Editor's Choice: May 2024 | The best new classical recordings
Friday, April 19, 2024
Featuring outstanding new recordings of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Chopin’s Études, Bartók’s The Wooden Prince, Mendelssohn’s Symphonies 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 May 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
Chopin Études
Yunchan Lim pf (Decca)
This album of Chopin Études from our cover artist, pianist Yunchan Lim, is a compelling triumph – a truly momentous studio debut from an extraordinary talent.
Andres The Blind Banister
Timo Andres pf Metropolis Ensemble / Andrew Cyr (Nonesuch)
Nonesuch here offers us a beautifully recorded introduction to Timo Andres’s pianistic voice – both as the composer and performer.
Bartók The Wooden Prince
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Thomas Dausgaard (Onyx)
Conductor Thomas Dausgaard delves into the dark heart of Bartók’s ballet The Wooden Prince – just one part of a rewarding album devoted to the composer’s music.
Mendelssohn Symphonies
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra / Paavo Järvi (Alpha)
A superb Mendelssohn symphony cycle from conductor Paavo Järvi to set against the finest of recent times – rich in tonal weight but wonderfully light in spirit too.
Chausson Concert Lekeu Violin Sonata
Gabriel Le Magadure vn Frank Braley pf Quatuor Agate (Appassionato)
Another success from the Appassionato label – violinist Gabriel Le Magadure, pianist Frank Braley and their quartet colleagues embody the music’s drama.
‘Treasures’
Trio Lirico (Audite)
Performances of works by Dohnányi, Ysaÿe and Kodály plus the first recording of Peter Eötvös’s 2020 Trio, a fine tribute to the composer who died in March, are a powerful demonstration of this superb trio’s talent.
Rachmaninov Works for Two Pianos
Sergei Babayan, Daniil Trifonov pfs (DG)
Truly stylish virtuosity from Sergei Babayan and Daniil Trifonov – vivid, theatrical and highly musical, from a piano partnership well worth hearing.
Wagner ‘Famous Opera Scenes’
Nikolai Lugansky pf (Harmonia Mundi)
Such is pianist Nikolai Lugansky’s story-telling poetry throughout this album devoted to Wagner transcriptions that we seem to step straight into the sound world of the operas themselves.
Ysaÿe Solo Violin Sonatas
Sergey Khachatryan vn (Naïve)
A stunning set of Ysaÿe’s solo sonatas from violinist Sergey Khachatryan, whose virtuosity and distinctive voice shine throughout this most fiendish of repertoire.
Elgar The Dream of Gerontius
Sols; Gabrieli Consort & Players / Paul McCreesh (Signum)
A deeply moving journey through Elgar’s religious epic, from a conductor whose admiration of this music is evident in every bar, and a superb soloist in Nicky Spence.
DVD/blu-ray
Tchaikovsky ‘None but the Lonely Heart’
A film by Christof Loy (Naxos)
Songs of love and loss, loneliness and isolation from a period – the pandemic restrictions – defined by such sentiments.
Reissue/archive
Haydn Symphonies
L’Estro Armonico / Derek Solomons (Sony Classical)
A pioneering 1980s series of Haydn symphony recordings – ‘a quiet revolution’ in the interpretation of the composer’s works, as reviewer David Threasher remembers it – gets a welcome reissue.
Read the Gramophone review
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