Editor's Choice: June 2024 | The best new classical recordings
Friday, May 17, 2024
Introducing outstanding new albums from Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon, Paul Wee, Rachel Podger, Yuja Wang, John Adams and more
In every issue of Gramophone, Editor Martin Cullingford chooses 12 albums (10 new releases, plus one DVD/blu-ray and one archive recommendation) as his Editor's Choice. Below, you will find the albums selected as Editor's Choice in the June 2024 issue, beginning with the Recording of the Month.
We've included links to the album reviews in Gramophone's Reviews Database, a digital archive of all of our reviews from 1983 to today. To find out more about subscribing to Gramophone and the Reviews Database, please visit: magsubscriptions.com
Recording of the month
Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos 1, 5 (‘Spring’), 6 & 10
Antje Weithaas vn Dénes Várjon pf (AVI-Music)
The culmination of Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon’s Beethoven sonata cycle reflects throughout their rewarding connection both to the music and to each other.
Bronsart. Henselt Piano Concertos
Paul Wee pf Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Michael Collins (BIS)
Could these highly virtuosic but now neglected concertos ask for a better champion than the ever-superb pianist Paul Wee?
‘The Muses Restor’d’
Brecon Baroque / Rachel Podger vn (Channel Classics)
This month’s cover artist Rachel Podger delves into the sound world of English Baroque music, and demonstrates just why she is so admired by audiences and fellow artists alike.
JS Bach Six Keyboard Partitas, BWV825‑830
Martin Helmchen tangent pf (Alpha)
Bach’s Partitas beautifully played by Martin Helmchen on a tangent piano from 1790, its sound and his playing offering us fresh insights to familiar music.
‘The Vienna Recital’
Yuja Wang pf (DG)
Wide-ranging repertoire, but united by the ever-compelling brilliance of this star among her generation of pianists, the remarkable Yuja Wang, captured in concert in 2022.
Ockeghem ‘Complete Songs, Vol 2’
Blue Heron / Scott Metcalfe (Blue Heron)
American ensemble Blue Heron follow up their previous album of Ockeghem songs with another gloriously crafted volume of the 16th-century composer’s works.
Padovano Masses
Cinquecento (Hyperion)
Cinquecento shine once more, following up last autumn’s captivating recording of the music of Ludwig Daser with an exquisitely sung album of two Masses by Italian Renaissance composer Annibale Padovano.
Schütz Da pacem
Ricercar Consort / Philippe Pierlot (Mirare)
In an incredibly rich month for new albums of Early vocal music, the Ricercar Consort, under director Philippe Pierlot, present a thoughtfully compiled portrait of Heinrich Schütz.
‘Wonder Women’
L’Arpeggiata / Christina Pluhar (Erato)
Following the theme of the last few selections, but adding a classic L’Arpeggiata twist, Christina Pluhar and colleagues offer an imaginative celebration of 17th-century music by women composers.
Adams Girls of the Golden West
Sols; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / John Adams (Nonesuch)
John Adams’s return to his 2017 opera has shaped it into a powerful piece addressing the mid-19th-century California Gold Rush.
DVD/blu-ray
Tchaikovsky The Enchantress
Sols; Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra / Valentin Uryupin (Naxos)
Discover one of Tchaikovsky’s least‑known, least-performed mature operas in a fine production from Frankfurt Opera.
Reissue/archive
Bruckner ‘From the Archives, Vol 1’
Various artists (Somm)
Early Bruckner works, drawn from the archives and remastered – the first of six two‑disc volumes in a new series from Somm.
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