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Editor’s Choice: The Best New Classical Music Albums, June 2024
The choices of the best classical music albums we covered on The Classic Review this past month.
French
Album Reviews
Review: Messiaen – Turangalîla-Symphonie – Hamelin, Forget, Gimeno
Marc-André Hamelin, Nathalie Forget, and the Toronto Symphony feature in Messiaen’s mind-bending masterpiece about love.
Album Reviews
Review: Latter(s) to Satie – Bertrand Chamayou, Piano
Pianist Bertrand Chamayou pairs Erik Satie with John Cage.
Album Reviews
Review: Debussy – Etudes – Steven Osborne, Piano
For his fourth Debussy album for Hyperion, Steven Osborne presents two of the composer's finest piano works, the 12 Etudes and Pour le piano.
Album Reviews
Review: Waves – Bruce Liu, Piano
Bruce Liu's juxtaposes works by Rameau, Ravel, and Alkan in an intriguing and exploratory program.
Album Reviews
Review: Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé – John Wilson
John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London present Ravel's largest orchestral work in Wilson's own new critical edition.
Album Reviews
Review: Ravel – Piano Concertos – Alexandre Tharaud
Alexandre Tharaud performs Ravel Piano Concerto in G and Concerto for the Left Hand, with de Falla's Noches en los jardines de España.
Album Reviews
Review: Fauré – Nocturnes & Barcarolles – Marc-André Hamelin, Piano
Pianist Marc-André Hamelin’s new release features three complete sets of Gabriel Fauré’s works: the Nocturnes, Barcarolles, and the Dolly Suite.
Album Reviews
Review: Après un rêve – Emmanuel Despax, Piano
Emmanuel Despax plays works in the French piano repertoire including Poulenc’s Soirées de Nazelles, Debussy’s Claire de Lune, and Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit.
Album Reviews
Review: Compositrices – Bru Zane
Bru Zane’s ongoing advocacy of French music from 1780-1920 continues with a boxed set of over 10 hours of music by 21 French women composers.