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. |
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 |
W. A. MOZART
Elsa Dreisig - Mozart X 3 Elsa Dreisig (soprano), Basel Chamber Orchestra, Louis Langrée [ Erato / CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] Elsa Dreisig credits Mozart with being the composer who first inspired her to become a professional singer. Now the French-Danish soprano pays him tribute with an album devoted entirely to arias from his operas. |
BOB CHILCOTT
Chilcott: Circlesong Houston Chamber Choir, Treble Choir of Houston, Marianna Parnas-Simpson, Robert Simpson [ Signum / CD - released 21/Jan/2022 ] "This is a most enjoyable disc which I hope will increase awareness among other choirs of these rewarding pieces, especially Circlesong." MusicWeb June 2022 |
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. |
LEOŠ JANÁCEK / ZOLTÁN KODÁLY / ANTONÍN DVORÁK / VITESZSLAVA KAPRÁLOVÁ
Pohádka - Tales from Prague to Budapest Laura van der Heijden (cello) Jâms Coleman (piano) [ Chandos / Hybrid SACD - released 18/Feb/2022 ] The label début of the Exclusive Chandos Artist Laura van der Heijden explores the rich musical heritage of Bohemia. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge & other songs Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), with Timothy Ridout (viola) & the Piatti Quartet [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Apr/2022 ] 'a performance of On Wenlock Edge which, in its thrilling assurance, strength of imagination and rapt instinct, inclines me to rank it alongside the very finest I know.' Gramophone Editor's Choice May 2022 |
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA
Gubaidulina: Dialog: Ich und Du / The Wrath of God / The Light of the End Vadim Repin (violin) / Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 21/Jan/2022 ] "Nelsons is the guiding spirit in what is surely, listened to in order, one of the most remarkable musical and spiritual journeys ever conceived." Gramophone Editor's Choice December 2021 |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY / IGOR STRAVINSKY
Tchaikovsky/Stravinsky: Violin Concertos Yossif Ivanov (violin), Brussels Philharmonic, Wolfgang Heiremans & Yossif Ivanov [ Warner Classics / CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] "Pairing Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky's violin concertos on an album seems a somewhat strange choice, but to me it was an obvious one. Both Russian concertos are composed in D Major, probably inspired by the Beethoven concerto" - Yossif Ivanov |
W. A. MOZART / RICHARD STRAUSS
Mozart / Strauss: Oboe Concertos Cristina Gómez Godoy (oboe) / West Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim [ Warner Classics / CD - released 4/Feb/2022 ] "Godoy's tone is rich and velvety, and ideally suited to the ecstatic, songful outpouring of Strauss's 1945 Oboe Concerto." BBC Music Concerto Choice April 2022 |