Recording of the month

JS Bach French Suites, BWV812‑817 

Murray Perahia pf 

(DG) 

An artist whose insight and virtuosity always seem so profoundly at the service of the score, Murray Perahia offers a wonderful disc of Bach’s French Suites for his first DG disc.

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CPE Bach Flute Concertos 

Emmanuel Pahud fl Potsdam Chamber Academy / Trevor Pinnock 

(Warner Classics) 

A thrilling virtuoso in works that show off the flute’s potential as a truly dramatic instrument.

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Mozart Piano Concertos, K413‑415 

Kristian Bezuidenhout fp Freiburg Baroque Orchestra 

(Harmonia Mundi) 

There’s much infectious joy in the music-making here from fortepianist Bezuidenhout and his Freiburg Baroque colleagues.

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Beethoven. Mozart Quintets for Piano and Winds 

Die Freitagsakademie 

(Winter & Winter) 

There’s a real focus on detail and a wonderful sense of character and personality in these period-instrument performances of two delightful works. 

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Ravel. Saint-Saëns Piano Trios 

Fidelio Trio 

(Resonus) 

The Fidelio Trio’s discography shows them devoted to championing the piano trio across the repertoire, not least in modern music: this disc finds them highly compelling in Ravel and Saint-Saëns.

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‘La Famille Forqueray’ 

Justin Taylor hpd 

(Alpha) 

A young harpsichordist and recent competition victor, Justin Taylor reveals himself to already be a boldly individual interpreter with this debut solo disc, and certainly one to watch.

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Fux. Kerll Requiems 

Vox Luminis / Lionel Meunier 

(Ricercar) 

Winning Recording of the Year in 2012 for their Schütz disc rightly drew attention to this superb choir; this, their latest release for Ricercar, is just as skilful and engaging.

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Jackson ‘Vox clara’ 

Truro Cathedral Choir / Christopher Gray 

(Regent) 

Regent brings us another superb contemporary choral disc, following its recent David Bednall success – this time of the imaginative and engaging music of composer Gabriel Jackson.

Read the review in the Reviews Database

‘The Sun most Radiant’ 

Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford / Stephen Darlington 

(Avie) 

The latest instalment in Christ Church’s exploration of the Eton Choirbook is beautifully prepared and presented, with excellent singing throughout.

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‘In War & Peace’ 

Joyce DiDonato mez Il Pomo d’Oro / Maxim Emelyanychev 

(Erato)

DiDonato is a singer who strives to find a relevance in music for the world around us. This touching and dramatic disc is a perfect part of that.

Our Audio Editor writes: ‘A striking-sounding set, made all the more so in vibrant 96kHz/24bit sound from Qobuz, which allows the luminous quality of DiDonato’s voice to shine through while keeping the rhythms and internal detail of the accompaniment crystal-clear. Dramatic, punchy and at times spine-tingling, this is real demonstration-quality stuff, not to mention an artistic tour de force.’

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DVD/blu-ray

Berg Wozzeck 

Sols incl Gerhaher; Philharmonia Zurich / Fabio Luisi 

(Accentus) 

‘A finely honed production,’ writes critic Neil Fisher of this production of Wozzeck’s dark drama, featuring Christian Gerhaher in the title-role.

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Reissue/archive

Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Benjamin Britten 

(Testament) 

The premiere of Britten’s opera was heard by an audience of just 300 – now you can join them. 

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