We recommend: theartsdesk's Classical CDs of the Year | reviews, news & interviews
We recommend: theartsdesk's Classical CDs of the Year
We recommend: theartsdesk's Classical CDs of the Year
Ten of the year's best classical releases
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Emmanuel Krivine makes sparks fly in period-instrument Beethoven
Bach: Complete Keyboard Works Ivo Janssen (Void)
- Enterprising Dutch pianist Ivo Janssen’s complete Bach set is an inexpensive way to acquire every scrap of the composer’s keyboard output. There’s everything here – wit, drama, poetry, humour and pathos, all delivered with consummate ease. Find Bach Complete Keyboard Works on Amazon
Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies La Chambre Philharmonique/Emanuel Krivine (Naïve)
- Riccardo Chailly’s dynamic Leipzig cycle may have stolen the headlines when it appeared in the autumn, accompanied by a Barbican residency, but this French period-instrument cycle is a joy. Giddy, propulsive readings played with panache, and evidence of Beethoven’s ability to shock and surprise. Find Chailly's Beethoven Symphonies on Amazon
Percy Grainger Edition (Chandos)
- A genuine maverick is given the recognition he deserves in this epic, 19-disc box set. The funkiest folk song arrangements you’ll find anywhere jostle for attention with music of bewildering originality. Glorious. Find The Grainger Edition on Amazon
Martin: Der Sturm (Hyperion)
- Thierry Fischer conducts the first recording of this cool, bewitching opera, a German-language setting of Shakespeare’s TheTempest. Frank Martin’s music effortlessly synthesises jazz, impressionism and dodecaphony. Find Der Sturm on Amazon
Martinů: The Six Symphonies BBC SO/Jiri Belohlavek (Onyx)
- The most underrated cycle of 20th-century symphonies in idiomatic performances, recorded live in London. Find Martinů on Amazon
Poulenc: Orchestral works Anima Eterna/Jos van Immerseel (Zig Zag)
- Period instrument performances of Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Concert champêtre, alongside the Suite française. Pungent, earthy and entertaining. Find Poulenc on Amazon
Alexandre Tharaud plays Scarlatti (Virgin)
- Joyous performances of a generous selection of Scarlatti’s miniature keyboard sonatas, played by a French pianist who’s alert to every detail and quirk. Delicious. Find Alexandre Tharaud Plays Scarlatti on Amazon
Schoenberg: Orchestral works Berlin Philharmonic/Sir Simon Rattle (EMI)
- Simon Rattle conducts repertoire in which he excels, with his Berlin orchestra responding with zeal. The Accompaniment to a Film Scene is uniquely unsettling, and the orchestration of Brahms’s G Minor Piano Quartet has to be heard to be believed. Find Rattle's Schoenberg on Amazon
Gustavo Dudamel conducts Bruckner, Nielsen and Sibelius (DG)
- Live recordings made by this charismatic Venezuelan with the excellent Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Dudamel gives us incandescent readings of Nielsen’s 4th and 5th symphonies and a shattering Bruckner 9. Find Dudamel on Amazon
ECM Lockenhaus Edition (ECM)
- Violinist Gidon Kremer’s Austrian chamber music festival is celebrated in this reissue, featuring stylish performances of music by the likes of Stravinsky, Schulhoff, Shostakovich and Poulenc, together with new live recordings of works by Messiaen and Strauss. Find Kremer's Lockenhaus on Amazon
more Classical music
Bell, Perahia, ASMF Chamber Ensemble, Wigmore Hall review - joy in teamwork
A great pianist re-emerges in Schumann, but Beamish and Mendelssohn take the palm
First Persons: composers Colin Alexander and Héloïse Werner on fantasy in guided improvisation
On five new works allowing an element of freedom in the performance
First Person: Leeds Lieder Festival director and pianist Joseph Middleton on a beloved organisation back from the brink
Arts Council funding restored after the blow of 2023, new paths are being forged
Classical CDs: Nymphs, magots and buckgoats
Epic symphonies, popular music from 17th century London and an engrossing tribute to a great Spanish pianist
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Philharmonia Chorus, RPO, Petrenko, RFH review - poetic cello, blazing chorus
Atmospheric Elgar and Weinberg, but Rachmaninov's 'The Bells' takes the palm
Daphnis et Chloé, Tenebrae, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - lighting up Ravel’s ‘choreographic symphony’
All details outstanding in the lavish canvas of a giant masterpiece
Goldscheider, Spence, Britten Sinfonia, Milton Court review - heroic evening songs and a jolly horn ramble
Direct, cheerful new concerto by Huw Watkins, but the programme didn’t quite cohere
Marwood, Power, Watkins, Hallé, Adès, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - sonic adventure and luxuriance
Premiere of a mesmeric piece from composer Oliver Leith
Elmore String Quartet, Kings Place review - impressive playing from an emerging group
A new work holds its own alongside acknowledged masterpieces
Gilliver, LSO, Roth, Barbican review - the future is bright
Vivid engagement in fresh works by young British composers, and an orchestra on form
Josefowicz, LPO, Järvi, RFH review - friendly monsters
Mighty but accessible Bruckner from a peerless interpreter
Cargill, Kantos Chamber Choir, Manchester Camerata, Menezes, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - imagination and star quality
Choral-orchestral collaboration is set for great things
Add comment