2017 in review: Andrew Clements’ top 10 classical CDs – Mendelssohn on harmonia mundi
26 Dec 2017
Not that many new recordings of the mainstream orchestral repertory challenge what is already available either, especially when many classic recordings from the last 50 years are now available remastered and repackaged in bargain sets. For those familiar symphonies and concertos, only something really special is likely to upset longstanding recommendations – recordings like Isabelle Faust’s raw-edged, period-instrument performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, on Harmonia Mundi, with its minimal vibrato and generous portamenti, and Pablo Heras-Casado conducting the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.