December Reviews

Related links

• Inside the December issue
• More Reviews
• December Cover CD

We rate and review the very best new releases of CDs, DVDs and books so you know exactly what’s hot and what’s not…

We’ve also introduced extra facts, playlists and CD recommendations to enhance your listening enjoyment!

In this month’s magazine: 

DISC OF THE MONTH

Adams: Nixon in China
Soloists, Opera Colorado Chorus, Colorado Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop
Naxos 8.669022-24

‘This piece yanked opera right into the mainstream’

Opera and Vocal Editor’s Choice

Handel: Messiah
Soloists, Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia/Stephen Layton
Hyperion CDA 67800

‘Layton’s interpretation has matured since into something of infinite variety and spiritual substance’

Orchestral Editor’s Choice

Mendelssohn: Symphony No.5, ‘Reformation’; String Symphonies
Hanssler Classic 98.547

‘Mendelssohn’s orchestration comes hurtling off the page’

Instrumental and Chamber Editor’s Choice

Debussy: Complete Works for Piano, Vol.5
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Chandos CHAN 10545

‘Performances of vivid colour, superbly voiced textures, flair, nuance and richness’

DVD Editor’s Choice

Massenet: Thais
Soloists, Teatro Regio Torino/Gianandrea Noseda
Arthaus Musik 101 385

‘Director Stefano Poda’s 2008 staging from Turin is beautifully stylized’

Book Editor’s Choice

Opera for Everybody: The Story of English National Opera
ISBN 978 0 571 22493 7

‘A remarkable chronicle of a remarkable place’

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