Next Sunday afternoon, Angelika Kirchschlager, the excellent Austrian mezzo, will give a recital in Alice Tully Hall. But if you can’t wait till then, you might want to check out her latest CD, which is a collection of Handel opera arias (on Sony/BMG).There are a million collections of Handel opera arias, of course. But they are very much worth making.

There seem to be a million excellent mezzos these days, too — but no one’s complaining. On this album, Ms. Kirchschlager shows us her lovely, supple voice, and her considerable musical intelligence. She sings somewhat sparely — respectfully — but not thinly. This is not vocal wheat germ. Ms. Kirchschlager is no foe of beauty.

She is a fairly intimate Handelian, and not a powerhouse one like Marilyn Horne. But neither is she a violet.

As far as repertoire is concerned, Ms. Kirchschlager confines herself to three operas: “Ariodante,” “Julius Caesar,” and “Arianna in Creta” (a real rarity). She is accompanied by the Basel Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Laurence Cummings. They adhere to period correctness; we are served a little instrumental wheat germ. But Ms. Kirchschlager’s radiance wins out.

A welcome album.

MYASKOVSKY
Symphonies

Know any symphonies by Nikolai Myaskovsky? He wrote 27 of them. And a new CD from Warner Classics gives us two of them: Nos. 6 and 10.

Myaskovsky was born in 1881, the son of a Russian army engineer. According to Malcolm MacDonald’s wonderful essay in the CD booklet, Myaskovsky resolved to become a composer when hearing Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony (which was new). He studied with, among others, Glière and Rimsky-Korsakov; later, his students would include Khachaturian and Kabalevsky. In World War I, he was wounded on the Austrian front, and suffered shell shock. But, fortunately, he kept going.

He managed to keep Soviet authorities at bay, while preserving his integrity. Mr. MacDonald tells us he was known as “the musical conscience of Moscow.” Shostakovich referred to him as “the noblest, the most modest of men.”When he died in 1950,there must have been genuine grief.

The two symphonies are worth knowing, even if they don’t rival the “Pathétique.” You can hear the influences of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Scriabin. Ultimately, though, Myaskovsky is himself a bona fide composer. His Sixth Symphony is dotted with hymns and revolutionary songs — Mr. MacDonald can do a little decoding for you. The work turns a bit hokey, but is certainly not to be scorned.

The Tenth is in one movement, and tightly wrought. It is mysterious, inviting, a little neurotic. Over its 17 or so minutes, it holds your attention, occasionally riveting it. That is not a small achievement.

Performing these symphonies is the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, under the worthy, youngish conductor Dmitri Liss. They play with care, devotion, and skill. And they are beginning to make a name for themselves. Watch out for Mr. Liss and the Ural Phil.

SHOSTAKOVICH
‘Songs and Waltzes’

While we’re in a Russian mood, consider a recording of songs and waltzes by Shostakovich, on Deutsche Grammophon. We have heard a lot of Shostakovich, in this centennial year for him. (The composer was born in 1906.) But I bet few have heard the music presented here.

The songs include “Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin,” “Five Romances on Words from ‘Krokodil’ Magazine,” and — this is the actual title — “Preface to the Complete Edition of My Works and a Brief Reflection Apropos This Preface.” As you might guess, this is mainly Shostakovich the satirist, and a keen one he was.

Doing the singing is the superb Russian bass-baritone Sergei Leiferkus. As usual, he performs with clear understanding and technical proficiency. He is accompanied by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted byThomas Sanderling (son of the conductor Kurt, and basically a Russian, despite his German parentage).

Orchestra and conductor handle the waltzes by themselves, and there are eight here, all from film scores. Shostakovich loved music — simply loved music. All types of music, from Gregorian chanters to jazzmen. Moreover, he delighted in composing all types of music, including waltzes. Some are sincere, some are snorting, some are weird, some are adorable.

You would be hard pressed to find any Shostakovich piece not worth listening to.

GEORGE SZELL
Works of Mozart

Finally, a box set — and one to treasure: George Szell and Mozart. I submit that there has never been a better Mozartean, whether among conductors, pianists, violinists, singers — you name it. And proof is on these discs from Sony/BMG (10 in all).

Szell conducts his Cleveland Orchestra in major Mozart symphonies, such as the “Haffner”and the “Jupiter.”He also conducts them in serenades and other works. We have two concertos here: the Clarinet Concerto, played by the Cleveland’s principal, Robert Marcellus. In my view, this is our best recording of this great work. And the Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, played by Leon Fleisher.

The maestro evidently loved collaborating with Mr. Fleisher, as he recorded so much with him.

But the main pianist on these discs is Szell himself. He was infamous for shoving pianists off the bench, when rehearsing concertos with them. He could be rude and egotistical, yes; but he was not necessarily unjustified. Just listen to his piano playing here.

He performs four violin-and-piano sonatas with Rafael Druian, his concertmaster. And he does the two piano quartets with members of the Budapest String Quartet, the leading chamber ensemble of the day (1946).

Mozart has been championed by many musicians in 2006, the 250th anniversary of his birth. No one — absolutely no one — champions him better than George Szell.