Gramophone Editor's Choice: July 2022 | The best new classical recordings
Friday, June 10, 2022
Outstanding new recordings of Ravel's piano concertos, Sibelius's Seventh Symphony, Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus and more
Recording of the month
Ravel Piano Concertos. Songs
Cédric Tiberghien pf Stéphane Degout bar Les Siècles / François-Xavier Roth
Harmonia Mundi
An album that wonderfully reveals Ravel’s originality; richly coloured pianism, performed on a beautiful sounding 1892 Pleyel, is echoed in Les Siècles’s period playing and Stéphane Degout’s songs.
Sibelius Symphony No 7
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Collon
Ondine
A Sibelius programme prepared with deep thought, a powerful reading of the final symphony sitting perfectly with the two accompanying suites.
Coleridge-Taylor Chamber Works
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Chandos
Three works written by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor aged 18, hardly heard until recent years, but given splendid advocacy by the ever exploratory Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
‘Alter Ego’
David Orlowsky cl David Bergmüller lute
Warner Classics
An unexpected – and unexpectedly beguiling – album that blends the voices of the clarinet and lute together with extraordinary success, in a manner as mysterious as it is riveting.
Bolcom The Complete Rags
Marc-André Hamelin pf
Hyperion
A completely triumphant – and entirely authoritative – survey of William Bolcom’s rags, performances filled to the brim with all the character these glorious pieces require.
Messiaen Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus
Bertrand Chamayou pf
Erato
A deeply spiritual journey through a deeply spiritual work, a highly personal project by our recent Recording of the Year-winning pianist, and one you can read more about in the July issue.
Champion Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena
Cappella Pratensis / Stratton Bull
Challenge Classics
A fascinating exploration of performance practice and the role of improvisation in early music, but most important of all, the resulting recording is strikingly splendid.
Josquin ‘Tant vous aime …’
Doulce Mémoire / Denis Raisin Dadre
Ricercar
The atmosphere and sound world created by Doulce Mémoire’s gloriously presented performances of Josquin songs instantly transports us to an era far from our own.
‘Battle Cry – She Speaks’
Helen Charlston mez Toby Carr theorbo
Delphian
Helen Charlston has crafted a superb programme of music old and new which perfectly plays to her strengths, greatly enhanced by the rapport shared with theorbo player Toby Carr.
Podcast: Helen Charlston on her first solo album, 'Battle Cry: She Speaks'
‘Phrases’
Héloïse Werner sop
Delphian
One of the most imaginative talents among today’s young generation of singers and composers, Héloïse Werner’s debut solo album explores language via vocal virtuosity, humour and heartfelt music-making.
See also: Watch an exclusive video from Héloïse Werner's new album
DVD/blu-ray
Monteverdi Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sols; Accademia Bizantina / Ottavio Dantone
Dynamic
From Florence last year, Monteverdi’s opera is brought vividly to life by director Robert Carsen and an impressive cast.
Reissue/archive
‘The Art of Duo-piano Playing’
Pierre Luboshutz, Genia Nemenoff pfs
Marston
The piano partnership of Pierre Luboshutz and Genia Nemenoff presented with all the care and attention to detail that collectors of releases from the Marston label have come to expect.
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