In the lead this month by quite some margin is the third volume of Andris Nelsons’s Shostakovich Under Stalin series on Deutsche Grammophon, which James reviewed a few weeks ago, observing that ‘the last ounce of acerbic bite that I occasionally felt was missing from previous instalments has clearly been saved for this performance of the Fourth Symphony’.
In second place is La Serenissima’s vibrant collection of double concertos by Vivaldi, which was released on Avie on 20th July, closely followed by Barrie Kosky's unorthodox new Bayreuth production of Die Meistersinger which Katherine wrote about last Friday. And it’s lovely to see a renewal of interest in Autumnal, a collection of works by the late Oliver Knussen on NMC, including his Violin Concerto and Songs for Sue - the requiem which he wrote for his wife, setting texts by Emily Dickinson, Antonio Machado and WH Auden.
No. 1 (new entry)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 2 (new entry)
Adrian Chandler (violin/director), La Serenissima
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 3 (No. 10 last month)
No. 4 (new entry)
Rolando Villazón, Marina Rebeka, Joyce DiDonato, Tara Erraught, Regula Mühlemann, Adam Plachetka Chamber Orchestra of Europe, RIAS Kammerchor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 5 (new entry)
Alexander Melnikov & Olga Pashchenko (piano)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 6 (No. 5 last month)
Isabelle Faust and friends
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 7 (No. 4 last month)
Gerald Finley (Robert Oppenheimer), Julia Bullock (Kitty Oppenheimer), Brindley Sherratt (Edward Teller), Samuel Sakker (James Nolan), Andrew Staples (Robert Wilson), Jennifer Johnston (Pasqualita); BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 8 (No. 1 last month)
Vox Luminis & Ensemble Masques, Lionel Meunier
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 9 (No. 2 last month)
Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 88.2 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 10 (new entry)
Budapest Festival Orchestra & Pro Musica (women's choir), Iván Fischer
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 11 (new entry)
Llŷr Williams (piano)
Available formats: 12 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 12 (new entry)
Howard McGill (tenor saxophone), Gordon Rigby (timpani), Scott Dickinson (viola), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 13 (No. 3 last month)
Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 14 (new entry)
Julie Fuchs (Leïla), Cyrille Dubois (Nadir), Florian Sempey (Zurga), Luc Bertin-Hugault (Nourabad); Les Cris de Paris & Orchestre National de Lille, Alexandre Bloch
Available formats: 2 SACDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 15 (No. 8 last month)
Stephen Hough (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 16 (new entry)
Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 88.2 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 17 (new entry)
De Profundis, Robert Hollingworth
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 18 (new entry)
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 19 (No. 14 last month)
Jerusalem Quartet
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 20 (new entry)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 21 (new entry)
Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Don Giovanni), Luca Pisaroni (Leporello), Diana Damrau (Donna Anna), Joyce DiDonato (Donna Elvira), Rolando Villazón (Don Ottavio), Mojca Erdmann (Zerlina), Konstantin Wolff (Masetto), Vitalij Kowaljow (Commendatore); Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
No. 22 (No. 17 last month)
Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, Andrew Nethsingha
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 23 (new entry)
James Gilchrist (tenor), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 24 (No. 21 last month)
Trio Wanderer
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 25 (new entry)
Alexandra Wood (violin), Huw Watkins (piano), Claire Booth (soprano), Ryan Wigglesworth (piano), Leila Josefowicz (violin); BBC Symphony Orchestra, BCMG, Oliver Knussen
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
