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MARAIS. Pièces en trio. Quadro Hotteterre (Kees Boeke; Walter van Hauwe, recs; Wouter Möller, ye; Bob van Asperen, hpd). Teldec Das Ails Werk 0 (D 9031-77617-2 (two discs: 134 minutes: ADD). Recorded 1975 and 1977. New to UK.

There are more than 30 extant versions of the Rodrigo and, whilst some may cheerfully be passed over, it has long been both difficult and pointless to nominate any of the remaining ones as 'the best'; this is Bream's fourth recording of it—and the third to survive in the catalogue. It is also...

'Op. 1' and 'Op. posth.' says a lot about Balakirev's two piano concertos. The First is a single movement only, composed at the age of 18 and massively indebted to the Chopin concertos. The Second was begun not long after, in 1861, but abandoned after the first movement; Balakirev apparently...

BARTOK. ORCHESTRAL WORKS. 'Gerhard Hetzel (vn); Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra I Adam Fischer. Nimbus ® (I) N15362/3 (two discs: 97 minutes: DDD).

Unvarnished Bartok from source. Kossuth is probably the real selling-point here; it also happens to be the roughest and readiest of these performances, which is a pity. This, of course, was young BartOk's first major orchestral outing—and how. Strauss's Zarathustra had fired him, a piano...