Mozart – Piano Sonatas

We are lucky to have an extraordinary array of mature interpretors of Mozart (we’ll each have our own list) around at the moment and Leonskaja is as accomplished as any. There are some recordings which one knows from the first few phrases are going to be just right…

Outcast – String Quartets

This release on the Dutch group Matangi’s own label is all too depressingly timely. It comprises of quartets written in the Soviet Union by composers who were always under stress from the censorious regime…

Mahler – Symphony No. 4

There are performances where the conductor is barely discernable, where the music feels everyday and standard, its familiarity enough to make it presentable, the orchestra playing as they always do. Semyon Bychkov simply doesn’t allow that level of complacency, from orchestra or listener…