Recent Classical Highlights

This past month our reviewers not only listened to recent releases, but also went back to a few worthwhile things that were missed in the last couple of years. These include Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburger Barockorchester playing Mozart's very first symphonies and lively readings of Saint-Saëns' Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 5 by Louis Lortie, both from 2020. More recent albums that are worth a listen are Music for Lady Louise, a sampling of French court music and that of Henry Purcell; Malcolm Arnold's Clarinet Concerto performed by Michael Collins (pictured); and a new, English setting of the All-Night Vigil by composer Robert Kyr.

Roberto Abbado - Vive Verdi! French Rarities and Discoveries
Albion Quartet - Walton: String Quartet in A minor; Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73
Alim Beisembayev - Liszt: Transcendental Études
Łukasz Borowicz, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln - Grazyna Bacewicz: Complete Symphonic Works Vol. 1 - Symphonies 3 & 4
Ronald Brautigam, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Johann Wilhelm Wilms: The Piano Concertos, Vol. 2
Kenny Broberg - Sonatas by Medtner, Rachmaninov, Scriabin
Rudolf Buchbinder - Soirée de Vienne
Cappella Romana, Alexander Lingas - Robert Kyr: All-Night Vigil
Ceruleo - Henry Purcell: Love Restor'd
Chiaroscuro Quartet - Mozart: The Prussian Quartets
Fabrizio Chiovetta - Beethoven: Op. 109, 110, 111
Bojan Čičić, Illyria Consort - La Notte: Concertos and Pastorales for Christmas Night
Jean-Philippe Collard, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Emil Tabakov - Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov
Michael Collins, BBC Philharmonic, Rumon Gamba - Arnold: Clarinet Concerto No. 1; Philharmonic Concerto; Divertimento No. 2; Etc.
The Crossing, Donald Nally - Carols after a Plague
Alexandre Da Costa, Longueuil Symphony Orchestra - Stradivarius Je Me Souviens
Hilary Davan Wetton, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on the 'Old 104th' Psalm Tune; The Lark Ascending; Etc.
Dennis Russell Davies, MDR-Sinfonieorchester, MDR-Rundfunk Chor - Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony & Serenade to Music
Jonas Descotte, Les Argonautes - Purcell: Dido & Aeneas; Circe
Maïlys de Villoutreys, Héloïse Gaillard, Ensemble Amarillis - Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Judith & Sémélé
Peter Donohoe - Haydn: Keyboard Works, Vol. 1
Cyrille Dubois, Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques - François Couperin: The Sphere of Intimacy
Dudok Kwartet - Reflections: Shostakovich, Bacewicz
Duo Gazzana - Tõnu Kõrvits, Robert Schumann, Edvard Grieg
Leonard Elschenbroich, Alexei Grynyuk - Brahms Analogue: Cello Sonatas; Four Serious Songs
Eric Ferring, Madeline Slettedahl - No Choice But Love: Songs of the LGBTQ+ Community
Jeremy Filsell, Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York - Bach: Clavier-Übung III
Gaechinger Cantorey, Hans-Christoph Rademann - Joseph Haydn: Die Schöpfung
Gustavo Gimeno, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg - Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de Feu; Apollon Musagète
Matthias Goerne, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Florian Donderer - Schubert Revisited: Lieder arranged for Baritone and Orchestra
Nathanaël Gouin - Bizet: Sans Paroles
Olivier Gourdy, Julie Goussot, Andrea Marchiol, THERESIA - Johann Mattheson: Boris Goudenow
Peter Gregson, Richard Harwood, Warren Zielinski - Quartets: One-Four
Uwe Grodd, Pettman Ensemble - Beethoven: Grand Symphonies, Vol. 2
Heinz Holliger, Kammerorchester Basel - Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in C "The Great"
Paavo Järvi, NHK Symphony Orchestra - Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Divertimento for String Orchestra; Dance Suite
Jubilee String Quartet - Schubert: String Quartet in E flat major D.87; String Quartet in G major D.887
Okko Kamu, Royal Danish Opera Chorus, Royal Danish Orchestra - Sibelius: The Tempest
Aleck Karis - Claude Debussy: Études; Children's Corner
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Fazil Say - Janácek, Brahms, Bartók
Kuss Quartet - Krise Crisis
Eric Le Sage - Jardins Suspendus
Louis Lortie, BBC Philharmonic, Edward Gardner - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 5 'Egyptian'; Allegro appassionato; Rhapsodie d'Auvergne
Eric Lu - Schubert: Piano Sonatas D.784 & 959; Allegretto D.915
Václav Luks, Collegium 1704 - Bedrich Smetana: Má vlast
Maria Martinova - Nuit et Jour: Debussy, Ravel, Zanon
Anthony Marwood, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson - Beautiful Passing: Music for Violin and Orchestra by Steven Mackey
Johannes Moser, Andrei Korobeinikov - Martinu: Cello Sonatas
Brian Mulligan, Timothy Long - Alburnum
NFM Choir, Agnieszka Franków-Zelazny - Bob Chilcott: Canticles of Light
Gianandrea Noseda, Philharmonia Zürich - Dvorák: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 7
Gerhard Oppitz - Robert Schumann: Piano Works
Sakari Oramo, Berliner Philharmoniker - Rued Langgaard: Symphony No. 1, Cliffside Pastorals
Maurizio Pollini - Beethoven: The Late Sonatas, Opp. 101 & 106
Christoph Poppen, Cologne Radio Choir, Cologne Chamber Orchestra - Mozart: Complete Masses, Vol. 2 - Mass No. 18 'Great', Missa brevis 'Spaur'
Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, György Vashegyi - Michael Haydn: Kaiser Constantin I. Feldzug und Sieg Oratorio (1769)
Anne Queffélec - Beethoven: The Last 3 Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111
Johanna Rose - 7 Movements: J.S. Bach, Sainte-Colombe - father & son
François-Xavier Roth, Les Siècles - Debussy: La Mer; Première Suite d'orchestre
Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques - Lully: Acis et Galatée
Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI - Codex Las Huelgas: Bestiaire et Symboles du Divin, 1300-1340
Matthew Schellhorn - Howells: Piano Music, Vol. 2
Andrè Schuen, Daniel Heide - Franz Schubert: Schwanengesang
Raphaël Sévère - Mozart: Clarinet Works
Somerville College Choir, Oxford; Will Dawes - The Dawn of Grace: Music for Christmas
Martin Stock - The Magic Flute: Das Vermächtnis der Zauberflöte [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Quatuor Talich - Dvorák: "American" Quartet; Waltzes
Lucile Tessier, Ensemble Leviathan - Music for Lady Louise: Blow, Purcell, Lully, Locke
Richard Tognetti, Australian Chamber Orchestra - Brahms: Symphonies 3 & 4
Truro Cathedral Choir, Christopher Gray - All the World Tonight Rejoices
Jaap van Zweden, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra - Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10; Mahler: Symphony No. 10
Gottfried von der Goltz, Freiburger Barockorchester - Mozart: Youth Symphonies
Jan Willem de Vriend, Residentie Orkest The Hague - Franz Schubert: The Complete Symphonies, Vol. 2 - Nos. 1, 3 & 8
Vanessa Wagner - Mirrored
Michael Waldron, London Choral Sinfonia - The Music of Richard Pantcheff, Vol. 3: Organ Concerto, Music for Choir and Orchestra
Paul Wee - Beethoven-Liszt: Symphony No. 3 'Eroica'; Mozart-Alkan: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor
Michael Alexander Willens, Kölner Akademie- Mozart: Haffner Serenade; Ein musikalischer Spass
See Siang Wong - Beethoven Trilogy 1: Fantasia
Yarn/Wire - Andrew McIntosh: Little Jimmy
William Youn - Schubert: Piano Sonatas III