Classical Highlights for May 2025

Classical Highlights for May 2025


This year being the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel‘s birth, we are seeing more recordings of his music, such as Jean-Efflam Bavouzet‘s excellent, new traversal of the solo piano works. Yet there are other noteworthy releases to hear too, including Prokofiev’s string quartets by the Quatuor Danel (pictured), who previously successfully covered the Shostakovich cycle; the cohesive blending of classical music and spirituals by harpist Ashley Jackson on Take Me to the Water; and Beatrice Rana‘s return to the music of Bach with four keyboard concertos.

May Classical Reviews

Esther Abrami – Women

Thomas Adès, London Philharmonic Orchestra – Thomas Adès: Luxury Suite from Powder Her Face; Five Spells from the Tempest; Inferno Suite

John Andrews, BBC Concert Orchestra – Errollyn Wallen: Orchestral Works

Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Grete Pedersen – Franz Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works

Arcadia Quartet – Weinberg, Vol. 5: String Quartets Nos 3, 9, and 14; Improvisation and Romance

Ariel Quartet – Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1

Bach Collegium San Diego, Ruben Valenzuela – A Sonic Youth

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet – Ravel: Complete Works for Solo Piano

Bevan Family Consort- Attende Domine: Music for Lent & Passiontide

Martyn Brabbins, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers – Michael Tippett: New Year

Martyn Brabbins, English National Opera Orchestra & Chorus – Havergal Brain: Agamemnon; Sinfonia tragica; Symphony No. 12

Eleonora Buratto, Coro e Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Sesto Quatrini – Indomita

Sarah Cahill, Regina Myers – D. Riley Nicholson: UP

Costantino Catena, Giulio Arnofi, Accademia d’Archi Arrigoni – Antonio Salieri: Piano Concertos

David Childs, Black Dyke Band, Nicholas Childs – Virtuoso: Music for Euphonium and Brass Band

Dmytro Choni – Pilgrimage

Aaron Copland, London Symphony Orchestra – Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3; Statements for Orchestra; Billy the Kid Ballet Suite

The Crossing, Donald Nally – David Lang: Poor Hymnal

Lise Davidsen, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Gerald Finley, Edward Gardner – Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer

Matthew de Lacey Davidson – The Graceful Ghost: Contemporary Piano Rags 1960-2021

Nathan Davis, Sylvia Milo – Earthworks

Dudok Quartet- Tchaikovsky: String Quartets, Vol. 2

James Ehnes, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra – J.S. Bach: The Complete Violin Concertos

Malena Ernman, Christina Pluhar, L’Arpeggiata – Terra Mater

Margaret Fingerhut – Ukraine: A Piano Portrait

Pierre Fouchenneret, I Giardini – Le Temps des Lilas

Zlatomir Fung – Fantasies

Daniel Grimwood – Schumann: Carnaval; Liszt: Sonat

Hyperion Trio – Christian Sinding: Piano Trios Opp. 23, 64 & 87; Six Pieces for Cello and Piano Op. 66

Yasunori Imamura – Bach: Cello Suites, Vol. 1 – Nos. 1, 4 and 5

Ashley Jackson – Take Me to the Water

Lura Johnson – The Art of Prelude and Fugue: J.S. Bach, Shostakovich

Carla Kihlstedt, Present Music – 26 Little Deaths

Yo-Yo Ma, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons – Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos

Malcolm Martineau- The Complete Songs of Ravel

Anton Mejias – The Art of Memory: Bach – Well-Tempered Claiver II; Lasser – Preludes

Anne Akiko Meyers, Albany Symphony, David Alan Miller – Michael Daugherty: Blue Electra; Last Dance at the Surf; To the New World

Monteverdi Choir, Jonathan Sells – Bruckner & Gesualdo: Motets

Justin Murphy-Mancini – Organ Music in New England: Cultivating a Living Tradition

Thomas Newman – Of Mice and Men: Music from the Original Ballet

Gianandrea Noseda, London Symphony Orchestra- Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 ‘The Year 1905’

Kun-Woo Paik – Mozart: Piano Works 3

Present Music – Raven Chacon: Voiceless Mass

Quatuor Danel – Prokofiev: String Quartets

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez: Livre pour Quatuor [2023 Recording]

Quiet Music Ensemble, Jack Adler-McKean – Martin Iddon: Hesperides

Beatrice Rana, Amsterdam Sinfonietta – Bach: Keyboard Concertos BWV 1052, 1053, 1054, 1056

Lucile Richardot, Anne de Fornel – Liza Lehmann: Songs – A Brilliant Destiny

Martin Rummel, Philippe Raskin – Shostakovich & Prokofiev: Cello Sonatas

Stephen Salters, Donald Berman, David Zobel – Elena Ruehr: Songs for Stephen

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Angel of Peace

Giovanni Sollima, Il Pomo d’Oro, Federico Guglielmo – Giovanni Sollima: Al-Bunduqiyya – The Lost Concerto

Thomas Søndergård, Royal Scottish National Orchestra – Bacewicz, Lutoslawski, Szymanowski

Michael Spyres, Carlo Rizzi – Donizetti: Songs, Vol. 3

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Third Coast Percussion – Standard Stoppages

Richard Tognetti, Australian Chamber Orchestra – Tchaikovsky: Serenade; Andante Cantabile; Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony

Trio Con Brio Copenhagen – Harmonie du soir: Ravel & Schubert

Voices of Hope, Mark Edwards, Will Todd – Will Todd: All Will Be Well

Chu-Yu Yang, Eric McElroy – An English Pastoral

Jing Yang – Perfect Happiness: Piano Music of Nils Vigeland

Rachel Yonan, Kwan Yi – Kiss on Wood

Krystian Zimerman, Maria Nowak, Katarzyna Budnik, Yuya Okamoto – Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartets Nos. 2 & 3



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