If the earlier of Schubert's String Quartets D112 & D887 is the work of a prodigiously gifted seventeen-year-old, the latter is one of the peaks of the entire string quartet repertoire. Written in the summer of 1826, the G major quartet stands alongside such Schubertian masterpieces as the string quintet and the 'Great' C major symphony, works of a similarly expansive scale and emotional turbulence. Hyperion's Record of the Month for June offers a particularly searching account of this astonishing music from the Takács Quartet, and constitutes a major addition to a recorded history stretching back nearly a hundred years.

Volume 87 of the Romantic Piano Concerto will earn the warmest of welcomes from the series' many devotees as Simon Callaghan, once again ably supported by Modestas Pitrėnas and the Sinfonieorchester St Gallen, presents Piano Concertos by Carl Reinecke & Emil von Sauer. This release, the latest in a series which continues to raise awareness of works that have fallen foul of posterity's cruel judgement, couples Reinecke's No 3—completing these artists' cycle of the four—with a rare and welcome outing for Sauer's No 2.

The ongoing series dedicated to choice selections of our all-time favourite recordings—ones you might possibly have missed? This time: Strauss transcriptions & other waltzes by Leopold Godowsky from Marc-André Hamelin (‘this latest marvel from Marc-André Hamelin …’—The Daily Telegraph), Missa Ultimi miei sospiri & other sacred music by Philippe de Monte from Cinquecento (‘not only a real treat to the ears but a most valuable and worthwhile exposé of little-known repertoire’—International Record Review), and Bruckner Symphony No 7 from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Donald Runnicles (‘a very impressive achievement’—BBC Music Magazine). If you don’t know them already, a track from each is included on our monthly sampler which is free to download.

For Signum Classics, enterprising cellist Trey Lee has recorded a programme entitled Seasons interrupted centred on Kirmo Lintinen's cello concerto and a new take on Astor Piazzolla's tango-infused 'Four Seasons of Buenos Aires'. Emilia Hoving conducts the English Chamber Orchestra, and these major works are prefaced by four charming arrangements of Schubert songs, again on the theme of the seasons, in which Lee is joined by pianist Georgy Tchaidze.

How are the mighty fallen is a revelatory programme of choral music by Giovanni Bononcini, the Italian who reached the apogee of his pan-European fame as arch-rival to none other than George Frideric Handel in bustling 1720s London. Queen's College Choir Oxford and the Academy of Ancient Music join dazzling soloists and conductor Owen Rees to enjoy four glorious works. Also for Signum, The Elysian Singers have recorded Beauty for ashes, thirteen new choral works in performances of some distinction, and Gwyneth Wentink has lovingly recreated Simeon ten Holt's Canto ostinato, this iconic quasi-minimalist work from 1976 finding welcome new voice on harp(s).