The Best of the Best Albums of 2024

What makes a great classical album? There is a set of criteria that I look for whenever listening to a new album, but mostly it boils down to the most obvious question: What does this album offer that others don't? In other words, it matters to me whether a new album is contributing to the infinitely growing plethora of recordings in a truly meaningful way. Of course, many recording projects are worthwhile endeavors, whether for documentation, interpretive qualities, the capacity to tell a story, or a pure sense of inspiration and enjoyment.

Most of these features are highly subjective, though, leading to wildly different interactions and impressions with the music. For instance, when you look at a number of the typical end-of-the-year "best of" lists released by major publications, it is remarkable how little overlap there is between publications. Many of the articles include 10 or 15 albums, and maybe 4 or 5 can be found on two or more different lists.

In 2024, I didn't do nearly as much listening to new albums as I have in past years. Much of my listening was made up for older albums, which is unusual for me, so in an attempt to catch up, I listened to all of the albums on five different "best of" lists (the five being: The Times, NPR, BBC Music Magazine, The Guardian, and Gramophone Magazine), plus most of the Grammy-nominated albums, and distilled them down to my five favorite albums of 2024: the best OF the best. Here they are:

“Reformation”
Mishka Rushdie Momen
Filled with a tastefully modern approach to Renaissance music, this album explores the early English keyboard repertoire of William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, John Bull, and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. From the first notes, Momen draws us into an intimate aural setting, convincingly presenting these ancient airs on a modern piano. The experience of this album felt refreshing, engaging, and approachable, making it a highlight of 2024.

Rameau: Les Boréades
Devieilhe /Van Mechelen/Purcell Choir/Orfeo O/Vashegyi
Apparently I love Rameau operas now. At least, that’s how I felt while listening to this incredible performance of Les Boréades. It is so rare to find an opera performance where every single element of sound succeeds as well as the others, but this recording delivers universally. From rattling string playing to a wildly convincing choral performance to the stunning arias of the soloists, this album engages the listener from beginning to end.

Bruckner 7
Berlin Radio Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
I did not hear a better orchestral performance on record this year. Bruckner symphonies are highly dependent on interpretation to come to life, and this particular reading brings out all his best qualities in an important year for Bruckner (2024 celebrated his 200th birthday). If someone were interested in hearing a Bruckner symphony for the first time, this is the recording I would recommend to them.

Cage²
Bertrand Chamayou
This album lives happily in its own sound world, sharing a wonderful assortment of noises and notes that Cage conjectured out of a prepared piano. Chamayou appropriately captures the mechanical nature of this music while still helping it to sound like music, giving it life across time and distinction between each work on the album.

“Home”
Miró Quartet
So often, music is used to interpret time, emotion, and events, but this album does the more unusual and uses music to evoke place. While the music is eclectic, the selections are excellently curated to poetically and musically describe the performers’ hometown of Austin, TX. Paired with a skillful and tasteful performance, this easily became my favorite string quartet album of 2024.

The Lists:

NPR https://www.npr.org/2024/12/06/nx-s1-5220085/npr-best-classical-albums-2024

BBC https://www.classical-music.com/articles/best-classical-albums-of-2024

The Guardian https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2024/dec/12/from-exquisite-elgar-to-razor-sharp-cage-our-classical-recordings-of-the-year

Gramaphone https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/the-best-classical-music-albums-of-2024-so-far

The Times https://www.thetimes.com/culture/classical-opera/article/best-classical-music-2024-new-reviews-20sc9dzvn