The 10 Best Classical Music Albums of Right Now

From Bach to Beethoven, these are the 10 best classical music albums of right now, according to the experts.

Introduction

It’s always a challenge to make best-of lists, but narrowing down the field to just 10 classical music albums of the moment was especially tough this year. We saw exciting debuts, triumphant returns, and brilliant performances fromcovering a wide range of repertoire.

In the end, these are the 10 recordings that we just couldn’t get enough of in 2018.

1. Bosendorfer & Domus – Transfigured Bach (ECM)
2. Simone Dinnerstein & Tana Mana String Quartet – A Thousand Truths (Sony)
3. Janine Jansen & Bach Collegium Japan – The Four Seasons (Decca)
4. Julia Fischer – Violin Concerto (Deutsche Grammophon)
5. Leif Ove Andsnes – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 28-32 (Sony)
6. Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads (Nonesuch)
7. Simon Rattle & Berlin Philharmonic – Messiaen:Turangalîla-Symphonie (Berlin Philharmonic)
8. Anne-Sophie Mutter & Mariinsky Orchestra – Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto/Serenade for Strings/Rococo Variations (Deutsche Grammophon)
9. Javier Perianes – Chilean Rhapsody: Piano Music by Gonzalo Martínez Quesada (Harmonia Mundi)
10. Isabel Leonard & Alan Gilbert – West Side Story Suite/Bernstein Arias

Best Orchestral Album: Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake (Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle)

The Berlin Philharmonic, under the baton of British conductor Simon Rattle, has recorded an inspired and highly sensitive performance of Tchaikovsky’s much-loved fairy tale ballet, Swan Lake. The orchestra is on superb form throughout, displaying both power and delicacy in equal measure, and Rattle’s masterly control of the work’s shifting moods is evident in every bar. This is a richly satisfying recording that does full justice to one of the greatest works in the classical repertoire.

Best Opera Album: Wagner – Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bayreuth Festival, Andris Nelsons)

Wagner – Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bayreuth Festival, Andris Nelsons)

This is a live album of the Bayreuth Festival’s production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and it is simply stunning. Andris Nelsons conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Choir with power and precision, and the cast is excellent. This is a must-have for any opera fan.

Best Vocal Album: Verdi – Requiem (Chorus of the Bavarian Radio, Sir John Eliot Gardiner)

This was one of the most anticipated classical releases of the year, and it didn’t disappoint.Verdi’s Requiem is a monumental work, and Gardiner and his team do it full justice. The soloists are outstanding, but it’s the chorus that really steals the show. They are on top form throughout, making this one of the best Requiems on disc.

Best Chamber Album: Beethoven – The Complete String Quartets (Quatuor Ébène)

The Ébène Quartet’s 2012 recording of the late string quartets is no less astonishing for being so well played and recorded, but it’s the group’s interpretations that make this set so special. The Ébène brings a whole new level of drama and insight to these warhorses, and their playing is nothing short of revelatory.

Best Choral Album: Bach – St Matthew Passion (The Bach Choir, David Hill)

This may be the Bach Choir’s best recording yet of the St Matthew Passion: David Hill’s reading is affectionate and attentive, and the choir’s singing throughout is of an astonishingly high standard, both individually and as an ensemble. Hand-picked soloists include Mark Padmore as the Evangelist, Christina Högman as a superb soprano soloist, and Roderick Williams, who brings real pathos to Christ’s arias.

Best Contemporary Album: Unsuk Chin – Clarinet Concerto (Kari Kriikku, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu)

Best Contemporary Album: Unsuk Chin – Clarinet Concerto (Kari Kriikku, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu)

Unsuk Chin’s Clarinet Concerto is a masterfully executed work that is both beautiful and thrilling. Kari Kriikku’s performance is exquisite, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra provides excellent accompaniment under the skilled direction of Hannu Lintu. This is a must-have album for any classical music lover.

Best Historical Album: Brahms – The Symphonies (Berlin Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle)

Brahms – The Symphonies is an outstanding box set that showcases the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle at their best. It features all four of Brahms’s symphonies, as well as a recording of contrasting works by Haydn and Schubert. The Berlin Philharmonic’s performance of Brahms’s First Symphony is especially noteworthy, with Rattle drawing out its emotional depths and beauty.

Best Newcomer Album: Janáček – Glagolitic Mass (Czech Philharmonic, Jiří Bělohlávek)

Czech Philharmonic and Jiří Bělohlávek have recorded an excellent album of Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, one of the composer’s greatest works. The recording is crystal clear, and the singing is superb. The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world’s great orchestras, and Jiří Bělohlávek is a magnificent conductor. Highly recommended!

Best Reissue Album: Shostakovich – The String Quartets (Borodin Quartet)

The great Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich’s 15 string quartets are a life’s work, and were composed over the course of 35 years – from 1938, when he was 27, to 1974, when he was 63. They track his biography closely: the first four were written before he fell foul of Stalin’s dictatorship and the Communist party, the middle 10 when he was struggling to keep his head above water during the height of repression, and the last when he had effectively been rehabilitated and was working in the state-sponsored Soviet establishment.

But they also trace his development as a composer: from the lyrical early works, full of manic energy and propelled by dazzling virtuosity, to the bleakness of the war years – when Shostakovich turned inward and communicated his feelings using a much more austere musical language – and on to the late quartets, which are among the most profound pieces of music written in the 20th century.