Welcome

Summer is tantalisingly close, but we’ve plenty of warmth and colour this month to keep you going. You can’t get much more colourful than Offenbach, who celebrates a big birthday next month.

His music appears in two section choices: a stunning selection of songs and arias and a recording of his Cello Concerto – an instrument he knew only too well. Another fiery virtuosoturned-composer is Eugène Ysaÿe, the inspiration behind this month’s Recording of the Month by Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien. There’s lots more to discover, including a new theorbo concerto and works by Welsh composer Grace Williams. Finally, don’t miss a double helping of Handel, whose Judas Maccabaeus oratorio and recorder sonatas get the thumbs up. Michael Beek Reviews Editor