Our selection this month features curves, concertos, Copland and Carpenters

Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 5 (arr. chamber) Hanna Shybayeva (piano) et al Naxos 8.551452

Beethoven piano concertos in chamber arrangements is an interesting idea, but ultimately feels a little weak, here. The piano dominates a score never designed for chamber ensemble. Still, the playing is top notch, and there is often charm and subtlety in the rejigged orchestral parts. (CS) ★★★★

Sarah Class Resonate

Orchestra for the Earth et al

Glorious Technicolour GLORIOCD2 Class’s talent for affecting melody is proven in commissions for the World Land Trust and HRH the Prince of Wales’s ‘Terra Carta’ project. From inspiring orchestral anthems to soulful solo piano, via a clutch of beautiful songs, this is a vivid and memorable collection. (MB) ★★★★

Dvo ák

String Quartets Nos 2 & 5 etc Vogler Quartet CPO 555 451-2

The Vogler Quartet has a keen, sweet sound, though wanting slightly in depth – the performances are nicely delineated, but the first violin tends to dominate. The real treat is the Terzetto, scored for two violins and viola, which suits the group’s preference for the higher register. (CS) ★★★

Elgar

String Quartet etc (arr. orchestra) English String Orchestra et al

Lyrita SRCD.394

Orchestrated arrangements of Elgar’s String Quartet and eleven shorter works are heard here. While better recordings may exist of some of the more famous pieces, there is a stellar offering from cellist Raphael Wallfisch, whose playing is lyrical and powerful. (FP) ★★★★

Erkin • Khachaturian

Piano Concertos

Gülsin Onay (piano); Bilkent Symphony Orchestra/josé Serebrier

Gramola GRAM98025

A splendidly feisty performance of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto has the added bonus of the often omitted flexatone in the central movement. Erkin’s equally fiery Piano Concerto is also well worth discovering. (JP) ★★★★

Gipps

Piano and Chamber Works Duncan Honeybourne (piano) et al Prima Facie PFCD171

Following Gipps’s centenary last year, there has been something of a reckoning, with her music finally given the platform it deserves. Opalescence is a worthy addition, presenting a selection of chamber and piano works, many of which are premiere recordings. (FP) ★★★

Glazunov • Tchaikovsky

Violin Concertos

Ivan Pochekin (violin) et al

Profil Hänssler PH21052

Pochekin takes the Tchaikovsky Concerto at a very stately pace in a performance that’s more deliberate than exciting, though every note is as clear as a bell. His tone is particularly dark and rich in the lower register, and lends itself well to the Glazunov concerto’s melodrama. (CS) ★★★

Micha Górczy ski Regions Micha Górczy ski (bass clarinet) Unzipped Fly RP05

This is wild. Polish bass clarinettist Górczy ski is known for his experimental streak, and that is on display here as he filters Polish folk melodies through various levels of improv and musical daring. At best it’s thrillingly evocative; at worst it sounds like an angry Elephant calf. (MB) ★★★

K rlis L cis Piano Concerto; Latvian Symphony

Agnese Eglina (piano) et al

SKANI LMIC133

K rlis L cis chucks everything bar the kitchen sink into his orchestral scores – including a prepared piano in the third movement of the Piano Concerto. His Latvian Symphony is equally extravagant, not to mention eclectic in style, but also quite fun. (JP) ★★★

Dana Lyn

A Point On a Slow Curve

Patricia Brennan (cello) et al

In a Circle ICR022

A sonic poem to late artist Jay Defeo and her monumental creation The Rose, Dana Lyn’s labour of love is inspired by Defeo’s eightyear artistic struggle. The result breaks the music mould – voices, violin, vibraphone (and the rest). An unusual melting pot. (MB) ★★★

Algirdas Martinaitis

Works for String Orchestra

St Christopher Chamber Orchestra et al Ondine ODE 1398-2

There’s all sorts going on in Martinaitis’s Three M‘art Comedy Seasons, including glimpses of tango to clever allusions to Vivaldi. His other works, however, show there’s more to the Lithuanian than just a sense of ironic playfulness. (JP) ★★★

Raff Cello and Piano Works Christoph Croisé (cello),

Oxana Shevchenko (piano)

Avie AV2490

Swiss cellist Croisé turns his attention to the works of his 19th-century compatriot. Though prolific during his lifetime, Raff is largely forgotten today which, on the strength of these lyrical and passionate works, is an unfair omission. Croisé’s tone is warm and free, while pianist Shevchenko matches him with beautiful fluidity. A joy. (CS) ★★★★★

Thomson

Complete Chamber Works Monadnock Music/gil Rose

Everbest Music and Media EVERBEST1001 From his inventive picture portraits of friends to the longer string quartets, Virgil Thomson’s style here is tonal, accessible and packed with character and wit. A fine introduction to an important 20th-century American voice.

( JP) ★★★★

America

Works by Copland, F Price et al Daniel Hope (violin) et al DG 486 2153 If you’re after a bit of escapism and lush orchestrations, Daniel Hope provides it in spades. He’s joined by vocals, piano, jazz trio, chamber orchestra and percussion in these frothy arrangements of American music. (FP) ★★★

Crossing a Line

Works by Tournier, Salzedo et al Nick Scholten (harp)

Odradek Records ODRCD420

Works by three leading French harpist-composers give an intriguing guide to how the instrument’s techniques and sounds developed – sometimes surprisingly – in the early 20th century. Nick Scholten’s playing is impressive throughout. ( JP) ★★★★

Early Moderns –

The (very) First Viennese School Works by Schmelzer, Fux, Buonamente et al

Quicksilver Quicksilver QS1003

The North American ensemble asks us to reassess what we know of Vienna’s music-making , as it shines a light on the music of the Viennese courts of the 17th century, long before Mozart and Schoenberg appeared. Sumptuous performances, warmly recorded, and plenty to discover.

(MB) ★★★★

Hello Darkness

Works by Berg, Randy Newman, R Schumann, Ives, Billie Eilish Olivia Vermeulen (mezzo), Jan Philip Schulze (piano/organ)

Challenge Classics CC 72887

Vermeulen presents an ‘ode to death’: a dark programme of lieder and songs by the likes of Cage, Ives and even Billie Eilish. The eclectic programme occasionally jars, but there’s nevertheless much to enjoy. (FP) ★★★

Queen of Hearts Piano Trios by Helen Grime, Nico Muhly et al Claremont Trio Tria Records TR3863 This album features six commissions. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Four Folk Songs are lyrical and melancholy, Helen Grime’s Three Whistler Miniatures highlight contrasting textures and Nico Muhly’s Common Ground holds much rhythmic interest. The album has a contemplative quality, though lacking somewhat in drama and direction. (CS) ★★★

Richard Carpenter’s Piano Songbook Various Works Richard Carpenter (piano) Decca 3850030

The surviving half of pop sensation The Carpenters arranges and performs this set of classic tunes from their back catalogue. The melodies are evergreen and it’s hard not to try and sing along, but Carpenter explores their piano possibilities with great flair and just a hint of misty-eyed nostalgia. (MB) ★★★

Young Composers Scheme, Vol. 3 Works by Kristina Arakelyan et al National Youth Choir of Great Britain NMC DL3048

This latest offering from the choir’s young composers looks at themes of racial identity, the natural environment and coming out as LGBTQ+. While the compositional voices might not be fully developed, the pieces are given considered, lyrical first outings. (FP) ★★★

Reviewers: Michael Beek (MB),

Freya Parr (FP), Jeremy Pound ( JP), Charlotte Smith (CS)