20th Century - Classical Explorer

Songs of Elizabeth Maconchy and Ralph Vaughan Williams

A superb disc, beautifully sung and recorded. Maconchy's Faustus is simply unforgettable

Repost: Birtwistle Chamber Works (BIS)

A superb disc - the Nash Ensemble reminds us of their place at he top of the chamber tree, while Birtwistle's music remains as uncompromising and brilliant as ever

Competitions

Invocations: Maroussia Gentet and the Concours d'Orléans

Gentet's disc is a beautifully realised, well-balanced recital of great interest

20th Century

Korngold: Complete Incidental Music

A celebration of Korngold, then; a demonstration of the miraculous varity his music holds, brillianlty conceived as a programme and performed with real devotion. A fabulous disc

Piano

Andreas Haefliger plays Ravel, Bartók and Ammann

Stimulating programming from Haefliger for this trio of delights!

Chanson

Mirages: The Art of French Song, with Roderick Williams and Roger Vignoles

This disc offers an ideal entry point into the world of French song: it's almost impossible to magine being in safer hands

Walton

Walton: Façade and music from Henry V

This is an inspired coupling, spectacularly realised

Hindemith

Hindemith's opera Mathis der Maler, complete from Vienna

Whether you go for sound-only, or the visual experience, this is simply unmissable

Gipps

Opalescence: The Music of Ruth Gipps

This disc is a real gift to the musical world at large ... superlative performances of beautiful, and often powerful, music

Chamber

Egyptian Nights: an Arensky ballet (plus a PIano Trio!)

The music of Anton Arensky has long been due serious reappraisal. Perhaps these two discs can point us in that direction ...

20th Century

Žal: the music of Milosz Magin

This disc will be revelatory to many people ...

Vocal

Songs of Travel and Home

A heartfelt, glorious disc of song, the programme imaginative, the performances radiant

Chamber

Dmitri Klebanov's Chamber music on Chandos

Chandos continues to introduce us to composers whose music is more than worthwhile, all in performances and recordings of the very highest qualit

Piano

Charles Ives meets Spiderman

A most stimulating release. Ahonen is a fine pianist, captured in fabulous BIS sound

20th Century

Penderecki Complete Music for String Quartet

A disc shot full with life and adventure: absolutely what Classical Explorer is all about!. The vivid performances are self-recommending

Villa-Lobos

Villa-Lobos Violin Sonatas

... in a sense a South American Schubert, music just flowed out of Villa-Lobos

Piano

Khachaturian Piano Music

Farrugia is a fine advocate for Khachaturian

Stravinsky

Ballets Russes from Roth

Rediscover Stravinsky's seminal ballets on authentic instruments; discover some new friends in "Les Orientales"

Cello

Voyage: Christine J. Lee and Henry Karmer's exceptional journey

After the Chandos disc of American Quintets - which included Samuel Barber's Dover Beach - it seems a good idea to use some more Barber as a launching-off point for exploration. This time, it's the Cello Sonata which, in the secure hands of Christine J. Lee and Henry Kramer on