CARL REINECKE / EMIL VON SAUER
Reinecke & Sauer: Piano Concertos Simon Callaghan, Sinfonieorchester St Gallen / Modestas Pitrėnas [ Hyperion / CD - due 31/May/2024 ] This is the fourth Romantic Piano Concerto album from Simon Callaghan, and that combination of talents which made his first three so successful - not least a flair for exploring the neglected byways of the Romantic repertoire, and the technique and... |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: String Quartets D112 & 887 Takács Quartet [ Hyperion / CD - due 31/May/2024 ] The 'heavenly lengths' Schumann loved in late Schubert are as much in evidence in the sublime G major quartet as in the other large-scale works of Schubert's final years. The Takács Quartet's earlier Hyperion recordings of Schubert were hailed as... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Violin Sonatas Alina Ibragimova (violin) Cédric Tiberghien (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 30/Aug/2019 ] Matchless accounts of Brahms at his most lyrically reflective, plus a benedictory encore by Clara Schumann: this is another outstanding release from today's pre-eminent violin and piano partnership. |
NICCOLO PAGANINI
Paganini: 24 Caprices Alina Ibragimova (violin) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 21/May/2021 ] 'Ibragimova's principal strength, aside from an all-facilitating technique, is her amazing imagination, an ability to turn each individual piece into a vivid narrative.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Instrumental |
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN
Telemann: Fantasias For Solo Violin Alina Ibragimova (violin) [ Hyperion / CD - released 7/Oct/2022 ] Telemann may have written his twelve fantasias for the amateur market, but he would surely have rejoiced to hear such superlative performances as these. Alina Ibragimova again demonstrates just what can be accomplished on the four strings of a solo... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Violin Sonatas Vol 3 Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 26/Mar/2017 ] "Avoiding the twin traps of over-inflation and simpering coyness, the symbiotic partnership of Tiberghien and Ibragimova respect the music's innocence while relishing every tiny opportunity for mischief and humour." Gramophone Editor's Choice |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Violin Sonatas Vol 1 Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2016 ] "It is difficult to imagine [these sonatas] better played" (Five Stars BBC Music) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2 Alina Ibragimova (violin), State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov', Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 5/Jun/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award WINNER 2021 - Concerto BBC Music Award Nomination 2021 - Concerto |
ALEXANDER SCRIABIN
Scriabin: Mazurkas Andrey Gugnin (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Mar/2022 ] Scriabin clearly responded to the passionate and emotionally charged nature of the mazurka, qualities shared by all twenty-three of the exquisite miniatures recorded here. |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Preludes & Piano Sonatas Andrey Gugnin (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 27/Sep/2019 ] "Gugnin rivets us in orchestral-sounding climaxes…and the metaphysical twilight zones in between…Gugnin finds surprising poetry in the music" BBC Music Award WINNER 2020 - Instrumental |
J.S. BACH
Angela Hewitt plays Bach [15 CDs Special Price] Angela Hewitt (piano) [ Hyperion / 15 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2010 ] 'Angela Hewitt's Bach has long been a thing of wonder' (The Daily Telegraph) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas - Vol 11 (Sonatas Opp 106 & 111) Angela Hewitt (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Feb/2022 ] "Her playing has great energy and also plenty of light and shade....This is an outstanding disc." Musicweb recommended June 2022 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Variations Angela Hewitt (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Oct/2020 ] "No qualifications are required for Angela Hewitt's new Beethoven album..Hewitt's touch is remarkably nimble and poetic" The Times |
BEETHOVEN
Piano Sonatas-Vol 3 (Incls Sonata in C sharp minor 'Moonlight') Angela Hewitt (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Jul/2010 ] "Despite her versatility, she goes straight to the heart of every composer she tackles. Here there is colour and agility aplenty, but gravitas too." (Gramophone) |
DOMENICO SCARLATTI
Scarlatti: Sonatas Vol 1 Angela Hewitt (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Feb/2016 ] 'Angela Hewitt responds intuitively and alluringly to the multi-faceted character of these sonatas' (BBC Music Instrumental recording of the month March 2016) |
CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD
Stanford: Suite for Violin and Orchestra Op 32 / Violin Concerto in D major Op 74 Anthony Marwood (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 2 / CD - released 15/Nov/2000 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Concerto - "A first recording for the Violin Concerto, and a performance unlikely to be bettered. Anthony Marwood is the impassioned soloist" |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 5 / Scenes adapted from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress Emily Portman (folk voice), Kitty Whately (mezzo-soprano), Marcus Farnsworth (baritone), etc / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 30/Oct/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Orchestral |
GRANDOS / RODRIGO / NIN / GUASTAVINO / GINASTERA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Canciones amatorias Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano) Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 23/Jun/2002 ] 'Enthusiasts for song recitals should certainly investigate this disc, which offers one beautiful song after the other, running the gamut from elegant art songs to simple, folk-like tunes' (Fanfare) |
AMOMYMOUS / DUNSTAPLE / ALANUS
Music for the 100 Years' War The Binchois Consort, Andrew Kirkman [ Hyperion / CD - released 26/Mar/2017 ] "Where a more mellifluous tone is required, as in the top-voice-driven Credo by Excetre, they give Matthew Venner's expressive countertenor full rein." Gramophone Award Nomination 2017 - Early Music |
BOHUSLAV MARTINU
Martinu: The Complete Music for Violin and Orchestra (Vol 4) Bohuslav Matousek (violin) / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Sep/2008 ] "In these beautifully recorded performances, both Christopher Hogwood and Bohuslav Matoushek have a profound understanding of Martinu's style and the Czech Philharmonic responds with radiant playing." (BBC Music) |
WILLIAM BYRD
Byrd: Mass for five voices & other works The Gesualdo Six / Owain Park [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] In a selection of motets woven affectingly throughout the glorious five-part Mass, The Gesualdo Six perfectly captures all the power and tenderness of Byrd's compositional voice. |
MIKHAIL GLINKA / NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Glinka: Grand Sextet / Rimsky-Korsakov: Quintet Capricorn [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 14/Apr/2004 ] 'Some of the most joyously delightful music that you will ever hear' - American Record Guide |
FRANCISCO GUERRERO
Missa Sancta et immaculata The Choir of Westminster Cathedral / James O'Donnell [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/Aug/2008 ] RECORD OF THE MONTH, CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE |
State Choir Latvija / Maris Sirmais
Credo [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Sep/2023 ] Two opulent choral masterpieces by Richard Strauss frame an eclectic programme from one of Europe's most highly acclaimed choirs. The name of the young Slovenian composer Matej Kastelic may still be relatively little known, but the title track Credo... |
C. P. E. BACH
Bach (C.P.E.): Keyboard Sonatas Vol 1 Danny Driver (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Jun/2010 ] "This is surely one of the finest of all recent keyboard issues." Gramophone Magazine: Editor's Choice - July 2010 |
GABRIEL FAURE
Faure: The Piano Quintets Domus [ Hyperion / CD - released 19/Sep/2003 ] PENGUIN GUIDE ROSETTE GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER |
ANTONIN DVORAK / SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR
Dvorák: String Quartet Op 106; Coleridge-Taylor: Fantasiestücke Takács Quartet [ Hyperion / CD - released 7/Jul/2023 ] Dvořák's mature string quartets are masterly, all brimming with life-enhancing music, and Op 106 is no exception. The Takács Quartet gives superlative accounts of both this and the apt coupling by a young Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Sonatas & Rhapsodies Garrick Ohlsson (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jul/2021 ] Both sonatas recorded here are the work of the young Brahms-still a teenager when he wrote Op 2-and perfectly complement the much later rhapsodies. These are magisterial accounts from a pianist noted for his mastery of the Romantics. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: String Quartets Opp 42, 77 & Seven Last Words The London Haydn Quartet [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 9/Jun/2023 ] Haydn's 'Seven Last Words' (heard here in the composer's own arrangement for string quartet) is simply sublime, and a fitting testimonial to the composer's deep, enduring faith. It provides an apt and generous coupling for the two magnificent Op 77... |
MOZART / CRAMER / FRIEDMAN / HOUGH / LISZT
Stephen Hough's Mozart Album Stephen Hough (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Mar/2008 ] SUNDAY TIMES CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE INSTRUMENTAL CHOICE |
ALOYS SCHMITT
Schmitt: Piano Concertos / Rondeau brilliant Howard Shelley (piano) / Ulster Orchestra / Howard Shelley [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Vol 84 / CD - released 1/Jul/2022 ] Great Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 84. Composer and conductor, pianist and pedagogue: Aloys Schmitt (1788-1866) was respected by his peers and largely forgotten by posterity. As so often in this series, the three works recorded here will have... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas Nos 35 & 169 Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Neal Davies (bass) / Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Feb/2022 ] Both of these cantatas may have been written for an outstandingly gifted boy alto in Bach's Leipzig, but-listening to these peerless accounts-it's impossible to believe he could have approached Iestyn Davies's flawless technique. |
BALAKIREV / GRIEG / HONEGGER / TCHAIKOVSKY / BERKELEY / MOMPOU / etc
Hommage a Chopin Jonathan Plowright (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Feb/2010 ] "All of these multifaceted offerings...show Jonathan Plowright as beguiling in his intimacy as he is magisterial in virtuosity." Editor's Choice: Gramophone Magazine - April 2010 |
WOLDEMAR BARGIEL
Bargiel: Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2 Leonore Piano Trio [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Apr/2022 ] The name of Woldemar Bargiel may be little known today - although he was the half-brother of Clara Schumann, no less - but he was highly regarded by Brahms and the Schumanns. These are two delightful, richly melodic works. |
SIDNEY JONES
The Geisha (Complete operetta) Lillian Watson / Sarah Walker / Harry Nicoll / Richard Suart / Christopher Maltman / New London Light Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Ronald Corp [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 12/Feb/2006 ] 'The recording that has given me the most joy during the year. A work I have waited fully 40 years to find on LP or CD' (Gramophone) |
LASSEN / SCHARWENKA / LANGGAARD
Lassen / Scharwenka / Langgaard: The Romantic Violin Concerto Linus Roth (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Antony Hermus [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 22 / CD - released 31/May/2019 ] "Roth plays with almost missionary zeal, he and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, under Antony Hermus, making a convincing case for these works to be more widely performed." The Observer |
FILIPE DE MAGALHAES
Magalhaes: Missa Veni Domine & Missa Vere Dominus Est Cupertinos / Luis Toscano [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Sep/2023 ] Filipe de Magalhães was perhaps the most celebrated Portuguese composer of his day. Idiomatic performances from Cupertinos-'true ambassadors of Portuguese polyphony'-will go a long way towards justifying that reputation to a modern audience. |
WILLIAM BOLCOM
Bolcom: The complete rags Marc-André Hamelin (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 3/Jun/2022 ] 'Bolcom is lucky in having such a musician to provide him with these authoritative accounts of his music.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2023 - Piano |
MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN
Hamelin: Etudes Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Sep/2010 ] Recording of the Month Gramophone Magazine November 2010 / BBC Music Magazine, November 2010 ***** |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Piano Sonatas Vol 1 (2 CDs) Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 25/Apr/2007 ] "The Hamelin charisma is stamped on this music from the first Sonata of the set, one of Haydn's greatest, No 50 in C major. In the opening movement, staccatos are as crisp as the best melba toast and, where lesser pianists rattle, Hamelin creates... |