Recording of the month

‘Paris’

Hilary Hahn vn Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra / Mikko Franck

DG

From the late lyricism of Rautavaara to the urgent intensity of Prokofiev, Hilary Hahn’s captivating tribute to the city of Paris is imaginatively programmed and brilliantly performed.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

Locatelli ‘Il labirinto armonico’

Finnish Baroque Orchestra / Ilya Gringolts vn

BIS

From the opening track onwards, elegant playing launches a programme rich in charm from Ilya Gringolts and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, all on sparkling form.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

D Matthews A Vision of the Sea

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Jac van Steen

Signum

David Matthews’s sound world draws you in with expressive orchestral writing, whether evoking the sun or sea, or in his beautifully crafted Eighth Symphony.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

Holmboe String Quartets, Vol 1

Nightingale Quartet

Dacapo

The Nightingale Quartet’s survey of Danish composer Vagn Holmboe’s string quartets couldn’t have a more auspicious start: performed with a gripping sense of drama and caught in richly vivid sound.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

Liszt Piano Works

Benjamin Grosvenor pf

Decca

The superb pianist Benjamin Grosvenor continues to compile a richly varied discography, the repertoire always carefully chosen and the playing always deeply engaging, with an impressive recital of Liszt.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

Listen to Benjamin Grosvenor on the Gramophone Podcast:

☆

‘Piazzolla Reflections’

Ksenija Sidorova accordion

Alpha

What better way to mark the centenary of Piazzolla’s birth than this programme from accordionist Ksenija Sidorova steeped in the soul and spirit of the tango master’s music?

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

Purcell Royal Odes

The King’s Consort / Robert King

Vivat

An excellent album of Purcell Odes and Welcome Songs from The King’s Consort, Robert King’s impressive selection of singers and instrumentalists alike all on brilliant form throughout.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

‘And Love Said …’

Jodie Devos sop Nicolas Krüger pf

Alpha

Following her thrilling Offenbach album two years ago, Jodie Devos reveals herself just as compelling and communicative in this personal programme of English-language song.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

Salieri Armida

Sols; Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset

Aparté

Another beautifully performed and prepared recording from conductor Christophe Rousset, the singing and playing – from Les Talens Lyriques – exquisite throughout.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

Read Christophe Rousset's blog on the early operas of Mozart and Salieri: Mozart versus Salieri

☆

‘Contralto’

Orfeo 55 / Nathalie Stutzmann contr

Erato

Nathalie Stutzmann invites us to rethink the repertoire of contraltos written at a time when castratos and sopranos were their era’s stars: the case couldn’t be better made than here.

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

Listen to Nathalie Stutzmann on the Gramophone Podcast:

☆

DVD/blu-ray

Weinberger Frühlingsstürme

Sols; Komische Oper Berlin / Jordan de Souza

Naxos

This operetta’s origins lie in dark days (its first run was closed down by the Nazis), making this revival, wonderfully captured on film, all the more welcome. 

Read the review in the Gramophone Reviews Database

☆

Reissue/archive

Ruth Slenczynska ‘Complete American Decca Recordings’

Ruth Slenczynska pf

DG Eloquence

Ruth Slenczynska, writes critic Jeremy Nicholas, can ‘astonish you with a virtuoso technique and move you with the beauty of her phrasing’. A splendid set.

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