After his years in London and the discovery of Handel’s Messiah, which had profoundly moved him, Joseph Haydn embarked on writing a large-scale religious work. For this very devout composer, this veritable act of faith would torment him for two years and from it would come an oratorio of penetrating intensity. After enjoying immediate success in Vienna, Die Schöpfung (The Creation) conquered the whole of Europe in less than a year.

It would be a sad day if Haydn and Mozart symphonies were only to be heard on period instruments, but with Sir Georg Solti and Sir Colin Davis jointly perpetuating the tradition of Haydn performances which Beecham created in the 78rpm era, with its combination of elegance and warm humanity, we need have no fears on this score.

William Alwyn was a prolific composer with over sixty film scores, five symphonies, a couple of piano concertos, a variety of chamber music and a large number of miscellaneous pieces to his credit. At the heart of his music is an atmospheric pleasantness that is indentifiably British, but not necessarily in the same vein as Holst or Vaughan Williams, who adapted folk material into their music. While Alwyn didn't epitomize the English "pastoral" school, some critics did accuse him of being the "master of the art of nostalgia" - an unbalanced viewpoint in my opinion. Certainly strains of folk material are heard here and there in Alwyn, but his approach is more forward looking, modern if you will.

It is easy to grasp the concept that Suspended Memories is one of the greatest e-music trios ever. Each member - Steve Roach, Jorge Reyes, and Suso Saiz - had a brilliant solo career before forging ahead as a trio. Earth Island, the group's second CD, explores the concept of this planet as an island in the sea called the galaxy. The composition titles make references to the dawn of man and hide isolation and desolation. The music is deep, inspirational, and distant. Roach, Reyes, and Saiz bring their own spiritualities to the table along with their own sound worlds. When they emerge, they emerge as one. This disc is an amalgamation of three distinct entities that intertwine and interact seamlessly. They do not just bring out the best in each other; they bring the totality of each other. The dark atmospheres are full of ethnic spirituality and cultural richness. There are no holes. This is a great CD from a trio of great artists.

This is pianist Nelson Goerner’s twelfth recording for the Alpha Classics label. He devotes his new album to the solo piano works of Franz Liszt, with the famous Sonata in B minor as the centrepiece; nearly twenty years after his first CD of the sonata, he felt the urge to re-record it, following a series of critically acclaimed concerts. His talents as a storyteller and as a virtuoso with an eye for nuance are heard to marvellous effect in this monumental work, a veritable ‘musical action’ that undoubtedly belongs in the pantheon of the finest literature for piano. The programme is completed by excerpts from Liszt’s major cycles, including the Petrarch Sonnets from the Années de pèlerinage and the Hungarian Rhapsody no.6, along with the spectacular concert étude La leggierezza.

For this CD, Ketevan Sharumashvili chose piano transcriptions partly because she likes the transformative process behind them. Before you can listen to these compositions many transformations have occurred. Composers, influenced by their emotions, transformed their ideas into compositions which they wrote down on paper. The transcribers of these compositions have added another layer of ideas and emotions.

Betty Carter's remarkable early-'70s LPs were initially available only on her own poorly distributed label. This live date captured Carter when her voice was its most pliable, her delivery in full bloom and her range and power at their peak. She could scat with a fury and rhythmic intensity that were almost magical, then turn a slow tune like "The Sun Died" or "Body and Soul" into a showcase by emphasizing key lyrics, subtly changing each stanza, or increasing the pace at an unexpected moment. This deserves full attention, as it represents Betty Carter still evolving and perfecting her matchless technique.