Recording of the Month

JS Bach Keyboard Partitas

Igor Levit pf

(Sony Classical)

'The distinction of this set of the Partitas will establish him in the minds of many, I’m sure, as a major artist' Read review

Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4 

Maria João Pires pf Swedish RSO / Daniel Harding 

(Onyx)

'Pires’s performances are quite simply of another order.' Read review

Strauss family Waltzes & Polkas, etc 

Vienna SO / Manfred Honeck 

(Wiener Symphoniker)

'Not since Fricsay and Kleiber have I heard better-prepared performances of Strauss family perennials.' Read review

‘Perla Barocca’

Rachel Podger vn Marcin Świątkiewicz hpd/org Daniele Caminiti theo 

(Channel Classics)

'It would be hard to imagine a more enticing introduction to the delights of 17th-century Italian violin music.' Read review

Medtner. Rachmaninov Piano Sonatas, etc 

Steven Osborne pf 

(Hyperion)

'A reading that is taut, highly dramatic and virtuoso without being showy.' Read review

Dove Song-Cycles

Claire Booth sop Patricia Bardon mez Nicky Spence ten Andrew Matthews-Owen pf 

(Naxos)

'If you want to find out what has happened to English song since Britten, this is as good a place to start as any' Read review

Janáček Glagolitic Mass, etc 

Soloists; Prague RSO / Tomáš Netopil 

(Supraphon)

'Tomáš Netopil’s performance seethes with nervous energy' Read review

Moulinié ‘Meslanges pour la chapelle d’un prince’ 

Ens Correspondances 

(Harmonia Mundi)

'Miniature pieces are capable of real grandeur in the right hands' Read review

Pärt Choral Works 

Polyphony / Stephen Layton 

(Hyperion)

'Outstanding renditions that exploit the ensemble’s crystalline upper voices to perfection' Read review

Barry The Importance of Being Earnest 

Soloists; BCMG / Adès 

(NMC)

'The singers and actors, with the BCMG, combine into a phenomenally well-integrated musical ensemble' Read review

R Strauss Elektra 

Soloists; Vienna State Opera / Karl Böhm 

(Orfeo)

'Both immensely exciting and deeply moving' Read review