Editor's Choices include 'a treasure trove for Mendelssohnians' courtesy of Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester on Deutsche Grammophon, a dose of 'aristocratically poised passion' from Timothy Ridout and Jonathan Ware (who visited us at Presto last month to launch their album of Franck, Fauré, Enescu and more on Harmonia Mundi), and 'Bach-playing for the ages' from mandolinist Alon Sariel on Pentatone.
Recording of the Month
Beethoven: The Sonatas for Piano and Cello
Paul Watkins (cello), Alessio Bax (piano)
'Watkins and Bax have embraced Beethoven's fire and storms, but also found beauty and balance that others miss. Certainly it feels as though a new Beethoven cello sonatas benchmark has landed.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Elias, Symphonies Nos. 1-5
Georg Zeppenfeld (Paulus), Andrè Schuen (Elias), Gewandhausorchester, Andris Nelsons
'Nelsons understands Mendelssohn's sound world much as his onetime predecessor at the Gewandhaus Kurt Masur did...I'd call this luminously recorded set a treasure trove for Mendelssohnians and music lovers generally.'
Available Formats: 7 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Brahms: Trio Op. 114 - Robert & Clara Schumann: Romances
Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Javier Perianes (piano), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
'With a dynamic palette that ranges from a whisper to a wail, the viola player and her superb, sensitive pianist Javier Perianes take us on an emotionally wrenching journey in just over five minutes...A marvellous release in every way.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Alto Appassionato
Timothy Ridout (viola), Jonathan Ware (piano)
'A knock-out album opener and a stylistically wide-ranging programme teeming with fascinating intersections and brand-new transcriptions...the aristocratically poised passion is an album-wide joy.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Plucked Bach III
Alon Sariel (mandolin)
''Plucked Bach' may not be the most enticing title, but, once you hear this release, you'll find it hard not to be enchanted by Sariel's profound artistry. This is Bach-playing for the ages.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Inferno
Behzod Abduraimov (piano)
'Abduraimov serves up one of the noblest and most intelligently shaped Dante Sonatas in the catalogue... You hear long lines and narrative paragraphs instead of pounded- out octaves in an Olympic event.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Sonority
Jan Liebermann (organ)
'It is refreshing to encounter an organist of such maturity and technical skill as the young German player Jan Liebermann... An outstanding debut album, highly recommended.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Lise Davidsen: Live at the Met
Lise Davidsen (soprano), James Baillieu (piano)
'She scales back her voice in all the right places...And when she doesn't scale back? The full-voiced climax to 'Zueignung' gives a ringing emphasis to the song's profound gratitude.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Tomorrow Is Today
Papagena
'Five-voice Papagena are a class act...this album confirms the creativity, skill and musicianship of a group that deserves King's Singers levels of success and attention.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
Antal Doráti: The Complete Haydn Recordings on Decca
The Symphonies, Minuets and Oratorios
'The dusting off of details and the loving care that these recordings have at last received restores the glow of revelation that they must have brought with them in the early Seventies.'
Available Format: 41 CDs
