Classical Reviews

Latest Classical Reviews

• Complete Works for Piano, Volume 5 (feat. pianist: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet) Claude Debussy

  
  A musical adventure, and Bavouzet has more than achieved what he set out to do.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner

  • CD Review Disc of the Week

• Partitas 1, 5 & 6 (feat. pianist: Murray Perahia) Johann Sebastian Bach

  
  Perahia’s eloquent sleight of hand is up there with the best.

  reviewed by Michael Quinn

• Symphonies Nos. 1-7; Kullervo (feat. conductor: Sir Colin Davis; feat. orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra) Jean Sibelius

  
  Consistently confident and exuding an unshakeable stamp of authority.

  reviewed by Andrew Mellor

• Szenen aus Goethes Faust (feat. conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt; feat. orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) Robert Schumann

  
  A ravishing new account; a lithe and lyrically rich labour of love.

  reviewed by Michael Quinn

  • CD Review Disc of the Week

• Sacrificium Cecilia Bartoli

  
  Confirmation that Bartoli remains one of today’s greatest artists.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner

• The Farewell Concerts Alfred Brendel

  
  A welcome coda to his towering recorded legacy.

  reviewed by Graham Rogers

• Symphonies 5 & 9 (feat. conductor: Vasily Petrenko; feat. orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic) Dmitri Shostakovich

  
  Delivers a focussed and individual performance that doesn’t tow the same old line.

  reviewed by Andrew Mellor

• Run Rabbit Run Osso

  
  An unusual, but not unrewarding, statement of intent.

  reviewed by Rob Crossan

• The Complete Waltzes (Ingrid Fliter) Frédéric Chopin

  
  The young Argentinean stamps her authority with a finesse beyond her years.

  reviewed by Michael Quinn

  • CD Review Disc of the Week

• Gogo no Eiko Hans Werner Henze

  
  An opera that has been resuscitated and restored to new life.

  reviewed by Michael Quinn

• Bach Brandenburg Concertos Johann Sebastian Bach

  
  Stands up on its own, quite simply as a smashing performance.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner

• The Food of Love (Paul Agnew, Anne-Marie Lasla) Henry Purcell

  
  The performances are outstanding and the sequencing inspired.

  reviewed by Katie Greening

• Piazzolla and Beyond (London Concertante) Various Artists

  
  A riveting, dramatic, and even sexy listen.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner

• Die Schöpfung (comp: René Jacobs; orch: Freiburger Barockorchester) Joseph Haydn

  
  Jacobs’s impeccable Creation is fresh and often illuminating.

  reviewed by Graham Rogers

• Gloria (Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini) Antonio Vivaldi

  
  This is Vivaldi as it should be.

  reviewed by Katie Greening

• Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov: Piano Trios Lang Lang, Vadim Repin, Mischa Maisky

  
  Lang Lang can not only do chamber music, but do it phenomenally well.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner

• The Official 30th Anniversary Edition Various Artists

  
  This edition tells only a small part of a much larger story.

  reviewed by Michael Quinn

• The BQE Sufjan Stevens

  
  Unlike other pop artists who've branched out into classical, this feels very natural.

  reviewed by Will Dean

• Beethoven and Korngold Violin Concertos Renaud Capuçon

  
  Altogether, an elegantly feel-good disc.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner

• Within a Dream – A Celebration of the Artistry of Richard Hickox Various Artists

  
  Serves to highlight Hickox’s wide-ranging musical knowledge and tastes.

  reviewed by Charlotte Gardner