EMI France has issued Otto Klemperer's EMI Mahler recordings with the Philharmonia and New Philharmonia, made between 1961 and 1968. Klemperer's implacable but visionary 'Resurrection' Symphony with Schwarzkopf and Rössl-Majdan as the soloists is still one of its outstanding recordings and the sound holds up very well. The first movement of the Fourth is spacious but never sluggish, the slow movement flows quite freely and in the finale Klemperer captures the mood beautifully, even if Schwarzkopf sounds too knowing for the soprano solo. The Seventh Symphony is the oddest of Klemperer's Mahler records, with vastly spacious speeds for the outer movements, but in its idiosyncratic way this is an imposing alternative view, especially the finale, blazing with rough-hewn splendour. Filled with cathartic nobility, Klemperer's Ninth is one of his supreme late achievements. So, too, is Das Lied von der Erde, with Ludwig and Fritz Wunderlich as surpassingly eloquent soloists: Ludwig's 'Abschied' is unforgettable. Lastly, there are five orchestral songs, all with Ludwig. The new (2011) mastering sounds as full and open as any I've heard of these records. EMI France deserves credit for including German texts, though the only translations are in French. These historically important and life-affirming performances come in an attractive budget box and represent an amazing bargain (EM I Classics 0 83365-2, six discs, 6 hours 48 minutes).

By the time Klemperer first worked with tile Berlin RIAS SO in 1950, the orchestra was steeped in Mozart thanks to Ferenc Fricsay. Klemperer recorded Symphonies Nos. 25, 29 and 38, the Overture to Don Giovanni and the Serenata notturna and the similarities with Fricsay 's transparent, rhythmical Mozart are clear from the direct, vital performances here. Klemperer next worked with the RIAS in February 1954: a glowing recording of Hindemith's Nobilissima visione and live versions of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto with Hans-Erich Riebensahm and the 'Pastoral' Symphony. Another Beethoven concert followed in 1958: the Egmont Overture, Second Symphony and the 'Eroica' – rigorous, energized and illuminating. The same can be said of Mahler's Fourth Symphony, live in 1956 with Elfride Trötschel as the beguiling soprano soloist. This scrupulously presented set uses original tapes and the sound is admirable (Audite 21.408, five discs, 5 hours 28 minutes).

Thanks to Norwegian Radio and its Philips-Miller tape machine, two concerts given by Václav Talich and the Czech Philharmonic at the Prague Festival in June 1939 were recorded. Three months earlier, Hitler had visited Prague Castle to proclaim Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate, so Smetana's Má vlast has a heart-rending relevance for the musicians and audience. The performance is one of such searing passion and intensity that it brought me close to tears on several occasions. Keeping the superlatives under control is difficult: I know of no other account of this work that is delivered with such unflinching power. The circumstances were unique, something underlined with heart-stopping poignancy at the end when the whole audience begins to sing the Czechoslovak national anthem. A week later Talich and the Czech PO played the second series (Op. 72) of Dvořák's Slavonic Dances with an incomparable feeling for the style and pathos of the music. With original spoken introductions for each broadcast, this is an unforgettable document. Sound has been restored with great skill and the annotations are fascinating. Supraphon is to be congratulated on a historic release of the highest artistic value (Supraphon SU4065-2, two discs, 2 hours 10 minutes).

This release by Audite is the second volume to feature Bach's organ music played by Martin Neu (the first was reviewed by Marc Rochester in April 2010). In the first, Neu combines works composed by the great composer with those by two North German organist-composers, Dietrich Buxtehude and Georg Böhm. Here, the Toccata and Fugue in F major, the Magnificat Fugue and the trio sonata for organ in C major feature alongside pieces by four composers of the South German tradition, Georg Muffat, Johann Pachelbel, Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Caspar Kerll.

Neu uses two different organs: the choir organ by Blasius Bernauer at Laufenburg in Switzerland and a modern instrument, conceived in Baroque style by Metzler in 2005 at Stuttgart-Obertürkheim. Brief information is given about both instruments in the accompanying booklet and for further information, including details of the registrations used on this recording, we are helpfully directed to the company's website. Perplexingly there is no indication in the booklet about which organ was used for which pieces or the reasons why. However, it is fairly easy to discern when listening to the disc; both pitch and temperament vary (the earlier pieces by Froberger and Kerll are both played at Laufenburg and the remaining works on the Metzler at Obertürkheim). Tenor Wilfried Rombach makes an appearance on the recording, taking the traditional role of the cantor as he very capably sings alternate versicles of Pachelbel 's Magnificat versets.

Evidently, Neu views these recordings as informative documents; he writes in the accompanying programme notes that it is possible 'to clarify trends and offer an insight into existing interrelations [between Bach's music and that of the South German tradition]'. A glance at the track list reveals that the pieces are evidently chosen for the potential of direct comparison; there are three toccatas, one each by Kerll, Muffat and Bach himself. Additionally there are pieces based on the Magnificat by Pachelbel and Bach. Bach's setting is deliberately placed after Pachelbel's series of versets; we are told that it 'thus takes the position of the "Gloria Patri" which, according to Sigismund Theophil Staden, should stand 'mighty within the work'. However, it is clear that the interrelationships between the various pieces played on the disc are far more various and further-reaching than similarity of genre or melodic theme. Neu explores the similarities in compositional approach in his lucidly written notes, immaculately translated into English by Viola Scheffel. This is a programme that has clearly been well planned and researched.

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in F have been split and placed at either end of the disc; as Neu explains, they were probably written independently of each other and so there is justification for this approach. His performance of the Toccata glitters, featuring nimbly executed ornamentation in every register. One wonders whether the use of the pedal reed through the lengthy pedal points is perhaps a little overwhelming in terms of balance. However, this shouldn't overshadow an otherwise very musical performance which demonstrates much poise, especially in some of the more agile pedal passages. The Fugue, a majestic double fugue, is played with a great sense of expansiveness without becoming ponderous, allowing the various polyphonic strands to be easily discerned by the listener.

Neu's renditions of the first and final movements of the trio sonata in C are lively, which befits the music. The tempos chosen work well; they are sprightly without being too fast for the generous acoustic of the building. The central movement is played steadily and with great musical integrity especially with regards to Neu's sensitivity of phrasing. In contrast, he chooses an upbeat tempo for the Magnificat Fugue, enabling the music to gather momentum leading towards the fabulous sounding of the subject in the pedal part at the work's conclusion.

Of the other works played here, the two performed on the historical organ at Laufenberg stand out. Kerll's Toccata is executed with a fine sense of clarity without sounding over-fussy and there is a good sense of forward movement in the passagework. Froberger's Capriccio is played with a suitable lightness of approach to articulation and using sprightly tempos, ensuring that the dance character of the music comes across to the listener. Undoubtedly both works benefit from performance on the Laufenberg instrument, with Neu exploiting the delicate and varied resources available to him. The change from one instrument to another and back again mid-disc feels slightly unusual when one listens to the recording as a continuous programme, though this should not be counted as a particular drawback. This is a fascinating, well-executed release that is recommended to anyone with an interest in music of this period.

Ingolfsson inhabits the balletic world of Stravinsky with as much commitment as the hermetic space of Shostakovich. There are some strange recording perspectives.

Stravinsky's Divertimento is an arrangement of the music from his ballet The...

Recordings of performances with a dark historical backdrop are fairly plentiful – think of Václav Talich conducting Má vlast in Nazi-occupied Prague, Rostropovich braving Dvořák on the day the Soviets entered Prague, the maverick pianist Maria Yudina playing Mozart for Stalin, harpsichordist Wanda Landowska performing Scarlatti in Paris with anti-aircraft fire exploding in the distance, Gieseking playing the Emperor to the unsettling accompaniment of falling bombs, and so on. Now, to add to this disquieting but uplifting catalogue, Sir John Barbirolli conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in Brahms's Second Symphony, the location the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, the date June 1962, the whole affair facilitated by the City of Berlin and the Federal Republic as a gift of reparation in memory of the original cathedral, which the Luftwaffe had razed to the ground in the early 1940s. Testament has released a transfer of the Brahms and although the recording is in mono and the cathedral acoustic more ample than is useful for specific instrumental detail, careful microphone placement means that the overall balance is actually rather good. As to the performance, the immediate impression is of a vast dynamic range and a superb instrument playing to the ample spaces available to it, the horns in particular quite overwhelming in their impact. Barbirolli's interpretation is broad and loving, with predominantly dark textures (so much for this being the 'happiest' of Brahms's symphonies!) and, for the finale's blazing last page, a massive slam on the brakes. You can hear an audience presence but, rather than end with applause, the performance closes to respectful silence.

Coincidentally the Barbirolli Society has released another live Brahms Second, recorded at Boston's Symphony Hall with the city's Symphony Orchestra, part of a concert given three years before the one from Coventry. It's likely that the faster overall pace in Boston is due at least in part to the drier acoustic and the reduced need to avoid converging lines. Still, the effect is quite different, more silken and energised, though the underlying warmth remains. The rest of the programme is fascinating; in fact, we're offered two versions of it: one from January 30, 1959, the other from January 31 (with radio announcements and in marginally inferior sound). Barbirolli's own Elizabethan Suite features superb strings and horns in 'The King's Hunt', there's Delius's The Walk to the Paradise Garden (rather more restrained than expected), and a colourful reading of Wait on's Partita. All the recordings are in stereo.

Another comparison arrives, again involving Testament, which has released a Berlin Philharmonic Concert given at the Salzburg Festival in August 1960 under the direction of Joseph Keilberth. The main item is Bruckner's Ninth Symphony and anyone who recalls Keilberth's 1956 Telefunken recording with the Hamburg State Philharmonic will already know that he had the full measure of the work (that same recording was reissued on CD bizarrely coupled with part of Bruckner's Te Deum!). Prior knowledge of that recording will not, however, prepare you for the impact of this live performance which, in a word, is stunning, the Berlin brass presenting a welter of tone, powerfully projected, the Adagio's crowning peroration as devastating as any on disc – and I do mean any! If perchance you need convincing that Keilberth could come up with the goods in symphonic music, then look no further. The couplings are a buoyant account of Schubert's Rosamunde Overture and Alban Berg's Violin Concerto with Christian Ferras as the soloist, an occasionally rough-edged performance full of intense expression but which doesn't quite gel as an entity. Turn then to a broadcast performance put out by Audite from four years later, when a more mature Ferras was partnered by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Massimo Freccia (a Franz Schalk pupil), and the overall impression is of a performance that's more confident, more skilfully shaped from the rostrum (the work's rhythmic aspects come across with greater clarity), and interpretatively better integrated. As to Audite's coupling, Ferras's 1951 Berlin Philharmonic recording of the Beethoven Concerto under Karl Böhm is the work of a precociously gifted teenager; yet, rather than opt for outward virtuosity, Ferras really plumbs the depths, his playing invariably quiet and softgrained, with some daringly broad tempi yet with real bite in the finale. Böhm's conducting is a model of discreet accompanying, with a firm pulse, neatly pointed phrases in the outer movements and a warmly sustained Larghetto. But there's a significant problem in that the surviving tape, although perfectly adequate sound-wise, lacks the opening measure of the Larghetto. The solution would have been easy: just record the surviving second measure and repeat it (they're musically identical) but, no, Audite decided that this would have invalidated the recording's authenticity. Personally, I would have copied the motif, but there you are ... you can't complain that the people at Audite lack musical integrity.

This is a lovely recording (made in 1993), played with delicacy and rigour. The three-manual instrument at St Martin's Riegel, tuned to Werckmeister III, is excellent for this programme of song variations and music with the stylus phantasticus elements of the German Baroque. Particularly noticeable are the high quality flutes. The theatricality and colourful gestures of the stylus phantasticus are kept under control – nothing too flamboyant here – and what is remarkable about the playing is the transparent clarity. Not a note is uncared for, and each line is a delight to hear, even in the midst of rich contrapuntal textures. A gently paced account of Sweelinck's Mein junges Leben hat ein End keeps something of the tender melancholy of this song, which can be lost in brisker versions, while Bach's Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue is vibrant: there is real spring and drive in the second half of the Toccata. The Fugue is more monumental than some versions, though clarity is finely retained in a piece that is not the tidiest of Bach's contrapuntal writing. I have rarely heard echoes in the pedal solo before, but the pedal mixture goes on and off to some effect here. Other music includes a sensitive account of Bach's partita on O Gott, du frommer Gott, Georg Böhm's variations on Jesu, du bist allzu schöne, and Sweelinck's variations on the student song More Palatino. The instrument includes a Vogelgesang stop – birdsong – from which we have a delightful 17 seconds as the mood-setter at the beginning. A disc well worth hearing.

This CD juxtaposes north German stylus phantasticus pieces with variations, on a fine modern 3-manuaI 35-stop organ tuned in Werckmeister III temperament. The Praeludia/toccatas by Bruhns (G major), Buxtehude (BuxWV 155), attrib. Böhm (G minor) and J.S. Bach (BWV 564) are given lively, imaginative performances, with the unequal temperament bringing the diatonic keys and their harmonies vividly alive. The intimate colours of the organ are well demonstrated in Sweelinck (Mein junges Leben and More Palatino), Böhm (Jesu, du bist allzu schöne) and Bach (O Gott, du frommer Gott), although Mein junges Leben lacked creativity and charm.

It is easy to overlook the many original features in Grieg's music, especially in his most famous works. The Piano Concerto, for example, which everyone knows, was the first in musical history to end slowly and, prior to his Peer Gynt music of 1874-75, did any composer conclude an orchestral movement with a passage for unpitched percussion , as Grieg did?

Because of the familiarity of his music, exemplified above every other factor by its melodic appeal, such innovations as these – and there are others – simply go by the board. Yet the truly intelligent conductor, perceiving these remarkable departures from the norm (and perhaps spurred by the admiration for Grieg's music evinced by the likes of Debussy – his String Quartet is based almost entirely on Grieg 's in the same key, despite his later derogatory comments – and by Bartók, Busoni and Stravinsky, whose first job for Diaghilev was to orchestrate several of Grieg's piano pieces: these have never been recorded) will pay greater attention to details in the scores than most of his confederates. The results can often appear surprising: but such details are in the music, silently awaiting rediscovery.

The Norwegian Eivind Aadland falls into the investigative category of conductors, for this new CD, boldly headed 'Complete Symphonic Works, Vol. 1', should really be heard not only by all admirers of this composer but also by his detractors, who may thereafter find their views in need of revision. Here we have the two Peer Gynt Suites and the Symphonic Dances. Exceptional among conductors of this music, Aadland is a stick er for the correct observance of repeats, with the result that the four-movement Symphonic Dances comes across virtually as the composer's second symphony (the much earlier C minor Symphony was mistakenly withdrawn by Grieg after several performances). As such, Grieg's Op. 64 displays a rise in tonality from G to A across its four movements – by no means unusual either in music of the time (1898) or in his own earlier works (the First Peer Gynt Suite follows the identical tonal progression).

Indeed, in terms of choice of tempos and of internal orchestral balance, Aadland places this music on altogether a higher artistic plane than it usually occupies, and obtains really fine playing from the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra of Cologne. This is notable music-making, and if one has a comment, rather than a criticism as such, it is that on occasion Aadland tends to anticipate changes of tempo a shade too soon, but such is the overall excellence of this performance that that is the only query one can raise: otherwise, this is a very fine performance indeed.

Much the same can be said of the two Peer Gynt Suites; I particularly admire Aadland's observance of the attacca joining the final movements of the Second Suite. I cannot recall hearing this feature so correctly conveyed as it is here. Elsewhere, this music is played with considerable love and consideration of detail, but it is the account of the Symphonic Dances which deserves special attention.

Although this is the first volume in the series, it will not be the first integral recording of Grieg's orchestral music, for the composer's own Bergen Philharmonic has issued such a collection on BIS – the first by a Norwegian Orchestra – which is very fine indeed, under Ole Christian Ruud, and which has justly won several international awards, including that of the Grieg Society's Record of the Year more than once. The couplings are different, but this music is so good, so original, so well loved and ultimately so immortal, as to warrant new recordings by dedicated musicians, such as this outstanding new Audite CD exemplifies.

An exceptionally good programme essay for this disc by Wolfgang Rathert points to the problems that lurk in wait for the performers in Schumann's first two piano trios, lying as the music does between 'expectations of virtuosity and brilliance and his own compositional ambitions of reflection and constructive concentration'. High among the qualities of these excellent performances is the ability to make the most of the brilliance of the writing without losing a grip on the lyrical, and indeed the highly personal, inward nature of the music. Melodically, both works are difficult, and the players (helped by a very lucid recording) keep a clear hold on not only the unusual nature of the melodic material but on how it is conveyed between the instruments and how it is so skilfully developed. The great striding theme opening the First Trio seems initially straightforward, owing much to Mendelssohn and in particular the D minor Trio which Schumann so much admired: 'the master Trio of the day', he wrote, as in their day had been the Trios of Beethoven and Schubert. It turns out to have many pitfalls in this long, complicated movement, and it is to the players' greatest credit that they never lose their grasp on the directions it takes. They keep the textures light in the Scherzo; and without overemphasis, even with understatement, the beautiful return to the opening music at the end of the slow movement is the more effective.

The Second Trio is in some ways even more elliptical, and if Mendelssohn is again largely the inspiration in the first movement, here the material is much more personal. Rathert points out the importance of the song allusions which Schumann incorporates: the subtle manner in which out of a previous theme there emerges 'mention' of the song 'Intermezzo' in the Eichendorff Liederkreis praising the portrait of the beloved ('Dein Bildnis') and its answer at the end of the third movement from Frauenliebe und -Ieben, as the gesture of love is returned from the woman to the man. In this subtly allusive music, one cannot be sure whether or not there is perhaps a further Eichendorff 'Dein Bildnis' reference in the slow movement, at any rate a melodic line drawn from it. It is fascinating music, played here with great perception, and with the suitably outward virtuosity indeed concealing much inward thoughtfulness.

Despite the avalanche of Hans Knappertbusch reissues that has occurred during the last 15 or so years, collectors of that most individual conductor's work will want to acquire this magnificent new set of radio recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, for three principal reasons.

Firstly the majority of the recordings were made between 28 January and 1 February 1950, with the Bruckner Eighth from a year later, and the Beethoven Eighth and Strauss 1,001 Nights Intermezzo from the year after that. The 1950 recordings most interestingly include both studio and public performance accounts of Schubert's Eighth and Bruckner's Ninth Symphonies, thus enabling the listener to compare directly two performances in the hands of an at times controversial conductor. There is Iittle difference to be detected, apart from a slightly greater sense of urgency in the public performances. But in general Knappertsbusch in the studio is as effective as in the concert hall, judging by these particular sound documents.

A second reason for acquiring this set is its range of programming. The typical heavyweight works for which Knappertsbusch was famous as an interpreter are on this occasion admirably balanced by two CDs of lighter fare. Admittedly Karel Komzak's irresisitible Bad'ner Mad'ln sounds more like a Liszt tone poem than a piece of spa music, but in a way that's part of the attraction. That Knappertsbusch could be just as swift as the next conductor is well evidenced by his mercurial account of the Die Fledermaus Overture, so it's the sheer variety of musical voice and inflection of tone that fascinate here.

The third reason for acquiring this set is the very fine engineering. Although several of the recordings have seen the light of day on both LP and CD, there can be no question that in these newest incarnations – which make use of the original radio broadcast recording tapes – they sound better than ever. The quality never drops below solidly respectable early 1950s mono, and throughout there is a reasonable amount of acoustic space around the orchestra, though even a bit more would have been desirable for the Bruckner Eighth. Add to these favourable factors Audite's excellent presentation, complete with a very informative and extensive note by Habakuk Traber, and the set becomes self-selecting. No matter how many Knappertsbusch recordings you may have already, I recommend this new set most warmly.