Critics’ Choice 2024: our favourite classical recordings of the year

Friday, November 29, 2024

Gramophone’s writers look back over an impressive year for the recording industry and select their favourite albums

Delius A Mass of Life

Sols; Collegium Musicum Choir; Edvard Grieg Kor; Bergen Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra / Sir Mark Elder

LAWO

Sir Mark Elder directs a meticulously prepared and thrillingly committed traversal of Delius’s giant canvas, clarifying its frequently dense textures with judicious skill. Featuring a stellar contribution from baritone Roderick Williams, it’s a distinguished achievement overall and represents an auspicious start to Elder’s tenure as the Bergen PO’s Principal Guest Conductor. Andrew Achenbach

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Mozart Don Giovanni

Sols; Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra Royal / Gaétan Jarry

Château de Versailles Spectacles

Robert Gleadow’s deeply sexual Don leads a flawlessly integrated ensemble cast in Marshall Pynkoski’s extraordinary Versailles production, a remorselessly detailed period examination of the work’s psychology and metaphysics. Wonderfully sung, and titanically conducted by Gaétan Jarry, it’s utterly riveting, the most devastating Don Giovanni I’ve seen in years. Tim Ashley

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‘Shadows of my Ancestors’

Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet – Ten Pieces Ravel Gaspard de la nuit Saidaminova The Walls of Ancient Bukhara

Behzod Abduraimov pf

Alpha

Behzod Abduraimov displays his piano wizardry with a kaleidoscope of colours in this thoughtfully programmed recital. His Romeo and Juliet and Gaspard rival the finest, while Uzbek composer Dilorom Saidaminova’s musings on the grandeur of ancient Bukhara add a poignant personal touch to an exceptional disc. Michelle Assay

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‘Operette: Wien – Berlin – Paris’

Diana Damrau sop Munich Radio Orchestra / Ernst Theis

Erato 

A tough choice, but since Retrospect Opera’s premiere recording of Stanford’s wonderful Shamus O’Brien made it on to the Awards shortlist, my personal palm goes to Diana Damrau’s mouth-watering operetta recital, which hasn’t been off my stereo all year. Lehár, Kálmán, Messager, Lincke, Abraham … it’s just pure pleasure. And after hearing Jonas Kaufmann duetting with Damrau in ‘Mein Liebeslied muss ein Walzer sein’, you’ll forgive him anything: even that Christmas album of his. What can I say? I’m just a sucker for Robert Stolz. Richard Bratby

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‘All We Get Is Life’

Thélème / Jean-Christophe Groffe with Sting

Aparté AP330 (12/24)

A very recent arrival, but already I just can’t stop thinking about this album. There’s something about the supremely intimate, quasi-ritualistic performance of John Cage’s Solo for Voice 91 that has won me over. Sitting alongside Dowland and a reverse-engineered modern classic from Sting, this is genius. Edward Breen


Schumann Piano Quartet. Piano Quintet

Isabelle Faust, Anne Katharina Schreiber vn Antoine Tamestit va Jean-Guihen Queyras vc Alexander Melnikov fp

Harmonia Mundi

The two Schumann masterpieces receive performances of rare distinction, as one might expect from these artists. Everything sounds fresh-minted on period instruments, with timbres that fit Schumann’s textures. Melnikov’s contribution on a Pleyel fortepiano seamlessly integrates with those of his string colleagues. Stephen Cera

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‘Voice of Freedom: His Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV and Victor Recordings’

Paul Robeson bass-bar

Sony Classical

Whether singing songs of the oppressed or declaiming Shakespeare, the deeply expressive voice of American bass-baritone and activist Paul Robeson offered hope where hope was largely lacking. Sony’s superbly annotated set, expertly transferred from shellac originals, reminds us of noble qualities that have never been more needed than they are now. Magnificent. Rob Cowan


‘That Sweet City’

Leighton Veris gratia Vaughan Williams An Oxford Elegy

Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford; Britten Sinfonia / Owen Rees

Signum 

These two quintessentially Oxford works are beautifully sung, sensitively accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia and empathetically interpreted by Owen Rees and Rowan Atkinson, whose role as a reciter is edifyingly understated. Vaughan Williams’s sublime realisation of Matthew Arnold’s An Oxford Elegy is stunning; and Leighton’s colourful and imaginative Veris gratia is a revelation. Jeremy Dibble


V Thomson A Gallery of Portraits for Piano and Other Works

Craig Rutenberg pf

Everbest

Virgil Thomson’s descent from power broker to marginal figure is understandable yet undeserved, as borne out in his fascinating Portraits for piano, mostly composed from life in the presence of sitters. His style ranges from acerbic dissonance to disarming hymn tunes, from bitonal tangos to demented fugues. The composer’s friend and colleague Craig Rutenberg offers meticulous and caring interpretations that at long last fill a major catalogue gap. Jed Distler

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‘A Gardener’s World – Flowers in Song’

Alessandro Fisher ten Anna Tilbrook pf

Rubicon RCD1087 (3/24)

Alessandro Fisher brings an innate Italianate warmth to this recital inspired by his own garden in London. The songs embrace many tongues and centuries, with each one offering a unique insight into the precious world on our doorstep. Anna Tilbrook accompanies as to the manner born. Adrian Edwards

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Ockeghem Complete Songs, Vol 2

Blue Heron; Dark Horse Consort / Scott Metcalfe

Blue Heron

The second volume of Blue Heron’s Ockeghem songs, completing the set. It absolutely has to be my disc of the year: some the finest music from the 15th century, gloriously performed, generously presented. It would be a marvellous Christmas present for absolutely anybody with a love of songs. David Fallows

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Busoni Fantasia contrappuntistica Liszt Weihnachtsbaum

Alfred Brendel pf

APR 

How could I not nominate Yunchan Lim’s award-winning Chopin Studies? Only because I’m confident one of my colleagues will do so, and because I was fortunate enough to review Brendel’s early-1950s Busoni Fantasia contrappuntistica. This was a rarity even when it was briefly available on LP. He never re-recorded it, and it was never reissued on CD. APR’s transfer faithfully captures both the contrapuntal mastery and the mystical intensity of the playing. Extraordinary and inspiring. David Fanning

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Loeffler Octet, etc

Graeme Steele Johnson cl and friends

Delos

I’ve been obsessed with this 1897 Octet by Charles Martin Loeffler for months. It’s like a gloriously happy marriage between Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet and Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro. I’m eternally grateful to clarinettist Graeme Steele Johnson, who discovered the manuscript in the Library of Congress and who leads this exquisite performance. Andrew Farach-Colton

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Visée Theorbo Solos

Jakob Lindberg theorbo

BIS

I wrote in my original review that the symbiosis between composer, performer, and instrument here hints at a Platonic ideal. I stand by that, and I’d also mention the marvellous dreamlike quality to the sound image in which all three fully participate. Fabrice Fitch

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JS Bach Six Keyboard Partitas, BWV825-830

Martin Helmchen tangent pf

Alpha 

Far from the realm of curiosity, the fleetingly popular domestic ‘tangent’ piano of the late 18th century provides Bach’s Partitas with a glorious vehicle for exceptional poetic possibility. Martin Helmchen masterfully uses the twilight between the old and modern keyboard to bring lucidity, depth of character and brilliance of dialogue to these masterpieces. Jonathan Freeman-Attwood

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Chausson Concert Lekeu Violin Sonata

Gabriel Le Magadure vn Frank Braley pf Quatuor Agate

Appasionato, Le Label  

Gabriel Le Magadure, Frank Braley and Quatuor Agate hit every sweet spot here. A kaleidoscopic, technicolour Chausson Concert spanning the expressive gamut from tenderest delicacy to such big-boned, taking-no-prisoners romance and thrill that at points it’s asking to be slapped with a certificate rating. Then an often heart-stoppingly eloquent Lekeu Violin Sonata. Charlotte Gardner

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Nielsen The Symphonies

The Royal Danish Orchestra

Naxos 

How to choose between underappreciated American Organ Concertos (Naxos, 12/24) and revivified Weill from Joana Mallwitz (DG, 9/24)? An alternative plan would be to beg, steal or borrow this sumptuously packaged Nielsen collectible in festive crimson. Vintage highlights include Leonard Bernstein’s Sinfonia espansiva with Sir Simon Rattle’s live Inextinguishable of 2013 another performance for the ages. David Gutman

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Bruckner Symphony No 4 (1888 version)

Philharmonie Festiva / Gerd Schaller

Profil 

The Bruckner bicentenary year brought a number of excellent new recordings, including Markus Poschner’s account of the F minor Symphony and Vladimir Jurowski’s account of the Seventh. However, top of the list for me was the superb interpretation of the Fourth Symphony in its 1888 form conducted by Gerd Schaller. Christian Hoskins

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JS Bach Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV1080

Masaaki Suzuki hpd with Masato Suzuki hpd

BIS

Two fine harpsichord recordings of Bach’s Art of Fugue came my way at the start of the year, and it was the second, by Masaaki Suzuki, that won me over, not just showing the architectural awesomeness of this remarkable work but releasing its profound humanity and joy as well. Lindsay Kemp

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Mendelssohn Cello Sonatas, etc

Sol Gabetta vc Bertrand Chamayou pf

Sony Classical 

Chamayou and Gabetta have a knack for defamiliarisation, giving a new perspective on a known thing. Together they offer Mendelssohn’s sonatas along with contemporary ‘songs without words’. The freely unleashed inner energy and beautiful tone from both cello and piano make this album simply irresistible. Aleksander Laskowski

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Wagner Parsifal

Sols; Vienna State Opera / Philippe Jordan

Sony Classical

Having seen Kirill Serebrennikov’s production in Vienna (with a different cast), I’m glad that this isn’t a DVD. Kaufmann, in excellent voice, comes across as heroic from the start. Zeppenfeld makes a young-sounding, bel canto Gurnemanz, alive to the meaning of the words; the same lyrical quality is a feature of Tézier’s Amfortas and Garanča’s Kundry. Sensitive conducting from Jordan. Richard Lawrence

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Vaughan Williams The Future. The Steersman

Lucy Crowe sop Jacques Imbrailo ten BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Martin Yates

Dutton Epoch

The suppressed treasures of Vaughan Williams’s bottom drawer continue to surprise and amaze: we owe a huge debt to Martin Yates and Dutton Epoch for bringing yet more back to life. The haunting proposed second slow movement for A Sea Symphony is a must-hear, as is a refulgent The Future. Geraint Lewis

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Adams Girls of the Golden West

Sols; Los Angeles Master Chorale and Philharmonic Orchestra / John Adams

Nonesuch 

In this substantially revised and tautened version conducted by the composer, Girls of the Golden West is revealed to be a significant addition to the Adams canon. Standout performances by the young cast (most of whom created their roles) and the LA Philharmonic’s driven energy make for a gripping interrogation of American myth. Thomas May

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Handel Theodora

Sols; Arcangelo / Jonathan Cohen

Alpha

Handel’s standout masterpiece, in a recording that validates why we keep buying records and writing about them – because there are always new ways to illuminate great scores, and in the case of early music, the pros have apparently never been better at playing and singing them. Refreshing, moving and profound. Andrew Mellor

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‘A Celebration’

Thomas Trotter org

Regent 

Organ discs of the non-Bach variety receive relatively little coverage (and at Awards time) so it’s especially pleasing to make this exceptional recital from the doyen of British organists my album of the year. Not only is it a varied and technically breathtaking sonic spectacular but a celebration of Trotter’s 40th anniversary as Birmingham City Organist. Jeremy Nicholas

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Janáček Katya Kabanova

Sols; London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle

LSO Live 

Superbly conducted, expertly cast and vividly recorded, Simon Rattle’s live Barbican Centre concert performance of Janáček’s Katya Kabanova is one of the more memorable opera recordings of recent times. Richard Osborne

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Elgar Violin Concerto, etc

Vilde Frang vn Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Robin Ticciati

Warner Classics 

Seeing Vilde Frang play Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the LSO sent me scuttling to this recently released disc, which would shortly earn a Recording of Month accolade. Frang is completely inside this music, in a compelling, often introspective account, with no empty virtuosity for its own sake. A new benchmark recording. Mark Pullinger

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Enescu Symphonies. Romanian Rhapsodies

Orchestre National de France / Cristian Mâcelaru

DG 

Enescu’s symphonies deserve to be as well known as Elgar’s. I hope you’ll come to the same conclusion after hearing a recording that captures their rich fabric of harmony and moods, such as a close cousin of Elgar’s nobilmente. There is hardly a performing tradition for this music even in Enescu’s native Romania, but Măcelaru and ‘his’ French orchestra should serve as the model for many future interpreters. Peter Quantrill

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Bertin Fausto

Sols; Flemish Radio Choir; Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset

Bru Zane

Even amid the explosive revival of once-forgotten works by women, this recording of Louise Bertin’s 1831 opera Fausto stands out, especially given the dynamic performance under Christophe Rousset. Dramatically gripping, orchestrally inventive and vocally thrilling, Fausto will shatter you – and, simultaneously, challenge what you thought you knew about 19th-century music history. Peter J Rabinowitz

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Elcock Violin Concerto. Symphony No 8

Zoë Beyers vn English Symphony Orchestra / Kenneth Woods

Nimbus Alliance

A resurrected opera recording by Brian (8/24), orchestral marvels by Jarrell (1/24), Rosner (5/24) and Saxton (8/24) and a marvellous chamber disc of Brian Elias (A/24) all ultimately took second place to Steve Elcock’s compellingly dark, Nordic Eighth Symphony, coupled with his lively, beautiful Violin Concerto. Gripping new music, wonderfully performed. Guy Rickards

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SS Wesley Sacred Choral Music

Choir of the National Musicians’ Church / Toby Ward with Richard Gowers org

Delphian

The collective enthusiasm of these musicians leaps from the loudspeakers in a groundbreaking disc of sacred music by Samuel Sebastian Wesley. Bright-toned word-painting abounds and a historically correct organ adds to a highly enjoyable anthology by an important composer. Malcolm Riley

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Liszt Années de pèlerinage

Roger Muraro pf

Alpha 

Rich imagination, colossal technique, taste, style and expressive abundance, plus an understanding of Liszt that is second to none are found in this breathtaking Années de pèlerinage. In alternating poetic and heroic works from the 1830s through the stark, visionary abstractions of the 1880s, Roger Muraro presents a compendium of musical Romanticism. Patrick Rucker

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Mahler Symphony No 6

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle

BR-Klassik

Pieces like this that Rattle has lived with for decades are enjoying a late flowering with this great orchestra. This is the kind of playing that feels organic and seems to know no ceiling when it comes to expressive intensity. It’s right up there with Bernstein and Tennstedt (live), and must be remarkable for me to be able to draw a veil over the ordering of the middle movements. Edward Seckerson

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‘A Change is Gonna Come’

Nicholas Phan ten Farayi Malek sngr Palaver Strings

Azica 

Nicholas Phan is a fine protagonist, steering this provocative course between cantata and musical theatre. His fervent, crystalline diction fuels the revolution, not that the electrically democratic Palaver Strings are short of ideas. Phan gives Farayi Malek the final word, and it’s a soulful call to action. Mark Seow

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‘Mythos’

Songs by Loewe and Schubert

Konstantin Krimmel bar

Ammiel Bushakevitz pf

Alpha

Konstantin Krimmel’s Gramophone Award-winning Schöne Müllerin (10/23) was impressive enough. With ‘Mythos’, though, he mixes performances of real beauty and conviction with a fascinating programming idea – deftly juxtaposing songs by Schubert and Loewe. With outstanding playing from pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz, the result is an album of truly compelling musical storytelling. Hugo Shirley

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‘Innocence’

Echo Vocal Ensemble / Sarah Latto

Resonus

An outstanding debut release from Echo Vocal Ensemble. Led by conductor and co-artistic director Sarah Latto, the broad range of music covered by this talented group of singers – from Hildegard of Bingen to 1980s pop band The Smiths – is equally matched by the depth of understanding and commitment they bring to every performance. Pwyll ap Siôn

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Puts The Hours

Sols; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Erato 

Kevin Puts’s The Hours doesn’t demand to be seen and studied. It just needs to be heard. Three plot lines revolve around the novel Mrs Dalloway, all flowing with emotionally intuitive music full of hovering, unseen choral voices. Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato and Kelli O’Hara inhabit separate plots but unite in a glorious trio. David Patrick Stearns

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Chopin Études

Yunchan Lim pf

Decca

Yunchan Lim’s mesmerising performance of Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet No 104 at this year’s Awards gives a tantalising taste of what repertoire he might offer us next. Meanwhile, his deeply individual and breathtakingly virtuoso traversal of Chopin’s Études is easily a highlight of the past year on record. David Threasher

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Mozart Piano Concertos, Vol 13

Robert Levin fp Academy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr

AAM 

I can’t help rejoicing that at long last Robert Levin and the Academy of Ancient Music have completed their immersive cycle of Mozart’s complete piano concertos – a landmark achievement that has taken 30 years, two record labels and four music directors, and yet the inquisitive music-making is always fresh and revelatory. David Vickers

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The Avantgarde Series

DG 

Deutsche Grammophon’s ‘The Avantgarde Series’ does not just recall the heady exploration from half a century and more ago, it also enables listeners to renew or make first-time contact with music that stands the test of its time and ours. Remastering and presentation are both as exemplary as a reissue of this significance deserves. Richard Whitehouse


Messiaen Chants de terre et de ciel, etc

Barbara Hannigan sop Bertrand Chamayou pf

Alpha

It’s a safe bet that few CDs containing La mort du nombre, one of Messiaen’s early failures, would merit any kind of accolade. But the rest of this programme – Poèmes pour Mi and Chants de terre et de ciel – is exceptional, as Hannigan and Chamayou surpass all competitors in a dazzling display of empathy and authority. Arnold Whittall

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Schubert Die schöne Müllerin

Julian Prégardien ten Kristian Bezuidenhout fp

Harmonia Mundi  

This is Schubert as the heir of Mozart, with Julian Prégardien’s limpid tenor beautifully complemented by Kristian Bezuidenhout’s colourful period fortepiano. Some may bridle at the added ornamentation. But it’s all of a piece with a performance that combines grace, vivid, unforced characterisation and spontaneous freshness. Richard Wigmore

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Brett Dean Rooms of Elsinore

Sols; Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Brett Dean

BIS

I’m still listening to this extraordinary release featuring works connected to Dean’s opera Hamlet. And once I played Ophelia for soprano and string orchestra, the intense viola-and-piano suite Rooms of Elsinore and the operatic Confessio for bass clarinet are knockouts, while the playing and singing are top-notch throughout. Sound and fury signifying everything. William Yeoman

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