Our guide to the most outstanding new classical music albums of 2022. Featuring sensational new versions of Bach's St Matthew Passion, Beethoven's symphonies, Vivaldi's violin concertos and much more
This is our guide to the best classical music albums reviewed in Gramophone magazine in 2022.
Each album is linked to the original Gramophone review in Gramophone's Reviews Database. The best way to explore new classical recordings is to subscribe to Gramophone magazine. Find out more at: magsubscriptions.com
See also:
● The best Beethoven recordings of 2022
● The best JS Bach recordings of 2022
● The best solo piano recordings of 2022
Beethoven Symphony No3, ‘Eroica’ (transcrLiszt) Mozart Piano Concerto No20, K466 (transcrAlkan)
Paul Wee pf
BIS
Pianist Paul Wee proves himself a master of these treacherously demanding transcriptions, sweeping aside the technical challenges to present these great works with consummate musicianship.
Read the Gramophone review
Brahms Symphony No 1 Dvořák Symphony No 6
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra / JakubHrůša
Tudor
A superb chance to hear Covent Garden’s next Music Director in Brahms and Dvořák, with a particularly fine recording of the latter’s Symphony No 6.
Read the Gramophone review
MahlerSymphony No9
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / SirSimonRattle
BR-Klassik
Sir Simon Rattle brings to Mahler’s Ninth the sense of occasion, unique in the hearing and fresh in the discovery, that all great performances of this music should convey.
Read the Gramophone review
Beethoven. Franck. SchumannViolin Sonatas
Renaud Capuçon vn Martha Argerich pf
DG
A record of a poignant occasion for two of today’s finest artists, captured together in an evening of wonderful music-making.
Read the Gramophone review
Shostakovich. WaltonString Quartets
Albion Quartet
Signum
I was instantly stuck by the sheer vividness – both the compellingly committed playing and the immediacy of sound – of this superb chamber album from the Albion Quartet.
Read the Gramophone review
‘A Golden CelloDecade’
Steven Isserlis vc Connie Shih pf
Hyperion
Any programme by cellist Steven Isserlis is always chosen, prepared and ultimately performed with devotion; joined here by pianist Connie Shih, this is another wonderful album.
Read the Gramophone review
Chaminade‘Piano Music, Vol2’
Mark Viner pf
Piano Classics
Wonderful music, performed with charm, affection and, when required, fabulous virtuosity, by pianist Mark Viner; asuperb follow up to his equally impressive first volume of Chaminade.
Read the Gramophone review
Montgeroult Études
Clare Hammond pf
BIS
The splendid music of this fascinating French composer, in many ways ahead of its time, deserves to be far better known– and receives gloriously eloquent advocacy from pianist Clare Hammond.
Read the Gramophone review
Cristo Missa Salve regina. Motets
Cupertinos / LuísToscana
Hyperion
Gramophone Early Music Award-winners in 2019, Luís Toscano’s Cupertinos offer us a beautiful recording of Marian works by Renaissance Portuguese composer Pedro de Cristo.
Read the Gramophone review
‘Roma travestita’
Bruno de Sá counterten IlPomod’Oro / FrancescoCorti
Erato
Sopranist Bruno de Sá demonstrates his brilliance of voice in a programme of 18th-century music written for castrato, with marvellous support from Il Pomo d’Oro.
Read the Gramophone review
ByrdPsalmes, Songs andSonnets
The Sixteen / Harry Christophers (Coro)
As we look ahead to Byrd’s 400th anniversary next year, here’s a wonderful recording of his last full publication, a mixture of styles from psalms to madrigals, gloriously performed by The Sixteen.
Read the Gramophone review
BrucknerSymphony No4
London Symphony Orchestra / SirSimonRattle(LSO Live)
‘A beautifully articulated, free-flowing performance’ is how Richard Osborne describes this fascinating and perceptive account of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony.
Read the Gramophone review
Schubert Symphonies Nos8&9
Le Concert des Nations / JordiSavall(Alia Vox)
Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations follow their excellent Beethoven cycle with a period pairing of two Schubert symphonies, both receiving performances of persuasive power.
Read the Gramophone review
‘The Playhouse Sessions’
Barokksolistene / BjarteEike(Rubicon)
Bjarte Eike and his Barokksolistene approach this music and its cultural context with open hearts and minds. Catch Bjarte Eike discussing the album on a recent Gramophone podcast too.
Read the Gramophone review
Debussy ‘Early and Late Piano Pieces’
Steven Osborne pf(Hyperion)
Each new album from pianist StevenOsborne offers beautifully prepared interpretations with something distinctive to say about the repertoire – and this latest Debussy recital is no exception.
Read the Gramophone review
SzymanowskiPiano Works
Krystian Zimerman pf(DG)
It is always a privilegeto hear Krystian Zimerman on record, and this programme of Szymanowski’s music – recorded either side of a 15-year interval– is predictably stunning.
Read the Gramophone review
SteelantTwo Requiems
CantoLX; B’RockOrchestra / FrankAgsteribbe(Pentatone)
Two Requiems from the 17th-century composer Philippe van Steelant show the breadth of his style and, in this excellent recording, make a strong case for his music.
Read the Gramophone review
‘The Psalms’
The Choir of StJohn’s College, Cambridge / AndrewNethsingha(Signum)
‘Psalm-singing informs everything else we do,’ says AndrewNethsinga; this beautifully sung recording from St John’s takes us into that powerful and poetic heart of choral life.
Read the Gramophone review
Donizetti. Rossini‘French Bel CantoArias’
Lisette Oropesa sop Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra / CorradoRovaris(Pentatone)
Here is a superb album of bel canto arias either written or revised for Paris performances from a star soprano.
Read the Gramophone review
HandelAmadigi di Gaula
Sols; Early Opera Company / ChristianCurnyn(Chandos)
A lesser-known Handel opera, Amadigi di Gaula, given excellent advocacy by some superb soloists, ChristianCurnyn and players, and our new Label of the Year.
Read the Gramophone review
Meyerbeer Robert le diable
Sols; Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine / MarcMinkowski
Bru Zane
Initially a musical and theatrical sensation, but now rarely heard – surely something that this brilliantly performed recording, conducted by MarcMinkowski, will do much to address.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
‘Hollywood Soundstage’
Sinfonia of London / JohnWilson
Chandos
A sumptuous sound world from a conductor and his ensemble who, album after album, impress and delight, making us relish the details of scores and the very art of recording afresh.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
‘Recuerdos’
Augustin Hadelich vn WDR Symphony Orchestra / Cristian Măcelaru
Warner Classics
Augustin Hadelich offers us a programme– Britten and Prokofiev concertos, plus takes on Carmen and Tárrega– that’s beautifully thought-through and gloriously played.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
Mendelssohn ‘Complete String Quartets, Vol1’
Van Kuijk Quartet
Alpha
The Paris-based Van Kuijk Quartet follow their impressive Mozart surveys with an equally compelling start to a Mendelssohn string quartet cycle, one that looks to be well worth following.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
JS Bach Six Solo Violin (Cello) Suites
Giuliano Carmignola vn
Arcana
Such is their beauty, the Bach cello suites have often been borrowed by others to sublime effect; this wonderful set byviolinist Giuliano Carmignola reveals alltheir spirituality.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
Saint-Saëns Piano Transcriptions
Cyprien Katsaris pf
Piano21
A chance to celebrate the music of Saint-Saëns – as well as, as Jeremy Nicholas rightly suggests in his review, the contribution made to musical life by this recording’s pianist, Cyprien Katsaris.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
‘Laus Deo’
John Robinson org
Regent
A superbly recorded recital marking the 50th anniversary of the organ of Blackburn Cathedral from its Director of Music John Robinson, repertoire and – crucially of course – player both revealing it in all its sonic splendour.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
Lusitano Motets
The Marian Consort / RoryMcCleery
Linn
Vicente Lusitano – a rare, and probably the first, example of a mixed-race Renaissance composer – is given hugely impressive and inspiring advocacy here, his music revealed for its variety and beauty.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
Tippett The Midsummer Marriage
Sols; London Philharmonic Orchestra / EdwardGardner
LPO
Tippett’s opera is brought vividly to life byEdward Gardner, the LPO and a superbcast featuring many young Britishsingers.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
‘Insieme’
Jonas Kaufmann ten Ludovic Tézier bar Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia / SirAntonio Pappano
Sony Classical
A hugely enjoyable new tenor-baritone double-act album to add to your collection.
Read the review in our Reviews Database
‘Arias’
Jonathan Tetelman ten Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra / Karel Mark Chichon
DG
‘The most exciting tenor discovery to come my way since the appearance of Jonas Kaufmann,’ writes critic Mark Pullinger. What more can I add to that except to encourage you to discover him too!
Read the Gramophone review
JS Bach ‘Harpsichord Concertos, Vol3’
Il Pomo d’Oro / Francesco Corti hpd
Pentatone
A fascinating series continues with Francesco Corti joined by colleagues– including on a second harpsichord– for Volume 3. Scintillating playing, and excellently recorded.
Read the Gramophone review
‘Secret Love Letters’
Lisa Batiashvili vn Philadelphia Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin
DG
Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto receives a beautifully coloured performance here– just part of a compelling album from the superb Lisa Batiashvili.
Read the Gramophone review
Del Cinque Sonatas for Two and Three Cellos
Ludovico Minasi, Cristina Vidoni, Teodoro Baù vcs et al
Arcana
Ermenegildo Del Cinque proved a joyous discovery for our esteemed critic– and for me too– thanks to this excellent advocacy.
Read the Gramophone review
F & F Mendelssohn Chamber Works
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Chandos
Another superb album from the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, with a real rarity, and steeped throughout in a highly engaging collaborative spirit.
Read the Gramophone review
Prokofiev. A & N Tcherepnin Piano Works
Alexander Gadjiev pf
AVI-Music
Alexander Gadjiev– the second-placed pianist at last year’s Chopin Competition– further enhances his reputation with an adventurous and brilliantly played Russian programme.
Read the Gramophone review
Senfl Choral Works
Singer Pur; EnsembleLeones
Oehms
Singer Pur offer us a vivid and characterful programme of works by Ludwig Senfl, drawing on the Swiss Renaissance composer’s sacred and secular music forahighly engaging album.
Read the Gramophone review
Wolf Italienisches Liederbuch
Carolyn Sampson sop Allan Clayton ten Joseph Middleton pf
BIS
Carolyn Sampson and Allan Clayton’s ability to embody and communicate characters is well matched here in Wolf by the equally poetic pianist Joseph Middleton.
Read the Gramophone review
‘Lieder’
Matthias Goerne bar Daniil Trifonov pf
DG
More superb lieder from another singer of intelligence and insight, baritone Matthias Goerne, his partner here in Schumann, Brahms, Berg and others the renowned virtuoso Daniil Trifonov.
Read the Gramophone review
Lampe The Dragon of Wantley
Sols; The Brook Street Band / John Andrews
Resonus
A delightful piece of18th-century comic opera heritage, TheDragon of Wantley couldn’t ask for a better introduction to modern audiences than John Andrews’s lively performance.
Read the Gramophone review
Mahler Symphony No4
Sabine Devieilhe sop Les Siècles / François-Xavier Roth (Harmonia Mundi)
Last month’s cover artist discussed the rationale behind his period-performance of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, and the results are as revelatory as we might have hoped. A wonderful recording.
Read the full review
Schubert Symphonies Nos8&9
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra / HerbertBlomstedt (DG)
Herbert Blomstedt, now 94, draws on a lifetime of Schubertian wisdom, experience and affection in what David Threasher calls ‘a rather special recording’.
Read the full review
‘Jurowski Conducts Stravinsky, Vol 1’
London Philharmonic Orchestra / VladimirJurowski (LPO)
Magnificent interpretations of The Firebird and The Rite of Spring, just two parts of a generous opening to a three-album series.
Read the full review
‘A Cembalo certato a Violino solo’
Johannes Pramsohler vn Philippe Grisvard hpd (Audax)
This intelligently programmed set places Bach’s six sonatas for violin and harpsichord in the context of his time with first recordings of many works from the era.
Read the full review
‘Corazón’
John-Henry Crawford vc Victor Santiago Asuncion pf (Orchid)
John-Henry Crawford’s love affair with Latin American music was sparked by winning First Prize in Mexico’s 2019 Carlos Prieto Competition, and this delightful release is the result.
Read the full review
Haydn Piano Sonatas, Vol11
Jean-Efflam Bavouzetpf (Chandos)
A brilliant series ends on a note worthy of all the previous volumes – Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s desire to share his affection for Haydn’s music with us is infectious. Asuperb survey.
Read the full review
D Scarlatti Keyboard Sonatas
Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy pf (Piano Classics)
‘A deeply fulfilling and beautifully engineered Scarlatti programme,’ writes JedDistler of this album from Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy. Do listen to it.
Read the full review
Blackford Mirror of Perfection
Britten Sinfonia / DavidHill (Lyrita)
Two works by Richard Blackford – one a second recording, and wonderfully done at that, the second a response to Covid – earn admiration from our critic Guy Rickards.
Read the full review
Massenet ‘Songs with Orchestra’
Sols; Paris Chamber Orchestra / HervéNiquet (Bru Zane)
A stylishly performed recital of 25of Massenet’s songs, only four previously recorded, by a vocal line-up and conductor truly alive to the composer’s sound world.
Read the full review
Mouton Missa Faulte d’argent
The Brabant Ensemble / StephenRice (Hyperion)
There’s a vivid sense of excitement in the Brabant Ensemble’s approach to Mouton’s music, the late-medieval works full of variety, character andindividuality.
Read the full review
Fauré Complete Songs
Cyrille Dubois ten Tristan Raës pf (Aparté)
An ambitious project – all of Fauré’s 103 songs recorded by the same singer – but one realised with real beauty and style by tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës. A superb achievement.
Read the review
Beethoven Symphony No6 Stucky Silent Spring
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / ManfredHoneck (Reference Recordings)
Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh players offer a fascinating Pastoral and thought-provoking pairing, in first-class sound.
Read the review
Liszt Piano Concertos Nos1 & 2. Piano Sonata
Alexander Ullman pf BBCSymphony Orchestra / AndrewLitton (Rubicon)
Alexander Ullman’s strong desire to present Liszt’s music as the extraordinary art it is, is evident throughout this wonderful album.
Read the review
Listen: Alexander Ullman on the Gramophone Podcast
Beethoven Two Cello Sonatas, Op102. Bagatelles
Roel Dieltiens vc Andreas Staier fp (Harmonia Mundi)
A glorious recording that reminds us of the many different styles and sound worlds period performance can delight us with, from two really excellent interpreters.
Read the review
Holmboe String Quartets, Vol 2
NightingaleQuartet (Dacapo)
The brilliant Nightingale Quartet continue their exploration and advocacy of Holmboe’s music with this beautifully performed programme, including his final thoughts on the medium.
Read the review
Hahn ‘Poèmes & Valses’
Pavel Kolesnikov pf (Hyperion)
A poetic survey of Hahn miniatures from pianist Pavel Kolesnikov which, writesMichelle Assay, brings us ‘closer to the core of these pieces than any other available recording’.
Read the review
‘This is America’
Johnny Gandelsman vn (In a Circle)
Twenty fournew works byAmerican and US‑based composers– 21 of them commissioned for the project – rich in diversity but united by interpretative beauty and belief from violinist Johnny Gandelsman.
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Ravel ‘Cantates pour le Prix de Rome’
Sols; Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire / PascalRophé (BIS)
The judges may not have crowned these early Ravel works with the Prix de Rome, but now, thanks to these superb soloists and performances, we can make up own minds!
Read the review
‘A Meditation’
The Sixteen / HarryChristophers (Coro)
A programme of music old and new built around the Meditations of John Henry Newman, and performed with customary power and precision by the ever-impressive Harry Christophers and The Sixteen.
Read the review
‘Oh, ma belle brunette’
Reinoud Van Mechelen ten ANocteTemporis (Alpha)
Baroque pastoral charm from Reinoud Van Mechelen, whose tenor voice offers listeners both grace and intimacy as we escape into a wonderful world of song.
Read the review
Ravel Piano Concertos. Songs
Cédric Tiberghien pf Stéphane Degout bar LesSiècles / François-Xavier Roth
Harmonia Mundi
An album that wonderfully reveals Ravel’s originality; richly coloured pianism, performed on a beautiful sounding 1892 Pleyel, is echoed in Les Siècles’s period playing and Stéphane Degout’s songs.
Read theGramophonereview
Sibelius Symphony No 7
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Collon
Ondine
A Sibelius programme prepared with deep thought, a powerful reading of the final symphony sitting perfectly with the two accompanying suites.
Read theGramophonereview
Coleridge-Taylor Chamber Works
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Chandos
Three works written by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor aged 18, hardly heard until recent years, but given splendid advocacy by the ever exploratory Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
Read theGramophonereview
‘Alter Ego’
David Orlowsky cl DavidBergmüller lute
Warner Classics
An unexpected – and unexpectedly beguiling – album that blends the voices of the clarinet and lute together with extraordinary success, in a manner as mysterious as it is riveting.
Read theGramophonereview
Bolcom The Complete Rags
Marc-André Hamelin pf
Hyperion
A completely triumphant – and entirely authoritative – survey of William Bolcom’s rags, performances filled to the brim with all the character these glorious pieces require.
Read theGramophonereview
Messiaen Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus
Bertrand Chamayou pf
Erato
A deeply spiritual journey through a deeply spiritual work, a highly personal project by our recent Recording of the Year-winning pianist, and one you can read more about in the July issue.
Read theGramophonereview
Champion Missa de Sancta MariaMagdalena
Cappella Pratensis / Stratton Bull
Challenge Classics
A fascinating exploration of performance practice and the role of improvisation in early music, but most important of all, the resulting recording is strikingly splendid.
Read theGramophonereview
Josquin ‘Tant vous aime…’
Doulce Mémoire / DenisRaisin Dadre
Ricercar
The atmosphere and sound world created by Doulce Mémoire’s gloriously presented performances of Josquin songs instantly transports us to anera far from our own.
Read theGramophonereview
‘Battle Cry – SheSpeaks’
Helen Charlston mez Toby Carr theorbo
Delphian
Helen Charlston has crafted a superb programme of music old and new which perfectly plays to her strengths, greatly enhanced by the rapport shared with theorbo player Toby Carr.
Read theGramophonereview
Podcast: Helen Charlston on her first solo album, 'Battle Cry: She Speaks'
‘Phrases’
Héloïse Werner sop
Delphian
One of the most imaginative talents among today’s young generation of singers and composers, Héloïse Werner’s debut solo album explores language via vocal virtuosity, humour and heartfelt music-making.
Read theGramophonereview
See also: Watch an exclusive video from Héloïse Werner's new album
Handel LaResurrezione
Sols; The English Concert / HarryBicket
Linn
Handel’s operatic Easter oratorio gets a beautifully elegant reading from HarryBicket, who leads an excellent English Concert and a superb all-British set of soloists in this truly wonderful recording.
Read the Gramophone review
Read more: Handel's message for the modern world
Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3
Kristian Bezuidenhout fp Freiburg Baroque Orchestra / Pablo Heras-Casado
Harmonia Mundi
Kristian Bezuidenhout completes his super set of the Beethoven concertos with this joyously spirited pairing of Nos 1 and 3.
Read the Gramophone review
Saint-Saëns Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2
Alexandre Kantorow pf Tapiola Sinfonietta / Jean-Jacques Kantorow
BIS
Another concerto set completion, and one that reveals exactly why Alexandre Kantorow graces this issue’s cover.
Read the Gramophone review
Read more: Inside Brahms’s Piano Sonata No 2 with Alexandre Kantorow
Weill Symphony No 2. Shostakovich Symphony No5
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Lahav Shani
Warner Classics
A fabulous opportunity to hear KurtWeill’s Second Symphony from young conductor Lahav Shani, partnered with a dramatic reading of Shostakovich Symphony No5.
Read the Gramophone review
Read more: Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony – a deep dive into the best recordings
Schnittke. Shostakovich. Silvestrov ‘Outcast’
Matangi Quartet
Matangi
‘A genuinely remarkable disc,’ writes IvanMoody of the Matangi Quartet’s recording, their playing revealing a powerful and vivid sense of focus in a well-chosen programme.
Read the Gramophone review
Beethoven. Brahms. Mozart ‘Variations’
Simon Trpčeski pf
Linn
Three masters of variation form – Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart – are explored, and very clearly enjoyed, by pianist Simon Trpčeski on this delightful album.
Read the Gramophone review
Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No1. Moments musicaux
Steven Osborne pf
Hyperion
Where today would one turn ‘for more idiomatic, more intelligent, or more beautiful Rachmaninov-playing’ asks PatrickRucker after hearing Steven Osborne’s new release?
Read the Gramophone review
Read more: Top 10 Sergei Rachmaninov recordings
‘An Old Belief’
The Sixteen / HarryChristophers
Coro
A hugely varied programme musically and powerfully united thematically, this album shows the impeccable approach to interpretation Harry Christophers and The Sixteen bring to everything they perform.
Read the Gramophone review
Read more: The Sixteen at 40 – ‘the basic principle of just loving what we were doing has never left us; it’s been the whole nature of the group’
‘A Room of Mirrors’
Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Zachary Wilder tens Ensemble IGemelli
Gemelli Factory
From the opening number, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, fellow tenor Zachary Wilder, and Ensemble I Gemelli have us gripped with irresistible music-making.
Read the Gramophone review
‘Rivales’
Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau sops LeConcert de la Loge/ JulienChauvin
Alpha
Two of today’s finest sopranos, Véronique Gens and Sandrine Piau, reveal their complete mastery of bringing this sort of repertoire to compelling theatrical life.
Read the Gramophone review
Beethoven ‘Diabelli’ Variations
Mitsuko Uchida pf
Decca
This revelatory recording ofthe Diabelli Variations– Mitsuko Uchida’s first soloalbum for almost a decade– stands out as a dazzling addition to this work’s rich interpretative history. A superb release.
Read the review
‘Mozart Momentum 1786’
Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Leif Ove Andsnespf
Sony Classical
Volume two of ‘Mozart Momentum’ is every bit as brilliant as the first; focusing on works from 1786, it’s as rich in collaborative spirit as in pianistic refinement.
Read the review
JS Bach ‘The Complete Works forKeyboard, Vol6’
Benjamin Alard clav/hpd
Harmonia Mundi
Book one of The Well-Tempered Clavier is brought to us by Benjamin Alard on a remarkable sounding (and looking) harpsichord. A superb performance.
Read the review
JS Bach Goldberg Variations
Klára Würtz pf
Piano Classics
Klára Würtz’s Goldbergs explores Bach’s extraordinary and revered set of variations with selfless commitment and personality, bringing delicacy, drama and architectural splendour to this great music.
Read the review
Handel ‘Winged Hands’
Francesco Corti hpd
Arcana
Our second harpsichord album of the month, and this time it’s Handel, and Francesco Corti, a player who can draw glorious interpretative colour from both his instrument and his chosen repertoire.
Read the review
Schubert Piano Sonatas Nos13 & 18
Stephen Hough pf
Hyperion
Really lovely playing from Stephen Hough, who offers us the most beautifully shaped sound, and a vision of Schubert’s music that feels as exploratory as it does rich in understanding of those wonderful works.
Read the review
R Clarke ‘Sempiternam’
State Choir Latvija / MārisSirmais
Métier
This, the second release by the Métier label devoted to the music of Rhona Clarke, perfectly pairs the composer’s choral music with the superb State Choir Latvija’s richly resonant sound.
Read the review
Jóhannsson Drone Mass
Theatre of Voices; American Contemporary Music Ensemble / PaulHillier
DG
The compelling sound world of the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson is powerfully captured in this epic work.
Read the review
Listen to Paul Hillier discuss Drone Mass on the Gramophone Podcast:
Nesbit Sacred Choral Music
The Choir of King’s College London / JosephFort
Delphian
Edward Nesbit’s music entrances with a distinctive voice that pairs a mysterious melodic beauty, superbly sung by Ruby Hughes, with a beautifully crafted texture.
Read the review
Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge andOther Songs
Nicky Spence tenJulius Drake pf Timothy Ridout va Piatti Quartet
Hyperion
Nicky Spence and colleagues deliver this set of Vaughan Williams songs with the passion and conviction of true storytellers.
Read the review
JS BachSt Matthew Passion
Sols; Pygmalion / RaphaëlPichon
Harmonia Mundi
This recording of Bach’sSt Matthew Passion has extraordinary impact – rich in remarkable singing which conveys an intense humanity, and a superb sense of pace and drama, all beautifully recorded.
Read the review
Abrahamsen Schnee
Lapland Chamber Orchestra / JohnStorgårds
Dacapo
The sound world ofAbrahamsen’s Schnee– ‘snow’ – is beguiling in its balance of mysterious fragility and strength, and masterfully performed and recorded here.
Read the review
Gershwin. Rachmaninov Rhapsodies
Martin James Bartlett pf London Philharmonic Orchestra / JoshuaWeilerstein
Warner Classics
Martin James Bartlett makes a superb statement with playing of joy and virtuosity.
Read the review
Listen to Martin James Bartlett discuss 'Rhapsody' on the Gramophone Podcast:
Nielsen. Sibelius Violin Concertos
Johan Dalene vnRoyal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / JohnStorgårds
BIS
The violinist Johan Dalene further impresses with performances of two great concertos that sit among the very finest.
Read the review
Vivaldi L’estro armonico JSBach Concertos after L’estroarmonico
Concerto Italiano / RinaldoAlessandrini
Naïve
‘Ican’t remember when Ilast enjoyed a Vivaldi album as much as this,’ writes CharlotteGardner: discover it for yourself!
Read the review
SibeliusComplete Symphonies
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra / KlausMäkelä
Decca
This is an extraordinary debut from a remarkable young conductor; Klaus Mäkelä offering us an absolutely compelling journey through Sibelius’s symphonies.
Read the review
● Klaus Mäkelä interview – ‘You don’t have to play for the hall; you just have to seduce the microphones’: Still in his twenties, the Oslo Philharmonic’s Chief Conductor Klaus Mäkelä is remarkably clear-sighted about what he wants to achieve and how – even after lockdown required a different approach to recording his debut album of the Sibelius symphonies, writes Andrew Mellor.
MendelssohnString Quintets
Doric Quartet with Timothy Ridout va
Chandos
The Doric Quartet regularly impress, their collegiate sense of shared vision evident in drama and delicacy alike; this Chandos set of Mendelssohn quintets is as fine as we’d hope and expect.
Read the review
Bruhns ‘Cantatas &Organ Works, Vol1’
Yale Institute of Sacred Music / MasaakiSuzuki
BIS
Masaaki Suzuki– always a brilliant guide for us in the major musical figures– here introduces us to the lesser-known Nicolaus Bruhns, and it’s an invitation well worth accepting.
Read the review
Rachmaninov ‘Dissonance’
Asmik Grigorian sop Lukas Geniušas pf
Alpha
From the opening bars of each song, Asmik Grigorian brings passion, personality and drama to these Rachmaninov gems, matched at every step by Lukas Geniušas’s superb pianism.
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Handel ‘Dualità’
Emőke Baráth sop Artaserse / PhilippeJaroussky
Erato
A fabulous soprano of our own age pays tribute to two stars of Handel’s day, and in so doing offers a wonderful programme of arias, spell-binding in its theatricality and virtuosity.
Read the review
Leclair. Locatelli. VivaldiViolin Concertos
Théotime Langlois de Swarte vn LesOmbres
Harmonia Mundi
A name already familiar in this space from a re-creation of a Proust recital (read the review), Théotime Langlois de Swarte’s glorious new album is Baroque music-making at its most beautiful and joyful.
Read the review
Dohnányi Concertos
Sols; Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz / Modestas Pitrėnas
Capriccio
A superbly performed selection of Dohnányi works from players entirely immersed in his musical voice, led by a conductor who inspires them all the way.
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Ravel OrchestralWorks
Sinfonia of London / JohnWilson
Chandos
John Wilson brings his extraordinary ability to find the colour and soul in an orchestral score to bear on Ravel: together with his hand-picked soloists he offers us ravishing riches indeed.
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Moeran ChamberWorks
FidelioTrio
Resonus
That Moeran’s music means so much to the players of the Fidelio Trio is clear from the very beginning of this delightful album, the lyrical lines delivered with evident affection, as well as musical excellence.
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‘Horn & Piano’
Teunis van der Zwart hn Alexander Melnikov fp
Harmonia Mundi
What a feast of sounds! Teunis van der Zwart’s natural horn and Alexander Melnikov’s fortepiano offer us a captivating and wholly glorious tribute to the18th-century virtuoso Giovanni Punto.
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Bacewicz PianoWorks
Peter Jablonski pf
Ondine
Following up his superb Stanchinsky album last year, Peter Jablonski turns his attention to Bacewicz, offering equally fine advocacy to a composer whose music is coming to be much more widelyrecognised.
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‘B-A-C-H’
Simon Johnson org
Chandos
An extraordinary instrument – that of StPaul’s Cathedral, London – in repertoire perfectly chosen to show off its sonic splendour, all performed by an artist offormidable skill and musicality.
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JS Bach StJohnPassion
Sols; Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists / John EliotGardiner
DG
‘An immersive Passion which takes no prisoners’, says Jonathan Freeman‑Attwood of this performance, from one of the foremast Bach conductors of our age.
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‘Eden’
Joyce DiDonato mez IlPomo d’Oro / MaximEmelyanychev
Erato
An album to focus us on our relationship to nature, delivered with passion by Joyce DiDonato and her colleagues – a powerful example of how music can relate so well to our wider world.
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● Joyce DiDonato’s bold new musical mission – ‘I’m not really interested in superficiality right now, there’s plenty of that’: DiDonato’s new project asks us to reconnect with the natural world, finds Martin Cullingford – and what better way to do that than simply to stop and listen?
‘Russian Roots’
Katharina Konradi sop TrioGaspard
Chandos
Kyrgyzstan soprano Katharina Konradi and Trio Gaspard offer us a diverse range of Russian-related works spanning centuries– from Beethoven to Auerbach, via Weinberg – all brilliantly performed.
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Beethoven ‘Révolution, Vol2’Symphonies Nos 6-9
Le Concert des Nations / JordiSavall
Alia Vox
This is a thrilling, physical, probingly musical and invigoratingly alive-feeling period performance set of Beethoven symphonies, and a triumphant second half of conductor Jordi Savall’s full cycle.
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Respighi. Schoenberg. RStrauss‘Métamorphoses nocturnes’
Appassionato / MathieuHerzog
Naïve
Extraordinary string sound here from the former Ébène Quartet member’s ensemble.
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BrahmsClarinet Sonatas
Michael Collins cl Stephen Hough pf
BIS
The third recording of the Brahms’s Clarinet sonatas from Michael Collins – see the January issue for his reasons for returning to the works – and a very beautifully performed one too.
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Weinberg‘Light in Darkness’
Linus Roth vn et al
Evil Penguin
Linus Roth’s invaluable contribution to the Weinberg discography is here added to with another fine album, encompassing most of the works involving violin he’d not previously recorded.
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CPE BachSonatas & Rondos
Marc-André Hamelinpf
Hyperion
Music of the ‘maverick of the Bach dynasty’, as reviewer Michelle Assay puts it, brought splendidly to life by a master pianist in both the reflective and the rhythmically joyous pieces alike.
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Liszt‘Vol1: Death and Transfiguration’
Kenneth Hamilton pf
Prima Facie
Kenneth Hamilton offers a richly rewarding and brilliantly played Liszt survey, clearly deeplythought-through, and furthermore recorded on a fabulous sounding piano.
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‘Maria & Maddalena’
Francesca Aspromonte sop IBarocchisti / DiegoFasolis
Pentatone
Music exploring the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, communicated with compelling engagement, in a superb Baroque recital.
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‘Song’
The Hermes Experiment
Delphian
An entrancing album of songs, at times disarmingly moving, the group’s unique line-up (harp, clarinet, soprano, double bass) lending them all, despite their diversity, an intimate shared sound world.
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RameauAcante et Céphise
Les Ambassadeurs– LaGrande Écurie / AlexisKossenko
Erato
An ‘enthralling triumph’ writes reviewer David Vickers, owing as much to perfect principal casting as to the impeccable instrumental playing throughout.
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‘Mirrors’
Jeanine De Bique sop Concerto Köln / LucaQuintavalle
Berlin Classics
A glorious showcase for Jeanine De Bique, whose rich and characterful voice displays jaw-dropping precision in passages of thrilling virtuosity, and poignant grace in the slower numbers.
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Listen to Jeanine De Bique discuss 'Mirrors' on the Gramophone Podcast:
Grieg Songs
Lise Davidsen sopLeif Ove Andsnes pf
Decca
This magazine’s admiration for the young soprano Lise Davidsen has led to a number of accolades already – and this album, on which Leif Ove Andsnes proves a perfect partner, deserves another.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
MessiaenOrchestral Works
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / KentNagano
BR-Klassik
This superb collection of large-scale works by Messiaen, including Poèmes pour Mi and a remarkable LaTransfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus‑Christ, is brilliantly recorded.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
Arensky. ShostakovichPiano Trios
Trio Con Brio Copenhagen
Orchid
Two trios from Shostakovich – including his extraorindary Second – and one from Arensky, played with compelling conviction by Trio Con Brio Copenhagen.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
BartókString Quartets, Vol2
Ragazze Quartet
Channel Classics
Incredibly vivid Bartók-playing from the Ragazze Quartet, full of gripping physicality (superbly captured) which always seems to probe the music’s extremes in a way which feels utterly enticing.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
Saint-Saëns‘Chamber Music withWinds’
Soloists of the Orchestre de Paris
Indésens
A truly delightful contribution to Saint-Saëns anniversary events – a survey of his chamber music for wind instrument, from the players of the Orchestre de Paris.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
‘Sol & Pat’
Patricia Kopatchinskaja vn SolGabetta vc
Alpha
Two brilliantly individual soloists bring their personalities to a partnership (and to incredibly diverse repertoire!) and an album that delights from beginning to end.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
‘Time Traveler’s Suite’
Inon Barnatan pf
Pentatone
A fascinating and thought-provoking piece of programming – spanning the Baroque to the 21st century – that works wonderfully, thanks of course to Inon Barnatan’s hugely impressive pianism.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
Monteverdi ‘Daylight – Stories of Songs, Dances and Loves’
Concerto Italiano / RinaldoAlessandrini
Naïve
A sequel to Concerto Italiano’s 2017 album of nocturnal-themed madrigals again spans Monteverdi’s life to build an inspired recital.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
‘Unreleased’
Cecilia Bartoli mez Basel Chamber Orchestra / MuhaiTang
Decca
These ‘Unreleased’ Cecilia Bartoli tracks date from back in 2013 – but, full as they are of the mezzo’s famed dramatic presence and jaw-dropping virtuosity, they are well worth the wait!
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
Handel ‘Handel’s Unsung Heroes’
Sols; La Nuova Musica/ DavidBates
Pentatone
A splendid line-upof Handel soloists – including Iestyn Davies and Lucy Crowe – joins players on equally stunning form for another triumph masterminded by conductor David Bates.
Read the review in Gramophone's Reviews Database
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