Out in front by a country mile last month were Sir András Schiff and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's period-instrument accounts of the Brahms piano concertos (directed from the keyboard, in this case an 1859 Blüthner). Released on ECM at the beginning of June, the disc was Recording of the Month in the latest issue of Gramophone as well as a Presto Recording of the Week, with James observing that the project 'strips away performance traditions to present refreshingly original accounts of both works, full of detail and character'.
You can read James's full review here, and watch Schiff's extensive video-discussion of the project here.
No. 1 (new entry)
András Schiff (piano/director), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 2 (new entry)
Daniel Barenboim (piano), Michael Barenboim (violin), Kian Soltani (cello), Martha Argerich (piano), Staatskapelle Berlin
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 3 (new entry)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 4 (No. 4 last month)
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Matthew Truscott (violin), Joel Hunter (viola), Frank-Michael Guthmann (cello)
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 5 (No. 2 last month)
Alexandra Whittingham (guitar)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 6 (No. 3 last month)
Lucy Crowe (Rodelinda), Iestyn Davies (Bertarido), Joshua Ellicott (Grimoaldo), Brandon Cedel (Garibaldo), Jess Dandy (Eduige), Tim Mead (Unulfo)
The English Concert, Harry Bicket
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 7 (new entry)
Barnabás Kelemen (violin), Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Alexander Lonquich (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 8 (new entry)
Matthew Rose (bass), Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 9 (new entry)
Alice Coote (mezzo), Burkhard Fritz (tenor), Netherlands Philharmonic, Marc Albrecht
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 10 (new entry)
Thomas Trotter (organ)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 11 (new entry)
No. 12 (new entry)
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 13 (new entry)
Hope Amid Tears
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas
Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Emanuel Ax (piano)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 14 (new entry)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Rafael Kubelik
Available format: 12 CDs
No. 15 (No. 1 last month)
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 16 (No. 8 last month)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 17 (new entry)
Gothic Voices
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 18 (No. 21 in April)
Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens
Available format: SACD
No. 19 (new entry)
Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 20 (No. 10 last month)
Steven Osborne (piano), Paul Lewis (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 21 (new entry)
Lise Davidsen (soprano), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 22 (No. 25 last month)
Mozart: Gran Partita
Wind Serenades K. 361 & 375
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 23 (new entry)
Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Kirill Petrenko
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 24 (new entry)
Adam Walker (flute), Juliana Koch (oboe), Jonathan Davies (bassoon), Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 25 (new entry)
Tippett Quartet
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
