This month’s selection includes trios, piano solos and arrangements for guitar

Babadzhanian • Chebotaryan • Piazzolla Piano Trios

Trio de L’île Divine Art dda25211

Rich Romanticism combined with touches of folk, hints of orientalism and, in Piazzolla’s Estaciones Porteñas, the sharp heels and smokiness of tango. This is terrific stuff, excellently played. (JP) ★★★★

David Five String Trios

David-trio CPO 555 4122

From light-footed and sprightly to hauntingly elegiac, the 20th-century Austrian Johann Nepomuk David’s string trios have a touch of Bartók about them. Well worth investigating. (JP) ★★★★

Elgar • Gareth Farr

Cello Concertos

Sebastien Hurtaud (cello) et al

Rubicon RCD1047

Hurtaud gives really potent performances, his deep connection to both works undeniable. Farr’s remarkable Chemin des Dames, honours the role of women during the First World War. (MB) ★★★★★

Philip Glass Works arr. for guitar Gerard Cousins (guitar)

Orange Mountain OMM0148

This short album of guitar arrangements proves the versatility of Glass’s music. Cousins plays fast and loose with rubato, but the crystal sound quality brings the music to life. (FP) ★★★

Handel Suites for Harpsichord Pierre Hantaï (harpsichord)

Mirare MIR480

At last – a masterful account of Handel’s harpsichord suites on the instrument for which they were written. Pierre Hantaï allows the music to breathe, with unfussy, clean playing. (OC) ★★★★

Josquin Stabat Mater etc

Cantica Symphonia/giuseppe Maletto Glossa GCDP31909

Combining secular and sacred, instrumental and vocal works – sung one-to-a-part – there’s a pleasing simplicity to these performances. A fine introduction to the composer in his anniversary year. (JP) ★★★★

Louis Karchin Five Compositions Washington Square Ensemble et al Bridge 9543

I enjoyed this more with each listen; Karchin’s wide-ranging style takes us from the cartoonesque to the dreamlike. Solid performances from the ensemble, too. (MB) ★★★

Korngold Piano Sonatas Nos 2 & 3 Kathleen Solose (piano) Ariel Arts AR104 A fascinating insight into a lesser-known side of Korngold. Fine, poetic performances but the recorded sound is very close and lacks intimacy. (OC) ★★★

Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn Works for cello and piano

Joël Marosi (cello), Esther Walker (piano) First Hand FHR081

Enjoyable performances, not least of the two less familiar Fanny Mendelssohn works. The recorded balance isn’t always ideal, though, with the piano occasionally drowning out the cello part’s finer detail. (JP) ★★★

Mosolov Symphony No. 5, etc Moscow Symphony Orchestra et al Naxos 8.574102

A world away from his earlier avantgardism, Mosolov’s Fifth combines lateromanticism with touches of Shostakovich-style angst, while the Harp Concerto is, at times, enigmatic and evocative.

( JP) ★★★★

Musorgsky • R Schumann

Piano Works

Andrei Gavrilov (piano)

Da Vinci Classics COO330

This is playing to get lost in. Gavrilov’s captivating artistry is to the fore in these three works; the pair by Schumann, especially the Études Symphoniques, a treat. (MB) ★★★★

Thomas Agerfeldt Olesen

Der Wind blaset wo er will etc Johannes Moser (cello), et al Dacapo 8.226586

These contemporary orchestral works are superbly dynamic and wide-ranging in approach. The title work is vibrant and percussive, the cello concerto spiky and exciting. (FP) ★★★★

Rott Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 Gurzenich Orchestra Köln Capriccio C5414

Hard to believe that Mahler didn’t pilfer most of the ideas from the Scherzo of Rott’s beautifully orchestrated Symphony No. 1. This second volume continues a great introduction to an overlooked talent. (OC) ★★★★

Thomas Simaku Chamber Works Quatuor Diotima, et al BIS BIS-2449

I wasn’t at all familiar with Simaku, but I’ve come to appreciate greatly his ability to create unflinching visceral soundscapes. The pieces featuring string quartet are especially compelling here.

(MB) ★★★★

Tcherepnin Le Pavillon d’armide Moscow Symphony Orchestra

Naxos 8.573657

Tcherepnin’s rarely recorded 1906 ballet La Pavillon d’armide is heard here in a 1994 recording with surprisingly clear, vivid sound quality. A strong case for this ballet to be better known. (FP) ★★★

American Ivory Piano Works by Barber, Copland, Belshaw et al Richard Fountain (piano)

Navona NV6328

Edward Macdowell’s robustly Classical suite dominates, but it’s Gary D Belshaw’s smaller slices of Americana that I find most charming. (MB) ★★★

Between the Clouds Works by Wieniawski, Godowsky et al Charlie Siem (violin), Itamar Golan (piano) Signum Classics SIGCD652

A whistle-stop tour of violin virtuoso showpieces, many composed by the great masters of the instrument. Siem faces up to the challenges set by Kreisler and co with gusto. (JP) ★★★★★

English Songs à la française Works by Hahn, Milhaud et al Tyler Duncan (baritone), Erika Switzer (piano) Bridge 9537

A charming album of English-language songs by French composers – I could listen to Duncan’s honey-toned voice all day. Switzer proves a fine partner. (OC) ★★★★

In the Age of Debussy

Works by L Boulanger, Dukas, et al Ransom Wilson (flute), Francois Dumont (piano) Nimbus NI 6407

The phrasing is thoughtful in all these arrangements of early20th-century French works. Odd slips in timing and precision give it a live performance feel – something we’re all craving anyway. (FP) ★★★

Italian Postcards

Works by Mozart, Wolf et al Quartetto di Cremona Avie AV2436 Nimrod Borenstein’s coruscating

Cieli d’italia and Tchaikovsky’s intense Souvenir de Florence head up an absorbing programme. The quartet perform with terrific élan. (OC) ★★★★

Le poète du piano Works by Rameau, Mahler, Debussy et al Alexandre Tharaud (piano)

Erato 9029518087

The title says it all and this threedisc set of some of Tharaud’s great performances is a treasure trove. From concertos to solo pieces and rarities, this is super high quality. (MB) ★★★★

Romantic

Works by Chopin, Schubert et al Anders Miolin (guitar)

Prima Classic PRIMA006

Miolin’s own arrangements for his one-of-a-kind 12-string instrument offer moments of nuance and some radiance. A beguiling selection. (MB) ★★★

The Soul of Russia Works by Musorgsky, Arensky et al

Piano Trio Then-berg, et al

Genuin GEN 21727

Alexander Klein’s beautifully crafted trio arrangements of Russian orchestral masterpieces and rarer gems maintain the drama and harmonic richness of their originals. Terrific playing. (OC) ★★★★

Transatlantic

Works by Elgar, Beach et al

Callum Smart (violin) et al

Orchid Classics ORC100149

Smart pays tribute to American and English music, from Coleridge-taylor to Kate Whitley. The quieter moments are sometimes a little wispy, but this is a wellconsidered programme, performed with a lyrical touch. (FP) ★★★

La Vanità del Mondo

Works by A Scarlatti, Handel et al Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) et al Erato 9029517929

Jaroussky produces an array of colours in these Baroque oratorios, with a clutch of premiere recordings. The balance is spot on, the phrasing clear and the melodic lines full of expression. (FP) ★★★★ Reviewers: Michael Beek (MB),

Oliver Condy (OC), Freya Parr (FP),

Jeremy Pound (JP)