The AllMusic 2022
Year In Review
Classical instrumental recordings looked to the past with new interpretations of Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and a breathtaking investigation of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier by Trevor Pinnock (pictured), while also pushing forward with contemporary compositions by John Williams and harp interpretations by Yolanda Kondonassis.
Alexander Melnikov
Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 3, 5; Visions fugitives
Melnikov's subtle, coloristic style is especially suited to the works on this final volume in his Prokofiev series.
Alisa Weilerstein / Inon Barnatan
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas
An intense and beautiful set of Beethoven's cello sonatas seems almost to enter the composer's thought processes.
Amatis Trio / Ib Hausmann
Oliver Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps
A superb Messiaen performance from a young trio catches the mixture of mysticism and rigor in the Quatuor pour la fin du temps.
Andris Nelsons / Boston Symphony Orchestra / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Strauss
Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhausorchester in a survey of Richard Strauss' major works for orchestra.
Anne-Sophie Mutter / John Williams / Boston Symphony Orchestra
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2; Selected Film Themes
A remarkable new concerto from the now-nonagenarian Williams is played to the hilt by Mutter and conducted by the composer.
Arcadia Quartet
Weinberg, Vol. 2: String Quartets Nos. 1, 7, and 11
The Arcadia's successful Weinberg series continues with fine performances of quartets from various periods of the composer's career.
Belcea Quartet / Jean-Guihen Queyras / Tabea Zimmermann
Brahms: String Sextets
Superb ensemble playing, alert to the special quality of the young Brahms, in this fine chamber release.
Bruno Cocset / Maude Gratton
Beethoven: Sonatas for Fortepiano and Cello, Vol. 1
A historical-instruments reading of Beethoven's first three cello sonatas reveals the works' incipient Romanticism.
Concerto Scirocco
Music for the Eyes: Masques and Fancies
A thoroughly enjoyable introduction to music for the largely unknown English masque from the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Cristian Măcelaru / WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Dvorák: Legends Op. 59; Czech Suite Op. 39
Extremely well-wrought performances of some lesser-known Dvořák works.
Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Ruperto Chapí: String Quartets 3 & 4
Hugely enjoyable string quartets from Spain in superb performances, not typically nationalist but marked by Spanish traditions.
Daniel Barenboim
Encores
The apparently indestructible Barenboim does beautifully with a meaty group of Romantic encores.
David Bergmüller / David Orlowsky
Alter Ego
Clarinet-and-lute duos, some original and some based on Baroque pieces, achieve a striking variety of sound and sense.
Dima Slobodeniouk / Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Sinfoniettas: Poulenc, Prokofiev, Britten
The successful partnership between Slobodeniouk and the Lahti Symphony continues with three rarely heard works by significant composers.
Emanuel Ax / Leonidas Kavakos / Yo-Yo Ma
Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5
Two quite different ways of arranging Beethoven symphonies for piano trio offer both excitement and insight into the process.
Emperor Quartet
Britten: The Music for String Quartet
Reissue of recordings made from 2005 to 2014 has the virtue of collecting many early Britten works in one volume.
Eric Le Sage / François Leleux / Gävle Symphony Orchestra
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 KV 491 & 17 KV 453
Detailed, proto-Romantic Mozart concertos offer distinctive readings of these often-recorded works.
Gerardo Teissonnière
Beethoven: The Last Sonatas - Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111
Magisterial Beethoven by Teissonnière evoking the performances of Schnabel and Cortot.
Gidon Kremer / Kremerata Baltica
PPP: Plakidis, Pētersons, Pelēcis
Music from violinist/conductor Kremer's native Latvia displays a range of takes on minimalist languages.
Gil Shaham / Nicholas McGegan / SWR Symphonieorchester
Mozart: Violinkonzerte Nr. 1-5; Adagio KV 261; Rondo KV 373
Extraordinarily sensitive and flowing readings of Mozart's violin concertos on modern instruments.
Heath Quartet / Carolyn Sampson
Berg: String Quartet Op. 3; Webern: Langsamer Satz; Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10
Exacting and lyrical performances of works on the brink of atonality.
Herbert Blomstedt / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 "Unfinished" & 9 "The Great"
Superb Schubert from a nonagenarian conductor and the orchestra that premiered the Symphony No. 9.
Hilary Hahn / hr_Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) / Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Eclipse
Violinist Hahn, returning from pandemic-related "eclipse," delivers wonderful performances in her trademark style.
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet / Gabor Takács-Nagy / Manchester Camerata
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22, KV 482; Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488; Overture to 'Der Schauspieldirektor', KV 486
Exceptionally fluent Mozart concertos, with superb sound capturing the orchestrational strides forward in this pair of works.
Jennifer Koh
Alone Together
Short pandemic-era commissions from 39 composers bring home the reality of the calamity with unusual force.
Johan Dalene / John Storgårds / Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sibelius, Nielsen: Violin Concertos
A delicate, lively recording of Scandinavian concerto monuments makes a strong case for the Nielson violin concerto.
John Williams / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Concert
Extraordinary, perhaps valedictory performances of Williams standards, conducted by the composer.
John Wilson / Sinfonia of London
Ravel: Ma mère l'Oye; Boléro
Wilson and his renewed Sinfonia of London turn to the music of Ravel following their successful concert debut.
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Sextet; Piano Quartet; Piano Trio
Little-known chamber works from brother and sister Mendelssohn from the innovative Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
Klaus Mäkelä / Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Sibelius
A spacious, deliberate Sibelius cycle of an even more Nordic cast than usual.
Klaviertrio Hannover
Missing Link: Emilie Mayer
Revelatory piano trios from a mid-19th century female composer, in ideal performances.
Marc-André Hamelin
William Bolcom: The Complete Rags
Pianist Hamelin delivers a skilled survey of the complete rags of William Bolcom.
Martin James Bartlett / Alexander Gilman / LGT Young Soloists
Philip Glass: Symphony No. 14 "Liechtenstein Suite"; Piano Concerto No. 1 "Tirol"; Echorus
Recent music by Glass, performed by a fearsomely talented youth orchestra.
Martyn Brabbins / BBC Symphony Orchestra
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos 6 & 8
Straightforward but superbly sculpted readings by Brabbins of symphonies by Vaughan Williams.
Pablo Heras-Casado / Münchner Philharmoniker
Schumann: The Complete Symphonies
A survey of Schumann's symphonies from conductor Heras-Casado leading the Münchner Philharmoniker.
Paul Lewis
Brahms: Late Piano Works, Opp. 116-119
Profound readings of late Brahms that enter deeply into their complex worlds.
Pavel Giunter / Rokas Vaitkevicius / Karolis Variakojis / Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
Zibuokle Martinaityte: Ex Tenebris Lux
Pandemic-time inflections in Martinaitytė's style add even more layers to its fascinating essence.
Pavel Haas Quartet / Pavel Nikl / Boris Giltburg
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34; String Quintet in G major, Op. 111
Lush, passionate Brahms from the Czech-specialist ensemble, the Pavel Haas Quartet.
Quatuor Hanson / Théo Fouchenneret / Philippe Hattat
George Crumb: Black Angels; Music for a Summer Evening
Acoustic version of Crumb's famed string quartet yields nothing in intensity to the usual readings.
Ralph van Raat
Tan Dun: Eight Memories in Watercolor
Selections from Tan Dun's rarely heard body of piano works diverge from his familiar cinematic language.
Rebeca Omordia
African Pianism
Offbeat release samples an almost unknown realm, that of piano music by African composers.
Simon Callaghan / Martyn Brabbins / BBC National Orchestra of Wales
British Piano Concertos: Addison, Bush, Maconchy, Searle, Rubbra, Benjamin
A marvelous, joyous recording of six forgotten British piano concertos of a lighter hue.
Simon Johnson
B-A-C-H: Anatomy of a Motif
A dual success, exploring works with the B-A-C-H motif and also the capabilities of a magnificent organ.
Simon Rattle / London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky Ballets: The Firebird; Petrushka; The Rite of Spring
"This Is Rattle" program of three Stravinsky ballets celebrating the beginning of Rattle's London Symphony directorship.
Steven Beck
George Walker: Five Piano Sonatas (1953-2003)
A valuable survey of Walker's piano sonatas, cleanly and clearly played, traces his development.
Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez / BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 9
Quality readings of two Shostakovich symphonies by Lloyd-Gonzalez and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Trevor Pinnock
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier II
The successor to Pinnock's WTC Book 1 is just as breathtaking as the first volume.
Trio Gaspard
Haydn: The Complete Piano Trios, Vol. 1; Fischer: One Bar Wonder
Strikingly detailed and humorous performances mark this inauguration of a new modern-instrument set of Haydn's keyboard trios.
Vicky Chow
Jane Antonia Cornish: Sierra
Multi-piano soundscapes will appeal to lovers of crossover piano music.
Yolanda Kondonassis
Five Minutes for Earth
An exemplary collection of short contemporary pieces addressing the natural world and threats to it.
