NPR Classical's Best Albums Of The Year (So Far)

06.15.11
Jeremy Denk, Yuja Wang, Krystian Zimerman, Brooklyn Rider
NPR

By Tom Huizenga

In our relentless quest to tabulate, rank and arrange everything in tidy little lists, we compulsive staffers at NPR Music have devised both a multi-genre collection of our favorite 25 records of the year (so far) and a giant ballot where you can cast votes for your own.

Here in the expansive classical music wing (in other words, Tom and Anastasia's desks) we formulated our own list. We fought over a number of titles and probably missed quite a few more — which is where you come in.

Below you can see our favorites (some of which you can hear on our NPR Music Top 25 list and in our audio discussion above). What about yours? In the comments section, tell us about the classical records you've enjoyed most so far in 2011.

  • Brooklyn Rider plays Philip Glass (Orange Mountain)
  • Jeremy Denk: Bach, Partitas (Azica)
  • Donnacha Dennehy: Gra agus bas (Nonesuch)
  • Joyce DiDonato: Diva/Divo (Virgin)
  • Simone Dinnerstein: Bach: A Strange Beauty (Sony)
  • Gustavo Dudamel, Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra: Tchaikovsky & Shakespeare (DG)
  • Ebene Quartet: Fiction (Virgin)
  • Julia Fischer: Poeme (Decca)
  • Matthias Goerne: Nacht und Träume (Harmonia Mundi)
  • Jonas Kaufmann: Verismo Arias (Decca)
  • Nico Muhly: Seeing is Believing (Decca)
  • Now Ensemble: Awake (New Amsterdam)
  • Todd Reynolds: Outerborough (Innova)
  • San Francisco Symphony: Ives/Brant, A Concord Symphony (SFS Media)
  • So Percussion: Threads (Cantaloupe)
  • Alexandre Tharaud: Plays Scarlatti (Virgin)
  • Yuja Wang: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 (DG)
  • Krystian Zimerman: Bacewicz Sonata No. 2, Quintets (DG)