Classical

Quatuor Ébène, Belcea Quartet
Mendelssohn, Enescu: Octets
Erato 217329 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

It must have taken some fiendish co-ordination to line up the diaries of two top-tier ensembles for a long tour, then sessions in the optimally wood-panelled acoustic of Schloss Elmau. We’re placed further back than usual, all the better to absorb the ferocious energy radiating from both of these teenage masterpieces, while catching details that often go by the board. Led by the Ebènes, the Mendelssohn sets off with a fine balance struck between ‘moderato’ and ‘con fuoco’ in (i), before the faery (iii) dances with Midsummer-Night agility. Corina Belcea and her colleagues wring every drop of pathos from the tender song at the heart of the Enescu, and hold plenty in reserve for the exhilarating games of the finale. PQ

Sound Quality: 95%

Orch Nat Bordeaux Aquitaine/Bar Avni
Symphonies In Three Movements: C.P.E. Bach, Milhaud, Sohy, Stravinsky
Alpha ALPHA1201 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

Sohy’s Symphony of 1914-17 earns its ‘Grand-Guerre’ subtitle with a pulsing undertone of French-Wagnerian tragedy which makes it a worthy successor to three-movt models by Franck, Chausson and Magnard. The up-front sound places the smaller works by C.P.E. and Milhaud on a comparably broad and vivid canvas, but then so does the strong profile of Bar Avni’s conducting. Already a cut above the alternatives in the Sohy, she deserves comparison with Salonen et al in the Stravinsky, securing stylish solo work and tight ensemble from her French band. PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

Clayton, Aurora Orch/Collon
Schubert, arr. Zender: Winterreise
Signum SIGCD964 (2CDs; downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

I’d expect this ‘composed interpretation’ (read expressionist orchestration, in the manner of Schoenberg’s Pierrot) to chill me to the bone live. What’s surprising is how well it works on record. It’s partly a matter of Collon maxing out the theatrical impact of Zender’s interventions without compromising the romantic palette of Schubert’s word-setting. Partly also the imaginative engineering, which zeroes in and then fades out on the icy pluck of guitar and the soft wheeze of accordion. Most of all it’s down to Clayton: his honeyed and then black-coffee tone, his many shades of head and chest voice; his total embodiment of the part. PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

Ural Youth SO/Alexander Rudin
Myaskovsky: The Kremlin By Night, Alastor, Symphony No.7
Fuga Libera FUG853 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

It can be hard to know where to start with the prolific output of this contemporary of Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff. This illuminating album takes us from the Straussian opulence of the early Alastor tone-poem (1913) to the withdrawn, mystical mood of this curious late Kremlin cantata (1947), revealing Myaskovsky as a Russian VW. Rudin has a strong feeling for the warm, luminous textures which counterbalance Myaskovsky’s long-limbed melodies to challenge his reputation as a master of wintry gloom. In a pair of long, linked movements, S7 (1922) builds and then hurtles towards a punchy climax. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%