2018. Your top classical albums from this year.

[pastoralguy]

My favourite albums would be...

Brahms. String Sextets op.18 & 36 from an ensemble led by Renard Capucon.

Enescu. Octet from an ensemble led by the wonderful Vilde Frang.

Vivaldi. Cecilia Bartoli.

[Petrushka]

My top new recording from 2018 is the Shostakovich 4 & 11 with Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra on DG. I'd also recommend Maris Jansons in Bruckner's 8th with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on BR Klassik. Both of these are outstanding.

For the rest, it's mostly been reissues and my favourite box of the year is without question the Rafael Kubelik set on DG, a lovingly presented box that is a joy to have with much treasure contained therein. I'm going to have to wait until Christmas Day for the complete Szell box but I can't imagine it will disappoint.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... plus the second batch from the Canadian Composers series on another timbre (especially the Linda Catlin Smith disc).

And the Currentzis Mahler #6 has rapidly joined Bernstein, Karajan, and Boulez in my favourite recordings of this work.

[Beef Oven!]

DSCH Symphonies 4 & 11 - Boston SO, Nelsons DG

Béla Bartók String Quartets - Arcadia Quartet Chandos

[Bryn]

Bach 333, of course. Quite a big album, to be sure.

[Barbirollians]

Deux -Pat Kop and Polina Leschenko.

Bartok VC No 1 and Enescu Octet as PG above

Couperin - Pavel Kolesnikov

Rossini Semiramide - Mark Elder by no means all downhill after the overture .

Seong Jin Cho - Debussy album

Relative disappointments not because they were bad but I felt they did not quite live up to their reviews . Bruckner 6 Haitink and Mozart K 503 & 595 from Anderszewski.

[Richard Tarleton]

My only 2018 album - 1000-year old music featured on EMS here.

Everything else previously issued.

[Stanfordian]

I've whittled down my choice for 'Record of the Year' to a single album:

‘Vienna: Fin de Siècle’ – Barbara Hannigan
Schoenberg
Vier Lieder, Op. 2
Webern
Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von Richard Dehmel für Stimme und Klavier (1906-1908)
Berg
Sieben frühe Lieder (1907)
Zemlinsky
Aus Lieder, Op. 2, Op. 6 & Op. 7
Alma Mahler
Aus Fünf Lieder (1910)
Aus Vier Lieder (1915)
Wolf
Goethe-Lieder (1888)
Barbara Hannigan & Reinbert de Leeuw
Recorded October 2017 Muziekcentrum van de Omroep, Hilversum, Netherlands
Alpha

[Constantbee]

Rarities of Piano Music at Schloss vor Husum 2017: DANACORD DACOCD799 (Danish recording label)

This is a 23 track compilation album of live recordings played at the 2017 summer piano festival in Husum. Where? Husum, North Friesland, on the North Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, north Germany – also the home of Theodor Storm. The Schloss vor Husum is now a cultural events centre that hosts an annual piano festival with the brief : ‘Rarities and Unknown Treasures Only’. What a good thing to do

Samples available here:

https://www.danacordbutik.dk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=413

Recommended if you’re interested in exploring new, but not necessarily modern piano repertoire from lesser known composers with just a few old chestnuts thrown in. I can’t comment on the quality of the recording. Maybe someone else is familiar with the label.

Plenty to keep you interested, although I think I might prefer to save the money towards attending the event some time. Not the easiest of places to get to, though

[gurnemanz]

Liszt Symphonic Poems in his piano duet version with Leslie Howard and Mattia Ometto, 3CDs on Brilliant Classics

Medtner songs accompanied and masterminded by Ian Burnside.

My favourite: (cheating slightly because although bought this year I note it was actually issued Sept 17) "Lost is my Quiet"' Duets and solo songs by Purcell, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Roger Quilter with Carolyn Sampson, Iestyn Davies accompanied by Joseph Middleton on BIS.

[Richard Barrett]

the Currentzis Mahler #6 has rapidly joined Bernstein, Karajan, and Boulez in my favourite recordings of this work.

Really? You sort of have to imagine that there are brass and percussion instruments playing somewhere in the distance though...

I think my Classical CD of the year might be Aimard's Catalogue d'oiseaux. I'll have to give the matter some thought though.

[Stanfordian]

What a surprising choice.

[jayne lee wilson]

Records of theYear 2018

Arvo Pärt Symphonies 1-4
NFM Wroclaw PO/Kaljuste. ECM. 24/44.1

Bach Violin Concertos. Shunske Sato/Il Pomo d’Oro. Erato 24/88.2.

Bartok Violin Concertos 1 & 2. Tetzlaff/Finnish RSO/Lintu. Ondine 24/48.**

Bernstein Serenade. Korngold Violin Concerto.
Ferschtman/Prague So/Het Gelders Orkest/Malat/Vasquez.
Northstar CD.
Bernstein Symphony No.2. Zimerman/Berlin PO/Rattle. DG CD.

Brahms. Symphonies 1-4; Serenades 1 & 2. Tapiola Sinfonietta/Venzago. Sony 24/96**.
Brahms Serenade No.2. Schubert SymphonyNo.5. ORR/JEG. SDG 24/96**.

Holmboe. Chamber Concertos & Sinfonias (complete). Da Capo 16/44.1. Danish NCO/Koivula.

Lutoslawski/Dutilleux “Cello Concertos”. Moser/Berlin RSO/Sondergard. Pentatone 24/96.
Lutoslawski Symphonies 1 & 4. Finnish RSO/Lintu. Ondine 24/96**.

Schubert Symphonies 2 & 4. Residentie Orkest/de Vriend. Northstar 24/44.1.
Schubert Symphonies 1&6. B’Rock Orchestra/Jacobs. Pentatone 24/96.**
Schubert Symphony No.7 in b minor d.759 (compl. Samale/Cohrs 2015.)**
CWM/Gottfried. Apartemusic 24/96.

Stravinsky Jeu de Cartes. Petrushka. Mariinsky O./Gergiev. Mariinsky 24/96.

(Bold**Top Three Records of the Year…
italic** - special commendation)

[ostuni]

I think my Classical CD of the year might be Aimard's Catalogue d'oiseaux. I'll have to give the matter some thought though.

Chiming in with my own 'really?': I have to say that Aimard's Catalogue was one of my disappointments of the year! The issue, and the enthusiastic review from David Fanning, prompted me to get to know this cycle (I've known and loved Vingt Régards for many years, but never properly listened to much of the Catalogue before).

Armed with the music (thanks, Barbican Library), and Qobuz & Spotify streaming, I listened carefully to most of the cycle, starting off with 8 different recordings, which I soon narrowed down to a shortlist of Hill, Ugorski, Aimard, and either Zehn or Austbø (running short of time, so alternated between those last two). And for nearly every piece, I found that Aimard consistently underplayed the dynamic contrasts notated in the scores, hurried through rests/pauses. The more 'manic' birdsong episodes were consistently less vivid than Hill's or Ugorski's.

Of course, that's my take on the interpretations: others might well find Hill and Ugorski (who sound *very* different from each other, though still bring out more of the notated contrasts than their rivals) just a bit too exaggerated. But I was very surprised that Aimard (a pianist whom I've much admired in the past) produced a recording which disappointed me as much as did this Catalogue.

[pastoralguy]

Many thanks for the responses so far. Fascinating reading!