Shostakovich: Symphonies 9 and 10 (LSO Live)
In terms of sheer wealth of experience, few conductors can compare to Gianandrea Noseda
Edward Elgar: Partsongs, From the Bavarian Highlands (BR Klassik)
The Bavarian Radio singers’ command of English will have to improve when Sir Simon Rattle arrives to take over
Copland, Nielsen, MacMillan: Clarinet concertos (Delphian)
Of all clarinet concertos, including Mozart’s, Aaron Copland’s is Norman Lebrecht’s favourite by a Siamese smile
Good Night! (Erato)
French pianist Bertrand Chamayou’s compilation of lullabies shows a degree of taste and independence unusual in a young soloist still at the start of his journey
Ralph Vaughan Williams: 5th symphony/Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (Hyperion)
Symphonies to give you hope and vision
From disaster to opportunity
London’s orchestral rat-race will have fewer runners when musical life returns, says Norman Lebrecht
Transatlantic (Orchid)
Much of the appeal of this Covid-era recital by violinist Callum Smart and pianist Richard Uttley lies in the effort they invest to find common ground
Giya Kancheli: Poetry of Silence (Gramola)
Kancheli’s miniatures grip you by the throat and won’t let you do anything else until it’s over
John Luther Adams: The ‘Become’ trilogy (cantaloupe)
You will either feel very relaxed by the middle of the piece or you will throw things at the wall and say some very bad words
Prokofiev/Miaskovsky: Symphonies (LAWO Classics)
Norman Leberecht laments not being able to give the Oslo Philharmonic the five stars they deserve