The best of the best

If there is a place in heaven reserved for pianists who have been very, very good, then I am sure it must look a lot like Finchcocks. That’s the name of an awe-inspiring early 18th-century mansion. So

Edward Brooke-Hitching Simon & Schuster 978-1-398-53240-3 256pp (hb) £30 This is a fascinating compendium of classical curiosities, thoroughly researched and charmingly written by Edward Brooke-Hitchi

Works by Saariaho and Shostakovich Dudok Quartet Amsterdam Rubicon RCD1218 59:41 mins Carrying a dedication to ‘those who have departed’, Kaija Saariaho’s Terra Memoria for string quartet, composed in

Works by Bach arr. for clarinet Martin Fröst (clarinet); Jonas Nordberg (lute) et al Sony Classical 19802814742 41:45 mins The album B.A.C.H. from Swedish clarinettist and conductor Martin Fröst conti

Sun Triptych Maxim Rysanov, Dasol Kim, Roman Mints et al; BBC Concert Orchestra/ Dobrinka Tabakova ECM 4878558 64:61 mins This is the second ECM disc to feature the extremely accessible music of Bulga

Cello Concerto; Symphony No.1; Scapino Jonathan Aasgaard (cello); Sinfonia of London/ John Wilson Chandos CHSA5328 76:38 mins A fervent romantic liaison with Baroness Doernberg inspired Walton’s First