Steven Isserlis Connie Shih   
1851                           
(Hyperion)                      
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CELLIST Steven Isserlis and pianist Connie Shih’s latest album takes 1851 as its focus. The year of the Great Exhibition in London, it explores some of the music written in the period, by a group of musical friends, including Robert Schumann.

First up is his Violin Sonata, transcribed for cello. Schumann’s piece sits exceptionally well on the instrument throughout. The combination of Isserlis’s powerhouse sound and Shih’s responsive partnering on the gracefully responsive Erard 1851 Grand Piano is outstanding.

Another highlight is the Ignaz Moscheles Cello Sonata in E Major, Op 121. The piece dances and sings over 30 minutes of dramatic twists and turns. Thrilling trills form, with Shih grounded by Isserlis’ foundation. 

Elsewhere, works by JS Bach are equally beguiling, the album concluding with a heart rendering interpretation of his Ave Maria Meditation. Recorded at the Elgar Concert Hall at the University of Birmingham, the tone is warm and sympathetic detailed frequency details capturing passionate performances throughout.

Yunchan Lim
JS Bach Goldberg Variations Live at Carnegie Hall 
(Decca)
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CHINESE pianist Yunchan Lim has had a meteoric rise to fame since becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022 aged 18, where he gave an electrifying performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 3. 

The Goldberg Variations is his fourth album for Decca. The work is regarded as a pinnacle in the repertoire. Lim describes it as “a journey of life in music, from the first opening of our eyes in the aria, through 30 deeply human variations, to the final aria, when our eyes gently close.”

Lim’s interpretation shines and glistens. From the opening he demonstrates his yearning passion for the work. A standout track is the BWV 988: Var 25 a 2 Clav Adagio, played with poetic dexterity and the lightest of touches that emotionally engages but is never forced. The recording throughout captures a spirited performance in the unique sonic space of Carnegie Hall.

Marconi Union 
Multiforms: Ambient Transmissions Volume 3
(Just Music)
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MANCHESTER-based electronic ambient duo Marconi Union formed in 2003. Their latest album, the second in 2026 is a 42-minute atmospheric journey presented over six movements. Multiform 1 starts over slow alien drone work. As bleak as a moon landscape, it haunts and shifts ground slowly. Chord pads sit optimistically and pulse quietly around melodic harp, guitar and high vocal samples hints.

Multiform 2 is an eight-minute work built around distant wind projected sound that drives into an emotional soundscape drone drama.

Multiform 3 continues with further sonic wind experimentation prior to sublime mid-range arpeggio synth work and held flute refrains. Full of mystery and intrigue. A hugely successful combination of influences including Kraftwerk, Hans Zimmer and Harold Budd. Synth pads and shifting piano brass tints dominating mid-section then morph into further wind at the close.

Multiform 6 slows the tempo working around seemingly lost fog horn, drama chords and distant emotion. Marconi Union continue to explore deep ambient textures and are second to none.