Notable classical music box sets worth exploring.
Category: Album Reviews
Unveiling the newest in classical music! The Classic Review’s Album Reviews offer insightful critiques of recent releases. Explore a range of artists, ensembles, and repertoire – all expertly analyzed for music lovers, new and experienced. Discover your next favorite recording here.
In Short – 5 Albums Worth Your Listen – December 2025
Brief reviews of five recent classical albums: Bach Cantatas with Ensemble Correspondances and Sébastien Daucé, the Nash Ensemble play Ravel, Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 with the National Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda, Haydn’s Op. 76 String Quartets with Quatuor Arod, and Mikhail Pletnev in Preludes by Chopin and Scriabin.
Review: Elgar, Adès – Violin Concertos – Christian Tetzlaff
Christian Tetzlaff plays Elgar’s Violin Concerto and Adès’s “Concentric Paths” for violin and orchestra. With the BBC Philharmonic under John Storgårds.
Review: Schubert – Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 – Martin Helmchen
Martin Helmchen in the first volume of Schubert complete Piano Sonatas cycle.
Review: Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique, Le carnaval romain – Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare
Rafael Payare conducts Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in Berlioz’s Le carnaval romain and Symphonie fantastique
Review: Brahms – Ein deutsches Requiem – Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Raphaël Pichon conducts Pygmalion in Brahms’s “A German Requiem”, with baritone Stéphane Degout and soprano Sabine Devieilhe.
Review: Daniil Trifonov Plays Tchaikovsky
Daniil Trifonov plays Tchaikovsky’s piano sonata Op. 80, “Children’s Album”, and Pletnev’s piano arrangement of “The Sleeping Beauty”.
Review: Dvořák – Slavonic Dances – Czech Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Czech Philharmonic in Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances.
Review: Anna Clyne – Abstractions – Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in works by composer Anna Clyne.
Review: Vaughan Williams – Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 – London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Antonio Pappano
On their second volume of Vaughan Williams symphonies, The London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano perform the 5th and 9th symphonies.