When Angela Hewitt admits to a particular satisfaction with a recording, you know the results are going to be rather special and Love songs—a recital of twenty-three transcriptions for solo piano—is guaranteed a place in listeners' affections. These brilliant transformations of some much-loved originals by, among others, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss and Gershwin offer an abundance of delights, making July's Record of the Month the most seductive of prospects. Critical accolades of Garrick Ohlsson's previous recordings of the composer for Hyperion have recognized 'a born Brahmsian … the muscular strength and facility of finger tempered by breadth of outlook and solidity of intellect' (BBC Music Magazine). These equally distinguished accounts of the first two Brahms Piano Sonatas are every bit as fine, and further demonstrate the resilience of that bond.

As well as being one of the world's leading bassoonists, Laurence Perkins has the knack of devising exceptionally intriguing programmes (and indeed album titles). Voyage of a sea-god showcases his instrument across a wide range of twentieth-century repertoire, in which Bax and Bantock rub shoulders with Richard Rodney Bennett and David Bedford. Participants in the odyssey include pianist Michael Hancock, the Carducci String Quartet, and—in important recordings of works by Maconchy and Panufnik—the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Goodchild.

An occasional series dedicated to choice selections of our all-time favourite recordings—ones you might possibly have missed? This time: The Complete Songs of Francis Poulenc from Graham Johnson (‘a gorgeous collection, and for sometime Poulenc sceptics like me, a real revelation’—The Guardian), Jean Richafort's Requiem & other sacred music from Cinquecento (‘quite simply, sublime’—International Record Review), and the Complete works for violin and piano of Franz Schubert from Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien (‘performances which it is hard to imagine ever being bettered’—BBC Music Magazine). If you don’t know them already, a track from each is included on our monthly sampler which is free to download.

On Cala Signum Australian Thais presents a programme of new music for saxophone and piano. The HD Duo (Michael Duke on sax and David Howie at the keyboard) performs works by six composers as part of a project exploring musical and cultural connections across the Pacific.

The Choirs of Jesus College Cambridge have joined forces with the Britten Sinfonia to record Grayston Ives's Requiem. This Signum album comes with a fascinating personal note from the composer and is conducted by Richard Pinel, who collaborated with Ives for this charming work's first performance back in 2008.

On LSO Live this month we have a new recording of an old favourite: Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis. This performance—by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano—was captured live at the Barbican in March 2020.

Signum Classics brings us the final instalment in a new Complete Songs of Gabriel Fauré cycle. This four-volume set, masterminded throughout by Malcolm Martineau, has been warmly received by the critics and features a veritable galaxy of fine singers.

Emmanuel Despax has teamed up with conductor Andrew Litton and the BBC Symphony Orchestra to record the monumental Brahms Piano Concerto No 1. The fruit of a long-held ambition, he completes his new Signum album with the enchanting Op 39 Waltzes, here duetting with Miho Kawashima.