AllMusic 2015 Year in Review
Favorite Classical Instrumental Albums
From the works of the great masters to modern pieces from contemporary composers, these were our editors' favorite classical albums of the year, sans vocals.
Alan Gilbert / New York Philharmonic
Carl Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic give startlingly vivid readings of Nielsen's Fifth and Sixth symphonies on this hybrid SACD.
Alina Ibragimova / Jonathan Cohen / Arcangelo
Alina Ibragimova plays the violin concertos of J.S. Bach with an appealing fusion of period practice and warm modern sound.
Hindemith: String Quartets, Vol. 3
The Amar Quartet wraps up Hindemith's cycle of seven string quartets with the once-missing First and the popular Fourth.
Charles Ives: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2
Charles Ives' first two symphonies are strikingly different, and Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra play them in contrasting styles.
Schiff adds a new expressive vocabulary that carries nothing of the somewhat reluctant tone players of modern instruments often bring to historical-instrument performances.
Arabella Steinbacher / Charles Dutoit
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, Op. 64; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, Op. 35
There is still elegant and graceful playing in abundance. PentaTone's sound, recorded at Victoria Hall, is superbly matched to the intentions of the performance.
Haydn: Sinfonia concertante; Mozart: Concertos
The list of things to be enthusiastic about here is long, but it begins with the differentiation of the instruments in the solo passages.
Daniil Trifonov / Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Philadelphia Orchestra
Danil Trifonov plays Rachmaninov's sets of variations on this 2015 Deutsche Grammophon release, featuring the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Filament is eighth blackbird's 2015 release, featuring electrifying chamber works by Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, Son Lux, and Philip Glass.
Ensemble Signal / Bradley Lubman
Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
Music for 18 Musicians, Steve Reich's minimalist masterpiece, receives a brilliant performance by Brad Lubman and Ensemble Signal.
Kaikhosru Sorabji: 100 Transcendental Studies, 63-71
On this 2015 BIS release, pianist Fredrik Ullén presents the fourth volume of the 100 Transcendental Studies of Kaikhosru Sorabji.
Gil Rose / Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Irving Fine: Complete Orchestral Works
Irving Fine's small body of orchestral works is presented on this exciting album by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
Gil Shaham brings exceptional musicality and a warm presence to J.S. Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin.
Gustavo Dudamel / Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
For this exclusive digital download, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela present selections by Wagner.
Alois Hába: Complete String Quartets
The Hába Quartet explores the microtonal string quartets of Czech composer Alois Hába, a pioneer in exploring alternate tunings.
Levit has knitted three ambitious and extremely difficult variation sets together with a common style.
Quincy Porter: String Quartets Nos. 5-8
Continuing its series on Naxos dedicated to Quincy Porter, the Ives Quartet presents his String Quartets, Nos. 5-8.
Iván Fischer / Budapest Festival Orchestra
Brahms: Symphony No. 4; Hungarian Dances 3, 7 & 11
Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra continue their series of Brahms symphonies with a solid reading of the Symphony No. 4.
James Boyd / Fitzwilliam String Quartet
Anton Bruckner: String Quintet; String Quartet
The Fitzwilliam String Quartet presents Anton Bruckner's chamber music in warm and radiant performances on this 2015 Linn release.
John Storgårds / BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds treats the six symphonies of Carl Nielsen with intellectual rigor and emphasizes their muscular counterpoint and rugged orchestration.
Jonathan Nott / Bamberger Symphoniker
The Schubert recordings by Jonathan Nott and the Bamberg Symphony have been reissued as four hybrid SACDs in this Tudor box set.
Karen Cargill / Antoine Tamestit / Valery Gergiev / London Symphony Orchestra
Berlioz: Harold en Italie; La mort de Cléopâtre
Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra bring excitement and passion to Berlioz's Harold en Italie and La mort de Cléopâtre.
This fine recital is held together by the music of Ravel, the launching point for the other three composers featured.
Kuniko Kato performs Xenakis' solo percussion works, Pléïades and Rebonds, which are a test of her dexterity, speed, and stamina.
Lionel Bringuier / Yuja Wang / Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra
Yuja Wang is best known for playing Russian piano concertos, but her all-French album reveals her talents in a different light.
Louis Lortie / Edward Gardner / BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Hélène Mercier
Poulenc: Piano Concertos; Aubade
This is a delight, and it might be the only album you need for Poulenc's music for piano and ensemble.
Marc-André Hamelin / Takács Quartet
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet; String Quartet No. 2
The Takács Quartet is gripping throughout. Highly recommended, evocative early Shostakovich, with excellent sound from England's Wyastone Estate concert hall.
Marek Janowski / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Marek Janowski and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande recorded Bruckner's symphonies in the multichannel format between 2007 and 2012.
Richard Strauss: Symphonica Domestica & Die Tageszeiten
These late songs are luminously lyrical and within reach of good city choirs who could be pressed into service to perform them in symphonic concerts.
Maria João Pires: Complete Concerto Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon
The complete piano concerto recordings of Maria João Pires on Deutsche Grammophon are packaged with their original cover art.
Martin Haselböck / Orchester Wiener Akademie
Re-Sound: Beethoven Symphonies 1 & 2
Martin Haselböck and the Vienna Academy Orchestra perform Beethoven's First and Second symphonies at the locations where there were premiered.
Masaaki Suzuki Plays Bach Organ Works
Masaaki Suzuki plays famous organ works of J.S. Bach, including the popular Toccata and Fugue in D minor and the Fantasia in G major.
Michael Tilson Thomas / Boston Symphony Orchestra
Igor Stravinsky: Le Roi des Étoiles; Les Sacre de Printemps
Michael Tilson Thomas and the Boston Symphony Orchestra recorded these Stravinsky masterpieces in the quadraphonic format in 1972.
Michel Boulanger / Kuijken String Quartet
The Kuijken String Quartet and cellist Michel Boulanger present Schubert's String Quintet in C major with great care and energy.
Myung-Whun Chung / Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
Myung-Whun Chung and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra give a flexible and nuanced reading of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor.
On this 2014 Musica Omnia release, Nickolai Sheikov presents a program of 15 harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti.
Okko Kamu / Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Sibelius' complete symphonies are presented in an exceptionally clear and coherent survey by Okku Kamu and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra; Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds
Fine engineering brings out the harp without distorting it, which is part of the magic on this superlative orchestral recording.
Spanish guitarist Pablo Villegas offers fresh and satisfying performances of music from the New World.
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Rosary Sonatas
Offering period-style performances in multichannel sound, Rachel Podger delivers a gorgeous album of Biber's Rosary Sonatas.
Riccardo Minasi / Ensemble Resonanz
C.P.E. Bach: 6 Hamburg Symphonies
Riccardo Minasi and Ensemble Resonanz give C.P.E. Bach's Hamburg Symphonies close-to-period style performances on modern instruments.
Robin Ticciati / Bamberger Symphoniker
Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"; American Suite
Robin Ticciati leads the Bamberg Symphony in vibrant performances of Dvorák's Ninth Symphony, "From the New World," and the "American" Suite.
Simone Young / Philharmoniker Hamburg
Simone Young's recording of Bruckner's Fifth brings to a close her live audiophile cycle of the symphonies on Oehms Classics.
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski / London Philharmonic Orchestra
Skrowaczewski's live performance of Bruckner's Third with the London Philharmonic wins high marks for its stunning clarity and vivid presence.
Steffen Schleiermacher / Johannes Kalitzke
Alexander Mosolov: Iron Foundry; Piano Concerto No. 1
Schleiermacher and Kalitzke make you want to hear much more of this fascinating composer.
Ursula Oppens / Jerome Lowenthal
Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!; Four Hands
Frederic Rzewski's 36 Variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated! is revisited by Ursula Oppens, who gave the premiere in 1976.
Various Artists
Eleanor Cory: Things Are; String Quartet No. 3
This 2015 Naxos CD of world premiere recordings of Eleanor Cory's works features her String Quartet No. 3 and Things Are.
Vladimir Jurowski / Ryan Wigglesworth / London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 8
Vaughan Williams' Fourth and Eighth Symphonies make a complementary pair on this 2015 London Philharmonic Orchestra release.
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe (Complete Ballet); Pavane
Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra perform Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé in a superb multichannel recording.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal
Mahler: Symphony No. 10 (D. Cooke completion)
Deryck Cooke's third performing version of Mahler's 10th receives an intense live reading from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain.