Some Favorite Recordings of 2015

As you may know, I don't do "best-of" lists. "Best" suggests that I've sampled most everything available, and even though I review a lot of music every year, I have not heard but a fraction of what's out there. So I prefer to do a simple "favorites" list. Here are just a few of the discs (listed alphabetically, to be fair) I heard last year that I enjoyed for their performance and sound. I know I've forgotten a few; forgive me. This baker's dozen stood out, some of them new releases, some of them remasters of old favorites, and one a ringer.

A Beethoven Odyssey, Volume 4
Piano Sonatas Nos. 9, 15, 24, 25, and 27. James Brawn, piano. MSR Classics.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-beethoven-odyssey-volume-4-cd-review.html

A Billie Holiday Songbook
Lara Downes, solo piano. Steinway & Sons
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-billie-holiday-songbook-cd-review.html

Bizet: Carmen, complete
Marilyn Horne, James McCracken, Tom Krause, Adriana Maliponte; Manhattan Chorus; Leonard Bernstein, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Children's Chorus. Pentatone.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/04/bizet-carmen-complete-sacd-review.html

Debussy: La Mer
Also, Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2; Berlioz: Ballet des Sylphes. Leopold Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra. HDTT.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/11/debussy-la-mer-hqcd-review.html

Decca: Supreme Stereophonic Legacy
Various composers and artists. FIM.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/01/decca-supreme-stereophonic-legacy.html

Haydn: Seven Last Words
Attacca Quartet. Azica Records.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/04/haydn-seven-last-words-cd-review.html

James Brawn in Recital, Volume 2
"The Time Traveller and His Muse." James Brawn, piano. MSR Classics.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/09/james-brawn-in-recital-volume-2-cd.html

Lerner & Loewe: My Fair Lady
Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Alfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Theodore Bikel. CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Pictures (restored).
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/11/my-fair-lady-blu-ray-restored.html

Mozart: Horn Concertos
Also, Horn Quintet. Pip Eastop, natural horn; Anthony Halstead, The Hanover Band. Hyperion.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/01/mozart-horn-concertos-cd-review.html

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23
Daniel Barenboim, soloist and conductor; English Chamber Orchestra. Hi-Q Records
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/10/mozart-piano-concertos-nos-20-23-xrcd24.html

Mozart: Complete Violin Concertos
Also, Sinfonia Concertante. Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Avie.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/01/mozart-complete-violin-concertos-cd.html

Rossini: Overtures
Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. HDTT.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/03/rossini-overtures-hqcd-review.html

Vivaldi: The Complete Viola d'Amore Concertos
Rachel Barton Pine, viola d'amore; Ars Antigua. Cedille.
To read the full review, click here:
http://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2015/10/vivaldi-complete-viola-damore-concertos.html

JJP