From exquisite Elgar to razor-sharp Cage: our classical recordings of the year
A piano prodigy burst onto the scene, studio opera recordings were few and far between – and the year’s most rewarding discs were the ones that ventured beyond the mainstreamAndrew Clements’ top 10 recordings of the year
1. Elgar: Violin Concerto (Vilde Frang/Deutsches SO Berlin/Ticciati)“From first note to last Frang never puts a foot wrong … Her playing has a thrilling authority and confidence in what is technically one of the most demanding concertos in the violin repertory.” Read the full review
2. Chopin: Études (Yunchan Lim)
“Enjoy the brilliance of Lim’s playing, whether in the breathtaking evenness of the A minor study Op 10 no 2, the sheer delicacy of Op 25 no 6 in G sharp minor, or in the fresh details he consistently reveals.” Read the full review
3. Linda Catlin Smith: Flower of Emptiness (Apartment House)
“Hers is a compositional voice that never shouts, never draws undue attention to itself, yet creates music of compelling beauty.” Read the full review
4. Bruckner: Symphony No 7 (Berlin RSO/Jurowski)
“This special performance has a natural flow, in which nothing is forced, and nothing over-manicured; there’s never any sense that Jurowski has any agenda other than to present the symphony as it is laid out in the score.” Read the full review
5. Cage2: Bertrand Chamayou
“Every one of these pieces is a brightly coloured gem… Chamayou’s performance of all of them, each complex rhythm razor sharp, every phrase perfectly articulated, is exemplary.” Read the full review
6. Contemplation: Huw Montague Rendall/Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen/Glassberg
“Hamlet’s soliloquy from Ambroise Thomas’s opera – velvet-toned, nuanced, with beautifully floated high notes – sets the tone for an eclectic programme on themes of self-discovery. You can almost hear the orchestra’s thoughts as he holds the final note: who is this guy? Does he ever need to breathe?” Read the full review
7. Lang: Composition as Explanation (Eighth Blackbird)
“The wonderfully compelling musical journey that Lang has created takes the listener through moments of chiming, crystalline beauty, stomping free-for-alls, vertiginous instrumental solos and insistent minimalist repetitions.” Read the full review
8. Bertin: Fausto (Les Talens Lyriques/Rousset)
“The full score of Louise Bertin’s Fausto was only rediscovered a few years ago, but this first recording, conducted with missionary zeal by Christophe Rousset and superbly played by the period instruments of Les Talens Lyriques, suggests that it deserves more than occasional performances.” Read the full review
9. Brahms: Piano Pieces Op 116-119 (Igor Levit)
“Levit’s accounts are utterly compelling. Each piece is perfectly shaped, its subtly varied emotional charge instantly identified. It’s hard to think of many better recordings of these 20 gems.” Read the full review
10. Schumann: Works for Oboe (Daniel/Drake)
“Pure delight from first note to last.” Read the full review
From exquisite Elgar to razor-sharp Cage: our classical recordings of the year
A piano prodigy burst onto the scene, studio opera recordings were few and far between – and the year’s most rewarding discs were the ones that ventured beyond the mainstream
