Classical

Nemanja Radulovic
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.2, Violin Sonatas, etc
Warner Classics 5026854355481 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

The Soviet satirist, the Romantic poet, the chess-playing grandmaster of Classical manners… Radulović shows that these are all aspects of 'the real Prokofiev'. Concerto, Duo Sonata and ballet excerpts all date from the mid-'30s, when the composer had houses in both Paris and Moscow; thus the journey of the album feels seamless even while passing through diverse genres and styles. Rouvali and the Philharmonia offer attentive support in the Concerto, while pianist Laure Favre-Kahn and violinist Johan Dalene are more imaginative partners. What makes the album so repeatable is the Serbian violinist's palette of colours and ideas, culminating in a dazzling sequence of transcribed dances from Romeo. PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

The Queen's Six, The Rose Consort
Troubled Times
Signum SIGCD978 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

An album subtitled 'Music And Espionage In Renaissance England' elegantly illustrates the folly of the idea that making music could be an apolitical choice in the violent strife of the Reformation. Helpful booklet notes don't press the point, and illuminate both music and context. The consorts of viols and voices likewise apply a light touch to the juicy false relations of Byrd, Bull, Morley & co, achieving a delicate balance and fusion of styles. A smoothly ordered sequence of motets, verse anthems and instrumental numbers gradually lifts its gaze from dark meditation (Byrd's Cunctis Diebus) towards light (Philips' Beata Agnes) and victory (Dering's Factum est…). PQ

Sound Quality: 90%

L'Opéra Royal/Niquet
Bizet: Carmen
Château de Versailles CVS165 (three discs; 96kHz/24-bit downloads)

A 'period' Carmen feels long overdue. In its film version, this Versailles staging from January 2025 partners scrupulously recreated designs from the 1875 premiere with a vibrant fidelity to Bizet's soundworld. In the pit, Niquet keeps the Guiraud recitatives flowing without going to the eccentric extremes of his Handel and Brahms. Adèle Charvet makes a fiery, youthful Carmen, every inch the femme fatale in her dealings with Julien Behr's penetrating Don José. Cast to scale with light, quick-vibrato voices and slightly boxy sound, every aspect of this Carmen underlines its revolutionary, proto-verismo nature. A lavish booklet has no libretto. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%

Arcadi Volodos
Schubert: Sonata D850; Schumann: Kinderszenen
Sony 196871708012 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)

Apparently recorded at a single concert from June 2022 in Paris; there is no sign of an audience (from either noises-off or applause), and yet Volodos is not playing for the microphone. He is the modern master of 'a healthy piano' – as one of his colleagues recently said to me – and he draws you in with quiet playing that always sings. D850 is mesmerically sustained (45 minutes!) but never austere in Richter's fashion. Rather, (ii) shares the playfully philosophical world of the Diabellis, and the dances of (iii) and (iv) are underpinned by a bass as creamy and echt-Viennese as the city's coffee. Kinderszenen unfolds lovingly, like a mother reading a bedtime story. PQ

Sound Quality: 85%