Classical

Arabella Steinbacher, Luxembourg PO/Gustavo Gimeno
Beethoven & Lentz: Violin Concertos
Pentatone PTC5187240 (downloads to 192kHz/24-bit resolution)

Steinbacher has the measure of the space and serenity which mark out the Violin Concerto from almost everything else Beethoven wrote. Her phrasing soars, her tone sweet as honey, and engages with every note of the symphonic texture which is so admirably sprung and shaped by Gimeno. Without interrogating the piece on the micro-level of Eberle/Rattle [HFN], they draw the ear in to the mystical G minor episode of (i). And if you come for Beethoven, stay for the Georges Lentz, which integrates refreshingly modern solo writing within a continuously evolving, 35m narrative. There’s an ‘environmental’ subtext, but the music stands on its own compelling terms. PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

Chauvin, Glassberg, Reiland, Roth
Bizet: Djamileh, Cantatas, Mélodies, Piano Music
BruZane BZ1059 (four discs; downloads to 96kHz/24-bit res)

You could almost sum up this Bizet set by listing what’s not in it: Carmen, Pearl Fishers, L’Arlésienne... Why don’t we know the rest, you may conclude, after immersing yourself in this lavishly annotated, bargain set. A delicious one-act slice of orientalism, Djamileh directly preceded Carmen, and F-X Roth leads a sparkling account with an all-French cast. Vasco de Gama is sui generis, unless you know Berlioz’s Lélio. The Prix de Rome cantatas (such as one based on Paul et Virginie, with Cyrille Dubois luxuriously cast as Paul) do much more than go through the academic motions – which may be why they didn’t win. The 20 or so songs glisten with Bizet’s genius for melody. PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

Adam Baldych, Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett, et al
Laeta Mundus: Resonances From 15th-Cent. Krakow
Anaklasis ANA035

Neither the cover nor the concept scream ‘hot crossover hit’, but if you liked Officium and Anonymous 4, you’ll be signed up to this modern take on hymns from ‘Kras 52’, a 15th-century Polish codex. A blend of close-up instrumentals with a quartet of distant female vocals creates a vibe more gritty than chillout, with moody contrabass clarinet solos on the ration (thankfully). Baldych’s early fiddle and Budzinska-Bennett’s Gothic harp add playful splashes of colour, while the singers phrase with early-music ears, and the two textures periodically bleed into one another, leaving time in rapt suspense. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%

Car, Humble, Sydney SO/Young
Barton: Of The Earth; Mahler: Symphony No.2
DG 4876842 (two discs; downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

Taped at the re-opening of the Sydney Opera House in 2022, the heart of this Mahler 2 is unerringly in the right place. At one end, Young underlines coherence more than the funeral-rite narrative. At the other, she doesn’t pimp the final chord with extra brass, but the closing pages still make a thunderous impact thanks to a huge choral contingent and some apocalyptic percussion. It’s very ‘live’ and rough around the edges, though Young coaxes any number of Haydnesque slides and smiles from the strings in (ii). Deborah Humble sings a grave and noble ‘Urlicht’. William Barton contributes a solemn curtain-raiser (a case of ‘one and done’ for most of us). PQ

Sound Quality: 85%