     
Classical music hosts choose favorites of 2009
We asked Michael Barone, host of Pipedreams, and Julie Amacher, host of New Classical Tracks, to tell us their favorite classical music releases of 2009.
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Michael Barone’s picks
Rather than compile a list of the past year’s high-profile, star-driven classical releases, Michael Barone has chosen some hidden surprises—delectable items which might not otherwise pop up on many people’s radar, but which deserve (and reward) attention. | | | 
| | Bach Cantatas, Vol. 20
By John Eliot Gardiner
The sheer scope of the project still boggles the mind: to perform and record in concert nearly 200 of J.S. Bach’s cantatas during a single year of artistic pilgrimage throughout Europe and into the U.S. (marking the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death in 2000). That conductor John Eliot Gardiner's team was able to accomplish it at such a consistently high level of involvement is nearly unbelievable, but the documentation, in gorgeous book-quality packages, is undeniably fine. Such an outpouring of infinitely imaginative genius Bach lavished on these pieces. The pastorale aria from Cantata 92, recorded at the Grote Kerk in Naarden, the Netherlands, and touchingly sung by soprano Miah Persson with oboist Susann Regel, may sum it up: “I shall remain true to my Shepherd.” Indeed, Bach did, and these musicians do, too. ~Michael Barone
Price: $41.98 *
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| | Yiddish Rhapsody
By Isabelle Georges with Sibra Octet, Orchestre De Pau Pays De Béarn It may be something in the water. From the Basque region in the southwest corner of France comes this surprise find: a live-concert recording that conveys an electric energy shared by musicians and audience in this “improbable encounter between a group of classical musicians who play Yiddish music, a singer with a passion for musical comedy and jazz and an excellent regional symphony orchestra.” If Yiddish is the language of the heart, plenty of heart is revealed in unbuttoned performances that transcend kitsch and glitz, friendly music of and for the kosher soul. Better than chicken soup. ~Michael Barone
Price: $17.98 *
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| | Fire & Blood
By Michael Daugherty
Michael Daugherty often draws upon the American popular music vernacular for his harmonic and rhythmic building blocks. The Violin Concerto was inspired by the famous “Detroit Industry” Depression-era murals by Diego Rivera, and the resulting score bristles with energy. The three trombone soloists in the final panel of the Motor City Triptych evoke the impassioned delivery of African-American preachers, as experienced by the composer while he attended a church service in Detroit with Rosa Parks. The Detroit Orchestra shows its mettle in these well-recorded concert performances. ~Michael Barone
List Price: $8.99 *
Sale Price: $7.99 *
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| | Samuel Jones: Symphony No. 3
By Elizabeth Gilbert
Since I cut my teeth on Tubby the Tuba (the original version) and played sousaphone in high school, you can imagine my delight in finding that Samuel Jones (a distinguished faculty member at Rice University, more recently composer-in-residence for the Seattle Symphony) had created a heavy-hitting, world-class concerto for this neglected yet importantly resourceful and expressive instrument. And, heavens, can Chris Olka make it soar and sing. The Symphony No. 3, subtitled Palo Duro Canyon, depicts one of nature’s wonders, an awesome surprise in the midst of a banal Texas landscape, considered sacred by Native Americans. Jones captures its visual, geological and spiritual drama in his almost cinematic score, and Gerard Schwarz conducts both scores with passion. ~Michael Barone
Price: $8.99 *
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| | Handel: Organ Concertos Op. 7
By Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music
Devised as a promotional magnet to bring audiences to his oratorio productions, Handel’s organ concertos proved their popularity immediately, and have continued to delight listeners and challenge soloists. Handel left many sections (particularly in this later Op. 7 collection) with the marking “ad libitum,” the talent for improvising being one of his many skills, but one often lacking in players of our time. Richard Egarr here addresses that challenge with numerous spontaneous and imaginative preludes, bridges and embellishments. His period-instrument band, and the little period-appropriate chamber organ by Goetze & Gwynn, make sounds such as Handel would have enjoyed, and the results are totally beguiling. ~Michael Barone
Price: $39.98 *
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Julie Amacher’s picks
Julie Amacher looks back at some of her favorite recordings from 2009. Listen to New Classical Tracks’ “Best of 2009” broadcast here. | | 
| | Hélène Grimaud Plays Bach
By Hélène Grimaud
Back in February, pianist Helene Grimaud was in the spotlight with her CD, simply titled “Bach.” She’s played Bach every single day since she was a child, yet this was her first recording of his music. She says his music is “immortal, but also has this grace in travelling through time, through transcriptions and adaptations.” In her recording, she brings together pure Bach with transcriptions of his works. The centerpiece of the CD is probably the Busoni transcription of Bach’s Chaconne, a piece Grimaud describes as a “dance of life and death.” She says that each variation is like light, seen through a different stained glass window. Helene Grimaud’s 2009 release, “Bach,” vividly proves that, in the right hands, the mathematical precision of Bach is actually poetry. ~Julie Amacher.
Price: $16.98 *
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| | Bel Canto
By Elina Garanca The poetry of opera was also one of my favorites of 2009, with Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca’s new CD, “Bel Canto.” Bel Canto literally means “beautiful singing” and it’s abundant on Garanca’s recording. Garanca hand-picked each piece, choosing some familiar and some not-so-familiar arias from three of the greatest Italian composers of the first half of the 19th century: Gaetano Donizetti, Gioacchino Rossini, and Vincenzo Bellini. Right now, her effortless coloratura is perfectly suited for the bel canto repertoire represented on this new release. This recording with Roberto Abbado and the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale de Bologna is filled with gorgeous operatic arias, duets and ensemble pieces. In years to come, this new release will stand out as one of Elina Garanca’s most accomplished recordings. ~Julie Amacher
List Price: $16.98 *
Sale Price: $13.99 *
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| | Together
By Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Another standout of the past year was Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg’s latest – a recording of highlights of her first season as music director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra. This is a group that operated without a conductor for seventeen years, but was so overwhelmed by the chemistry between the ensemble and guest soloist Salerno-Sonnenberg, a new, more permanent, working relationship was forged. A great example of that chemistry can be heard in Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” This reworked version of Piazolla’s original incorporates some recognizable quotes from another famous take on the seasons, by Vivaldi. You might have a few “ah-ha” moments in “Summer,” as you recognize a few melodies from Vivaldi’s Winter. Why winter? Well, when it's winter in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer down in Argentina. The infectious tango-based rhythms and fiery solo lines make this gritty performance truly exhilarating. ~Julie Amacher.
Price: $16.98 *
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| | Tchaikovsky | Rachmaninov: Piano Trios
By Vadim Repin, Mischa Maisky and Lang Lang
My final favorite of 2009 was from a trio of stars – violinist Vadim Repin, cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Lang Lang. They came together for a powerful recording of elegiac trios by Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninoff’s trio starts with a quiet wave, says Lang Lang, like a time machine starting. “After the first few notes, you are inside its world.” In Tchaikovsky’s Trio, we hear the interplay between the musicians. Each soloist has the opportunity to take the lead in the waltz-like sixth variation of Tchaikovsky, yet they never overpower one another. The three generations represented on this release bring an array of life experience to the performances, and gather insight from one another to bring out the passion and beauty of these works. ~Julie Amacher
Price: $29.49 *
| | | * Price as listed by Amazon.com at time of this mailing and subject to change.
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