Top 10 Classical 2003

Uri Caine

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

(WINTER AND WINTER)

by Peter Burwasser

Philly native Uri Caine has one foot in the realm of jazz, the other in classical. Those two worlds come crashing together in this wild, funny and brilliant take on a Beethoven masterpiece. The coup de grace: Caine uses a period instrument orchestra that he conducts from a fortepiano. Beethoven would have loved it.

Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch

Schumann: Symphonic Works

(SELF-RELEASED)

Our recently departed maestro was not immune to routine performance. But here is music that Sawallisch sinks his teeth into, and has the normally suave Philadelphia Orchestra sounding like a stampede of wild horses. This self-produced set serves as a farewell to a music director, but the superb sounding CDs also mark a new chapter in the history one of the most recorded ensembles ever.

Gyorgy Ligeti

Concertos, etc.

(TELDEC)

The Hungarian master Gyorgy Ligeti writes music of phenomenal imagination and glistening texture. His instrumental concertos can be regarded as instant classics, especially the one for violin, a rare circumstance in the new music game.

Ayano Ninomiya

Bell: The Book of Moonlight

(NORTH/ SOUTH RECORDINGS)

Larry Bell is a Boston-based composer with roots in the rural South. In the tradition of Ives and Copland, he incorporates vernacular American music into traditional classical forms. This album of violin music, mostly based on 19th-century church hymns, is hauntingly beautiful, but never cloying.

Pierre Boulez, Vienna Philharmonic

Mahler: Symphony No. 3.

(DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON)

Pierre Boulez has long been regarded as one of the great intellects of music, both as a composer and a conductor, with a brilliant grasp of the nuts and bolts of music-making. The surprise here is that he is, in his mature years, something of a sensualist as well. The combination, in this elephantine work, is utterly dazzling.

Toscanini, NBC Symphony Orchestra

Verdi: Requiem

(MUSIC AND ARTS)

The name Toscanini, once virtually synonymous with classical music, has taken on some tarnish lately, from those who find his approach too severe and inflexible. This glorious 1940 performance, here in an excellent sounding reissue, should leave no doubt about his blazing genius.

Murray Perahia

Schubert: Late Piano Sonatas

(SONY CLASSICAL)

Since recovering from a hand injury a few years ago, Murray Perahia has been going from strength to strength in music of Chopin, Bach, and now, the magnificent final three piano sonatas of Schubert. His playing is both wise and beautiful.

Kempf Trio

Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninoff: Piano Trios

(BIS)

Rachmaninoff modeled his early trio on the music of his hero, Tchaikovsky, so this is a natural pairing. The music is pure romantic schmaltz, and this young trio, put together by the spirited young British pianist Freddy Kempf, plays it for all it is worth. Irresistible.

Elliott Carter

What Next

(ECM NEW SERIES)

Elliott Carter, at the age of 90, decided to write an opera. Wow. With a quasi-surrealist libretto by novelist and critic Paul Griffiths, What Next boldly and refreshingly stakes a claim for polytonal expressionism in the current sea of syrupy pablum. A powerful and fascinating contribution to the chamber opera repertoire. The CD also includes a scintillating concerto by Carter.

Nigel Kennedy

Greatest Hits

(EMI CLASSIC)

There is something completely charming about the punky violinist Nigel Kennedy. It certainly doesn't hurt that he is a bitchin' fiddler, at home with both Beethoven and Jimi Hendrix. Countless classical musicians have made fools of themselves in the treacherous world of crossover. Kennedy pulls it off as well as anybody.