Best Classical CD’s of 2023

“… if pushed to choose just one CD, I’d opt for Martin Owen’s Chandos disc of Strauss’s two horn concertos. They’re coupled with Weber’s Concertino (listen out for the multiphonics!) and a joyous account of Schumann’s Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra. John Wilson’s BBC Philharmonic offer stylish, idiomatic support, and Owen has a starry supporting cast in the Schumann. ‘Life-enhancing’ is an overused term, but if your life really does need enhancement, try this.”

“… Both works [Strauss’s Concerto 1 & 2] are given fiery readings, full of heroism and yearning. Owen has a full and powerful tone, and the superb sonics make the orchestra sound wonderful.”

“… this is a recording of distinction.”

Recording of the Month - Recommended

“…He [Owen]  is completely in command of the technical demands of these works and plays them with the kind of apparently easy virtuosity which they require… In the Schumann Concertstück he is joined by three other distinguished players, who amply hold their own. This is not the kind of repertoire with which one associates John Wilson but he conducts with élan and the BBC Philharmonic respond accordingly. The sound is rich in the Chandos manner … a delight.”

Performance *****      Recording ****

“… there’s no greater tonic that the Schumann, and no better sonorities could be imagined; the recording captures them beautifully … It’s a sheer joy, with only superficial melancholy adding more colours. I’ll be playing that over and over again.”

“…A life-enhancing anthology, and one of my discs of the year.”

Outstanding

“…first up, is Schumann’s flamboyant and soulful Concertstück, Owen joined by Alec Frank-Gemmill (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra), Christopher Parkes (Swedish Radio Symphony) & Sarah Willis (Berlin Philharmonic) for an impressively assured account, as colourful as it is poignant, the BBC Phil and Wilson playing their part in bringing out this wonderful score’s vividness, expressiveness and exhilaration, a tour de force in fact….”