Below is a list of all classical CD titles released in the last 120 days.
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Paris & Haffner Symphonies / Oboe Concerto Xenia Loffler (oboe), Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck [ Pentatone / CD - released 17/Jan/2024 ] "The Akademie's great clarity in this recording gives a frequently exhilarating sense of the finesse in Mozart's musical architecture." BBC Orchestral Choice December 2023 |
IGOR STRAVINSKY / BELLA BARTOK / BOHUSLAV MARTINU
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto (with works by Bartók & Martinů) Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "With Jakub Hrůša and his super-attentive Bamberg orchestra, Frank Peter Zimmermann trumps the self-confident projection of his younger self." Gramophone |
JOHN ADAMS
Adams: Piano Music (LP) Jeroen van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / LP - released 19/Jan/2024 ] The LP version of a highly successful CD issue of the complete piano music by John Adams (born 1947). "Minimalism, but not as you know it", thus described The Guardian the John Adams' music. John Adams is active in almost every musical genre,... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Overtures Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "The Kölner Akademie is in period instrument guise, and the sound is of ten suitably thrilling and zippy" BBC Music |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
The Best of Schubert (LP) Royal Concertgebouw, Nikolaus Harnoncourt / Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano) / Alban Berg Quartet / Barbara Bonney (sop) / Alexandre Tharaud (piano) [ Warner Classics / LP - released 19/Jan/2024 ] This collection of some of Schubert's greatest masterpieces features performances by first-class musicians including Elisabeth Leonskaja, Barbara Bonney, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Alexandre Tharaud, Alban Berg Quartett, Gautier Capuçon, Renaud Capuçon,... |
BRIAN ELIAS / CAROLINE SHAW / JOHN TAVENER / ERROLLYN WALLEN / MAURICE RAVEL / GUSTAV MAHLER / etc
End of My Days Ruby Hughes (soprano) / Manchester Collective [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "Imaginative, sensitive programming has been a constant feature of Ruby Hughes's collaborations; and this latest with the perennially adventurous Manchester Collective is no exception...A disc to concentrate the mind and enfold the soul." Choral & So |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN / WIDMANN / HOLLIGER / COLL / RIHM
Sol Gabetta - Mendelssohn Sol Gabetta (cello), Bertrand Chamayou (piano) [ Sony Classics / 2 CD - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "We're privileged with a fine tribute not only to Mendelssohn and those inspired by his example, but to two exceptional players on top form." Gramophone Editor's Choice February 2024 |
JOACHIM RAFF
Raff: Complete Piano Works Tra Nguyen [ Grand Piano / 6 CD Box Set - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "excellent Nguyen playing with intelligence and devotion - especially the ambitious Grande Sonate." BBC Music (Vol 5) |
GIYA KANCHELI
Kancheli: Themes From the Songbook Vida Mikneviciute (soprano), Magdalena Ceple (cello), Andrei Pushkarev (vibraphone), Kremerata Baltica, Gidon Kremer [ ECM New Series / 2 CD - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "Gidon Kremer has perhaps never before revealed himself as intimately and as existentially focused as on this recording", observes Wolfgang Sandner in his liner note accompanying the Latvian violinist's album Songs of Fate. Together with his... |
MENDELSSOHN / BEETHOVEN / SPOHR / SCHUBERT / BERWALD / BORODIN / etc
Wiener Oktett - The Decca Recordings Wiener Oktett [Vienna Octet] [ Decca Eloquence / 27 CD Box Set - released 19/Jan/2024 ] The sweet, silvery tone of the Wiener Oktett and the easy give-and-go of its phrasing helped establish it as one of the most distinguished of Viennese chamber ensembles. Its sound was that of the sublime Vienna Philharmonic in microcosm and the group... |
WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra / Partita for Violin and Orchestra / Novelette Christian Tetzlaff (violin) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Nicholas Collon [ Ondine / CD - released 26/Jan/2024 ] "This compelling release from conductor Nicholas Collon and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra makes clear the evolutionary exuberance of Lutosławski's creative development." Five Stars BBC Music January 2024 Orchestral Choice |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Edward Power Biggs plays Historic Organs of Europe E. Power Biggs (organ) [ Sony Classical / 6 CD Box Set - released 26/Jan/2024 ] The legendary English organist E. Power Biggs became a household name when his Sunday morning CBS broadcasts introduced radio listeners all over North America to the sound of historic pipe organs and the classical organ repertoire from every... |
ENRIQUE GRANADOS
Granados: Goyescas - El Pelele Javier Perianes (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 26/Jan/2024 ] "Perianes lets several of the numbers start with a slow burn, and he gives plenty of space in which the ornamentation can flower." BBC Music Instrumental Release of the Month Jan 24 |
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI
Penderecki: Sacred Choral Works Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava [ Ondine / CD - released 26/Jan/2024 ] "These utterly fearless unaccompanied singers bring precision to the most complex textures while retaining a palpable grasp of the music's emotional heart, imbuing it with an engaging sense of wonder." Five Stars BBC Music Recording of the Month |
Various Composers
Lys (LP) Mari Samuelsen (violin) [ Deusche Grammophon / CD - released 26/Jan/2024 ] Inspired by light in all its forms, Samuelsen's latest album features 14 works by female composers, from Hildegard of Bingen to Beyoncé. All are new commissions or arrangements, ambient and glowing, without an ugly bump or crevice in sight. |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Sonatas for 2 Violins Alessandro Ciccolini & Domenico Scicchitano (violin) / Compagnia de Violini [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/2024 ] Vivaldi's Sonatas for two violins, anco senza basso se piace (also without bass if preferred), represent one of the innumerable peaks of his compositional prowess. They are structured in three movements, each of which develops in a bipartite manner,... |
GIOCOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: A Te, Puccini Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) Vincenzo Scalera (piano) [ Signum / CD - released 2/Feb/2024 ] Signum Classics are proud to present Romanian-born soprano Angela Gheorghiu's first album on the Grammy award winning label. Described as "the world's most glamorous and gifted opera star" (New York Sun), Ms. Gheorghiu's magnificent voice and... |
SIBELIUS / NIELSEN / GRIEG / SVENDSEN / STENHAMMAR / ALFVEN
Nordic Symphonies Berliner Sinfonie‐Orchester, Kurt Sanderling / Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bjarte Engset / etc [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/2024 ] This generous 10 CD set presents a comprehensive collection of symphonies written by Nordic composers. Their Symphonies hold a unique place in music history, blending lush melodies with the evocative power of nature. |
ALFREDO FRANCO / CRISTANO PORQUEDDU / FRANCO CAVALLONE / FRANCESCO MORITTU / ROBERTO PIANA
Tales from Sardinia: Music for Flute and Guitar Cordas et Bentu Duo [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/2024 ] For the Cordas et Bentu Duo, Sardinia has always been a source of inspiration; the ensemble's name, Sardinian for "strings and wind", is an homage to the island's culture. Apeddu and Luciani's mission to find original compositions connected to their... |
ANTONIN DVOARK
Dvorak: 2 Serenades Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Pardubice, Stanislav Vavřínek & Vahan Mardirossian [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/2024 ] New Czech recordings of perennially popular serenades from the pen of Dvořák at a turning point in his career, full of freshness, Bohemian charm and flowing melodies. The Serenades for Strings and Winds never get old, and never lose their appeal,... |