Classical discs (or LPs) of the year

Schubert’s piano sonatas played by Wilhelm Kempff (DG reissue). This is a desert island set, or a Top 10 All-Time favorite set, or whatever other accolades you prefer. The music is heavenly, the playing divine. I simply cannot come up with enough superlatives for this set, for this music. Perfect may suffice. Best of the year, hands down.

Chopin’s waltzes played by Dinu Lipatti (EMI Great Recording of the Century). Ditto the first sentence from above. The playing is indeed inspired and inspiring. I am not a big Chopin fan, per se, but this disc could make anyone a fan. Buy it and cherish it.

Annie Fischer’s final Beethoven cycle on Hungaroton (Volumes 1 through 3). I was fortunate enough to receive these three discs as a gift over the holidays, and let me tell you it is a gift, indeed. The first three volumes contain a lot of earlier sonatas and Op 110 and Op 111. Annie’s playing on this set trumps her earlier EMI recordings. All of the performances are exquisite, but, somewhat unexpectedly, it is the earlier sonatas that really stand out, the opus 2 and opus 10 sonatas, especially. Put simply, they are revelatory. I will be buying the rest of the cycle this year.

Furtwangler’s early 50’s Beethoven symphony cycle on EMI. The performances vary in quality, but the best performances are (nearly) unrivalled. The 1st, 6th, and 9th are the standouts of the set, and the 6th is without question the best I have ever heard. The 3rd and 7th ain’t too shabby, either.

Mahler’s 1st Symphony conducted by Bruno Walter (Sony Bruno Walter Edition). Whew! This is an incredible performance. I will buy more versions of the 1st, but mostly to find distinctively different interpretations, not better ones. The 2nd and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen are excellent performances, but it’s the 1st that makes the set.

Mahler’s 9th conducted by Benjamin Zander (Telarc). There is no better digital recording and possibly no better stereo recording of this work. I’ve heard other versions, but this crushes them all. Interestingly, I still need to hear Bernstein’s final recording before I can make a final judgment, and I am aware that Walter’s ’38 version is out there, so I shall not proclaim Zander’s version the best.

Shostakovich’s string quartets played by the Emerson (DG). I know that some long-time collectors will prefer the Fitzwilliam or the Borodin, or maybe even the Beethoven sets, but this one is quite impressive. The playing is technically flawless, as one would expect. And what may be missing in terms of idiomatic playing is made up for in intensity and insight. Perhaps this is not the best cycle of these works – and I am not claiming it is – but it is worthy of consideration.

Haydn’s piano sonatas played by John McCabe. Another holiday gift. While the quality varies, as one would expect in such a large number of works, the finest efforts – numbers 33, 40, 44, 52, 53, 57-62, and some of the variations – stand at the pinnacle of solo piano music.

Schulhoff’s Piano Concertos played by Jan Simon (Supraphon). The more I listen, the more I realize that the 1st concerto is a masterpiece. The second is quite good, as well, but it is the first that does it. An under appreciated and under-performed work. It’s quirky, and some may not like it, but within Schulhoff’s mercurial idiom, it towers over his orchestral output. And over others’ output as well.

Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s string quartets played by the Pellegrini Quartet (CPO). The first quartet is stunning: a 20th century masterpiece of emotive intensity rivaled by few. The second may not be quite as good, being merely excellent, but it, too, is worthy of at least a couple hearings by serious chamber music fans. A must have for any 20th Century classical fans.

Scriabin’s piano sonatas played by John Ogdon (EMI). My introduction to both Ogdon and Scriabin, and what an introduction. Here are ten sonatas to include with those of Beethoven, Schubert, Prokofiev, Haydn and Mozart as representing the pinnacle of the form. The playing is simply marvelous, the interpretations impressive.

Schubert’s D 960 piano sonata played by Annie Fischer (Hungaroton). Wonderful. Overall, I still give the nod to Kempff, especially in the opening movement, but Annie’s playing in the last movement is beyond reproach. The accompanying Liszt sonata is less inspired, but still worth hearing.

Mozart’s piano sonatas played by Andras Schiff (Decca). Exquisite. Generally light and lyrical Mozart, but with the appropriate amount of insight. Perhaps not to everyone’s tastes, but certainly to mine.

Brahms’ symphonies conducted by Furtwangler (EMI). Is there a better cycle than this? Well perhaps, but there can’t be many. I need to get Toscanini’s NBC cycle, or maybe even his Philharmonia cycle, and probably Walter’s cycle to be sure, but this Furtwangler cycle is just incredible. The 1st and the 4th are two of the finest orchestral performances I have heard of any works by any composer.

Schubert’s 9th / Haydn’s 88th conducted by Furtwangler (DG). This was my first Furtwangler disc, and it confirmed all of the praise heaped upon this great artist. This version of the 9th so utterly lays waste to so many other pedestrian recordings that I wonder if I will ever listen to a stereo version again.

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto / Mendelssohn’s Violin Concertos performed by Menuhin and Furtwangler (EMI). Ditto above, particularly for the Beethoven.

Wilhelm Kempff’s 4 disc set of Schumann’s piano music. It doesn’t quite scale the heights of Kempff’s Schubert (what can?), but it is a delightful set. Every piece is so wonderfully executed that one needn’t look much further for most of these works. Oh sure, the muscular, overly-virtuosic playing some may crave is missing from the septuagenarian’s playing, but what one hears in exchange more than compensates.

Debussy’s piano music played by Gieseking (EMI). I have serious doubts that better performances of Debussy’s piano music do or can exist. There are great recordings of specific works, but none rival this collection of all the works. Zimerman, perhaps, comes closest in specific works.