Classical

RLPO/Domingó Hindoyan
Works by Carreño, Castellanos, Estévez, Hung & Plaza
Onyx ONYX4251 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

As MD since 2021, Hindoyan has been doing first-class work in Liverpool. Now the Venezuelan maestro returns to his roots with an unhackneyed album of symphonic poems. You’ll catch echoes of Sibelius and Rimsky in the lush stillness of Juan Bautista Plaza’s Vigilia. Evencio Castellanos scores El Río de las Siete Estrellas with an impressionistic palette, while Inocente Carreño’s Margariteña turns to Hollywood for a widescreen portrait of a Caribbean island. Born in 1968, Yuri Hung is the only living name here; his Kanaima shuffles and pulses with a funky ostinato that reminds me of Revueltas. Programming, playing and engineering combine to give this unknown repertoire the best possible chance. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%

Johannes Moser, Xuefei Yang
Songs Of Joy And Sorrow – Works by Schubert, de Falla, Dowland & Sheng
Platoon PLAT24026 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

A close studio acoustic places us right in front of cellist and guitarist. Their playing exudes the relaxed spontaneity of music-making with and for friends. I love the gentle wind-down of the coda to (i) in Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ – but then Schubert and the guitar make an under-rated match. There have been guitar versions of the solo part before now, not the piano, but Yang’s transcription treads lightly on the original. Moser and Yang emulate viol and lute in four Dowland songs without words, sustaining the pervasive theme of gentle melancholy, while the Falla and Sheng bring flashes of violence and primary colours. PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

Hallé / Kahchun Wong
Britten: The Prince Of The Pagodas
Hallé CDHLD7565 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

Kahchun Wong gets his tenure in Manchester off to a flying start with only the third recording of Britten’s late-’50s ballet for Covent Garden. The Singaporean conductor professes an affinity with Britten’s fusion of east and west in a booklet introduction. Just as impressive is his feeling for Britten’s inheritance of Russian-classical ballet writing. Little miracles of mood and distance are achieved by the Hallé engineers (a week-long set of studio sessions must have helped). A cushioned weight to the strings is Mark Elder’s legacy, but each number has a personality of its own, making this a major if overlooked score in Britten’s output. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%

Bruno de Sà, Wrocław Baroque
Arias by Cherubini, Mozart, Reichardt, Zingarelli, etc
Warner Classics 5419799542 (downloads to 94kHz/24-bit resolution)

In Bruno de Sà, we finally have a sopranist with the vocal agility and charisma that Handel and his colleagues must have had in mind. His tone is never merely pretty or pushed-up, yet it retains the edgy thrill of transgression. No less notable here is the sheer range of repertoire. Highlights and high notes include Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, and a Salve Regina by Zingarelli draws more luscious legato from de Sa. He generously shares the limelight with the Wrocław ensemble’s first horn in a big showpiece from Mitridate. Then there’s the usual handful of forgotten operas and composers: a piece by Luigi Caruso sounds like a send-up, but give it a try. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%