Agnes Obel's striking success in her home country of Denmark with her debut is all the more remarkable given how understated Philharmonics is as a listen, a seemingly straightforward piano/vocal album that isn't. Combining a strong ear for immediate appeal -- Obel's deep singing voice is lovely and her ear for a calm hook is crucial -- with a feeling of just-unsettled-enough unease is key. Part of it lies in Obel's ear for vocal arrangements; hearing her own overdubbed harmonies showcases her talents further, both as performer and producer. But there's something that's not trying to be straightforward here. There's an elegant, slipping darkness that creeps in around the corners, like something is being hidden in plain sight. The short instrumental "Falling, Catching" starts off the album on a sweet note -- perhaps sickly sweet, there's something so strangely focused in its intensity that it almost unsettles. Her first vocal provides a bit of necessary contrast on "Riverside" immediately thereafter, but at the same time further showcases how gently unusual Philharmonics ends up being -- it may not be Patty Waters, say, but it's not Vanessa Carlton or KT Tunstall either. The underpinning bass part on the cover of John Cale's "I Keep a Close Watch" set against the high intensity of the lead piano gives a good personal stamp to a standard, but it's her subtle variety throughout the album that impresses even more. There's "Avenue"'s music-box-meets-near-film-noir-jazz on the one hand, while "Louretta," another short instrumental, has a controlled theatricality that seems like it should soundtrack a Neil Gaiman ballet. "On Powdered Ground" has a gentler sweetness that feels like a slight respite toward the end, but Philharmonics in general aims for the darkly beautiful and succeeds on an unexpected level. © Ned Raggett /TiVo

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Due in large part to neglect by his well-meaning followers, Anton Bruckner's earliest symphonies suffered comparatively little from the editorial complications and tampering that afflicted his later works. Even so, the Symphony No. 2 in C minor exists in five separate versions and has been published in several editions, which may lead some listeners to wonder which is preferable. Diehard Brucknerians will naturally try to hear as many as possible, and there are many recordings to choose from, though most are of the 1877 version in familiar editions by Robert Haas and Leopold Nowak. But one of the most intriguing is Simone Young's 2006 concert performance with the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra of the Urfassung (i.e., original concept version) of 1872, edited by William Carragan for the Bruckner Society. This first version, like others of Bruckner's initial efforts, has less regularity than the later versions, and seems episodic in some spots because of pauses that were meant to define sections yet which interrupt the flow of the musical argument. But it also shows great invention and liberation in its sweeping moods and feels more spontaneous and ecstatic than the rather staid revisions. This is the first release in Young's projected cycle of Bruckner's complete symphonies, which will also include original versions of the First, Third, Fourth, and Eighth symphonies. The SACD presentation of Young's live recording is terrific for its vivid sound and spacious depth, and the enthusiastic playing of the Hamburg Philharmonic is well-served by Oehms' focused reproduction.© TiVo

A fair number of conductors -- Georg Tintner, Eliahu Inbal, Marcus Bosch, Roger Norrington, and Jonathon Nott among them -- have recorded the original version of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D minor, replete with the quotations from Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre, and Die Meistersinger, as well as quotes from Franz Liszt's Graner Messe and Bruckner's own Mass in D minor. Though Simone Young can be added to the growing company of maestros who prefer this version, one need not take that as evidence that this is necessarily the best version of the Symphony No. 3. A greater number of conductors have favored the Nowak edition of the 1889 version, where the musical references have been eliminated and the structure tightened up, and many listeners have come to know the symphony in that heavily edited but easier to digest form. The Urfassung of 1873 runs to over 68 minutes, and it is easily the longest version of any symphony Bruckner composed, a dubious achievement for those who think less is more. Still, if this expansive version is the one listeners seek, then Young's exemplary performance is certainly among the best available, both for her deeply sympathetic interpretation and the committed playing of the Hamburg Philharmonic. This live performance is captured with sharp yet spacious reproduction, which is well served by the hybrid SACD format. This is the second release in Young's projected Bruckner cycle, which is to include original versions of the First, Fourth, and Eighth symphonies, as well as the 2007 release of the Second and this superb recording.© TiVo

No need to abandon hope here, for all those who enter will be guided through Dante's Divina Commedia ("The Divine Comedy") in a score by Thomas Adès fitting of the epic tale. Adès' success as an opera composer translates well to the ballet form, as the writing is full of the drama and scale associated with that genre, reminiscent of the ballets of Stravinsky. Adès' ballet exists in several versions concurrently, co-commissioned by the Royal Ballet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The Dante Project is the name of the fully realized ballet, while Dante, as heard here, is the complete concert score. Inferno, also co-commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for concert performances, received its concert and staged debuts in 2019; The Dante Project premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2021 (and is available on video from Opus Arte); and Dante, in its full concert version, is taken from its debut performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel in 2022. It will be unsurprising to those with any general knowledge of Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia that Inferno ("Hell") takes up a significant amount of the whole (the entire first disc and roughly half of the overall playing time). The importance and weight of the first cantica of the Divina Commedia is profound, and Adès provides some thrilling moments as the orchestra surmounts the depths of despair and suffering, though he does include a good amount of wit and humor (listen to "The Thieves" movement for an example). Of course, listeners don't want to forget the rest of Dante's journey through Purgatorio ("Purgatory") on his way to salvation in Paradiso ("Paradise"). The pre-recorded voices featured in Purgatorio are Khazan Gabriel A. Shrem, whose invocation to morning prayer ushers Dante into this second cantica. He is later joined by the congregation of the Great Ades Synagogue in Jerusalem as this section takes on a distinct Middle Eastern soundscape. The final cantica, Paradiso, is presented on a single track to maintain the energy and drive to the culminating triumph. The Los Angeles Master Chorale joins the orchestra near the end of the work as an off-stage ethereal choir. This recording is nothing short of remarkable, and there is only one thing that could fittingly be said of Dudamel and Adès: They are stars.© Keith Finke /TiVo

Semyon Bychkov's series of Mahler symphonies with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra seems to be getting better and better as it proceeds, and this absolutely superb 2023 release landed on classical best-seller lists in the late summer of 2023. There are other great recordings of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D major ("Titan"), going all the way back to Leonard Bernstein, but Bychkov's concept is unique. The general approach to Mahler, including by Bernstein, emphasizes the garish Viennese decadence. Bychkov is different; he holds the scene in perfect control, allowing chaotic intensity to flower only at carefully chosen moments (the end of the first movement and certainly the finale). In Bychkov's hands, all the Viennese songs, the bird calls, the marches, and fanfares appear as natural parts of a giant tableau of Central European life. The use of the folk song known as Bruder Martin (or Jakob) in German and Frère Jacques in French, in the minor key, is not belabored with a ghostly mood (and apparently in minor is how the Viennese normally sang it). Instead, it is a bit of dark shade to balance the sunny first movement. The level of detail in the orchestra is absolutely unparalleled; clearly, Bychkov has done nothing to damage the bred-in-the-bone familiarity the Czech Philharmonic has when it comes to Mahler. However, that would be nothing without an overall plan, and Bychkov has that. He shifts the emphasis overall to the finale, which here has a truly shattering effect. One can now understand the shock with which audiences initially greeted the symphony, even though it is not particularly atonal. There is much more to discover, and PentaTone's strikingly clear engineering treatment of the Rudolfinium in Prague has it all on crystalline display. One of the best recordings of 2023. © James Manheim /TiVo

Even though Antonín Dvorák remains among the most popular of Romantic composers, compilations of his complete symphonies are somewhat scarce, especially when compared to those of other great symphonists of the 19th century. That's one reason why Jirí Belohlávek's 2014 set with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra should get classical fans' attention, but a more valid reason to acquire this collection is the exceptionally high quality of the performances, which Decca recorded in a series of subscription concerts between 2010 and 2014. A deciding factor should be the strong feeling this conductor and orchestra have for Dvorák's music, not only because of a shared Bohemian tradition and the composer's legacy (Dvorák conducted the Czech Philharmonic's first concert in 1896), but also because few other orchestras communicate the rhythms and colors of the music as vibrantly and with as much excitement. As rare as sets of the complete symphonic cycle are, those that include Dvorák's concertos are rarer still. The recordings Belohlávek and the CPO made of the Cello Concerto in B minor with Alisa Weilerstein, the Violin Concerto in A minor with Frank Peter Zimmerman, and the Piano Concerto in G minor with Garrick Ohlsson are essential listening, and their inclusion with the symphonies gives the package much greater value. Decca's high-definition sound delivers clean details and close-up presence, so even though these recordings are live, they sound as fine as a studio recording. Highly recommended.© TiVo