Bach Adagio Bwv 974

Bach in a Circle proposes an encounter between the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Sufi whirling dervishes, weaved around a programme where the pieces are in a dialogue, questioning the mysteries of the human soul and reflecting the movements of the Universe. Bach in a Circle also explores the ‘recycled’ aspect of musical arrangements : at the beginning of the 20th century, great pianists such as Busoni, Kempff and Siloti transcribed the works of Bach for the modern piano, illustrating the fact that his music calls to be revisited and rediscovered.

The inimitable young British pianist James Rhodes returns with his second recital album. Since the release of his first album last year, Razor Blades, Little Pills and Big Pianos, James’ career has moved from strength to strength. Sales of his debut album rocketed him to the top of the UK iTunes classical chart after Stephen Fry championed him on Twitter, and he has since built a strong following of fans in concert halls and online.

Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero scored an artistic success with her previous EMI disc Gabriela Montero: Piano Recital, consisting of two discs, of which the second consisted entirely of improvisations. With Bach and Beyond, Montero dives into her first all-improvisation disc, and while it is not a completely unqualified success artistically, it can be a refreshing swim.

Riga-born Ksenija Sidorova is today one of the most eminent global ambassadors of the classical accordion. She has proudly borne the colours of her instrument in appearances in the world’s leading halls and with the foremost orchestras. Here she pays homage to Piazzolla in her own way: ‘Piazzolla the revolutionary, the ground-breaker, a man thinking ahead of his time . . . Playing this repertoire gave me a sense of artistic freedom and ignited my belief in advocacy of my instrument. For this album, I wanted to celebrate Piazzolla the innovator by pairing some his masterworks with pieces written by other composers for classical accordion, the majority of which I have premiered in recent years.

Brilliant Classics embarked on a daring project in the year 2000, the year of the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's death: this budget label decided to release a complete set of Bach's works. They were not the only label to do so - Teldec and Haenssler both did as well - but the Brilliant Classics set stands out for several reasons. First, they attempted (though did not fully succeed) to create a complete set entirely recorded on period instruments, using historically informed performances.