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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Three Early Operas: Ermione / La Donna del Lago / Bianca e Falliero Gregory Kunde, Carmen Giannattasio, Douglas d'Angus, Patricia Bardon, Majella Cullagh, Jennifer Larmore / David Parry, Maurizio Benini (conds) [ Opera Rara / 8 CD Box Set - released 18/Feb/2022 ] Opera Rara presents a new Opera Rara Classics boxset with a limited edition of three sought-after opere serie by Gioachino Rossini, performed by international bel canto champions. Now remastered to the best audio quality. |
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. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Die Schone Mullerin Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor) Joseph Middleton (piano) [ Signum / CD - released 21/Jan/2022 ] Renowned performers Iestyn Davies and Joseph Middleton perform Schubert's tragic song- cycle Die schöne Müllerin (The Beautiful Maid of the Mill). |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Rocking Horse Road Jacqui Dankworth and the Brodsky quartet [ Chandos / CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] Jacqui Dankworth is one of the most highly regarded and celebrated vocalists in the UK. The Sunday Times called her 'One of our finest singers, regardless of category' |
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." |
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 |
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 |