Gramophone Editor’s Choice: March 2022 | The best new classical recordings

Friday, February 18, 2022

The best new classical recordings reviewed in the March issue of Gramophone, featuring Théotime Langlois de Swarte, Joyce DiDonato, John Eliot Gardiner and more ...

Recording of the month

Leclair. Locatelli. Vivaldi Violin Concertos 

Théotime Langlois de Swarte vn Les Ombres 

Harmonia Mundi 

A name already familiar in this space from a re-creation of a Proust recital (read the review), Théotime Langlois de Swarte’s glorious new album is Baroque music-making at its most beautiful and joyful.

Read the review


Dohnányi Concertos 

Sols; Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz / Modestas Pitrėnas 

Capriccio 

A superbly performed selection of Dohnányi works from players entirely immersed in his musical voice, led by a conductor who inspires them all the way. 

Read the review


Ravel Orchestral Works 

Sinfonia of London / John Wilson 

Chandos 

John Wilson brings his extraordinary ability to find the colour and soul in an orchestral score to bear on Ravel: together with his hand-picked soloists he offers us ravishing riches indeed.

Read the review


Moeran Chamber Works 

Fidelio Trio 

Resonus 

That Moeran’s music means so much to the players of the Fidelio Trio is clear from the very beginning of this delightful album, the lyrical lines delivered with evident affection, as well as musical excellence. 

Read the review


‘Horn & Piano’ 

Teunis van der Zwart hn Alexander Melnikov fp 

Harmonia Mundi 

What a feast of sounds! Teunis van der Zwart’s natural horn and Alexander Melnikov’s fortepiano offer us a captivating and wholly glorious tribute to the 18th-century virtuoso Giovanni Punto.

Read the review


Bacewicz Piano Works 

Peter Jablonski pf 

Ondine 

Following up his superb Stanchinsky album last year, Peter Jablonski turns his attention to Bacewicz, offering equally fine advocacy to a composer whose music is coming to be much more widely recognised.  

Read the review


‘B-A-C-H’ 

Simon Johnson org 

Chandos 

An extraordinary instrument – that of St Paul’s Cathedral, London – in repertoire perfectly chosen to show off its sonic splendour, all performed by an artist of formidable skill and musicality.  

Read the review


JS Bach St John Passion 

Sols; Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists / John Eliot Gardiner 

DG 

‘An immersive Passion which takes no prisoners’, says Jonathan Freeman‑Attwood of this performance, from one of the foremast Bach conductors of our age. 

Read the review


‘Eden’ 

Joyce DiDonato mez Il Pomo d’Oro / Maxim Emelyanychev 

Erato 

An album to focus us on our relationship to nature, delivered with passion by Joyce DiDonato and her colleagues – a powerful example of how music can relate so well to our wider world.   

Read the review


‘Russian Roots’ 

Katharina Konradi sop Trio Gaspard 

Chandos 

Kyrgyzstan soprano Katharina Konradi and Trio Gaspard offer us a diverse range of Russian-related works spanning centuries – from Beethoven to Auerbach, via Weinberg – all brilliantly performed. 

Read the review


DVD/blu-ray

Mondonville Titon et l’Aurore 

Sols; Les Arts Florissants / William Christie 

Naxos 

Recorded at the Opéra-Comique last year, although without an audience, this recording of Mondonville’s Titon et l’Aurore is another triumph from William Christie. 

Read the review


Reissue/archive

Beethoven Symphony No 9, ‘Choral’ 

Sols; Choir and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival / Wilhelm Furtwängler 

BIS 

A historic recording of Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting Beethoven’s Choral Symphony which, writes Rob Cowan, ‘will leave you changed for ever’.

Read the review


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