John Williams: The Baroque Album

The great guitarist John Williams has been around the block several times with much of this music, and some of his performances sound as though he’s getting a little tired of it. He plays the guitar extremely well, as always; you will never hear a better-executed performance of the Bach Chaconne, and the difficulties of the Scarlatti Sonatas hardly seem to exist for him. Some of the pieces new to his recorded repertory–Telemann, Roncalli, Couperin–are played with all the expression I want to hear. While this is a good disc, though, it’s not the best of John Williams. –Leslie Gerber

Price: $8.99