Robert Schumann's late music has undergone a revival, with its main traits of monothematicism, dense, close motivic work, and a certain spiky unpredictability having been redefined from faults into virtues. A good way, perhaps, to think about works like these three violin sonatas is that the young Brahms, visiting the Schumann household and mooning over the unavailable Clara, might easily have heard them and been directly influenced by them. Indeed, these pieces have the kind of long-range connections you find in Brahms, combined with a somewhat gnarly level of local detail, without the memorable tunes of Schumann's earlier works.

Mieczyslaw Weinberg's oeuvre is slowly starting to make its way into the international market. This 2009 Alto disc, a repackaged remastering of a 1998 Olympia disc, pairs the Polish-Russian composer's First and Fourth chamber symphonies. The First is a four-movement work for string orchestra from 1986 and the Fourth is a work with four-movements-in-one for string orchestra and clarinet from 1992. Both receive wholly dedicated works from the Umeå Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Thord Svedlund.

Richter's austere and transcendent rendition of Beethoven Sonatas has no comparison. Reiner Maria Rilke wrote apt analogy of Beethoven's towering achievement in Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge (The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge) and the exactly same can be said about Richter's incomparable performances. Highly recommendable, alongside Richter's legendary Leipzig Recital Richter in Leipzig (1963).

Let me begin by saying that this only my third disc of the music of Czech composer Leos Janacek. (The other two being "Piano Works" with Rudolf Firkusny on DG Originals, and "Intimate Letters" with the Juilliard String Quartet.) From the onset I have been impressed by Janacek's compositional style – he seamlessly melds the passion of the great Romantic composers with the musical exploration and freedom of the early 20th Century composers, and in the process develops quite a unique voice.

It’s a measure of the paucity of recordings of the Cortot-Thibaud-Casals trio – itself a direct result of their deliberately limited repertoire – that this latest release in Naxos’s series has only one performance by the Trio itself. This all-Beethoven affair presents the Archduke Trio, supported by Thibaud and Cortot’s Kreutzer and the only recording ever made by Casals and Cortot as a duo, the Mozart Variations.

Musical pioneer Moby releases his new album Reprise, on Deutsche Grammophon. Reprise sees Moby revisiting and reimagining musical highlights from his 30-year career. Together with the Budapest Art Orchestra, he has re-envisioned some of his most recognizable rave classics and anthems with new arrangements for orchestra and acoustic instruments. He’s also joined by a stellar line-up of guest artists from across the musical spectrum, including Alice Skye, Amythyst Kiah, Apollo Jane, Darlingside, Gregory Porter, Jim James, Kris Kristofferson, Luna Li, Mark Lanegan, Mindy Jones, Nataly Dawn, Skylar Grey and Vikingur Ólafsson.

The Bee Gees' third album is something of a departure, with more of a rocking sound and with the orchestra (apart from a few well-placed harp arpeggios) somewhat less prominent in the sound mix than on their first two LPs. The two hits, "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" and "I Started a Joke," are very much of a piece with their earlier work, but on "Kitty Can," "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry," and "Such a Shame" (the latter written by the group's then lead guitarist, Vince Melouney), among other cuts, they sound much more like a working band with a cohesive group sound, rather than a harmony vocal group with accompaniment.

Following in the wake of Mostly Autumn, Karnataka aim to synthesise traditional Celtic music with melodic Progressive rock. Formed in the mid 90's, the original line-up of the Swansea based band included Rachel Jones (vocals), Ian Jones (bass), Jonathan Edwards (keyboards), Paul Davis (guitars) and Gavin Griffiths (drums), with Steve Simmons guesting on Saxophone. Their eponymous debut demonstrated the bands capability in creating romantic, melodic, Camelesque and Floydian soundscapes, laced throughout with strong folk and Celtic influences (enhanced through the use of flute). These often atmospheric ambiences provide a backdrop for the beautiful, haunting voice of Rachel Jones; again reminiscent of Mostly Autumn's Heather Findlay, both in terms of her range, and in the harmonies she is able to create…

A magical violinist, Lina Tur Bonet pays tribute to the music of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohnn. Lina Tur Bonet, concertmaster of Jordi Savall’s Concert des Nations, proves her curiosity for rare scores… This new recording, devoted to the parallel paths of the Mendelssohn siblings, will not belie her reputation! On the one hand, Felix Mendelssohn, celebrated prodigy who, at the age of thirteen, composed the Violin Concerto in D minor. Lina Tur Bonet has rediscovered the first, unpublished version of this work.

Little Brother Montgomery was one of the finest of the first generation of blues pianists who came out of the barrelhouse and back rooms of the rural South in the early 1900s. This fine collection is mostly unissued cuts recorded from the late 60s to the early 80s. Excellent for collectors, and great old piano stylings as well.

Blue Note Re:imagined returns in 2022 with a new 16-track compilation featuring fresh takes on music from the illustrious Blue Note vaults recorded by a heavyweight line-up of the UK jazz, soul and R&B scene’s most hotly-tipped rising stars. Arriving off the back of the widespread international success of the first volume, which topped jazz charts around the globe in 2020, Blue Note Re:imagined II once again infuses the spirit of the new UK jazz generation into the legendary label’s iconic catalog, balancing the genre’s tradition with its future and reflecting the melting pot of talent and diversity within the current scene. The second volume presents covers of classic Blue Note tracks by Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, Bobbi Humphrey, Marlena Shaw, Chico Hamilton, Chick Corea, Joe Lovano, Cassandra Wilson, and Norah Jones by a rollcall of acclaimed talent including Yazz Ahmed, Conor Albert, Parthenope, Swindle, Nubiyan Twist, Ego Ella May, Oscar Jerome, Daniel Casimir, Theon Cross, Maya Delilah, Kay Young, Venna & Marco, Reuben James, Binker Golding, Cherise, and Franc Moody.

Blue Note Re:imagined presents classic Blue Note tracks, reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents today. Representing a bridge between the ground-breaking label’s past and future, the project will feature contributions from a rollcall of internationally acclaimed jazz, soul and R&B acts – Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Mr Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, and Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith.