Because the pandemic continues in various severity around the globe, the titles of some of the releases our editors reviewed this month appeared to mirror the early days of the disaster, when nations went into lockdown to forestall the unfold of the coronavirus. Naturally, this was unintentional, and the subject material of the recordings solely unrelated. Dallapiccola’s opera Il Prigioniero takes place in the course of the Spanish Inquisition, whereas Ethel Smyth’s cantata The Jail considerations a convict coming to phrases with destiny. Much less grim than these is a recital by tenor James Gilchrist exploring many points and concepts of Solitude. If that is all an excessive amount of and also you need one thing extra optimistic, the Beethoven anniversary releases proceed unabated, with new ones by Jordi Savall, guitarist Franz Halász, tenor Ian Bostridge, and others.

Les Accents, Thibault Noally – Alessandro Scarlatti: Il Martirio di Santa Teodosia
Alamire, David Skinner – John Sheppard: Media Vita in morte sumus
Daniel Barenboim, Elīna Garanča, Staatskapelle Berlin – Elgar: Sea Photos; Falstaff
Kristian Bezuidenhout, Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado – Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4; Coriolan & Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus Overtures
Jonathan Biss – Beethoven: The Full Piano Sonatas
James Blachly, Sara Brailey, Dashon Burton – Dame Ethel Smyth: The Jail
Ian Bostridge, Antonio Pappano – Beethoven: Songs and Folksongs
Max Emanuel Cencic, Martyna Pastuszka, Oh! Orkiestra Historyczna, Yuriy Mynenko – Leonardo Vinci: Gismondo, Re di Polonia
Adrian Chandler, La Serenissima – Additional Time
Anna Maria Chiuri, Stephen Rügamer, Gianandrea Noseda – Dallapiccola: Il Prigioniero
Cinquecento – Johannes de Cleve: Missa Rex Babylonis
Michael Collins, Philharmonia Orchestra – Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5; Finzi: Clarinet Concerto
Commotio, Matthew Berry – Francis Pott: At First Mild; Phrase
Constantinople, Marco Beasley, Kiya Tabassian – La Porta d’Oriente
Mark Elder, Hallé – Debussy: Photos; Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Mahan Esfahani – Musique?
Alban Gerhardt, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Jukka-Pekka Saraste – Shostakovich: Cello Concertos
James Gilchrist, Anna Tilbrook – Solitude
Gloucester Cathedral Choir, Adrian Partington – Ian Venables: Requiem
Giancarlo Guerrero, Nashville Symphony – Christopher Rouse: Symphony No. 5; Supplica; Concerto for Orchestra
Franz Halász, Débora Halász – Beethoven: Works for Guitar & Piano
The Hermes Experiment – Right here We Are
Margarita Höhenrieder, Julius Berger – Beethoven: Full Works for Piano & Cello
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel – Simone de Bonefont: Missa Professional mortuis
Stuart Jackson, Joceyln Freeman – Flax and Hearth: Songs of Devotion
Martin Jones – Isaac Albeniz
Kirill Karabits, Oleg Tsibulko, Russian Nationwide Orchestra – Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 “Babi Yar”
Linos Piano Trio – CPE Bach: Full Piano Trios
Eric Lu – Chopin: 24 Préludes Op. 28; Brahms; Schumann
Wayne Marshall – John Rutter: The Piano Assortment – A Flower Remembered
Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre – Mozart: Mass in C minor
Tim Munro – Christopher Cerrone: Liminal Freeway
Navarra Quartet – Love and Demise
Evening Music – Music for a Viennese Salon: Haydn, Kraus, Dittersdorf
Hervé Niquet, Le Live performance Spirituel – Martini: Requiem pour Louis XVI
Ora Singers – Thomas Tallis: Spem in Alium; James Macmillan: Vidi Aquam
Eric Owens, Angel Blue, David Robertson – The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Jennifer Pike, Martin Roscoe – Elgar: Violin Sonata; Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending; Violin Sonata
Adam Riis, Palle Knudsen, Andreas Delfs – Carl Nielsen: The Mom, Op. 41
Dario Salvi, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra – Auber: Overtures, Vol. 2
Jordi Savall, Le Live performance des Nations – Revolution: Beethoven – Symphonies 1 á 5
Matthew Schellhorn – Howells: Piano Music, Vol. 1
Leonard Slatkin, Joseph Beutel, Anna Dennis – Kastalsky: Requiem
Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony – Michael Tilson Thomas: From the Diary of Anne Frank; Meditations on Rilke
Osmo Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra – Mahler 7
Voces8 – After Silence
Sarah Willis – Mozart y Mambo
John Wilson, Sinfonia of London – Respighi: Fontane di Roma; Pini di Roma; Feste Romane