Gramophone Editor's Choice: August 2022 | The best new classical recordings
Friday, July 8, 2022
Outstanding new recordings of Fauré's complete songs, Beethoven's Symphony No 6, Liszt's piano concertos, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and much more
Recording of the month
Fauré Complete Songs
Cyrille Dubois ten Tristan Raës pf (Aparté)
An ambitious project – all of Fauré’s 103 songs recorded by the same singer – but one realised with real beauty and style by tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës. A superb achievement.
Beethoven Symphony No 6 Stucky Silent Spring
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / Manfred Honeck (Reference Recordings)
Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh players offer a fascinating Pastoral and thought-provoking pairing, in first-class sound.
Liszt Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2. Piano Sonata
Alexander Ullman pf BBC Symphony Orchestra / Andrew Litton (Rubicon)
Alexander Ullman’s strong desire to present Liszt’s music as the extraordinary art it is, is evident throughout this wonderful album.
Listen: Alexander Ullman on the Gramophone Podcast
Beethoven Two Cello Sonatas, Op 102. Bagatelles
Roel Dieltiens vc Andreas Staier fp (Harmonia Mundi)
A glorious recording that reminds us of the many different styles and sound worlds period performance can delight us with, from two really excellent interpreters.
Holmboe String Quartets, Vol 2
Nightingale Quartet (Dacapo)
The brilliant Nightingale Quartet continue their exploration and advocacy of Holmboe’s music with this beautifully performed programme, including his final thoughts on the medium.
Hahn ‘Poèmes & Valses’
Pavel Kolesnikov pf (Hyperion)
A poetic survey of Hahn miniatures from pianist Pavel Kolesnikov which, writes Michelle Assay, brings us ‘closer to the core of these pieces than any other available recording’.
‘This is America’
Johnny Gandelsman vn (In a Circle)
Twenty four new works by American and US‑based composers – 21 of them commissioned for the project – rich in diversity but united by interpretative beauty and belief from violinist Johnny Gandelsman.
Ravel ‘Cantates pour le Prix de Rome’
Sols; Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire / Pascal Rophé (BIS)
The judges may not have crowned these early Ravel works with the Prix de Rome, but now, thanks to these superb soloists and performances, we can make up own minds!
‘A Meditation’
The Sixteen / Harry Christophers (Coro)
A programme of music old and new built around the Meditations of John Henry Newman, and performed with customary power and precision by the ever-impressive Harry Christophers and The Sixteen.
‘Oh, ma belle brunette’
Reinoud Van Mechelen ten A Nocte Temporis (Alpha)
Baroque pastoral charm from Reinoud Van Mechelen, whose tenor voice offers listeners both grace and intimacy as we escape into a wonderful world of song.
DVD/blu-ray
Wagner Tristan und Isolde
Sols; Staatskapelle Berlin / Daniel Barenboim (BelAir Classiques)
Conductor Daniel Barenboim and director Dmitri Tcherniakov each bring their vast experience and instincts to an experimental take on Tristan und Isolde.
Reissue/archive
Scriabin ‘150th Anniversary – Piano Works’
Vladimir Sofronitsky pf et al (Profil)
A celebratory 150th anniversary set of Scriabin’s piano music, with the celebrated recordings of Vladimir Sofronitsky (who was married to one of the composer’s daughters) at its core.
Read the reviews of all of these albums – and many more – in the August issue of Gramophone and in the Reviews Database. Subscribe to Gramophone today
