Mozart: "Don Giovanni" (Decca)

Mozart as conducted by Sir Georg Solti is an overblown, luscious, romantic affair; and this brand-new recording, though it features the pick of today's crop of young singers, has a curiously old-fashioned feel, with tempi stretched to breaking point and great washes of orchestral colour breaking over Mozart's subtly shaded score. It's all a bit overpowering - and, with Bryn Terfel's sinister, almost psychotic Don Giovanni giving the impression that he could crush a woman in one hand, King Kong-style, and not give the matter a second thought, frankly not for the faint-hearted. Fans of the Welsh bass-baritone, however, will find much to admire in his effortlessly powerful performance; and he is matched by the pearl-like Renee Fleming as Donna Anna.

By Arminta Wallace

Weber: Konzertstuck; Overtures. Russian National Orchestra/Mikhail Pletnev (piano) (DG)

Rich fantasy and easy brilliance are the hallmarks of Mikhail Pletnev's new disc of Weber - the Konzertstuck for piano and orchestra, Berlioz's orchestration of the Invitation To The Dance and five overtures, including the most famous three (Freischutz, Oberon and Euryanthe). In the overtures, Pletnev makes the most of the imaginative orchestral colours of Weber's burgeoning romanticism but he's careful not to overburden the melodic lines with expressive weight. He finds the right lightness for the cheery kish-boom of the Abu Hassan Overture and seeks out all the dramatic contrasts in the better-known trio. His pianism glitters tellingly in the Konzertstuck, though his approach here is not without the occasional trespass into exaggerated effect, which may trouble listeners of purist inclination.

By Michael Dervan

H.K. Gruber: Frankenstein!!; Violin Concerto No 2; Three Mob Pieces; Three Songs from Gomorra. Ernst Kovacic (violin), London Mob Ensemble/H.K. Gruber, Camerata Academica Salzburg/Franz WelserMost (EMI)

The Viennese composer H.K. Gruber's "pandemonium", Frankenstein!!, a surreal setting for "chansonnier" and ensemble of children's verse, is among the most celebrated fun pieces of the last 20 years. The inspired lunacy of the composer's own chameleon-like delivery highlights the sharpness of a piece that prods and pokes at figures from Frankenstein and Dracula to John Wayne and James Bond. The other works here fill out the picture of a composer who successfully straddles the worlds of serialism and cabaret.

By Michael Dervan