Favorite Recordings of 2011

I don't do "best-of" lists.  "Best" is so subjective that it implies too many things to too many people.  Besides, "best" suggests that I've sampled everything available in a given category, and even though I review hundreds of discs a year, I confess I have heard but a fraction of what's available. Therefore, I prefer to do "favorites" lists. Here are just a few of the recordings (listed alphabetically, to be fair) I heard last year that I enjoyed enormously for their performance and sound. OK, I know I've forgotten a few; forgive me. These just stood out, many of them new remasters of old favorites.

Bizet: Carmen, complete
Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda, Janine Micheau, Ernest Blanc; Sir Thomas Beecham, French Radio Chorus and Orchestra. EMI Classics 50999 9 48215 2 9.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/05/bizet-carmen-complete-cd-review.html

Handel: Messiah
Yvone Kenny, soprano; Paul Esswood, countertenor; Martyn Hill, tenor; Magnus Linden, bass; Anders Ohrwall, members of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Stockholm Bach Choir. First Impression Music LIM UHD 029.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/12/handel-messiah-ultrahd-cd-review.html

Haydn: Baryton Divertimenti, Vol. 1
Trios Hob. XI: 35, 87, 97, 101, and 124. The Esterhazy Machine. Smithsonian FoM 36-811.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/01/haydn-baryton-divertimenti-vol-1-cd.html

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
Also, Clarinet Quintet. Sharon Kam, basset clarinet. Osterreichisch-Ungarische Haydn Philharmonie. Berlin Classics 0016672BC.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/08/mozart-clarinet-concerto-cd-review.html

Mozart: Requiem
Choir of New College Oxford; Edward Higginbottom, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Novum NCR1383.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/08/mozart-requiem-cd-review.html

Rossini:  Sonate a quattro
Salvatore Accardo, violin; Sylvie Gazeau, violin; Alain Meunier, cello; Franco Petracchi, double bass. First Impression Music LIM UHD 049.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/12/rossini-sonate-quattro-ultrahd-cd.html

Smetana: Ma Vlast
Also, Dvorak: In Nature's Realm. Antal Dorati, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Newton Classics 8802073 (2-disc set).
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/08/smetana-ma-vlast-cd-review.html

Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat
Also, Respighi: Rossiniana. Robert Mandell, Ars Nova (Stravinsky); Robert Zeller, Vienna State Opera Orchestra (Respighi). HDTT HQCD.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/08/stravinsky-lhistoire-du-soldat-hqcd.html

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Also, Concertos RV375, RV277, and RV271. Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; Nicholas McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Philharmonia Baroque Productions PBP-03.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/09/vivaldi-four-seasons-cd-review.html

Walton: Facade
Also, Lecocq: Mam'zelle Angot. Anatole Fistoulari, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden. HDTT HQCD152.
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2011/03/walton-facade-hqcd-review.html

JJP