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2007’s top ten classical CDs

December 21st, 2007, 12:24 pm · 3 Comments · posted by Timothy Mangan, music critic

Let’s put it this way — these are the best I heard, but there were hundreds that I didn’t. It’s a rather traditional list, but I didn’t mean it to be that way. Some new music by Reich and Stockhausen almost made the cut. I’ve included two reissues (I usually don’t), but they were just too good to pass up. The order is not a ranking.

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1. Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 8. Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Jarvi, conductor. RCA Red Seal.

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2. Francois Couperin: “tic, toc, choc.” Alexandre Tharaud, piano. Harmonia Mundi.

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3. Shostakovich: Violin Concertos. Orchestre National de France, Kurt Masur, conductor. Sergey Khachatryan, violin. Naive.

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4. Pierre Monteux: Decca and Philips Recordings, 1956-1964. London Symphony Orchestra, Paris Conservatory Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Pierre Monteux, conductor. Decca. 

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5. Mahler: Symphony No. 5. Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon.

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6. Verdi: “Falstaff.” Renato Bruson, Katia Ricciarelli, Leo Nucci, Barbra Hendricks, et al. Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carlo Maria Guilini, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon.

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7. Stravinsky: “Le sacre du printemps”; Bartok: Suite from “The Miraculous Mandarin”; Mussorgsky: “Night on Bald Mountain” (original version). Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon.

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8. Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5;. “Ode to the End of the War.” Russian National Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski. Pentatone.

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9. Schumann: Violin Sonatas. Jennifer Koh, violin; Reiko Uchida, piano. Cedille.

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10. Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3. Russian National Orchestra, Christian Gansch, conductor. Mikhail Pletnev, piano. Deutsche Grammophon.

Update: ArkivMusic.com has made a page of my top ten for your shopping convenience.

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 3 Comments

  • Patricia Cross says:
    December 21, 2007 at 3:21 pm

    x

  • Bill Keiser says:
    December 30, 2007 at 2:56 pm

    Of course your picks are impeccable, as always!? But may I suggest the entry of a pair of quirky recreations of the Baroque vocal style by two charismatic artists: “Maria” by Cecilia Bartoli, an evocation of the hits and style of the immortal Malibran, and Philippe Jaroussky’s “Carrestini,” subtitled “The Story of a Castrato.” Jaroussky’s fioratura avoids many of the idiosyncratic “annoyances” of the Bartoli technique (Her commitment transcends them in any case.) but both are phenomenon who come close to seeming to communicate the spirit of a time long past. Perhaps not “top ten material,” but wonderful stuff for us old operaphiles. They were great companions on Christmas holiday.

  • tmangan says:
    December 31, 2007 at 11:14 am

    Of course Bartoli is a remarkable artist, but her “Maria” disc struck me as more of the same — she’s been down that road before, and her “annoyances” do tend to wear. I didn’t hear the castrato disc, but I have heard Jaroussky. He participated in an outstanding recording of Vivaldi’s “Orlando Furioso” a couple of years ago, which made my top ten back then.