Top 10 classical albums of 2021

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No 1

Philadelphia Orchestra (DG)

The Philadelphia Orchestra has not lost its touch. Here are dazzling performances of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 and the Symphonic Dances, of which it gave the premiere, under music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The violins soar with the same rich sound as their predecessors did for Rachmaninoff himself.

English Music for Strings

Sinfonia of London (Chandos)

After several award-winning discs, the newly resurrected Sinfonia of London returns with its string section alone. John Wilson conducts showpiece performances of Benjamin Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Lennox Berkeley’s Serenade for Strings and Arthur Bliss’s Music for Strings that are top of the class.

Passione

Freddie De Tommaso (Decca)

The new tenor voice in Italian opera hails from Tunbridge Wells, Kent. For his debut album, Anglo-Italian De Tommaso sings Neapolitan songs with full-throttle, high-voltage ardour. Throw in 1950s orchestral arrangements reeking of the golden age of Italian cinema and the result is a disc that is hard to put down.

Handel: Rodelinda

The English Concert (Linn)

The Handel opera revival has produced some fine recordings, of which this new Rodelinda is a notable example. Soprano Lucy Crowe and counter-tenor Iestyn Davies vie with each other in lambent vocal beauty and an estimable cast is given lively support by The English Concert and conductor Harry Bicket.

John Luther Adams: Arctic Dreams

Cold Blue Music

In the year of COP26, John Luther Adams is surely the composer of the moment. Formerly an environmental activist, he lived for more than 40 years in Alaska and the latest of his panoramic musical landscapes is a depiction of the region’s “space, stillness and elemental forces”.

On DSCH

Igor Levit (Sony Classical)

Never one to shirk a challenge, pianist Igor Levit has come up with his biggest feat to date. Over three discs, he plays two monumental works, Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, engagingly playful, tender and sparkling, and Ronald Stevenson’s staggeringly huge, 90-minute Passacaglia on DSCH.

Liszt: Freudvoll und leidvoll

Jonas Kaufmann (Sony Classical)

The leading German opera tenor of the day is also no mean song recitalist. Jonas Kaufmann turns his attention to the often neglected songs of Franz Liszt, offering a varied selection from narrative songs to the Italianate romance of the three Petrarch Sonnets. His burnished tenor smoulders as ardently as ever.

Chopin: Nocturnes

Stephen Hough (Hyperion)

Be clear about one thing: this is not just another recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes. Hough takes the composer’s relatively swift tempo markings to heart and the result is music that sings with effortless grace. Played intimately, as Chopin would have done in salons, these Nocturnes shimmer as if touched by moonbeams.

Rameau: Achante et Céphise

Les Ambassadeurs (Erato)

It is no surprise that Achante et Céphise remained unknown for so long. The story is nonsense, but Rameau lavished on it music of unlimited imagination. Two of the finest younger French singers, Sabine Devieilhe and Cyrille Dubois, lead the cast and Alexis Kossenko conducts Les Ambassadeurs with period brio.

Florence Price: Symphonies 1 and 3

Philadelphia Orchestra (DG)

As an African American woman composer in the mid-20th century, Florence Price was a high-profile trailblazer. Her Symphony No. 1 is just a first try, but the Symphony No. 3, a well-crafted mix of American musical styles, exudes emotional warmth and is splendidly performed here by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

All albums are available for purchase on Amazon. All (except Stephen Hough’s Chopin Nocturnes) can be streamed on Spotify