For the third installment in Adam Fischer's Mahler cycle on CAvi-music, he leads the Düsseldorf Symphony in a straightforward and polished presentation of the Symphony No. 1 in D major, assembled from several concert recordings in February 2017. This 2018 release offers a nearly flawless version of one of Mahler's most popular symphonies, and Fischer prudently avoids any anachronistic associations with the symphony's earlier form as a symphonic poem.

Concluding their series of the orchestral music of Johannes Brahms on Profil, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln present the Symphony No. 4 in E minor, the Academic Festival Overture, and the Tragic Overture on this third volume, thus rounding out a standard set of the seven works that are usually packaged together.

Scott Ross was an American harpsichordist who was both popular and renowned for his brilliant technique and insightful interpretations. He recorded the complete works of Scarlatti, Rameau, and Couperin, three composers, along with J.S. Bach, whose music he became identified with over his brief career. Ross was also a highly respected harpsichord teacher in Canada and France.

Nemanja Radulovic takes on Tchaikovsky for his second Deutsche Grammophon release, promising a personal approach to one of the warhorses of the repertory, the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. The album's most unusual feature is the full-scale reworking of the Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, recast here for viola, string ensemble, and piano by Radulovic collaborator Yvan Cassar and played by the violinist's (or here, violist's) own Double Sens ensemble.

This is the second half of a traversal of Haydn's Op. 20 quartets by the Chiaroscuro Quartet, and if you're after just one you can take your pick: both albums feature playing of a very high standard. But really the nature of the set demands hearing both: from the fugal finale of the String Quartet in F minor, Op. 20, No. 5, to the florid slow movements, to the multifarious sonata-allegros, the quartets of Op. 20 are experimental and even radical.

The delectable masque Acis and Galatea , which Handel wrote in 1718 while composer-in-residence to the Earl of Carnarvon (usually referred to in Handel literature by his later title, Duke of Chandos), has a substantial recorded history. In addition to this recording, there are 11 others listed at ArkivMusic, most of which have something to offer, and several have their champions among Fanfare ’s critics.

The words sumptuous and ambitious both apply to this release by soprano Montserrat Figueras, accompanied by musicians from the orbit of early music miracle-maker Jordi Savall. Consider the hardbound, 170-page booklet, with no fewer than 44 reproductions of medieval Iberian artwork and music manuscript, many in full color. It's true that the 170 pages allow for the rendering of Figueras's notes into six languages: Catalan, English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. Song texts, which are in various languages including Arabic, Hebrew, and Basque along with various Iberian forms of the Middle Ages, are also translated into these six languages.

Werner Pirchner (1940-2001) is not a name likely to be well known outside of his native Austria. A multi-instrumentalist with strong jazz roots, Pirchner devoted much energy in the latter part of his life to strict composition, leaving behind an oeuvre of 130 works. This double album, one of the earliest in ECM’s New Series, is a delightful potpourri and a charming record of a unique musical career.

Brooklyn Rider is a string quartet based in Brooklyn led by violinist Johnny Gandelsman and including violinist Colin and cellist Eric Jacobsen who are among the founder-brothers of the orchestra known as the Knights; the group is filled out by violist Nicholas Cords. Passport is Brooklyn Rider's debut album and also the first issue on Gandelsman's label In a Circle Records, named after a concert series Gandelsman curated beginning in 2003.

Nicola Porpora (16861768) was one of the most important and successful composers of the Neapolitan School in Italy. His fame was widespread as he worked in the European capitals London, Dresden and Vienna, where his works were successfully staged. Porpora was also a singer and teacher, which explains the strong vocal quality of his instrumental works. The 6 Cello Sonatas recorded on this CD try to emulate the vox humana, expressing the human emotions through instrumental virtuosity and phrasing.

George Frideric Handel’s Admeto is considered one of the most successful operas produced in the first half of the 18th century. Along with Radamisto, Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano, Rodelinda and Alessandro, which were also written in this period, Admeto belongs to Handel’s so-called 'London operas' – works he composed for the Royal Academy of Music. Though born in Halle, Germany, Handel spent most of his adult life in London and became a British subject in 1727.

For at least his fourth recording in six years heading a pianoless trio, the great tenor Joe Henderson (along with bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Al Foster) is heard on his own "Inner Urge," an original blues, two lengthy versions of "Body and Soul" and three other jazz standards. This Italian import is particularly recommended to listeners not that familiar with Henderson's playing, for he brings new life to these often overplayed compositions.

As one of the foremost interpreters of the piano music of Frédéric Chopin, Nelson Freire has a rather small number of all-digital recordings of this oeuvre on CD, most of them recorded for Decca since 2005. This double-disc package of the nocturnes is an excellent example of Freire's artistry, and the expressive lyricism and refined execution that are hallmarks of his playing are fully evident. The 20 nocturnes are among Chopin's most personal and intimate pieces, and Freire treats them all with tender feeling and a melodic sensibility that emphasize the vocal quality of the ornate melodies.

Okay, here's the problem: in 1975, Elektra released The Best of Carly Simon, which compiled her hits from 1971-1975. Simon then scored a couple more big hits for Elektra ("Nobody Does It Better," "You Belong to Me") before leaving the label in 1979, but not enough to justify another compilation. She had another hit on Warners ("Jesse"), where she spent the early '80s, crapped out on Epic, for whom she made one album in 1985, and revived her career on Arista starting with the Top 40 hit "Coming Around Again" in 1986.

Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman has been something of an anti-Gould, avoiding recordings in favor of live performances. This recording of Schubert's last two piano sonatas was done with a custom keyboard with which, Zimerman says, "the hammer strikes a different point of the string, enhancing its ability to sustain a singing sound – though it does also set up different overtones and the piano might sound strangely tuned."