Awards,
Recordings of the Year 2020 - Our Top 100
After many hours of listening and discussion (chiefly conducted via Zoom this year), the Presto editorial team have finally decided on our top 100 Recordings of the Year: you can browse through the finalists below, and until 25th January 2021 we're offering special discounts on almost all of the featured titles. Our top 10 recordings will be announced on Thursday 10th December.
Yuja Wang (piano), Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Mark Stone (baritone), Kirill Gerstein (piano), Christianne Stotijn (mezzo)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Adès
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Voces8
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Anna Patalong (Miss Julie), Benedict Nelson (Jean), Rosie Aldridge (Kristin), Samuel Sakker (Ulrik)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Ermonela Jaho (soprano), Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Andrea Battistoni
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Kate Lindsey (mezzo), Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Natalya Romaniw (soprano), Lada Valešová (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Xenia Löffler (oboe), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sean Shibe (guitar)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Jean Rondeau (harpsichord), Thomas Dunford (lute), Lea Desandre (mezzo), Marc Mauillon (baritone), Myriam Rignol (viola da gamba)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Grigory Sokolov (piano)
Available Format: 2 CDs + DVD Video
Paul Lewis (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Matthias Goerne (baritone), Jan Lisiecki (piano)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Stephen Hough (piano), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Jörg Widmann (clarinet), András Schiff (piano)
Available Format: CD
Stephen Hough (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Stuart Skelton (Grimes), Erin Wall (Ellen), Roderick Williams (Balstrode), Susan Bickley (Auntie), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Mrs Sedley), Robert Murray (Bob Boles), James Gilchrist (Horace Adams), Marcus Farnsworth (Ned Keene)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Rachel Mahon (organ of Coventry Cathedral)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Reinoud Van Mechelen (tenor), Vox Luminis, A Nocte Temporis, Lionel Meunier
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sabine Devieilhe (soprano), Alexandre Tharaud (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Irene Buckley (speaker), Jennifer Koh (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, André de Ridder
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Carolyn Sampson (piano), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Arthur Fagen
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
London Symphony Orchestra, François-Xavier Roth
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Stefanie True (soprano), Helen Charlston (mezzo), Gwilym Bowen (tenor), Morgan Pearse (bass)
Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of the AAM, Richard Egarr
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Garrick Ohlsson (piano), Takács Quartet
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Nicola Benedetti (violin), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Christiane Karg (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano), Gustav Mahler (piano roll)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Gesualdo Six, Owain Park
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Ironwood
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Joyce DiDonato (Agrippina), Elsa Benoit (Poppea), Luca Pisaroni (Claudio), Franco Fagioli (Nerone), Jakub Józef Orliński (Ottone), Andrea Mastroni (Pallante), Carlo Vistoli (Narciso), Biagio Pizzuti (Lesbo), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Giunone)
Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Anna Lucia Richter (soprano), Maximilian Schmitt (tenor), Florian Boesch (baritone)
Il Giardino Armonico, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Giovanni Antonini
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Jamie Barton (mezzo), Jake Heggie (piano), Matt Haimovitz (cello)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Héloïse Werner (soprano), The Hermes Experiment
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Matthew Schellhorn (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Helena Dix (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo), Benjamin Hulett (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone)
BBC Concert Orchestra, Bach Choir, David Hill
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chen Reiss (soprano), Oliver Wass (harp)
Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
In Chains of Gold: The English Pre-Restoration Verse Anthem Vol. 2
William Byrd to Edmund Hooper: Psalms and Royal Anthems
Magdalena Consort, Fretwork, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, with Silas Wollston (organ)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Gustavo Dudamel
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Lucy Crowe (Vixen), Gerald Finley (Forester), Sophia Burgos (Fox), Jan Martiník (Badger/Parson), Peter Hoare (Mosquito/Rooster/Schoolmaster), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Harašta)
London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Ludwig Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Rachel Nicholls (soprano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Norman Del Mar, Colman Pearce, Gavin Maloney, Ilan Volkov
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Louise Alder (soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Staatskapelle Weimar, Knabenchor der Jenaer Philharmonie, Damen des Opernchores des Deutschen Nationaltheaters Weimar, Kirill Karabits
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Leonore Piano Trio
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Cupertinos, Luís Toscano
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Gerhild Romberger (contralto), Robert Dean Smith (tenor)
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Robert Dean Smith (tenor)
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Michael Slattery (Miles), Talise Trevigne (Ma Zegner), John Moore (Pa Zegner), Andrew Harris (The Sodbuster)
Opera Omaha, International Contemporary Ensemble, Christopher Rountree
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Francesco Piemontesi (piano), Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Andrew Manze
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sarah Willis (horn), Havana Lyceum Orchestra, Havana Horns, José Antonio Méndez Padrón
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Odense Symphony Orchestra, Andreas Delfs
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Véronique Gens (soprano), I Giardini
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sarah Fox (soprano), Kathryn Rudge (mezzo), Toby Spence (tenor), Henry Waddington (bass-baritone)
Crouch End Festival Chorus, London Mozart Players, William Vann
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Anna Dennis (soprano), Mhairi Lawson (soprano), Ashley Riches (bass-baritone), Roderick Williams (baritone), Gabrieli, Paul McCreesh
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Stef Conner (voice/lyre), Hanna Marti (soprano), Everlasting Voices
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Michael Spyres (tenor), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), I Virtuosi Italiani, Corrado Rovaris
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Isabelle Faust (violin), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Nash Ensemble
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Elīna Garanča (mezzo), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, François-Xavier Roth
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Alina Ibragimova (violin), State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov', Vladimir Jurowski
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Mark Simpson, Fraser Langton (clarinet), Nicholas Daniel, Emma Fielding (oboe), Amy Harman, Dom Tyler (bassoon), Oliver Pashley, Ausias Garrigos Morant (basset horns), Ben Goldscheider, Angela Barnes, James Pillai, Fabian van de Geest (horn), David Stark (double bass)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Georgios Demertzis (violin), Vassilis Varvaresos (piano), Eleftherios Venizelos (speaker)
Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, Byron Fidetzis
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Xuefei Yang (guitar), Weiliang Zhang (wooden flute), Sha Yuan (guzheng)
Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Renchang Fu
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sarah Brailey, Dashon Burton, Experiential Orchestra and Chorus, James Blachly
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
ORA Singers, Suzi Digby
Available Format: CD + DVD Video
Le Banquet Céleste, Damien Guillon
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Louise Alder (soprano), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chiara Skerath (soprano), The Mozartists, Ian Page
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Virpi Räisänen (mezzo), Jukka Perko (soprano saxophone), Lapland Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Johan Dalene (violin), Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Blendulf
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Nathan Meltzer (violin), Rohan de Silva (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louis Langrée
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Diana Damrau (soprano), Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Estonian Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Mary Bevan (soprano), Nicky Spence (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Jack Liebeck (violin), William Vann (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Jonas Kaufmann (Otello), Federica Lombardi (Desdemona), Carlos Álvarez (Iago)
Orchestra e Coro dell'Academia Nationale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Piotr Beczala (tenor), Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Marco Boemi
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
