My favorite recordings of 2013

[josé echenique]

Well, it´s time to remember which recordings I enjoyed the most this year. Of course I can´t even begin to claim that these are the greatest recordings of the year, just of the ones I bought, the ones I liked best.





Two truly great recordings of Semiramide:




Neither Giuseppe Verdi nor Richard Wagner fared as well as they should, but these were good:






This is very interesting. While rehearsing Der Fliegende Holländer, Marc Minkowski took a look to Pierre-Louis Dietsch´s Le Vaisseau Fantome, the opera that the Paris Opera preferred to Wagner´s on the same subject. Dietsch´s work is obviously a far more Meyerbeerian affair, but it´s surprisingly enjoyable and not at all negligible. And it´s good to have it back to back with Wagner´s first, 1841 version of Der Fliegende Holländer. 2 different casts for widely different vocal requirements, but both are very satisfying.



Long awaited recording of Hasse´s gorgeous serenata Marc´Antonio e Cleopatra:



The great Bach recording of 2013:



Two excellent Rameau recordings announcing next year´s Rameau Year:




And next year, both Glück and Jommelli are 300 years old.



And this was the year of the countertenor:






All are excellent but Franco Fagioli stole the show.


Whoever composed this beautiful oratorio was definitely NOT Pergolesi:









Another glorious recital by Roberta Invernizzi:


Lest we forget what a beautiful voice he had in his prime:














Received yesterday:

[Ted Quanrud]

A most impressive array of acquisitions, Pepe. After reading your post, I have added several of your selections to my own shopping list. I already share a few items, notably the Jonas Kaufman and Begun Mehta recitals, and am now looking forward to hearing others, especially the Marc´Antonio e Cleopatra.

My own favorites for 2013

Pride of place goes to the final volumes of two monumental recording projects: John Eliot Gardiner’s and Masaaki Suzuki’s cantata series.




The latest installment in Hyperion’s Romantic piano concerto. Who knew Charles Gounod wrote a concerto for pedal piano?



Boxed sets were the biggest acquisitions this past year. The Decca Verdi box provided many hours of music i had not heard before in generally good, even greta performances



The Reiner and Perahia boxes are almost self-recommending.




I have every recording the Tallis Scholars have made in their now 40-year history. Two releases this year are among their very best.




And, finally, a new CD that I have yet not heard, but is on its way now as I write this: John Eliot Gardiner’s second take on Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, a live recording taped shortly after I heard the same forces in Carnegie Hall, an experience I will never forget.

[josé echenique]

I was also at the Carnegie Hall concert Ted, so sad to miss you, and I certainly agree, it was awesome, the sound of the Monteverdi Choir beyond awesome.
In fact I was a little disappointed that Gardiner didn´t release the New York concert, maybe because in London he had better known soloists, only the mezzo and the bass are common to both. The soprano in the recording, Lucy Crowe was also in NY that week, she just made her debut in La Clemenza di Tito, and could have also sung in the Missa Solemnis, but maybe she thought too demanding to sing both works within a few days.
I´m also expecting the recording, and surely it will be added to my list.

[barney]

I have a few of those: the Verdi set, the Barenboim requiem, the two Kaufmann CDs. The rise of opera, the Jacobs St Matthew Passion and the Perahia set are all on their way to my house.
The Pollini/DFD Winterreise escaped my attention when it came out. Tell me about it - how many other DFD versions do you know (Moore, Barenboim, Perahia etc). Is it essential? It could be, depending on how cool Pollini is in his playing.

[josé echenique]

It would be difficult to say if you´d consider the Pollini- Winterreise "essential" depending on how big a DFD fan you are. Recorded in August 1978, DFD is still in very good voice. This would fall between the 1972/Moore/DG recording and the 1980/Barenboim/DG recording. Pollini is very attentive to the great Meistersinger, and doesn´t fail to produce exquisite pianism along the way. If you are familiar with his Schubert sonatas, you will know what a fine Schubertian he is.
DFD was very consistent with his vision of the Winterreise along the years, from the first 1948 Gerald Moore cycle to the last with Perahia. If you ask me my favorites would be the 1961/Moore/EMI, the 1964/Demus/DG, the 1972/Moore/DG and the 1980/Barenboim/DG, with the newly released Pollini in between. It is thrilling to have a well recorded live version with such a master pianist as Maurizio Pollini, so yes, warmly recommended.

[barney]

It would be difficult to say if you´d consider the Pollini- Winterreise "essential" depending on how big a DFD fan you are. Recorded in August 1978, DFD is still in very good voice. This would fall between the 1972/Moore/DG recording and the 1980/Barenboim/DG recording. Pollini is very attentive to the great Meistersinger, and doesn´t fail to produce exquisite pianism along the way. If you are familiar with his Schubert sonatas, you will know what a fine Schubertian he is.
DFD was very consistent with his vision of the Winterreise along the years, from the first 1948 Gerald Moore cycle to the last with Perahia. If you ask me my favorites would be the 1961/Moore/EMI, the 1964/Demus/DG, the 1972/Moore/DG and the 1980/Barenboim/DG, with the newly released Pollini in between. It is thrilling to have a well recorded live version with such a master pianist as Maurizio Pollini, so yes, warmly recommended.

That's an excellent summary,thank you. I just ordered the Perahia set, so will soon have the DFD and Perahia version on DVD. Because I have some 400 CDs as yet unlistened to that arrived in the past few months, not least the 142-CD Rubinstein set, I won't rush to get this one. I suppose that's a misnomer re Rubinstein in that I have already about 40 of them, and most of these are very-well listened to indeed.

When was this Winterreise recorded? Is it a case of master and apprentice, so to speak, when you say Pollini is attentive, or is it an equal partnership?

[josé echenique]

It was recorded August 23, 1978. It is the meeting of 2 great artists on equal terms, though Pollini is evidently attentive to the singer [unlike Vladimir Horowitz in the famous centennial Carnegie Hall concert, where he goes his own way in the Dichterliebe].

[josé echenique]

Well, this may not be one of the year´s best recordings, but it´s enjoyable in a Kitsch way.
Damrau often tries too hard, unnecessarily, but most of this Lehar meets Sondheim recital is well done.

[josé echenique]

Yet another long forgotten but fascinating opera. Vogel was a great fan of Gluck and the influence is obvious, but he is no mere imitator, there is fire and passion in La Toison d´Or. Excellent recording, very well sung and conducted, and certainly worthy of being added to the list.




And 2 super virtuosos displaying every weapon in their armory. Glorious violin playing!



Sumptuous orchestral playing.

[josé echenique]

Ton Koopman brings to a close the complete Buxtehude ouvre with this, the last volume of the cantatas.
I can´t even begin to say what a valuable addition this series has been to our knowledge of one of the giants of baroque music. Just listen to the exquisite Mein Herz ist bereit.

[josé echenique]

Enrico Onofri is next to Fabio Biondi one of the finest baroque violinists of the day. This cd was recorded in Japan and arrived from Tokyo just today. Onofri plays solo violin works from Biber´s Passacaglia to Tartini´s Didone Abbandonata sonata making stops in a couple of Telemann solo violin fantasias and Bach´s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. The playing is superb: flawless tuning, masterful execution. A disc to treasure.

[ContrapunctusIX]

this set is a far cry from Chailly's earlier ultra slow and soupy cycle with the CGB. If you enjoy Brahms in the Reiner/Toscanini mold, give this set a try.

[josé echenique]

I bought it, and it´s of course very good. I especially enjoyed the First, the Third not so much, but as usual the playing of the Gewandhaus bursts with personality.

[josé echenique]

Maybe not the best year of the Lugano concerts, but inevitably there are gems here.

[Len_Z]

One of this year CDs that I've been returning to more often than I had initially thought I would.

[Seán]

Dear Pepe, you have been busy, what a wonderful collection.

[josé echenique]

This has been a slow years compared to others Seán, by the way, Merry Christmas!!!

[Seán]

This has been a slow years compared to others Seán, by the way, Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Pepe, I hope that you have a season full of joy and happiness.

[ContrapunctusIX]

I bought it, and it´s of course very good. I especially enjoyed the First, the Third not so much, but as usual the playing of the Gewandhaus bursts with personality.

Funny how personal tastes work, eh? I loved that 3rd, it reminded me of the old Reiner/CSO 3rd on RCA. Overall I liked the cycle, in particular for the playing of the LGO as you mention. The 2nd in this set was a big disappointment, IMHO.

[josé echenique]

I bought it, and it´s of course very good. I especially enjoyed the First, the Third not so much, but as usual the playing of the Gewandhaus bursts with personality.

Funny how personal tastes work, eh? I loved that 3rd, it reminded me of the old Reiner/CSO 3rd on RCA. Overall I liked the cycle, in particular for the playing of the LGO as you mention. The 2nd in this set was a big disappointment, IMHO.

To me the finest Thirds of the digital era are the Abbado/BPO, the Harnoncourt/BPO and the Berglund/Chamber Orchestra of Europe. I have to hear the Chailly again, that was a first impression... but of course one can always change his mind.