Christmas

A Quartet of Christmas Cantatas by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf

A very valuable disc in terms of repertoire, and beautifully performed

Mahler

Semyon Bychkov conducts Mahler's Fourth Symphony

Prior to hearing this, my two top Mahler Fourths were Abbado and Bernstein. Now Bychkov and his Czech players join this exalted company

Weill Violin Concerto & Symphony No. 2

Admirers of the music of Kurt Weill need not hesitate

Poulenc

Poulenc's Les Animax modèles, complete on Chandos

I can see awards coming this disc's way. Performances, recording and presentation seem beyond criticism

Piano

Khachaturian's works for piano and orchestra

Sughayer is the perfect pianist for this repertoire, and this is an ideal, varied, programme.

Handel

Handel's Messiah: John Nelson conducts

A terrific interpretation of Handel's evergreen masterpiece

An heroic pastoral: Lully's Acis et Galatée from Les Talens Lyriques

Jean-Baptiste Lully's “heroic pastoral” Acis et Galatée was his last completed opera, findshed short months before his death in 1687. It was conceived as an entertainment to be included in the festivities organised by Louis-Joseph de Bourbon, Duc de Vendôme, and his friends Charles-Auguste, Marquis de La Fare, and Abbé

Christmas

The Dawn of Grace: Christmas Music from Somerville College, Oxford

A fine disc, imaginatively programmed, superbly performed and held in a wonderful recording

Opera

Lisette Oropesa: French Bel Canto Arias by Rossini and Donizetti

A simply wonderful disc. The spectrum of emotions is vast, teh programming inspired

Solo Piano

Leif Ove Andsnes plays Dvořák on Sony Classical

While pretty much ebverybody knows the “New World” Symphony, Dvořák's solo piano music is rarely heard outtseie of the Czech Republic. Even his magnificent Piano Concerto (which will be the subject of a future post) has never really taken off, despite a magnificent recording by Sviatoslav Richter and conducted by

François Couperin

The Sphere of Intimacy: Cyrille Dubois, Christophe Rousset, and François Couperin

This is a little miracle of.a disc, pefectly planned and executed

Puccini

Puccini's La bohème directed by Stefan Herheim

Herheim’s work is massively stimulating, possibly verging on genius, although traditionalists beware!

Christmas

The First Nowell: Christmas Carols Through the Ages

If you are looking for an inexpensive Christmas disc that mixes familiar and unfamiliar, all in impeccable performances and captured in a supreb recroding, look no furthe

Piano

Igor Levit in Henze's (and Wagner's) Tristan ... and more!

A terrific release - emotionally demanding, for sure, but I for one would not have it any other way

Opera Featured

Marina Viotti and Christophe Rousset's stunning tribute to Pauline Viardot

A superb disc, and a true showcase for Marina Viotti. One of the most brilliant, thought-provoking opera recital discs out there

Christmas

Wishes and Candles: American Christmas Music

It's that time of year again .. and this is a great way to launch our Christmas reviews

Beethoven

Sunwook Kim plays late Beethoven on Blu-ray

Sunwook Kim is one of the finest interpreters of Beetoven around today

Bach

Bach Masses, together at last: The Sixteen

The performances are faultless, the spirit magnificent.

Orchestral

Estonian Premieres on Alpha

This might seem like collectors' territory, but Paavo Järvi and his Estonian National Orchestra persuade us at each and every turn of the quality of this music

Choral

Haydn Nelson Mass and more from much-missed Richard Hickox

This is an umnissable, beautiful disc

Haydn's Op. 54: Quatuor Psophos

Presented here in the order Op. 54 Nos. 2, 1 and 3, following the order of the Longman and Broderip editions, the Quatuor Psoophos present beautifully fresh renditions of three glorious Haydn string quartets. Founded in 1997 at the National Conservatory of Music in Lyon, the quartet then worked with

Mahler Symphony No. 5 (Bychkov, Czech PO)

Released just a few days ago on October 15, this Mahler Fifth follows on from Bychkov's Mahler Fourth (with soprano Chen Reiss) which we will be covering here on Classical Explorer in a later post. We had a relatively recent post that included a Mahler Fifth Symphony here: the Berlin

Rossini

Rossini Messa di Gloria: Pappano triumphs

This is a remarkable disc, recorded in state-of-the-art sound - and what a line-up of soloists!

Hellendaal Grand Concertos, Op. 3

It's not often I begina post with a music example, but if you have never heard of Pieter Hellendaal (1721-1799) before, have a listen to this, the Ouverture to the first piece heard here, the Grand Concerto in G-Minor, Op. 3/1: Several things stand out - the grandeur of

Beethoven

Beethoven & Stravinsky Violin Concertos: Vilde Frang amazes

A very exciting, musically satisfying disc: and a great coupling!