ClassicsToday.com’s 2007 Best of the Year Selection
It’s always a little bit painful to come up with our “best of the year” selection, because although we are sure that the titles listed below stand among the best, they by no means constitute ALL of the best. There’s simply too much from which to choose. This, then, is a representative sample, limited to 20 titles. In making this selection, we were guided by two principles: each title must have appeared as a “disc of the month” selection, and no label would appear in the list more than once. This last point, more than anything else we could say or do, attests to the ongoing vitality of the classical recording industry despite anything you may have heard to the contrary. Indeed, perhaps no other industry on earth offers so much, of such high quality, at such a low price. It’s really quite remarkable when you think about it.
I append a few remarks after each title explaining why we think it is an appropriate choice, and you can click on the links below to access the original review in full.
Please let me take this opportunity to thank you for your support over these past seven years. Editor-in-Chief David Vernier, our writers, and I all wish you a happy holiday season, and a New Year full of delightful new listening discoveries. We look forward to sharing our findings with you.
David Hurwitz
Executive Editor
CARL MARIA VON WEBER
Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Concertino; Clarinet Quintet (arr. Kantorow)
Martin Fröst (clarinet)
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Jean-Jacques Kantorow
BIS 1523(SACD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10639
This is one of those releases that you may overlook. Does anyone pay attention to Weber’s clarinet music these days, aside from clarinetists? Well, you should. Fröst just may be the finest clarinetist alive, and this entire production is typical of what we have come to expect from BIS: stunning sonics, high artistic standards, and intelligent repertoire selection. There is no more exciting label around today.
CARL NIELSEN
Suites & Orchestral Works
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Dausgaard
Dacapo 6.220518(SACD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10736
This is the first of four “national” labels on our list (the others are Hungaroton, Supraphon, and Ondine), companies able to mine a rich field of local composers and performers. Dacapo has many fine Nielsen recordings in its catalog, including a superb complete symphony cycle, but this disc of the composer’s shorter orchestral pieces would be pretty hard to beat, by any measure.
GEORGE CRUMB
The River of Life; Unto the Hills (American Songbook Nos. I & III)
Ann Crumb (soprano)
Orchestra 2001
James Freeman
Bridge 9218A/B(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10796
Bridge’s Crumb Edition remains perhaps the most exciting single project in the world of contemporary music. Here is a composer with a distinctive voice, an appealing and relevant message, and the sheer craft to continue turning out what can only be called wholly characteristic masterpieces. This two-disc set of Crumb’s folk-song arrangements (more to come) puts a brilliant and unconventional spin on some well-loved tunes, and the result can only be called mesmerizing.
JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY
Thésée
Howard Crook (tenor); Laura Pudwell, Ellen Hargis, Suzie LeBlanc (soprano); Harry van der Kamp (bass); others
Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Paul O’Dette, Stephen Stubbs
CPO 777240-2(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11163
Perhaps the biggest victim of the classical music “crisis” has been opera. Understandably, new productions are moving to DVD, which offers visual as well as musical aspects, so CD releases tend to be getting scarce. Early music, though, continues to flourish as the period-instrument movement has matured and the level of playing (and singing) has continued to improve. This excellent production on the always adventurous CPO label should thrill fans of the French baroque.
JOSEPH HAYDN
Piano Sonatas Nos. 23 (F), 24 (D), 32 (B minor), 37 (D), 40 (G), 41 (B-flat), 43 (A-flat), 46 (A-flat), 50 (C), & 52 (E-flat)
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Hyperion CDA67554(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10928
Hyperion seems to have more fine pianists on its roster than any other label, and the leader among them must be Marc-André Hamelin. Known for his effortless playing of the most difficult and arcane virtuoso finger-benders, here he shows off not just his customary virtuosity (and Haydn offers plenty of that), but also a quality all-too-rarely found in classical music today: a sense of humor. This is without question one of the great Haydn piano music recitals, a must for anyone who loves the composer, the instrument, or the classical period generally.
ALBERT ROUSSEL
Symphony No. 3; Bacchus et Ariane (complete)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stéphane Denève
Naxos 8.570245(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10986
Naxos remains the unchallenged leader in terms of variety and range of classical music recordings, but it’s not just a matter of quantity. No longer the cheapest guy on the block (they sell at or around mid-price), the extra pennies have been more than exceeded by the high quality of the product. Stéphane Denève is a hugely talented young conductor whose partnership with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra promises some truly exciting releases, starting with this smashing assault on two of the most colorful and energetic works in the 20th century French repertoire.
COMPLETE PIANO WORKS, VOL. 7
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Album de Château (extr.)
Paolo Giacometti (piano)
Channel Classics CCS SA 24106(SACD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10764
Channel Classics doesn’t just make the best sounding SACDs; this project gets my vote for “best multi-disc series” (it was also completed in 2007). Rossini’s piano music contains some very major works from a genius in full command of his mature style. Why more pianists don’t take them up is a total mystery, but at least we have Paolo Giacometti as their ideal exponent, playing on a deliciously tangy-sounding 19th-century instrument, and recorded with a realism that has to be heard to be believed.
COMPLETE WORKS FOR PIANO, VOL. 1
ROBERT HELPS
Shall We Dance (1994); In Retrospect (1977); Nocturne (1973); Valse Mirage (1977); Music for the Left Hand: Three Etudes for Solo Piano (1975); Fantasy Fontana (1977); 3 Hommages (1972); Radiance (1997); Postcards (2000); Four Song Transcriptions
Naomi Niskala (piano)
Albany 925(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11039
No label has devoted more time and attention to neglected American music over the years than has Albany. Even Naxos’ excellent American Classics series is a comparative latecomer when you consider this label’s impressive catalog of titles. Albany’s new series dedicated to the piano music of Robert Helps (Volume 2 was also a “Disc of the Month” selection) promises to restore a major keyboard composer to his rightful place in the instrument’s discography. Piano fans, take note!
RISE, O MY SOUL—ENGLISH ANTHEMS
ORLANDO GIBBONS
O all true faithful hearts; See, see the word is incarnate; Glorious and powerful God; Fantasia for viols No. 1 in 4 parts
JOHN WARD
Prayer is an endless chain
THOMAS TOMKINS
Sing unto God; Above the stars my saviour dwells; Fantasia for viols on Ut re mi fa sol la; Fantasia for viols No. 12 in 3 parts
JOHN BULL
Almighty God, which by the leading of a star (The Star Anthem)
WILLIAM SIMMES
Rise, O my soul
Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal
Consort des Voix Humaines
Christopher Jackson
Atma ACD2 2506(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11139
Here’s a wonderful collection of English-language choral music performed to a fare-thee-well by French Canadian artists, and captured in luminous sound by Atma. This lively independent label has grown from very modest beginnings and is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with (check out their stunning new Handel Water Music, a December “Disc of the Month”), aided in no small degree by the deep pool of excellent Canadian talent now available to make recordings. 2008 surely promises many more happy surprises.
THE ELFIN KNIGHT
Ballads & Dances from Renaissance England
Joel Frederiksen (bass voice & lute)
Ensemble Phoenix Munich
Joel Frederiksen
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901983(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11217
Harmonia Mundi continues as classical music’s “class act”, a major label with a distinctive identity and an amazingly consistent level of quality. This delightful and intelligently assembled program shows both why early music continues to attract a loyal following, and just how an intelligently run label can put together a production that stands apart from the boatload of similar stuff dumped on the market each month. This brilliantly sung and played recital is a real gem.
AMERICAN VIRTUOSA--Tribute to Maud Powell
Various works & arrangements for violin solo by Beach, Grainger, Dvorák, Huss, Liebling, Venth, Powell, others
Rachel Barton Pine (violin); Matthew Hagle (piano)
Cedille CDR 90000 097(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11102
What a wonderful idea: a tribute from one of today’s finest female violinists to one of the instrument’s great ladies of the past. And what a splendid program! At the turn of the 20th century, this was the sort of repertoire that violinists played, not just at home but in recital, when the borderline between popular favorites, salon music, and big, serious works was hardly as firmly drawn as it is today. Rachel Barton Pine takes us back to that earlier time, uncovering some forgotten gems in the process. A great disc to relax to after a hard day at the office or minding the kids.
ANTON BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 7
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Bernard Haitink
CSO Resound 901 704(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11309
This disc answers the musical question: What happens when the inmates start running the asylum? Many orchestras are now producing their own recordings by some means or other, and as you might expect the results have been mixed. This new Bruckner Seventh, though, is an unqualified triumph, a glorious performance by a conductor and orchestra intimately familiar with the idiom, working at the top of their form. If the climax of the Adagio doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, you’re probably deader than Bruckner.
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (arr. Mahler); Genoveva Overture
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly
Decca 475 8352(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10822
Yes, the “major labels” still exist, and still manage to let their “major artists” make a serious classical recording now and then. This is certainly one of them, and you simply have to buy it because not only is it wonderful (and far more interesting than Chailly’s earlier, “normal” Schumann symphony recordings), but if you don’t care then why should these former industry giants bother at all?
GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL
Arias from Ariodante, Giulio Cesare, & Arianna in Creta
Angelika Kirchschlager (mezzo-soprano)
Kammerorchester Basel
Laurence Cummings
Sony Classical 82876 889522(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10835
As with Universal, the RCA/Sony conglomerate is spending a lot of its energy on reissues and crossover product, so it’s all the more interesting when they offer new releases of traditional repertoire. Kirchschlager may not have a name like Bartoli or Fleming, but can she ever sing Handel! Certainly this was one of the great vocal recitals of 2007.
BÉLA BARTÓK
Kossuth; The Wooden Prince (complete)
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Zoltán Kocsis
Hungaroton 32502(SACD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10978
Hungaroton has seemed adrift in recent years, issuing new recordings of mostly very obscure early music that, however well played, were hardly likely to compete with the heavy-hitters in this particular field (think of Harmonia Mundi). So it was a great idea for the label to get back to its roots and start a new Bartók Edition with today’s best Hungarian artists. Certainly the three discs released so far, under the inspired leadership of Zoltán Kocsis, easily promise to surpass the label’s older recordings, both interpretively and sonically.
BOHUSLAV MARTINU
Cello Sonata No. 2; Variations on a Theme of Rossini
LEOS JANÁCEK
Fairy Tale
MILOSLAV KABELÁC
Cello Sonata Op. 9
Tomás Jamník (cello); Ivo Kahánek (piano)
Supraphon SU 3928-2(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11249
In addition to its legendary back catalog (the important Talich Edition was also completed this year), Supraphon continues to exploit a seemingly bottomless pit of fine young Czech musicians, nowhere more than in this exceptional collection of 20th-century Czech music for cello and piano. If you haven’t heard it yet (and you probably haven’t), the Kabelác sonata is a major find—but then all of the music is marvelous, and so are the performances.
HECTOR BERLIOZ
L’enfance du Christ
Yann Beuron (tenor); Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano); William Dazeley (baritone); Matthew Rose, Peter Rose (bass)
Tenebrae Choir
London Symphony Orchestra
Colin Davis
LSO 0606(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11247
The LSO was one of the first major orchestras to create its own record label, and it remains one of the most successful. Aside from capturing Haitink’s best Beethoven cycle this year, the LSO label, with Colin Davis, continues redoing Berlioz (while Davis’ earlier recordings remain available on Philips, at least theoretically). Not all of the remakes have been improvements, but this recording certainly is. It’s also a perfect choice for the holiday season, especially if you can’t bear the thought of another Handel Messiah.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin; Satires; Five Romances on Words from "Krokodil" Magazine; Preface to the Complete Edition of My Works and a Brief Reflection Apropos this Preface; Eight Waltzes from film music
Sergei Leiferkus (bass)
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Thomas Sanderling
Deutsche Grammophon 00289 477 6111(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11006
Another “sleeper” of a disc, this brilliant collection of very idiomatically orchestrated song cycles and film music excerpts deserves a home in every serious Shostakovich collection. Sanderling knew the composer well, and he conducts all of the music to the manner born. The entertaining, popular style of the waltz suite provides the perfect foil to the bitter sarcasm of many of the songs. Get this while you can; God only knows how long DG will keep it available. At least now if it goes out of print, chances are good that it will re-emerge as an “on demand” title through Arkivmusic.com, bless them.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Symphonies Nos. 3 "Eroica" & 8
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Paavo Järvi
RCA 88697-13066-2(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11114
And you thought that there was nothing more to be said in Beethoven! This cycle and Vänskä’s Minnesota recordings on BIS will continue to be the outstanding Beethoven symphony events of 2008. Järvi and his band manage to take the music to a new level in terms of sheer perfection of execution, but without ever sounding precious or affected, and without compromising its rugged integrity. Stunning!
SONG OF MY HEART: ORCHESTRAL SONGS
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA
Three Sonnets of Shakespeare; Five Sonnets to Orpheus; The Lovers; God's Way; Three Songs from the Opera Aleksis Kivi
Gabriel Suovanen (baritone)
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam
Ondine 1085-2(CD)
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10743
This label scored something of coup with its series of recordings featuring Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra (the best being the Mahler Sixth). However, like Bridge and its Crumb Edition, Ondine’s ongoing Rautavaara recordings show the relationship between a well-run, quality-conscious firm and contemporary music at its very best, facts that strike me as more important (and musically rewarding). Although Rautavaara is not known primarily as a song composer, these are beautiful and affecting pieces, particularly the cycle taken from the opera Aleksis Kivi. The stars of Finnish music only continue to rise as we move into 2008.
Happy Listening!
