Prague Cemetery, which has already sold a million copies in Europe and South America, is the latest but really strange novel from Umberto Eco, translated from the Italian.
> Christmas Spectacular John Wells, Nicholas Forbes (organists), APO Brass and Percussion, Musica Sacra choir. Atoll CD. Ubiquitous jingles and jangles of Christmas are sounding in the...
> Beethoven: Complete String Quartets. Artemis Quartet. Virgin 7 CDs. The musical treat of the year! A truly magical boxed set of all 16 quartets, tracing the composer's musical evolution...
> Le Concert Spirituel au temps de Louis XV. Le Concert des Nations. Alia Vox CD. Concerts known as "Le Concert Spirituel" began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. They were...
> Great Organ Classics. Martin Souter (organ). Gift of Music CD. Souter produces virtuoso sounds using the four keyboards and pedals of the magnificent English Romantic organ at Winchester...
> Ravel: Orchestral works. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Newton 2 CDs. Although this CD was recorded by Philips in the 1970s it still has its rich and detailed sound. Conductor Bernard...
The Impossible Dead is the second book in Ian Rankin's new "Complaints" series, based on work of the Professional Standards team that is called in to investigate suspicions of crooked cops.
> Live at the Metropolitan Opera. Anna Netrebko (soprano). Deutsche Grammophon CD. This CD is released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Netrebko's Met debut and is a selection of her...
> The Four Elements. Nigel Kennedy (violin), Orchestra of Life. Sony CD. "Sony Classical" label, but readers of this column are likely to find this a real shocker! Kennedy's...
> The Complete Songs of Poulenc, Vol.2. Malcolm Martineau (piano), soloists. Signum (Ode) CD. This disc features the magnificent Felicity Lott (try Les Chemins de l'Amour) plus five other...
Having had two of my children and, so far, one grandchild who were members of the National Youth Orchestra, I was keen to read Joy Tonks' detailed chronicle of the group titled Fifty Years and Beyond.
Val McDermid has achieved fame as the creator of TV's Wire in the Blood series, so the popularity of her 25th novel is assured. Doubly so, since The Retribution (Little Brown, pbk) brings back the serial psychopath killer Jacko Vance, a man who seems to be plotting final revenge on profiler Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, who had put him in prison for years.
> The Complete Musician (highlights). Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin). Deutsche Grammophon 2 CDs. To celebrate the great German violinist's 35 years on stage, the record company has issued a...
Once upon a time, I was a great fan of Harlan Coben's best-selling detective novels featuring the former basketball hero and sports agent Myron Bolitar.
> Jenny McLeod: The Emperor and the Nightingale, Rock Concerto, Three Celebrations. NZ Symphony Orchestra. Naxos CD. New Zealand composer McLeod shows her splendid musical inventions in...
> Kabalevsky: Preludes Op.5 and 38, Preludes and Fugues, Alexandre Dossin (piano), Naxos CD. Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987) was a Soviet who was overshadowed by Prokofiev and Shostakovich...
Tess Gerritsen writes exciting, complex and well-plotted mysteries with an emphasis on police procedure but some of her previous books revolted me with their abundance of blood and guts. Her latest novel (the 12th I think) is The Silent Girl (Bantam Press, pbk) and was a much more rewarding read.
> Debussy: Orchestral Works Vol.6. Orchestre National de Lyon. Naxos CD Jun Markl conducts this fine French orchestra in a programme of light works recast for orchestra by contemporaries or...
> Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez, etc. Xuefei Yang (guitar), Barcelona Symphony Orchestra . EMI CD. Yang, a brilliant 33-year-old Chinese guitarist, was due to play in Wellington last night....
> Pure Diva. Cheryl Barker (soprano), Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Melba CD. "Tribute to Joan Hammond" is the subtitle for this disc. The message comes from one of her...
