Chamber nominations

Bacewicz Piano Quintets Nos 1 & 2; Quartets for Four Violins & Four Cellos Silesian Quartet et al Chandos CHAN 10976 Reviewed July 2018

The Polish composer’s two piano quartets might be the headlining works on this sequel to the Silesians’ superb 2016 quartets release, yet equally compelling are their vividly imagined cousins for four cellos and – a miracle of airborne vivacity – four violins. Impassioned and imposing, this is a disc to win Bacewicz new friends.

Deux Works by Bartók, Poulenc, Ravel and Dohnányi

Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Polina Leschenko (piano) Alpha ALPHA 387 Reviewed April 2018

Con fuoco – with fire – it says at the start of the Poulenc Violin Sonata, and dangerous incandescence is just what you get from this duo, followed by sweetness and nostalgia, bitterness and regret, anger and playfulness. Kopatchinskaja and Leschenko give us almost impossibly mercurial playing in a daring recital.

Debussy The Late Works

Faust (violin), Queyras (cello), De Maistre (harp), Tamestit (viola), Mosnier (flute), Melnikov, Perianes, De Williencourt (piano) Harmonia Mundi HMM 902303 Reviewed Christmas 2018

Whether you’re captivated by the shifting colours of the Violin Sonata, the bold nobility of the Cello Sonata or the sheer atmospheric magic of the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, this is an unmissable showcase of Debussy’s late music. A classy line-up of Harmonia Mundi’s finest musicians offer refreshing insights.