Bryn Terfel joins a near-perfect Gerontius in Paul Groves for a heavenly performance! It is only fitting that the Halle should be the source of the only recording of Gerontius in recent times to challenge, even shake, the supremacy of Barbirolli. 'It is reverent in the best sense, with breathless pianissimi and a potency of atmosphere'

Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake come together with one of my most favoured Schubert lieder recordings from EMI! The sound quality is superb and the collaboration between these artists will not be easily surpassed!

While it's absurd to speak of an outright "WINNER", in this genre, Pregardien and the illiuminating Staier join Schreier, Hotter, Fischer-Dieskau and Fasshbaender on the roster of indispensible Schwanenengesang recordings! A hard choice to make indeed! I just purchased them all! You will need to decide which one suites your taste!

"Join Kathryn Stott in a fascinating and fabulous 50Th-birthday celebration in dance!" From Albeniz, Bartok, Brahms, Chopin to Ginastera and much more, this shuffle certainly gives the pianist a workout!" Thanks to GRAMOPHONE for this fantastic must have!

Murray Perahia's lyricism and superb art of shaping a phrase has positioned him as one of the world's greatest virtuoso's! His recordings of the Beethoven sonata's are to be honoured and cherished. If you are beginning or adding to your library of B's Sonata's, these are a must!! One of 2008's Highlights!

Simply, subtly sublime: Marc-Andre Hamelin's Chopin is up there with the very best! This is a disc that takes you by stealth. This is Hamelin's 2nd recording of the 2nd sonata. Comparison shows how much his pianism has developed during the intervening time! A CD with unique musical qualities!

All roads lead back to Bach in this fascinating, if perhaps cautious, recital. Andreas Staier pays tribute to Schumann's debt and devotion to Bach! Staier finds Bach's influence in both likely and unlikely places and shows too, how childlike innocence easily blossoms in "Album for the Young."

Julia Fischer (Artist of the Year) made her name in Bach when she recorded the sonatas and partitas in 2004! Can our star build on her Bach reputation? The playing is beautifully honed, technically without flaw, but compared to the Partitas, filled with personality, this CD can come across as somewhat anodyne! The romantic repertoire is where we will hear Fischer produce the finest she has offer!

Chosen as "Opera of the Year", in Cannes Paris, at The Midem Classical Awards!

Ilona Timchenko is a young Russian pianist and winner of the Abstract Securities Landor Competition. Make no mistake, there is nothing abstract about performances characterised by immense musical and technical resource!Her formidable command and poetic commitment, has rarely been equalled and make such a musical rather than merely athletic experience of Brahm's Paganini Variations!

Her recent substitution for a pregnant Netrebko at the Met has seen Damrau's star firmly on the rise! This selection of Mozart opera and concert arias proves once again, she yields to nobody in all-round ability. Her beautifully spun voice has depth of interpretation and word-craft. A Stunning Recording in every way!

"Think you know your Tchaikovsky? Jurowski makes you think again". Jurowski and the Russian National Orchestra have returned to the original version of the Romeo and Juliet Overture, pairing it with the incidental music to Hamlet and the revised theatre version of the Hamlet Overture. The results are fascinating!!

Playing HOMAGE! James Ehnes has collaborated on his most recent recording, "Homage". Each pair of tracks Ehnes plays on a different violin or viola from his most valuable collections of violins in the world. A unique and formidable must have for every music library! (DVD of the month)

Masaaki Suzuki rounds off his Well-Tempered harsichord in fine style! In all, Suzuki's heartfelt synthesis of scholarship and musicality will provide repeated listening pleasure.

Beethoven as you've never heard him before in an imaginative program! No less than eight of these 10 transcriptions are world premiere recordings. Ms. Malan's program is imaginative, filled with panache, and infectious high spirits.

A natural artist celbrates the music of his compatriates! One of the greatest operatic basses of his generation and beyond, Matti Salminen the Finnish bass now in his 60's,still possess's his warm, sonorous voice, which he uses positively to embrace a gem like Sebelius's "Swim, Duck, Swim".

Caprices of sparkling clarity- Paganini would have been delighted! Becker-Bender present performances that are filled with virtuosity, beauty and remarkable musical purity!

An Alcina that is up there with the best-this could be the one we've been waiting for! Technically, DiDonato is superb, her Alcina is a complex, feminine creature! Listen to her spine-tingling performance of "Ombre pallide", and the recitative that precedes it in Act 2. Curtis adds this masterpiece to the list of Handel operas he has recorded.

Rare maturity and musical vision distinguish Helmchen's heavenly Schubert! Here is a musical gold indeed. At the age of 27, this German pianist who won the Clara Haskil Competition in 2001 and whose playing in its mastery and unadorned quality has much in common with the great artist! This is one of my most relished purchases of the year!

This is the second time around for Hewitt's Clavier, yet her ability to convey wonderful new subtleties is unyielding. This remake ultimately digs deeper, with more personalised poetry.