You can browse the shortlist and listen to snippets of the discs below; to place your votes, visit the magazine's website by midnight UK time on Tuesday 3rd March. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at King's Place on Wednesday 22nd April, where the Recording of the Year and Personality of the Year will also be revealed...
Orchestral
Handel: Water & Fire
Collegium 1704, Václav Luks
'Collegium 1704’s reading is so joyous and brashly nonchalant that I felt like I was hearing this music for the first time. Despite being 41 musicians strong, the band brings bounce and curl to every gesture: ebullience everywhere, all the time.'
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
'The engineering abets the peerless attention to detail, always his greatest asset; every dynamic, every sonority is in place...the best way possible to celebrate what is, unbelievably, Rattle's 70th birthday.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Schreker - Korngold - Krenek
Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Sascha Goetzel
'Korngold's Sinfonietta written at just 15 and Schreker's Overture to Die Gezeichneten are lushly, boldly Romantic, while Krenek's Potpourri of 1927 chucks elements such as European dance and jazz into the melting pot that its title suggests. Superb playing is matched by first-rate sound.'
Available Format: SACD
Concerto
Lindberg and Aho: Clarinet Concertos
Julian Bliss (clarinet), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Taavi Oramo
'It's exciting to hear [the Lindberg] taken up by Julian Bliss, a clarinettist who thrives in this scampering sound world...The cadenza is Bliss's own; from its restrained opening to repeated ascents it is an extraordinary and engaging display - Mozart in modernity.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni
Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin), Julie Roset (soprano), Le Consort
'Above all, it’s Swarte’s solo playing (on a 1733 fiddle by Carlo Bergonzi) that steals the show: pliant, expressive, wild and virtuosic. Particularly admirable is his elastic, almost jazzy flexibility with the music.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Walton: Cello Concerto
Jonathan Aasgaard (cello), Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
'Wilson is supreme in shading the orchestra to complement the cello line, both clear and expressive. In both cadenzas, Aasgaard draws a dramatically compelling narrative, again coupling precision with nuance and aplomb.'
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Opera & Stage
Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle
Gábor Bretz (Bluebeard), Rinat Shaham (Judith), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Canellakis
'Canellakis conducts the orchestra as if her life depended on it Philharmonic as if her life depended on it, understanding the aching angularity of Bartók's score and exploring every musical shiver and chordal creak.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady
Scarlett Strallen (Eliza Doolittle), Jamie Parker (Henry Higgins), Alun Armstrong (Alfred P. Doolittle), Malcolm Sinclair (Colonel Pickering), Laurence Kilsby (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Julia McKenzie (Mrs Pearce), Penelope Wilton (Mrs Higgins); Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
'The standard text is delivered to such a high standard as to make this an essential set for anyone seriously interested in the score. Apart from the outstanding orchestral playing and choral singing...the finely chosen cast is a joy in terms of vocal and verbal expertise.'
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Lise Davidsen (Senta), Gerald Finley (The Dutchman), Brindley Sherratt (Daland), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Erik), Anna Kissjudit (Mary), Eirik Grøtvedt (Steersman); Orchestra and Chorus of Norwegian National Opera, Edward Gardner
'Finley and Davidsen sound like sleep-walkers as they plumb the depths of their shared predicament, and they are supported by a first-class cast. Stanislas de Barbeyrac’s agonised Erik and Brindley Sherratt ’s banal Daland are vividly realised, while Eirik Grøtvedt’s Steersman periodically injects a lovely note of tenor sweetness.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Choral
JS Bach: Mass in B minor
Julie Roset (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo). Lucile Richardot (alto), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor), Christian Immler (bass); Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
'There are countless recordings of this work from which to choose, but every choral music enthusiast would be well-advised to add this dynamic, imaginative new reading to their collection. It is truly exceptional.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Handel: Chandos Anthems (Anthems For Cannons)
Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
'Each member of Jonathan Cohen's vocal lineup is a Baroque specialist...Each anthem begins with an instrumental Sonata which the 11-piece orchestra delivers with fine despatch.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
A Prayer For Deliverance
Tenebrae, Nigel Short
'One of Tenebrae's great strengths is to bring both dignity and panache to these works, showing restraint where it is due, but unleashing full-blooded passion at the climaxes without a trace of vulgarity.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Vocal
Brahms: Lieder Album
Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Gerold Huber (piano)
'The sweetness of tone that Gerhaher produced when younger has faded, but his sense of drama is unchanged, the ability to characterise different voices...Huber is a scrupulous partner throughout.'
Available Format: CD
Mahler: Songs of Fate
Anna Lucia Richter (mezzo), Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Jordan de Souza
'Her identification with the songs and their subject-matter appears total, and the artistic result both mesmerises and disturbs the listener...This is as near great singing as makes no difference.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Lines of Life: Schubert & Kurtág
Benjamin Appl (baritone), György Kurtág (piano), James Baillieu (piano), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano)
He is a thoughtful, revealing interpreter of Kurtág’s verse, and his own admission that he finds one of the Hölderlin poems impenetrable is suitably disarming, not least when the composer himself counters that he had to write the music to find its meaning.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Chamber
JS Bach: Sonatas for Violin and Continuo
Isabelle Faust (violin), Kristin von der Goltz (cello), Kristian Bezuidenhout (harpsichord)
'Faust is a splendid guide, not just thoughtful, but also on occasion provocative...Kristin von der Goltz on cello and Kristian Bezuidenhout, playing a resonant modern copy of a harpsichord contemporary to Bach, make up a remarkable ensemble providing much more than mere accompaniment.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'They seem to have assimilated the music into their cells, performing it with an energetic vitality and colour that is all special effects...The group offers high-pixel definition of character, conveyed with mesmerising intensity.'
Available Format: SACD
Schumann: Violin Sonatas
Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano)
'Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien are well established as a formidable, finely poetic duo, and this set of performances shows them at their vibrant best. On a purely practical level, the balance between the two instruments is exquisite, and that is thanks at least partly to the recording team.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Instrumental
Telemann - Bach - Britten - Shaw
Timothy Ridout (viola)
'This is an album that proclaims the viola as a distinctive, individual solo instrument, ideally served here by its skilled interpreter...this [Bach] Chaconne seems to sum up Ridout's whole approach as a creative combination of sustained sound with musical argument, perfectly balanced.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Alexandre Kantorow plays Brahms and Schubert
Alexandre Kantorow (piano)
'First, you can take his peerless technical ability for granted. Next, he is blessed with a remarkable personal sound: it has the quality of a dark, warm roar from deep within the instrument, huge, highly coloured , but never harsh or ugly.'
Available Format: SACD (ECOPAK)
Ravel: Fragments
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
'[La valse] sounds as if at least six hands are at work. This is a titanic, gripping account of this tumultuous piece, combining impact with warmth and projecting with absolute clarity the collapse of civilization around us. A timely vision.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Premiere
Liza Lim: A Sutured World and other works
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), William Barton (digeridoo), Carin Levine (flute), Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Edward Gardner, Franck Ollu, Christoph Poppen
'Liza Lim is a weaver of worlds...These works are typical in their terrific energy and fecundity...Soloists William Barton and Carin Levine are excellent, as are the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra throughout.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Abel Selaocoe: Four Spirits
Abel Selaocoe (cello), Bernhard Schimpelsberger (percussion) Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon
'Selaocoe is a breathtakingly vibrant artist who has a poignant understanding of the umbilical cord between music, community and spirituality... It's a quasi-scat style that at times recalls Ella Fitzgerald. Add to that his absorption of his intoxicating native Zulu language and folk materials, and you have this compelling journey.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Dobrinka Tabakova: Sun Triptych
Maxim Rysanov (viola), Dasol Kim, Roman Mints, Kristina Blaumane, BBC Concert Orchestra, Dobrinka Tabakova
'Perhaps the most engaging work in this recital is the Sun Triptych, a three-movement nature piece for violin, cello and strings that traces the movement of light from dawn to dusk. Here, Tabakova allows her aural imagination to take flight, and in the process of that, conjures up a wealth of fascinating and evocative sounds.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Newcomer
Mussorgsky - Scriabin - Rachmaninoff
Jan Schulmeister (piano)
'Not yet 20, the Czech pianist Jan Schulmeister makes an outstanding Supraphon debut with this recital of Russian music...all three composers are united here through Schulmeister's intense musicality.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
ad tendo
Simone Porter (violin)
'Porter is completely secure in the technical demands of the music, and also has an unerring sense of pacing, so that nothing outstays its welcome, and the movements add up to more than the sum of their parts, with the subtleties of the performance beautifully realised in the warm, detailed recording.'
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Fantasie
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (piano)
'Kanneh-Mason never takes a musical idea and beats you around the head with it: if anything, it feels improvised and throwaway. It’s refreshing to have a young musician not deliver something in a way that feels overdeveloped and laboured.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
