Category: My Top 5 Classical Albums of 2015

Post no. 100

First something internal: this is my post no. 100, and this blog did celebrate it’s 6 month anniversary some days ago.

I’m positively overwhelmed by the number of visitors and the reaction I’m getting, and I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I do writing it.

Top Albums of the Year

Fellow blogger Jacob Stockinger at his great site The Well Tempered Ear has published some posts on the recent suite of Album of the Year articles by the NY Times, the BBC Music, and the Telegraph.

There are really some great recordings in this list, so I figured, why don’t I do my own?

So here we go, no particular order. I’ll probably follow up with some of my preferred Jazz albums later.

Bach: Cello Suites – David Watkin (Resonus)

Mentioned here and here on my blog already. I already had a ton of Bach’s Cello Suites, but this is truly an outstanding version. Gramophone called it “definitive”, and they really have a point.

 

Brahms: Violin Sonatas No. 2 & 3 – Isabelle Faust – Alexander Melnikov (Harmonia Mundi)

I know I’m an Isabelle Faust fanboy, but this album is again just another outstanding example of her amazing art. Reviewed here.

 

Igor Levit: Bach Beethoven Rzweski (Sony)

This young pianist is impressive. Three albums released, all three amazing. Reviewed here.

 

Leif Ove Andsnes: The Beethoven Journey (Sony)

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him live play nos. 2-4 and can confirm this gets pretty close to my idea on how these concertos should be played these days. I’ve previously written about it here.

 

Verdi: Aida – Pappano (Warner Classics)

As mentioned previously, I’m very happy we still get to see this kind of opera performance recorded these days.

 

So what are your albums of 2015?