Thread by @deeplyclassical

#SymphonistsChoice2021

For almost two years orchestras round the world have found ways to carry on making outstanding music despite the formidable ongoing challenges of #COVID19. This countdown of my twelve favourite symphony and orchestral records of the year salutes them all.

Follow my playlist for fresh takes on old favourites and a wealth of wonderful music I'd never heard before 2021. My survey continues until #NewYearsDay 2022 when I reveal my Record of the Year.

Ready to play? Then it's time for my first choice.
open.spotify.com/playlist/0GTNp…

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #12
Brahms: Symphony 4; @jamesmacm: Larghetto
@pghsymphony @manfredhoneck @RefRecordings

I'll let my mother, a Brahms symphony stan for 70 years, review this for me: "Wonderful! Exciting, plenty of oomph and the instruments are all so clear."

Thanks mum.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #11
Price: Symphonies 1 & 3
@philorch @nezetseguin

A landmark in the long-overdue Price revival sees her symphonies finally get the recording they deserve. My mother came in as I was playing it today and straight away asked "What's this? It's beautiful!"

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #10
Mahler: Symphony 10
@mn_orchestra @OsmoVanska

The skyscraping summit of this cycle so far. Deryck Cooke's realization has made what was once unperformable miraculously whole, and Vänskä's vision focuses Mahler's modernity with breathtaking clarity.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #9
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Burleske
@ChamayouB @santa_cecilia Antonio Pappano

A love scene pulsing with operatic passion, and when the hero retires from the world I want to weep and to join in the song all at once. The Burleske is a scintillating bonus.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #8
Yiu: The World Was Once All Miracle etc
@APWSinger @RGCWbaritone @BBCSO

A symphony that's also a countertenor song cycle? Just one of the gleefully eclectic, expressive and beautiful works on this debut disc of a composer who's my #DiscoveryOfTheYear.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #7
Gubaidulina: Dialog: Ich und Du etc
Vadim Repin @Gewandhaus @andris_nelsons @DGclassics

This remarkable trilogy of musical rituals is a spellbinding birthday tribute to a modern great whose inspiring light shows no sign of dimming after 90 years.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #6
Dutilleux: Le Loup etc.
@SinfoniaOfLondn John Wilson

A revelation. The ballet blends Dukas, Ravel and Bartók into a sexy, shimmering, intoxicating soundworld matched by exquisite @krhes arrangements of three chamber works. Stunning playing and sound.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #5
@Haydn2032 Vol. 10: Les heures du jour
@giardinarmonico Giovanni Antonini

The sun sets on the baroque and rises on a brave new world in Haydn's landmark symphonies. This series is an ever more essential oasis of wisdom and joy in today's worrying world.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #4
Scenes from the Kalevala

Their national epic inspires magical music from four of Finland's sons. @lahtisymphony @DeltaSierra_1 are heroic storytellers in spellbinding sound. The beguiling beauty of Uuno Klami's Kalevala Suite outshines even Sibelius.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #3
Zemlinsky & Schreker

Vasily Petrenko's last record as @liverpoolphil Chief Conductor marks #Zemlinsky150 in sumptuous style. Their gripping performance restores the music Zemlinsky cut for the premiere, and the sparkling Schreker coupling is inspired.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #2
Americascapes
@euskadiorkestra @MaestroTrevino

My two "Wow! Where has this music been all my life?" moments of 2021 were the extraordinarily eclectic Cowell and the resplendently Romantic Loeffler with its ethereal Viola d'Amore. A magnificent record.

#SymphonistsChoice2021 #1
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 4 & 6
@londonsymphony Antonio Pappano

From #4's ferocious opening to the frozen wastes of #6's finale my #RecordOfTheYear unleashes the terrifying majesty of the composer's dark side in live performances of phenomenal power.