After their success with Saint-Saëns, Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony turn to perhaps the epitome of French symphonic Romanticism in Berlioz Symphonie fantastique & other works. The team's qualities of 'rhythmic vitality and verve' praised by Gramophone are very much in evidence here, and the participation of the Utah Symphony Chorus and University of Utah Chamber Choir in two wonderful (if rarely performed) Berlioz miniatures adds to the desirability of March's Record of the Month. It's difficult to believe that Feinberg Piano Sonatas Nos 1-6 have ever enjoyed anything like the natural authority and understanding which Marc-André Hamelin brings to them, and this release—one of the most eagerly awaited piano albums of the year—will be a revelation to all for whom this enigmatic Russian composer is little more than a name.

Aeternum & other choral works by Jēkabs Jančevskis is evidence of the thriving choral scene in present-day Latvia. This is haunting, memorable music and Jurģis Cābulis and the Riga Cathedral Choir School Mixed Choir are completely at home in their native repertoire, whether singing, humming, whistling or whispering. And a masterly demonstration of the technical capabilities (and extraordinary expressive range) of The Early Horn is provided by Ursula Paludan Monberg, accompanied by the various instrumental groupings of Arcangelo led by Jonathan Cohen. If the programme's undisputed masterpiece is Mozart's Horn Quintet, the expansive byways explored en route bring abundant delights of their own.

New from The Hallé Orchestra's own label this month we have the long-awaited completion of a magisterial cycle: Sir Mark Elder conducts Symphonies Nos 4 & 6 by Sibelius, two of his most personal and characteristic works, and both regarded as indispensable to an understanding of the composer.

Alessio Bax makes a return to the studio for Signum Classics with Italian inspirations, an imaginative confection of works by Bach, Rachmaninov and Liszt, as well as a more unexpected foray into the music of Luigi Dallapiccola, while David Goode has recorded a thirteenth volume in his highly regarded Complete Bach Organ Works series.

From LSO Live we have the second album in Sir John Eliot Gardiner's latest series with the London Symphony Orchestra: Schumann Symphonies Nos 1 & 3, travelling from glorious fanfare to dream-like wistfulness with the lively 'Spring' and 'Rhenish' symphonies. Also included is the heartfelt and elegant 'Manfred' overture.

Dvořák String Quartets Nos 8 & 10 have been recorded for Signum by the Albion Quartet, this dynamic new quartet's second foray into this composer's repertory, and an opportunity to savour anew two of the works that saw Dvořák propelled into the premier league of most-sought-after musicians.

The Ash Wednesday service at St John's College Cambridge in 2019 was broadcast live by the BBC. This Signum recording of the event, captured by the college's own permanent microphone set-up, presents this most solemn of Evensongs in full, with music by Byrd, Weelkes and Bach, as well as Allegri's famous Miserere. Andrew Nethsingha conducts.

The National Symphony Orchestra (Washington DC) this month inaugurates a new label of its own with a programme of Copland's Billy the Kid & Dvořák Symphony No 9; Gianandrea Noseda conducts a performance 'From the New World' thrillingly alive to the thrusting cultural diversities which so inspired its composer over a century ago.

Marimba Quartets by Eric Whitacre? The composer's choral music is performed and adored the world over, not least for its lush tonal harmonies, and here—at the composer's instigation—Joby Burgess and colleagues transport this unique soundworld into the softly hypnotic realm of marimba and vibraphone.