The sound is so stunning it’s hard to believe these are live performances.

The two soloists are excellent, and the outstanding Akademie für Alte Musik plays at the high level we have come to expect.

On the strength of this selection, Vivaldi’s tenor arias seem to lack the variety of those for the female voice.

Aimard and Boulez give a strong account of the first, more forceful than the norm, and the pianist’s technique is astonishing.

Volume 1 is a complete cycle of the Beethoven sonatas, which do not traverse the same range of styles or psychological landscapes as the piano sonatas, string quartets, or symphonies.

A superb CD of delightful music that is refreshing to the ear.

Music of this heft really needs majestic phrasing and it certainly receives it here.

Handel’s Opus 6 set of concerti grossi is a textbook of string writing, which students have been studying for centuries.

In these inimitable hands, this is Zauberflöte as you’ve never heard it before.

Any recording that fails to stress the contrasts between these pieces is missing something.

If ever you needed a musical snapshot of Vienna between the wars, this is it.

A sweeping portrayal of the depths Mozart was able to find within this most honed-back of all chamber ensembles.