Hyperion Records

This is great stuff: Hyperion's Record of the Month for May 2012 introduces young virtuoso Chloë Hanslip to the label for the twelfth volume in our burgeoning Romantic Violin Concerto series, Martyn Brabbins leading the Royal Flemish Philharmonic through two more of Henry Vieuxtemps' fantastically over-the-top show-stoppers. Christopher Tye's Euge bone & Western Wynde Masses were hardly less outrageous in their day—the one for its harmonic abandon, arresting even today, the other for its use of an unashamedly popular tune. Westminster Abbey Choir gives deeply involved performances under the direction of James O'Donnell.

Steven Osborne complements his acclaimed recording of the Moonlight and Pathétique Sonatas with a polished new album of the thirty Beethoven Bagatelles, trifling miniatures that flowed from a genius pen throughout the composer's life to the delight of the public (and the occasional consternation of publishers). Explicitly crafted to exploit the flourishing amateur domestic market, Robert Schumann's Chamber Music was published for a multiplicity of instrumental combinations—the six master-craftsmen of The Nash Ensemble here set down defining performances of the 'original' versions. Our final new recording this month sees the wonderful Goldner String Quartet return with the Hamilton Harty String Quartets & Piano Quintet, Piers Lane joining them for the imposing quintet, something of a concerto in miniature.

This month's re-issues contrast the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's theatrical Orchestral Music by Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie (Shakespeare, Dickens, Burns) with a pioneering recital of Handel Heroic Arias (Amadigi, Rinaldo, Alcina, Ariodante, Giustino, Ottone, Giulio Cesare) from James Bowman and The King's Consort.