ntl O/John Gibbons rec. 2011
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7279 [67:29] [JF]
Simply
fantastic.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johannes
CICONIA (c.1370-1412) Opera Omnia - Complete Works
La Morra/Corina
Martio/Michal Gondko, Diabolus in Musica/Antoine Guerber rec. 2010
RICERCAR RIC 316 [151.34]
[GH]
I
cannot praise these recordings too highly.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Antonín
DVORÁK
(1841-1904) Karajan Spectacular - vol. 2 Symphony 9, 5
Slavonic Dances
Berliner Phil/Herbert von Karajan rec. 1958-1959
IDIS 6621 [65:06]
[RMo]
This
is a glorious disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sebastian FAGERLUND
(b.1972) Clarinet Concerto, Partita, Isola
Christoffer Sundqvist (clarinet) Gothenburg SO/Dima Slobodeniouk rec.
2008
BIS 
BIS-SACD-1707
[58:36]
[OL]
Real
21st century music: standing on the shoulders of those who
came before yet reaching higher than ever.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Philippe GAUBERT
(1879-1941) Au pays basque, Violin Concerto, Poème Romanesque
for cello and orchestra, Le Cortège d’Amphitrite
Philippe Graffin (violin) Henri Demarquette (cello) Orch Phil du Luxembourg/Marc
Soustrot rec. 2010
TIMPANI 1C1186 [66:33]
[RB]
Indispensable
listening for adherents of the melodic-romantic nationalism.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH André Modeste
GRÉTRY (1741-1813)
Zémire et Azor
Hugette Boulangeot (soprano) Michel Sénéchal (tenor) Bournemouth
SO/Sir Thomas Beecham rec. live, 1955
SOMM BEECHAM 30-2 [47:41 + 66:43]
[JS]
A
delightful experience. I would be surprised if this set does not give
considerable pleasure.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav MAHLER
(1860-1911)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor Resurrection (1894) [95:42] Sarah Connolly
(mezzo); Christiane Oelze (soprano)
MDR Rundfunkchor; Berliner Rundfunkchor; Gewandhauschor Gewandhausorchester
Leipzig/Riccardo Chailly rec. 2011
ACCENTUS ACC 10238 BLU-RAY
[95:42] 
[DM]
Thoroughly
satisfying.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Erkki MELARTIN
(1875-1937) The Solo Piano Works
Maria Lettberg (piano) rec. 2008
CRYSTAL CLASSICS N67048 [69:05 + 66:49]
[RB]
Quite
glorious.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Francis POULENC
(1899 – 1963) Hommage
Felicity Lott (soprano) Graham Johnson (piano) rec. 1994
FORLANE FOR16730 [64:26]
[GF]
It
is hard to imagine more beautiful singing. Well-nigh criminal not
to buy this disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Giacomo PUCCINI
(1858-1924) Tosca
Fiorenza Cedolins (soprano) Marcelo Alvarez (tenor) Ruggero Raimondi
(bass-baritone) Ch & O Arena di Verona/Daniel Oren; rec. live, 2006
ARTHAUS
MUSIC 108 031
[119:00]
[RJF]
One
of the best produced and sung video versions of this ever-popular Puccini
melodrama.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Pierre
RODE (1774-1830)
Violin Concertos 3, 4 & 6
Friedemann Eichhorn (violin) Jena PO/Nicolás Pasquet rec. 2009
NAXOS
8.570767 [73:56]
[Byz]
Hugely
entertaining and satisfying.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH Franz
SCHUBERT
(1797-1828) CD
1 Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 53 D.850 (1825) [38:38] Piano Sonata
in G major, Op. 78 D.894 (1826) [39:47] CD 2 Vier Impromptus
op. 90, D.899 (1827) [27:18] Piano Sonata in C major, D.840 Reliquie
(1825) [25:29] Drei Klavierstücke, D.946 (1828) [25:29]
Paul Lewis (piano) rec. 2011,
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC 902115.16 [78:40 + 78:33]
[JQ]
A
distinguished release which confirms the credentials of Paul Lewis as
one of the leading pianists of his generation.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Oscar
STRAUS (1870-1954)
The Chocolate Soldier
Bumerli - Johannes Martin Kränzle, Nadina Popoff - Caroline Stein,
Händel Collegium Köln/WDR Rundfunkorch Köln/Siegfried Köhler rec.
1993
CAPRICCIO C5089 [34:11 + 53:59]
[IL]
A
charming recording of a delightful operetta.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ermanno
WOLF-FERRARI (1876-1948) Triptychon, Arabesken,
Divertimento, Venezianische Suite
Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Ulf Schirmer rec. 2008
CPO 777 567-2
[68:34]
[JS]
Wolf-Ferrari’s
later works are surely ripe for re-evaluation. Music that is good, varied
and interesting as well as well-played and recorded.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Homage
to Paderewski
Jonathan Plowright (piano) rec. 2011
HYPERION CDA67903 [75:32] [JW]
An
outstanding disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH The London String
Quartet 1917-1951 Recordings
MUSIC & ARTS CD-1253 [8 CDs: 542:45]
[JW]
Indispensable.
The greatest British ensemble of the first half of the twentieth century
in all its assurance, dedication, technical and musical accomplishment.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Notable
Women Works by Auerbach, Garrop, Higdon, Schwendinger,
Thomas & Tower
Lincoln Trio rec. 2010/11
CEDILLE RECORDS CDR90000 126 [67:20]
[Byz]
The
marvellous Lincoln Trio sound both very comfortable and in total command
of all this often highly exigent music.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Jelena
Očić (cello)
Johann
Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)/ Ignaz MOSCHELES
(1794-1870) 5 Studies in melodic counterpoint Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Violin Sonata 9 (transcr. Czerny)
Paul HINDEMITH (1895-1963) Cello
Sonata
Jelena Očić (cello) Federico Lovato (piano) rec. 2011
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72524 [74:27]
[NB]
Simply
stunning and revelatory … I do not expect to hear a better recital this
year. Deserves to achieve classic status – more please.
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Christoph Willibald GLUCK
(1714-1787) Ezio
Sonia Prina (alto) Max Emanuel Cencic (counter-tenor) Il Complesso Barocco/Alan
Curtis rec. live, 2008
VIRGIN CLASSICS 0709292 [69:27 + 77:26]
[MS]
On
all counts this new Virgin release must now be considered the preferred
recording.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Gustav MAHLER
(1860-1911)
Das Lied von der Erde (1908-1909)
Jane Henschel (mezzo); Gregory Kunde (tenor) Houston Symphony Orchestra/Hans
Graf rec.2009 Song texts available here
NAXOS
8.572498 [62:46]
[DM]
The
talents of this newcomer are so prodigious and its faults so minor …
this comes pretty close to ideal.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH
(1906-1975)
Symphony 5, Piano Concerto 2
New York PO/Leonard Bernstein (piano) rec. 1960
REGIS RRC1377 [65:09]
[RB]
Sensational
… Phenomenal.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH
Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Symphonies 6 & 12
Royal Liverpool PO/Vasily Petrenko rec. 2009/10
NAXOS 8.572658 [69:38] [LW]
Petrenko’s
Shostakovich 6 and 12 are unmissable.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Richard Strauss Edition: orchestral works, operas, chamber music, lieder.
Full track-list at end of review.
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9249 [35 CDs + CD-ROM]
[RB]
An
ambitious lunge in the direction of comprehensive coverage - a knock-out
blow.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Italian Concertos
and Sonatas
Lucia Swarts (cello), Richte van der Meer (cello) rec. 1999,
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72516 [3 CDs: 181:10] [JV]
A
garden of pleasure for every cello fan. Purchase and enjoy!
Click
for alphabetical listings by composer:
[Part
1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R] [Part
5 S-Z]
[Part 6 Misc A-L] [Part
7 Misc M-Z]
[last 5 days] [Recommended
recordings]
EXPLORE
MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL 
