Devils's Trill's pick of December's new releases

String music

A masterclass from veteran violinist Salvatore Accardo, recorded in Cremona (Dynamic DVD); Beethoven cycle from the Talich Quartet (La Dolce Volta); A Pierre Monteux collection including a Saint-Saens violin concerto with Berlin Phil leader Michel Schwalbe (Testament); Rostropovich collection from revitalised label Olympia; Ferdinand David's music for violin and piano (MDG); The Juilliard Quartet play French music (Newton); Dvorak's chamber music from the Carmina Quartet (Sony); The first volume of a Dvorak quartet cycle from the Volger Quartet (CPO); Yu Chien Tseng plays French violin sonatas (Fuga Libera); Maria Bachmann also plays French violin sonatas (Bridge); Contemporary viola music from Huang Hsin-Yun (Bridge); Cello concertos by Lalo and Milhaud (ARS); More string quartets by Krzysztof Meyer (Naxos); Violin concertos by Sibelius and Tchaikovsky from Soyoung Yoon (Dux); Barbara Helfgott plays pop hits on the violin (Preiser); More Telemann Violin Concertos from Elizabeth Wallfisch (CPO); String Quartets by Boris Tischenko (Olympia); The seasons from Piazzolla and Vivaldi (Dux);    

Contemporary

John Adams's Nixon in China on DVD for the first time (Nonesuch); Richard Barrett - Dark Matter (NMC);  John Cage - Electronic music for piano (Stradivarius); Valerio Losito plays viola d'amore solos (Brilliant); Clarinet concertos by Corigliano and Carter (Aeon); Highlights from Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach, plus DVD documentary (OMM); Arne Nordheim's complete work for accordion (Simax); Michael's Journey Around the World from Stockhausen's Licht (Wergo); 

Everything else

Jos Van Immerseel gives the original instrument treatment to Debussy (Zig Zag); Hans Eisler's collaboration with Bertold Brecht, Die Massnahme (MDR); RCA's Living Stereo series in a big box; Mahler's symphonies, complete and recording by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO Live); Martinu's piano trios (Naxos); Orchestral works by Andrezj Panufnik (CPO); More Schubert symphonies from David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (RCA); Schubert - the last years (Brilliant);