A multimedia explosion of musical styles, political satire and dramatic intrigue, the Polish National Opera ended their trio of Polish operas in April 2004 at Sadler's Wells with Krzysztof Penderecki's Ubu Rex. Based on Alfred Jarry's absurdist play, Ubu Roi – in other words Poles (1888), Ubu Rex (1991) resonates well with Poland's political situation in 2004, prompting us to read the opera as an insightful exploration into the identity of a nation navigating the legacy of Soviet rule and its emerging future in Europe.

WEIR: Piano Concerto, Distance and Enchantment, and other works. William Howard (pno), Susan Tomes (pno), The Schubert Ensemble, Domus. NMC DO90 (2-CD set).

BABBITT: String Quartet No. 61; Occasional Variations for synthesizer; String Quartet No. 22; Composition for Guitar3. 1The Sherry Quartet; 2The Composers Quartet; 3William Anderson (gtr). Tzadik TZ7088.

BABBITT: Quatrains1; Manifold Music2, My Ends Are My Beginnings3; Soli e Duettini4; Swan Song No. 15. 1Tony Arnold (sop), Charles Neidich, Ayako Oshima (cls); 2Gregory D'Agostino (org); 3Allen Blustine (cl); 4William Anderson, Oren Fader (gtrs); 5Cygnus Ensemble c. Jeffrey Milarsky. Bridge 9135.

Judith Weir's Tiger under the Table, premièred by the London Sinfonietta under Thomas Adès in March 2003, is a reference to an exceptional energy in the lower registers, exemplified by an angry bassoon and twanging double bass. The gruff and dark-hued emphasis on the bass line in the opening section is in stark contrast to the typically bright and shiny ‘Judith Weir sound’ as exemplified by Moon and Star and the Piano Concerto, for example. The feeling of an underground upheaval recalls, rather, the ominous stringed-instrument slapping from the fifth movement of Weir's We Are Shadows. A heavenly string quartet offers repose: as in Vaughan Williams's Tallis Fantasia, it operates on a different plane from the rest of the ensemble. There ensues a quick parade of trios and quartets made up of unlikely combinations, including an ill-fated attempt to form a piano concerto. Finally, all 14 players join together and the composer truly becomes herself again in a witty and jazzy coda of prodigious invention. The pointillism here is engagingly full of heart. Glissandi threaten to destabilie the structure, but the work ends optimistically, with a warm unison.

KLEIBERG: Lamento: Cissi Klein in memoriam1; Symphony No. 1, The Bell Reef2; Kammersymfoni (Symphony No. 2).3 Trondheim Symphony Orchestra c. 1Eivind Aadland, 2Rolf Gupta, 3Christian Eggen. Aurora ACD 5032

FLEM: Piano Concerto; Solar Wind; Ultima Thule per Orchestra.1 Sergei Ouryvaev (pno), St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra c. Alexander Kantorov; 1Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra c. Terje Boye Hansen. Aurora ACD

PERSEN: Over Kors og Krone. Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra c. Christian Eggen. Aurora ACD 5029

NYSTEDT: Apocalypsis Joannis, op. 115. Mona Julsrud (soprano), James Gilchrist (tenor), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir c. Aril Remmereit. Simax PSC 1241 (2-CD set).

Although much of the best of Britten's unperformed early music has come to light since his death, there are still a number of substantial works to be discovered. The latest to emerge – appropriately premièred at the Royal College of Music where Britten was a student – is the ballet score Plymouth Town, which he composed during his summer holidays in 1931, following his first year at the College. The idea for a ballet was suggested by Violet Alford, an authority on folklore and particularly Basque dancing, who in July 1931 was a fellow lodger in the house in Bayswater where Britten had a room.

Rhian Samuel is 60 this year. Never one to follow the conventional paths in contemporary composition or music-making, her works are sometimes tricky to pigeonhole, though this does not seem to have impaired their performance or appreciation. Her new piano quartet, Light and Water (2003), received its première as the centrepiece of the opening concert of the Hampstead and Highgate Festival, given by the Fidelio Quartet and framed by Schumann's op. 47 Quartet and the Elgar Quintet (in which they were joined by violinist Katherine Gowers).

TVEITT: Baldur's Dreams (complete)1; Telemarkin.21Solveig Kringelborn (sop), 2Trine Øien (mezzo), 1Ulf Øien (ten), 1Magne Fremmerlid (bass), 1,2Jon Eikemo (reciter), Stavanger Symphony Orchestra c. Ole Kristian Ruud. BIS 1337/1338 (2-CD set).

Two major additions to the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group's ‘Sound Investment’ scheme were unveiled on 31 May in a concert of rare intensity in the CBSO Centre.

NEUWIRTH: Bählamms Fest. Klangforum Wien, c. Johannes Kalitske. Kairos 00 123 42KAI (2-disc set).