David Oistrakh Edition (Melodiya) Dial-a-track code: 1311

The great, dominating violinist in the Russia of the Soviet era was David Oistrakh, who died in 1974 at the age of 66.

BMG's new mid-price series delves into the archives of the state record company, Melodiya, with five discs tracing his art from 1946 to 1972. His nobility and soulfulness are well documented in early recordings of the Brahms and Dvorak concertos, the latter particularly fine (Vol I). The Tchaikovsky concerto, taped at a 60th-birthday concert in 1968, exhibits phrasing of particularly long melodic reach; it's coupled on Vol 2 with the Sibelius concerto. Best of all, though, are the mesmerising live recordings on Vols 4 & 5 with Sviatoslav Richter in sonatas by Brahms, Franck, Bartok and Shostakovich.

Puccini: "Madama Butterfly" (EMI) Dial-a-track code: 1531

Is Madama Butterfly a tragedy or a travesty? Was Maria Callas the greatest opera singer of all time, or just an extraordinary actress with a pretty ordinary voice? The arguments will probably survive as long as opera does, but on this digitally-remastered 1955 recording with Herbert Von Karajan and the orchestra of La Scala, Callas makes a convincing case for greatness, both for herself and for the piece. The key to her performance lies in the intelligent combination of girlishness and maturity, impulsiveness and reserve she brings to the role, making her Cio-Cio-San - despite Pinkerton's constant references to her as animal, flower, toy - the most human of butterflies. There is also a great deal of gorgeous singing on this set, not just from Callas but also from Nicolai Gedda as the perfidious Pinkerton and Mario Borriello as the sympathetic, if somewhat gormless, Sharpless.

Concorde/Lane O'Leary: "Celtic Connections" (Capstone) Dial-a-track code: 1421

Celtic Connections, the first CD by Jane O'Leary's contemporary ensemble, Concorde, brings together works by three composers. There are two pieces each by O'Leary herself (US-born, but living in Ireland since 1972) and Hilary Tann (Welsh-born, now US-resident), and one by Nicola LeFanu (English, of Irish extraction). There's a strong retro flavour to much of the music, some of it born of nature-nostalgia and reverence for historical artefact, some of it generated by the soft contours of Concorde's carefully delimited performing style. The pared-down lyricism is at its purest in O'Leary's Silenzio della Terra for flute and percussion; the greatest range is essayed in LeFanu's dance-inspired Trio I.