Classical: New Releases

Various Musica Baltica Musica Antiqua Koln, Goebel (Archiv)

Reinhard Goebel's latest project focuses on the music of the Baltic, in the 17th century still very much a German mare nostrum. This fascinating collection of music by hitherto unknown composers ranges from a very Scandinavian take on the English viol fantasia to the Viennese influence which brings a sunny - and Catholic - light to the work of these northern, Protestant composers. HHHHH

Glazunov Symphonies Nos 4 & 5 Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Polyansky (Chandos)

Glazunov has often been dimissed as a pale imitation of Rimsky- Korsakov. If two works could dispel that harsh criticism, then these two mature works, dating from the 1890s, are the ones. There are all the hallmarks of flashy brilliance and formal technique, but there is an added weight which, in the darker Fifth, shows the new influence of Tchaikovsky. HHHH