Classical instrumental recordings harkened back to the past with new interpretations of Bach, Stravinsky, Schubert and Strauss, while also pushing forward with Jonny Greenwood's elegant and dissonant score to Phantom Thread and the fresh guitar compositions found on Duo Noire's Night Triptych.
Adrian Chandler / La Serenissima
Vivaldi x2: Double Concertos for Oboes, Horns, Violin & Cello, Oboe & Bassoon
Superb, innovative recordings of Vivaldi double concertos and an extremely unusual multiple-instrument concerto.
Alexander Melnikov / Olga Pashchenko
Debussy: Préludes du 2e Livre; La Mer (transcr. Debussy)
A revelatory period-instrument performance of Debussy on an 1885 Érard piano.
Amandine Beyer / Marco Ceccato / Gli Incogniti
Joseph Haydn: Concerti per Esterházy
Amandine Beyer and Marco Ceccato are brilliant soloists in these Haydn concertos, performed in period style by Gli Incogniti.
Andrew Manze / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 6
An excellent place to start with a strong Vaughan Williams cycle from Andrew Manze and the RLPO.
Andris Nelsons / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4; Wagner: Lohengrin Prelude
Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig offer a mainstream reading of Bruckner's "Romantic" Symphony on Deutsche Grammophon.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada / hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra)
Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie
Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony deliver an audiophile treasure with this recording of Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie.
Attacca Quartet / Jeanne Golan
Weinberg: Piano Quintet; Cello Sonata No. 2; Piano Sonatine
The chamber music of Miezcyslaw Weinberg is a rare find, but what a find his Piano Quintet, Sonatine, and Cello Sonata are.
Belcea Quartet / Piotr Anderszewski
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 3; Quintet
Superb Shostakovich recordings of deep emotional sensitivity.
Bertrand Cuiller
François Couperin L'Alchimiste, Vol. 1: Un petit théâtre du monde
Bertrand Cuiller launches a series of the complete harpsichord music of François Couperin on Harmonia Mundi with six of the Ordres.
Christophe Rousset
Louis Couperin: Nouvelles Suites de Clavecin
Christophe Rousset plays the Nouvelles Suites de Clavecin of Louis Couperin on a Couchet harpsichord dating from 1652.
Colin Currie Group / Colin Currie / Synergy Vocals
Steve Reich: Drumming
The Colin Currie Group's recording of Steve Reich's Drumming has several features that were sometimes imperfectly developed on earlier versions.
Doric String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 64
The Doric String Quartet's playing is precise yet deeply expressive in this traversal of Haydn's Six String Quartets, Op. 64.
Duo Noire
Night Triptych
Beautifully recorded, often compelling music for guitar duo, all of it newly composed by women.
François-Xavier Roth / Les Siècles
Ravel: Ma mère l'Oye; Le Tombeau de Couperin; Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie
François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles present orchestral music by Maurice Ravel in period instrumentation that sparkles with distinctive sonorities.
Gustavo Gimeno
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Funeral Song; Game of Cards; Concerto in D "Basel"; Agon
Gustavo Gimeno and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg present key works from Stravinsky's Russian, neoclassical, and serial periods.
Guttenberg / Enoch zu Guttenberg / Orchester der KlangVerwaltung
Franz Schubert: Große Symphonie in C-Dur
Enoch zu Guttenberg and Orchester KlangVerwaltung give an agile and fleet performance of Schubert's Ninth, the symphony of "heavenly length."
Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn Plays Bach: Sonatas 1 & 2; Partita 1
Hahn returns to Bach's solo sonatas and partitas, 21 years after beginning her recording career with them, and triumphs.
Igor Levit
Life
An extraordinary recital that works both as a memorial and as a distillation of late-Romantic pianism.
Isabelle Faust / Anne Katharina Schreiber / Danusha Waskiewicz
Franz Schubert: Oktett
Isabelle Faust and friends perform Schubert's Octet with an ease and warmth that one would expect of a more experienced ensemble.
James Baillieu
Reynaldo Hahn: Chamber Music & Song, Vol. 1
Flawlessly reserved performances make Hahn's low-key music hypnotic
Jean Rondeau
Scarlatti: Sonatas
Playful and mysterious, Jean Rondeau delivers a program of Domenico Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas that keeps one guessing.
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet / Edward Gardner / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Grieg: Piano Concerto; Incidental Music to "Peer Gynt"
There are silkier performances of Peer Gynt, but few that seem to have such a sense of Grieg's much-vaunted Norwegian soul.
Jiří Bělohlávek / Czech Philharmonic
Smetana: Má Vlast
Bělohlávek's interpretations fit together into a coherent whole, and the Czech Philharmonic, sinewy and strong, has never sounded better.
Jonathan Plowright
Suk
Revelatory rediscovery of Suk's joyous, enormously evocative piano miniatures.
![Phantom Thread [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004838054/front/400/UnDWL0DNGPaMpPKeP33Ve4Af7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
Jonny Greenwood
Phantom Thread [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
A sumptuous, complex, and controlling score for Paul Thomas Anderson's film about '50s fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock.
Jordi Savall / Hespèrion XXI
Venezia Millenaria 700-1797
One of Jordi Savall's most ambitious concepts, this deluxe package covers the millennium of the history of the city of Venice.
Julia Jones / Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra
Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal LIVE, Vol. 2: Wagner, Berlioz
Julia Jones and the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal present works by Berlioz and Wagner in 3D binary stereo sound.
Kim Kashkashian
J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Viola Solo
Deeply thought-out readings of Bach's suites for solo cello on Kashkashian's viola.
Krzysztof Urbański / NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps
Krzysztof Urbański and the NDR Elbphilharmonie offer a vivid performance of Le Sacre du printemps that connoisseurs of orchestration can appreciate.
Les Vents Français
Concertante!
Flawless performances of Mozart and the works he would have heard in the sinfonia concertante genre.
Magdalena Kožená / Robin Ticciati
Ravel, Duparc: Aimer et mourir - Danses et mélodies
This exquisite album of music by Ravel and Duparc features Magdalena Kozena with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, conducted by Robin Ticciati.
Mahan Esfahani
The Passinge Mesures
Mahan Esfahani has always had an abiding interest in the music of the English virginalists, which he demonstrates on Hyperion's The Passinge Mesures.
Mariss Jansons / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Mariss Jansons continues his super audio Mahler cycle with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra playing the quirky Symphony No. 7.
Mark Applebaum
Mark Applebaum: Speed Dating
A 2018 Innova release containing five representative examples of Marc Applebaum's eclectic and imaginative music.
Martyn Brabbins / BBC Symphony Orchestra
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony
Martyn Brabbins leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a stirring performance of Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony.
Mikhail Pletnev / Russian National Orchestra
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10
A mighty performance of the Shostakovich Fourth, the giant, radical symphony that the Soviet bureaucracy hated.
Osmo Vänskä / Minnesota Orchestra
Mahler 6
Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra continue their audiophile cycle of Mahler's symphonies with the Symphony No. 6 in A minor.
Paul Mann / Royal Scottish National Orchestra
David Hackbridge Johnson: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2
David Hackbridge Johnson's second album on Toccata Classics presents his Symphonies Nos. 10 and 13 with his orchestral Motet No. 6.
Rachel Barton Pine / Jory Vinikour
J.S. Bach: The Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord
Rachel Barton Pine and Jory Vinikour present Bach's six Sonatas for violin and harpsichord with a conversational feeling that is quite enjoyable.
Rachel Podger / Brecon Baroque
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni; Il Grosso Mogul; Il Riposo; L'Amoroso
Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque play Vivaldi's Four Seasons with a richness of tone that is surprising for the small size of the ensemble.
Reinhold Friedrich / Juilliard School Brass / Royal Academy of Music Brass
Gabrieli for Brass: Venetian Extravaganza
The combined brass ensembles of the Royal Academy of Music and the Juilliard School present Gabrieli's antiphonal music with lustrous sound.
Robin Ticciati / Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Brahms: The Symphonies
Robin Ricciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra turn in transparent readings of Brahms' symphonies, with a strong emphasis on historical practices.
Roomful of Teeth / Ludovic Morlot / Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Berio: Sinfonia; Boulez: Notations I-IV; Ravel: La Valse
Ludovic Morlot leads the Seattle Symphony and the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth in a gripping performance of Luciano Berio's Sinfonia.
Sabine Liebner
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Klavierstücke (Piano Pieces) I-XI
Sabine Liebner plays Karlheinz Stockhausen's complete Klavierstücke for piano on this double CD from Wergo.
Stephen Hough
Stephen Hough's Dream Album
A lovely set of miniatures, personal, original in concept, and filled with music to rediscover.
Steven Devine
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Complete Solo Keyboard Works
Steven Devine's complete set of the keyboard music of Jean-Philippe Rameau offers the three published suites and several rarities.
Viktoria Mullova / Paavo Järvi
Arvo Pärt
A superb fresh take on Pärt from Russian violinist Mullova, approved by the composer.
Vladimir Ashkenazy / Philharmonia Orchestra
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3; Symphonic Dances
After several studio recordings, Ashkenazy produces what may well be definitive Rachmaninov in a live concert.
Vladimir Lande / Siberian State Symphony Orchestra
Weinberg: Symphony No. 13; Serenade for Orchestra
Vladimir Lande and the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra deliver world premiere recordings of Weinberg's Symphony No. 13 and the Serenade.
