In every issue of Gramophone, Editor Martin Cullingford chooses 12 albums (10 new releases, plus one video and one archive recommendation) as his Editor's Choice. Below, you will find the albums selected as Editor's Choice in the October 2024 issue, beginning with the Recording of the Month. 

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Recording of the month

Beethoven ‘The Middle Quartets’

Calidore String Quartet

Signum

‘Sophistication, sheer polish … Beethoven-playing of rare vividness’ – just some of the praise Richard Wigmore offers this superb new release from the Calidore Quartet.

Read the review | Buy or stream on Presto Music

Vivaldi ‘Vivaldi x2²’

La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler vn

Signum

La Serenissima always bring a thrilling vitality and musicality to everything they record, and this second installment of Vivaldi double concertos is right up there with their very finest releases.

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D Matthews ‘Complete String Quartets, Vol 6’

Kreutzer Quartet

Toccata Classics

A further instalment in Toccata’s series celebrating the string quartets and the imaginative musical voice of British composer David Matthews, with superb performances.

Read the review | Buy or stream on Presto Music

Mendelssohn Two Piano Trios

Joshua Bell vn Steven Isserlis vc Jeremy Denk pf

Sony Classical

A starry line-up of soloists indeed, but what matters most is how brilliantly they sparkle as colleagues in a delightful album of Mendelsohn’s chamber music.

Read the review | Buy or stream on Presto Music

Taneyev Violin Sonata. Piano Quintet

Spectrum Concerts Berlin

Naxos

‘A superb performance of Taneyev’s massive and meaty Piano Quintet,’ writes AFC, and one to rival 2005’s Award-winning recording from Mikhail Pletnev and colleagues.

Read the review | Buy or stream on Presto Music

JS Bach Six Solo Cello Suites

Henrik Dam Thomsen vc

OUR Recordings

A truly beautiful journey through this most profound music, Bach’s Solo Cello Suites, performed throughout with palpable care and love and caught in wonderful sound.

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Fauré Piano Works

Aline Piboule pf

Harmonia Mundi

An incredible sense of attention to detail, from the exploration of Fauré’s expressive lines to the glorious-sounding instrument, characterise this rewarding release from French pianist Aline Piboule.

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Brahms ‘Songbook, Vol 2’

Sarah Connolly mez Hanno Müller-Brachmann bass-bar Malcolm Martineau pf

Linn

Malcolm Martineau’s series continues with Sarah Connolly and Hanno Müller-Brachmann in a well-chosen programme.

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Gesualdo ‘Silenzio mio’

Collegium Vocale Gent / Philippe Herreweghe

PHI

Philippe Herreweghe’s accomplished group Collegium Vocale Gent bring warmth, pathos and impeccable ensemble singing to this inventive programme of works by Gesualdo.

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Schubert Die schöne Müllerin

Julian Prégardien ten Kristian Bezuidenhout fp

Harmonia Mundi

Fresh and spontaneous interpretations from tenor Julian Prégardien, who is joined by the ever-imaginative Kristian Bezuidenhout on a superb-sounding fortepiano.

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DVD/blu-ray

Mozart Don Giovanni

Sols; Orchestra of the Opéra Royal de Versailles / Gaétan Jarry

Château de Versailles Spectacles

Staged in 18th-century dress and yet far from feeling conventional this production powerfully explores Mozart’s opera.

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Reissue/archive

‘American Virtuoso’

Berl Senofsky vn

Rhine Classics

Here is a wonderful insight into the music‑making of violinist Berl Senofsky, the first American to win the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium, in 1955.

Read the review