REVIEWS: Donizetti, Aristea (Cantata) Naxos 8.573360 Gaetano Donizetti’s mini opera’ Aristea follows honours Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies. Librettist Giovanni Schmidt recycled Aristea from an earlier abandoned opera set in idyllic Greek surroundings and he tells the classical story of enforced separation of a father from his daughter. Performers include Andrea Lauren Brown, Sara Hershkowitz, Caroline Adler, and members of the Bavarian State Opera Chorus under Franz Hauk.

Dohnanyi: Symphony No. 2 (Naxos 8.573008) Dohnanyi’s wrote of his powerful Symphony No 2, composed toward the end of the Second World War: “The goal is the end of the glorious fight. The goal is death - life is a struggle.” The Florida State University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Jimenez gives a dynamic account of the work. The album is rounded off with two songs for baritone and orchestra featuring Evan Thomas Jones.

Bloch: Symphony in E etc (Naxos 8.573290) The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Dalia Atlas, continue their Bloch series with some of the least-known masterpieces from the composer’s works for orchestra. Macbeth: Two Symphonic Interludes is an intoxicating and passionate distillation of Shakespeare’s powerful drama. Bloch’s last symphony, in E flat major, is a profoundly moving work.