BACH / LISZT / KARG-ELERT / BRAHMS / SCHUMANN
B-A-C-H - Anatomy of A Motif Simon Johnson (organ) [ Chandos / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] "The listener is quickly drawn into a sonic and musical feast...An outstandingly good release and a perfect combination of repertory, player and organ." Gramophone Editor's Choice March 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. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Goldberg Variations Jean Rondeau (harpsichord) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 11/Feb/2022 ] "An ode to silence" is how harpsichordist Jean Rondeau has described Bach's Goldberg Variations. "I feel they were written for silence, in the sense that they take the place of silence." |
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 |
FRANCESCO CAVALLI / CHRISTOPH GRAUPNER / FRANZ TUNDER etc
Celebration of Life in Death Anna Prohaska; La Folia Barockorchester; Robin Peter Müller [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 25/Feb/2022 ] Constantly in search of eclectic and meaningful programmes, the soprano Anna Prohaska here celebrates 'life in death'. An ambitious programme, conceived with Robin Peter Müller and his ensemble La Folia, which takes us on a journey across the... |
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 |
JONATHAN DOVE / JUDITH WEIR / MATTHEW MARTIN
Dove, Weir & Martin: Choral works Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Peter Holder (organ) [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Feb/2022 ] A diverse selection of works, many written to commemorate state occasions in Westminster Abbey itself, by three composers who demonstrate a particular affinity for choral music. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Dualità EmÅ‘ke Baráth (soprano) / Ensemble Artaserse, Philippe Jaroussky [ Warner Classics / CD - released 18/Feb/2022 ] "She provides a sonic feast: rich bottom-register timbre, brilliant yet voluptuous top notes and a pure core that energises even her longest lines." BBC Music Opera Choice April 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. |
PAUL SCHOENFELD / FRANK BRIDGE / AMY BEACH / FLORENCE PRICE / AARON COPLAN / etc
From Brighton To Brooklyn Elena Urioste (violin), Tom Poster (piano) [ Chandos / CD - released 7/Feb/2022 ] "…Urioste's playing is nuanced and committed, while Poster impresses with his joyous fantasy, tonal range and versatility." International Piano |
CARLO GESUALDO / THOMAS TALLIS / etc
Gesualdo: Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday The Gesualdo Six, Owain Park [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Mar/2022 ] "...The Gesualdo Six can build up intense and resonant climaxes, their voices are never forced...In sum, these are accounts of haunting beauty - warmly recommended." BBC Music Choral & Song Choice April 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 |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Enchantresses Sandrine Piau (soprano) / Les Paladins, Jérôme Correas [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 14/Jan/2022 ] BBC Music AWARD NOMINATION 2023 - VOCAL |
CAVALLI / VIVALDI / CESTI / STRADELLA / SARTORIO / LEGRENZI / etc
Ian Bostridge - Tormento d'amore Ian Bostridge (tenor), Cappella Neapolitana, Antonio Florio [ Warner Classics / CD - released 18/Feb/2022 ] With the 10 arias on Tormento d'amore, Ian Bostridge demonstrates the important place that the tenor voice held in Italian opera from the mid-17th to the mid-18th century - often thought of as the era of the castrato. |
IVES / MAHLER / COPLAND / CAVALLI / GLUCK / HANDEL / MYSLIVECEK / etc
Joyce DiDonato - Eden Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato Classics / Warner Classics / CD - released 25/Jan/2022 ] "I'm brought to tearful wonder by the album's close. DiDonato's farewell, 'Ombra mai fù' from Handel's Serse, is a performance so beautiful that it makes your insides ache." Gramophone Editor's Choice March 2022 |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Letter to Kamilla: Music in Jewish Memory Mosaic Voices [ Chandos / CD - released 11/Feb/2022 ] Mosaic Voices are the Resident Choir at the New West End Synagogue, in London. The synagogue, designed in 1877 by the Scottish architect George Audsley, is a masterpiece of Victorian architecture, known for its beautiful choral acoustic. |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words Vol.1 Peter Donohoe (piano) [ Chandos / CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] "Brilliantly and excitingly played: Peter Donohoe's Mendelssohn series gets off to a great start…impresses with its warm and rich sound." ***** Pizzicato.lu |
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 |
MARIUS NESET
Neset: Manmade / Windless / Every Little Step / A Day in the Sparrow's Life Marius Neset (saxophone) / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 11/Feb/2022 ] Born in Bergen in 1985, the Norwegian saxophonist and composer Marius Neset has earned countless nominations and awards for his performances and recordings, and has performed with jazz musicians all over the world. |
CHAMINADE / BONIS / d'HARCOURT / de POLIGNAC / FOLVILLE / HOLMES / VIARDOT / etc
Ombres - Women Composers of La Belle Époque Laetitia Grimaldi (soprano), Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano) [ BIS / CD - released 7/Jan/2022 ] Nine women composers step out of the shadows |