Umberto Giordano's opera Andrea Chénier (1896) is based loosely on the life of a poet-victim of the French Revolution, evoking the era in classic verismo fashion. Its immediate success rescued Giordano's sagging fortunes, then haunted him by having set a standard he was unable to equal again. James Levine's recording of some eight years ago still sets the standard, although the new version under Riccardo Chailly (London) is expertly sung and spiritedly performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. As the doomed poet, Luciano Pavarotti captures all the important manifestations of the role if not its heart, while Monserrat Caballé is in fine voice as Maddalena, and Leo Nucci makes an especially effective Gérard.

Katia and Marielle Labeque are heard in Gershwin's An American in Paris, the first recording of the composer's duo-piano version (Angel). The liner notes relate the curious tale of how this manuscript remained unpublished and in private hands until just a few years ago, the only such instance regarding Gershwin's two-piano arrangements of his concert works. It's indicative of the sisters' admiration for the composer that they played a role in ensuring the score's publication. Moreover, their performance of it is full of passion and eloquence; dazzling in its technical prowess, deeply thoughtful at the same time.

French-born Swiss composer Arthur Honegger's musical output was large and varied, ranging from the moving dramatic oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bucher (1938) to the novelty tone poem Pacific 231 (1924) depicting a locomotive. Of his five symphonies, the Third and the Fifth are the most important, each a disquieting piece of music reflecting his thoughts on the Second World War and the Korean War. As neither is heard often, new recordings of them, on a single disc, by Charles Dutoit and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, are most welcome. The Third in particular is a powerful incantation on the horrors of war, and these forces capture full measure of its combative vision (Erato/RCA).