Where to begin? There are many excellent choices for sampling among this month’s new reviews. Start with Vaughan Williams: A Birthday Garland, a belated celebration of the composer’s 150th birthday, put together by baritone Roderick Williams (pictured) and pianist Susie Allen. Two piano concertos played by the young Jonathan Fournel are an enjoyable example of a new generation of Mozart interpreters. Another recording that should be heard is a live 2006 version of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 led by the late Bernard Haitink. And for those who like new music, the Takács Quartet join with pianist-vocalist Clarice Assad and bandoneonist Julien Labro for a program that works well with pieces by a diversity of contemporary composers.
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Symphonies – From Berlin to Hamburg
Marco Angioloni, Il Groviglio – Haendel: Poro, re delle Indie
Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma – Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97 “Archduke”
Sergei Babayan, Daniil Trifonov – Rachmaninoff for Two
Richard Baker – Richard Baker: The Tyranny of Fun
Barcelona Clarinet Players – Jack Stamp: Chamber Music, Vol. 2 – Music for Clarinet Quartet
Michael Barenboim, Natalia Pegarkova-Barenboim – Felix Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte
Maya Beiser – Maya Beiser x Terry Riley: In C
Benedict XVI Choir & Orchestra, Richard Sparks – Frank La Rocca: Requiem for the Forgotten; Messe des Malades
Fabrice Bollon, Staatskapelle Halle – Richard Strauss: Josephs Legende
William Boughton, Yale Symphony Orchestra – Paul Reale: American Mosaic
Rudolf Buchbinder – Brahms, Reger: Song Transcriptions
Adrian Chandler, La Serenissima – Giuseppe Tartini: Diavolo – 6 Violin Sonatas
Alpesh Chauhan, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra – Tchaikovsky: Hamlet; Capriccio italien; Fatum; etc.
Julien Chauvin, Le Concert de la Loge – Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni; La Follia
Bojan Čičić, Steven Devine – George Frideric Handel: Complete Violin Sonatas
Laurence Cummings, Academy of Ancient Music – Mozart: Piano Concertos K238, K242, K246
Bridget Cunningham – Thomas Roseingrave: Eight Harpsichord Suites and other keyboard works
Lucas Debargue – Fauré: Complete Music for Solo Piano
Sabine Devieilhe, Mathieu Pordoy – Mozart, R. Strauss: Lieder
Cyrille Dubois, Tristan Raës – Louis Beydts: Mélodies & Songs
Maarten Engeltjes, Shira Patchornik, Prjct Amsterdam – Pergolesi: Stabat Mater; Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus
Ensemble Altera, Christopher Lowrey – The Lamb’s Journey: A Choral Narrative from Gibbons to Barber
Les Épopées, Stéphane Fuget – Lully, Vol. 4: Te Deum
Jonathan Fournel, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Howard Griffiths – Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 18 KV 456 & 21 KV 467
Pierre Gallon, Matthieu Boutineau – François Couperin: Concerts Royaux
Choir of Girton College, Cambridge; Western Wyndes – Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Vol. 4: Missa Gustate et Videte; Motets for Holy Week and Easter
Bernard Haitink, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks – Schostakowitsch: Symphonie Nr. 8
Paavo Järvi, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra – Mendelssohn: Symphonies
Kim Josephson, Robynne Redmon, Gerard Schwarz – Michael Dellaira: The Leopard
Giorgio Koukl, Virginia Rossetti – Rieti: Complete Piano Solo & Duo Works, Vol. 2
Marek Kozák, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Robert Jindra – Forgotten Czech Piano Concertos
Kraken Consort – O’er the Moor: Songs and Dances from Scotland and Ireland
Vincent Larderet – Ravel: The Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 1
David Lively, Michael Gielen – Ferruccio Busoni: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester in C-Dur, Op. 39
Will Liverman, Jonathan King – Show Me the Way
George Lloyd, BBC Philharmonic, Albany Symphony Orchestra – George Lloyd: The Symphonies Nos. 1 – 6
Klaus Mäkelä, Orchestre de Paris – Stravinsky: Pétrouchka; Debussy: Jeux; Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Yoshika Masuda, HyeJin Kim – Hidden Flame
Rebecca Miller, BBC Concert Orchestra – Dorothy Howell: Orchestral Works
Nikita Mndoyants – Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas 4 & 8; Scherzo; Mndoyants: Nocturne
National Arts Centre Orchestra – Truth in Our Time: Philip Glass – Symphony No. 13
Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya – Gottlieb Muffat: Componimenti musicali per il cemablo
Florian Noack – I Wanna Be Like You: The Piano Transcriptions
Gianandrea Noseda, National Symphony Orchestra – Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies
Antonio Pappano, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra – Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain (Original versions of 1867 & 1880)
PaTRAM Institute Male Choir, Ekaterina Antonenko, Igor Morozov, Evgeny Kachurovski – Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil
Markus Poschner, Bruckner Orchester Linz – Bruckner: Symphony #3 (1889 Version)
Beatrice Rana – Chopin, Beethoven: Sonatas – Funeral March, Hammerklavier
Imants Resnis, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra – Fridrich Bruk: Orchestral Music, Vol. 5
RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Justin Doyle – George Frideric Handel: Dixit Dominus; Laudate pueri; Nisi Dominus
Masato Suzuki – Bach: Das Wohltemperiert Klavier 1
Takács Quartet, Julien Labro, Clarice Assad – Takács, Assad, Labro
Les Temps Présents, Les Pages et Les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Olivier Schneebeli – Charpentier: David et Jonathas
Chris P. Thompson – Stay the Same
Alain Trudel, Orchestre Classique de Montréal – David Bontemps: La Flambeau
Pablo Urbina, Michael Seal, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Dani Howard: Orchestral Works
Various Artists – Pál Hermann: Complete Surviving Music, Vol. 3
Premysl Vojta, Florence Millet, Ye Wu – John Cage: Music for Three
Roderick Williams, Susie Allan – Vaughan Williams: A Birthday Garland
Sonya Yoncheva, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare – Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Mahler: Rückert-Lieder