Your Favourite Purchases & Musical Discoveries of 2021

[vandermolen]

Apart from the CD Jeffrey posted, I have these:








Very remarkable discoveries to me in this year (not new recordings):

Toch: String Quartets
Shchedrin: The Little Humpbacked Horse
Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne
Kastalsky: Requiem for the Fallen Brothers
Saygun: String Quartets
Doráti: Symphonies
Various composers: Les Mariés de la Tour-Eiffel & L'Éventail de Jean
MacMillan: Symphonies 4 and 5
Boulanger: Psaume 24, Psaume 129 and Vieille Prière bouddhique
Prokofiev: The Stone Flower
Wirén: Piano Concerto
Schnittke: Film music
Brouwer: Guitar Concerto No. 2
Bliss: String Quartets

+1 for many of those, especially both MacMillan works. I have the Martinu CD but haven't played it yet. My wife (reluctantly) agreed to get me the Klami etc CD for Christmas ('NOT ANOTHER CD!!!, HAVEN'T YOU GOT ENOUGH ALREADY?, CAN'T YOU GIVE SOME AWAY?). So, I'll look forward to graciously receiving it on Christmas Day  .

[DaveF]

('NOT ANOTHER CD!!!, HAVEN'T YOU GOT ENOUGH ALREADY?, CAN'T YOU GIVE SOME AWAY?)

Dear Mrs Davis (if you're reading this), I'll gladly take them all off him.  Meeow from Tiddles on the Cat Group.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

+1 for many of those, especially both MacMillan works. I have the Martinu CD but haven't played it yet. My wife (reluctantly) agreed to get me the Klami etc CD for Christmas ('NOT ANOTHER CD!!!, HAVEN'T YOU GOT ENOUGH ALREADY?, CAN'T YOU GIVE SOME AWAY?). So, I'll look forward to graciously receiving it on Christmas Day  .

Want to hear your Martinu review Jeffrey!

Dear Mrs Davis (if you're reading this), I'll gladly take them all off him.  Meeow from Tiddles on the Cat Group.

Or she might want to donate them to me, one of the few females here?  That would be purrrrfffeect! 🐈 💕 

PD

[T. D.]

These privately published recordings of mostly short and simple piano pieces by Howard Skempton played and recorded by John Tilbury. I have no idea why these little pieces should end up sounding to me like the most fabulous music, but they do. Apparently there's a lot of leeway in the scores, deliberately done to make the performer get in touch with his creative side.

https://www.jtilbury.com/howard-skempton/

I know I've posted this before (can't recall where), but should investigate these.
I purchased both of Tilbury's Sony Skempton recordings (there was another one) when they were released, was immediately smitten, but tired of both after several hearings. No longer own the recordings, but should revisit the music.

My selections will take thought...I generally fill in collection holes and explore new directions rather than pursuing new releases. So it's not immediately obvious what items were 2021 purchases.

[Florestan]

This, hands down:



I had it for years but only this very month and year I began listening to it. Go figure.

[vers la flamme]

This, hands down:



I had it for years but only this very month and year I began listening to it. Go figure.

It's amazing you haven't heard this sooner. I don't have the complete set, only the "Elvira Madigan" disc, but it's one of my favorite Mozart recordings.

[Florestan]

It's amazing you haven't heard this sooner.

Ain't it? 

In the category 2021 purchases which I've already listened to I nominate these five:

[JBS]

My big discovery of the year is undoubtedly the music of Vasks.

Best group of performers I didn't know about before this year: The Mozartists.

New release of the year: I nominate the best performance of Britten's Opus 10 I have yet heard

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Walton Edition (William Walton) 4 discs set.
Fikret Amirov 10 discs set.
Dmitri Kitayenko Collection.

[Daverz]

Apart from the CD Jeffrey posted, I have these:

I really like what I've heard from the Roentgen set so far, but I usually enjoy his music.  I have recordings of all the works on the Netopil CD, so I haven't really engaged with it much yet.  The Kalevala CD sounds really good (though the Klami sounds like he lifted music from The Firebird.)  I haven't gotten around to the Simpson yet.

[Holden]

Only two purchases:



After nearly 45 years languishing as an LP, this has finally made it to CD. This is my reference version for Op 28 and always has been despite great performances by Arrau (live in Paris), Bolet, Fiorentino and - if you like the visceral - Argerich.



..and a recording that should have been transferred to the digital medium but never has. It's just one year younger than the Orozco. I purchased this from the UK and got a local firm to digitise it for me as I don't have a turntable. One of my projects this holidays is to work out how to post it to Youtube.

[Daverz]

Only two purchases:



After nearly 45 years languishing as an LP, this has finally made it to CD. This is my reference version for Op 28 and always has been despite great performances by Arrau (live in Paris), Bolet, Fiorentino and - if you like the visceral - Argerich.

I'll check it out.  I see several other Orozco issues on Warner and sublabel Erato on Qobuz:

[Maestro267]

One more I forgot to add earlier:

Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas, Cello Sonatas, String Trios and Piano Trios
Barenboim (piano), Zukerman (violin), Du Pré (cello) etc.

[Ras]

Jordi Savall released a recording of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in 2020. I bought it a few months ago and I can say now after having heard a few times that it is as good as Sigiswald Kuijken's recording on the Challenge label, which has been my favorite for a few years (not Sigiswald Kuijken's earlier recording - I only recommend the Challenge recording).
So the Jordi Savall recording is my favorite purchase of the year.

Jordi Savall: https://open.spotify.com/album/1MRVqoodPqX51PznA8VZE6?si=NR57YR3dS1CxJOpBtHsG7w
[asin]B08KR24ZNL[/asin]

S. Kuijken's Challenge recording is out of print on cd, but you can hear it here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/5rMjwcQBP2hkUTCMe3DTR0?si=4Skk_DStR7-NVeZ6a01jPg

[Todd]

Arthur Grumiaux Complete Philips Recordings
Eric Heidsieck - The Complete Erato & HMV Recordings (Warner)
Bach - WTC Book 2 Excerpts; Piotr Anderszewski (Warner)
Beethoven - Complete Piano Sonatas; Irina Mejoueva (Bijun)
Martinu/Bartok - Violin Concertos & Solo Violin; Frank Peter Zimmermann & Hrusa (BIS)
Zimmermann - Violin Concerto, etc; Josefowicz/Lintu (Ondine)
Silver Age - Daniil Trifonov (DG)
Kabeláč - Complete Symphonies; Marko Ivanović (Supraphon)
Enescu - Works for Violin & Piano; Rowland & Kudritskaya (Champs Hill)
Debussy - Preludes I, Estampes; Javier Perianes (Harmonia Mundi)
re-creations - Zlata Chochieva (Accentus)
The Visionaries of Piano Music - Kit Armstrong (DG)
Schubert - Piano Sonatas Vol II; William Youn (Sony)

[vandermolen]

Dear Mrs Davis (if you're reading this), I'll gladly take them all off him.  Meeow from Tiddles on the Cat Group.

Will pass your good wishes on 

[vandermolen]

Want to hear your Martinu review Jeffrey!
PD

See WAYLTN thread PD 

[vandermolen]

Definitely this one! Although I've hardly got beyond Symphony No.6 as I find that one so 'catchy' and memorable. I've enjoyed No.5 and 4 as well:

Also: Ivanovs Symphony No.5 - this brought the work alive for me more than the earlier Marco Polo recording:

[vandermolen]

Walton Edition (William Walton) 4 discs set.
Fikret Amirov 10 discs set.
Dmitri Kitayenko Collection.

What great choices!

[Daverz]

Fikret Amirov 10 discs set.

Is this something generally available?