26 of the best piano tracks to test your system

Echoes of Exile Works by Bartók, Ben-Haim, Enescu, Ysaÿe and Zimmermann Sueye Park (violin) BIS BIS-2332 63:06 mins Turbulence from the Second World War impacts most of the composers on this album. Th

Edge of the Storm Works by Bacewicz, Britten and Weinberg Telegraph Quartet Azica Records ACD-71381 74:08 mins The turbulent, destabilising and demoralising impact of the Second World War hovers uneas

I enjoyed reading Francesco Piemontesi’s Concert Heaven, Concert Hell interview (September) about his ‘best’ and ‘worst’ performance... in the semi-final of the Elisabeth Competition in 2007! In fact,

I can’t remember exactly which list it was, but one of our ‘favourite test tracks’ rundowns recently made me all misty-eyed about Tom Waits’ signature ballad Martha. I instantly made the comparison wi

Premières Symphonies Works by Bizet, Gounod and Saint-Saëns Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo/Kazuki Yamada Alpha Classics ALPHA1149 89:27 mins (2CD) The most familiar of these three classically

Visiting Rachmaninov Variations on a theme of Chopin, Op. 22; Romances, Op. 21, Op. 26, Op. 34 (selection) Alexander Melnikov (piano); Julia Lezhneva (soprano) Harmonia Mundi HMM 902751 73:45 mins No