Records of the year 2020

**Rolmill** · 28-12-20, 16:56

I'm nothing like as great a purchaser (or streamer) of new releases as you, Jayne, so my choices are necessarily much more limited. But the following have all been enjoyed recently:

Beethoven Complete Piano Concertos - Hough (Hyperion) - fresh, lively but thoughtful performances, 1 and 3 particularly good IMO.
Beethoven Complete Piano Trios - van Baerle Trio (Challenge Classics) - cheating a bit, as only the final CD was issued in 2020, but I bought the subsequently released complete set.
Schubert Complete Piano Duets - Vermeulen & Peeters (Etcetera) - individual CDs issued previously but I think the complete set was issued in early 2020 - love the piano sound, beautifully phrased and balanced performances.

Overall choice from these would be the van Baerle trios (which includes a sparkling albeit unexpected performance of the Triple Concerto).

Your (and other) comments on the Harnoncourt Schubert symphony set have whetted my appetite, though, so I might try to add it as a late Christmas present to myself!

**jayne lee wilson** · 28-12-20, 16:59

Excellent Rolmill, thanks - I'll seek out the Van Baerle Beethoven Trios after becoming very taken with the string quintet arrangement (Op.104) of Op1/3 recently...

**Jonathan** · 28-12-20, 17:10

Piano music wise I have several:

Mark Viner - Alkan - Grande Sonate - The 4 Ages, Op.33 and Souvenirs - Trois Morceaux dans la genre Pathetique, Op.15 (Complete Piano music, volume 3) (Piano Classics PCL10209)
Marc-Andre Hamelin - Liszt and Thalberg - Liszt - Hexameron, Ernani and Reminiscences de Norma, Thalberg - Don Pasquale Fantasy and Fantasy on themes on Moise (Hyperion CDA68320)
Paul Wee - Thalberg - L'Art du Chant applique au piano, Op.70 (BIS BIS-2515 SACD)

**richardfinegold** · 29-12-20, 01:04

I never participate in a ‘yearly’ best because I’m frequently not sure if some discovery of mine was actually released in previous years. I am pretty sure that Vildking Oluffson’s disc pairing Debussy and Rameau was at least released this year, however, so that would get my vote

**jayne lee wilson** · 29-12-20, 01:57

Originally posted by richardfinegold View Post

I never participate in a ‘yearly’ best because I’m frequently not sure if some discovery of mine was actually released in previous years. I am pretty sure that Vildking Oluffson’s disc pairing Debussy and Rameau was at least released this year, however, so that would get my vote

Thats OK - just file under "New to You"......

.....you can always check dates on Qobuz....easiest on the downloads page...

**gurnemanz** · 29-12-20, 09:58

I'm limiting myself to "records" as albums, ie CDs. Now that streaming and download dominate ever more, I only bought three this year of new recordings actually issued in 2020.

Less familiar Franck:
Franck , Le Chasseur Maudit, Psyché (full version with three choral sections + texts), Les Éolides - Jean-Luc Tingaud/RNSO (Naxos)

Two old-timers still going strong:
Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels

Nearly eligible:
Schubert, Winterreise - Ian Bostridge and Thomas Adès live at Wigmore Hall (Pentatone) - bought this year but came out late 2019

**silvestrione** · 29-12-20, 10:06

Beethoven Piano Concerto 4, with Kristian Benzuidenhout, Heras- Casado and the Freiburgers. (Severe spelling test there)
Augustin Hadelich, Dvorak Violin Concerto (had never taken to this work before)
Rebecca Saunders: 'Still': another violin concerto...

**Pulcinella** · 29-12-20, 10:21

Very little by way of new releases purchased here, but one that stands out (as it wasn't available to stream, so I bought it) is
James MacMillan
Symphony 4 and Viola concerto
Lawrence Power (viola)
BBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins

I think that I prefer his Violin concerto (the coupling on the premiere recording of the symphony) to the Viola concerto, but it still makes an apt coupling.

**rauschwerk** · 29-12-20, 10:21

Lots of a cappella stuff this year - probably reflecting the fact that I haven't sung any since March.

The Gesualdo Six - Fading (Hyperion). This was poorly rated by one reviewer on the grounds that it contains too many 'lollipops' such as Gombert's Media vita and Alonso Lobo's Versa est in luctum. But there are also five pieces by living composers! All most excellently sung.

Voces 8 - After Silence (Voces8). About the only thing I have against this is that they croon their way through Britten's Hymn to St Cecilia. It introduced me to Ticheli's Earth Song which I love as much as anything for its text.

ORA Singers/Digby - Spem in alium - Vidi aquam (Harmonia Mundi) The new 40 part motet by MacMillan and some pleasingly unfamiliar pieces from contemporaries of Tallis.

Mantyjarvi - Choral music (Trinity College Ch/Stephen Layton) (Hyperion). 20 years ago I went loopy over El Hambo and the first set of Shakespeare songs. This is altogether sterner stuff and I'm still getting used to it. Great singing though.

Mozart - Sonatas for fortepiano & violin Vol. 2 (Faust/Melnikov) (Harmonia Mundi). I'm now completely converted to period instruments in this repertoire and can hardly wait for this series to be completed.

Bach - the 48 (Book 1) - Trevor Pinnock (DG). Great Bach playing - simple as that. Roll on Book 2!

**jayne lee wilson** · 29-12-20, 13:33

Originally posted by gurnemanz View Post

I'm limiting myself to "records" as albums, ie CDs. Now that streaming and download dominate ever more, I only bought three this year of new recordings actually issued in 2020.

Less familiar Franck:
Franck , Le Chasseur Maudit, Psyché (full version with three choral sections + texts), Les Éolides - Jean-Luc Tingaud/RNSO (Naxos)

Two old-timers still going strong:
Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels

Nearly eligible:
Schubert, Winterreise - Ian Bostridge and Thomas Adès live at Wigmore Hall (Pentatone) - bought this year but came out late 2019

As I said in my initial post, please do include streaming (vastly increasing) & downloads (in decline) if you wish (albums exist virtually and physically, a "record" of an event)......including any memorable or special streamed concerts (which were offered free by many organisations during "Lockdown 1"....).....and any reflections upon such....... whither music?

**Bryn** · 29-12-20, 14:33

Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View Post

As I said in my initial post, please do include streaming (vastly increasing) & downloads (in decline) if you wish (albums exist virtually and physically, a "record" of an event)......including any memorable or special streamed concerts (which were offered free by many organisations during "Lockdown 1"....).....and any reflections upon such....... whither music?

There are those 'anachronists' who insist records are made either from Shellac or vinyl, not polycarbonate.

**DoctorT** · 29-12-20, 14:47

Seconded!

Record of the Year 2020:
Schubert Symphonies 1-9. COE/Harnoncourt. (ICA).
[B]

**Bryn** · 29-12-20, 15:03

Difficult. However, though I got a pre-release copy towards the end of 2019, my first choice was to officially released until this year, namely Feldman's For John Cage in a second recording of the work by Darragh Morgan and John Tilbury. Then there's Sorabji's monumental Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae" ex Missa pro defunctis as recorded by Jonathan Powell, and the same pianist's recording of "Later Sonatas" by John White.

**Barbirollians** · 30-12-20, 00:52

Beethoven Piano concertos - Helmchen/Manze
Aranjuez- Thibaut Garcia
Ermonela Jaho- Anima Rara

Records of the year 2020

Records of the year 2020

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