The Best Classical Albums of 2025 (So Far)
Thursday, April 17, 2025
If you are searching for an inspirational new recording, look no further. All of these outstanding classical albums were Editor's Choices in Gramophone magazine and are highly recommended.
In every issue of Gramophone, Editor Martin Cullingford chooses 10 new releases as his Editor's Choice selection. Below, you will find all of the albums selected as Editor's Choice in 2025 – so far.
Members of the Gramophone Full Club and Gramophone Digital Club can access our Reviews Database, a digital archive of all of our reviews from 1983 to today, with all of the new issue's reviews available on the day of publication. To find out more about subscribing to Gramophone and the Reviews Database, please visit: magsubscriptions.com
WAGNER Der fliegende Holländer
Lise Davidsen, Gerald Finley; Chorus & Orchestra of Norwegian Opera / Edward Gardner
Label: Decca
Lise Davidsen’s brilliant career continues with a Senta from the Flying Dutchman of real radiance; Gerald Finley and conductor Edward Gardner are both equally magnificent.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, TCHAIKOVSKY, TCHEREPNIN Orchestral Works
NDR Radiophilharmonie / Stanislav Kochanovsky
Label: Harmonia Mundi
A beautifully crafted debut from Stanislav Kochanovsky which draws on his deep affinity with Russian repertoire.
‘Colouring Book’
George Xiaoyuan Fu pf
Label: Platoon
George Xiaoyuan Fu’s Debussy Études are full of, appropriately, colour, the pianist exploring them with individuality. The modern works – including his own Passacaglia on a Theme by Radiohead – perfectly complete the album.
RAVEL Complete Songs
Various singers; Malcolm Martineau pf
Label: Signum
Anniversary Ravel, this time the complete songs, from a team of singers handpicked by Malcolm Martineau who journey through the composer’s captivating sound world with style and elegance.
BRAHMS Piano Quartets Nos 2 & 3
Krystian Zimerman pf Maria Nowak vn Katarzyna Budnik va Yuya Okamoto vc
Label: DG
Chamber music-making of the highest order from four players who collectively offer drama, poignancy and beauty in two of Brahms’s piano quartets.
JS BACH Mass in B minor
Pygmalion / Raphaël Pichon
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Further confirming him as a Bach conductor of deeply reflective sincerity, Raphaël Pichon follows his Award-winning St Matthew Passion with the B minor Mass.
TIPPETT New Year
Sols; BBC Scottish Symphony / Martyn Brabbins
Label: NMC
New Year, Michael Tippett’s operatic swansong, received this superb revival last year under Martyn Brabbins, which the ever-vital NMC now offers to the widest possible audience.
RAVEL Complete Works for Solo Piano
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet pf
Label: Chandos
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has recorded Ravel’s music before, but the composer’s 150th anniversary is an ideal time to share the expressive insight gained from many further years living with it. A superb set.
LISZT Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
Leif Ove Andsnes pf Norwegian Soloists’ Choir / Grete Pedersen
Label: Sony Classical
An intensely reflective atmosphere surrounds this performance of Liszt’s astonishing meditation on the Stations of the Cross from Leif Ove Andsnes and colleagues.
VERDI Simon Boccanegra (1857 version)
Sols; Hallé Orchestra / Sir Mark Elder
Label: Opera Rara
We delved into the background of Verdi’s original 1857 score for Simon Boccanegra last month, and the resulting recording from Opera Rara is every bit as compelling as hoped.
Puccini Tosca
Sols; Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia / Daniel Harding (DG)
A triumphant Tosca from DG featuring a superb Eleonora Buratto in the lead and tenor Jonathan Tetelman as Cavaradossi; Daniel Harding conducts the score with real drama.
Liszt. Rachmaninov ‘Dies irae’
Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra / Dmitry Masleev pf (Aparté)
Events saw Dmitry Masleev conduct from the piano, and the result is full of rapport, and some spectacular music-making.
Walton Violin Concerto, etc
Charlie Lovell-Jones vn Sinfonia of London / John Wilson (Chandos)
A brilliant start to a series of Walton orchestral works under John Wilson – each will offer a concerto, and Charlie Lovell-Jones delivers that for violin in great style.
JS Bach. Britten. Shaw. Telemann Solo Viola Works
Timothy Ridout va (Harmonia Mundi)
Music for solo viola from a young player of great virtuosity and compelling tone – recent cover artist Timothy Ridout’s journey through the centuries is one of remarkable beauty.
Machaut ‘A Lover’s Death’
The Orlando Consort (Hyperion)
After 11 installments the Orlando Consort’s recording of Machaut’s complete songs ends as impeccably as it began; the composer could not have asked for better advocacy from a modern ensemble.
Schumann ‘Twilight’
Ian Bostridge ten Saskia Giorgini pf (Pentatone)
The intelligence and poetic reflection that tenor Ian Bostridge always brings to everything he sings is perfectly paired with a pianist, Saskia Giorgini, of equally searching musicality.
Fatma Said Lieder
Fatma Said sop et al (Warner Classics)
Lied was Fatma Said’s first love, and the affection and insight she brings to her hand-picked song selection – wonderfully performed with equally hand-picked collaborators, both instrumentalists and singers – is a real joy.
‘George’
Sonya Yoncheva sop Olga Zado pf (Naïve)
This is a fascinating project: Sonya Yoncheva both singing and reciting poetry with equal elegance and passion, as she explores the life and world of the prolific 19th-century writer George Sand.
Bizet Djamileh
Sols; Les Siècles / François‑Xavier Roth (Bru Zane)
Bru Zane, an organisation known for the impeccable standards of both performance and presentation, and a huge line-up of artists, celebrates Bizet via his opera Djamileh, songs, and so much more.
Weinberg The Passenger
Sols; Teatro Real, Madrid / Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (DG)
David Pountney’s production of Weinberg’s harrowing opera about Auschwitz has established it as a work of enormous significance, something this audio recording reinforces.
Paganini 24 Caprices for Solo Violin
María Dueñas vn (DG)
María Dueñas brings imagination, personality and immense virtuosity to Paganini’s Caprices, then offers a fascinating study of the genre through works up to the present day.
Busoni Clarinet Concertino
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan cl Odense Symphony Orchestra / Anna Skryleva (Orchid)
An impressive debut from clarinetist Oleg Shebeta-Dragan, winner of the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition.
Hough Piano Concerto
Sir Stephen Hough pf Hallé Orchestra / Sir Mark Elder (Hyperion)
A major new addition from Sir Stephen Hough to his growing list of works – a piano concerto, which he performs with all his customary colour, flair and elegance.
Ravel Daphnis et Chloé
Tenebrae; London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (LSO Live)
Sir Antonio Pappano draws textures of great beauty from his London Symphony players, and from the impeccable Tenebrae choir too, in this Ravel masterpiece.
Schumann Three Violin Sonatas
Alina Ibragimova vn Cédric Tiberghien pf (Hyperion)
Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien, a partnership that his already delivered so much, offer us Schumann sonatas that feel deeply explored and immaculately prepared.
Shostakovich String Quartets Nos 2, 7 & 10
Jerusalem Quartet (BIS)
The Jerusalem Quartet journey through these great Shostakovich quartets, bringing out all their intensity, power and lyricism, and making them feel vibrantly vivid.
Zorn The Complete String Quartets
JACK Quartet (Tzadik)
Zorn’s quartets keep you gripped by their ability to surprise at every turn, while the JACK Quartet astonish with their complete command of this sometimes visceral, often challenging, always virtuosic music.
Beethoven Piano Sonata No 31 Brahms Piano Sonata No 3
Kate Liu pf (Orchid)
‘Sensationally individualistic’ is the description of critic Peter J Rabinowitz – but sit back and listen to Kate Liu’s enjoyably personal approach to discover a richly rewarding recital.
Elgar The Dream of Gerontius
Sols; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Collon (Ondine)
Nicholas Collon conducts a captivating interpretation of Elgar’s deeply spiritual work, always alert to its epic drama, while John Findon is a compelling Gerontius.
‘The Krasiński Codex’
Ensemble Peregrina; Ensemble Dragma / Agnieszka Budzińska‑Bennett (Raumklang)
We told the tale of this recording of a 15th-century Polish manuscript last month – the result is every bit as beautiful as we hoped.
Mahler Symphony No 7
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle (BR Klassik)
Sir Simon Rattle conveys an instinctive understanding of both the detail and the dramatic journey – a compelling edition to a superb Mahler symphony series.
Haydn Symphonies Nos 94, 95, 98 & 99
The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Paavo Järvi (RCA Red Seal)
There’s such a joyful, elegant naturalness to this latest edition to Paavo Järvi’s survey of Haydn’s ‘London’ Symphonies, his long‑time Bremen colleagues on top form.
Smetana Orchestral Works
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra / Petr Popelka (Supraphon)
From the well-known Má vlast to lesser-known works, this is a rewarding in-depth exploration of Smetana’s orchestral music from Petr Popelka and his Prague players.
‘Exile’
Patricia Kopatchinskaja vn Thomas Kaufmann vc Camerata Bern (Alpha)
A characteristically intriguing and engaging programme from Patricia Kopatchinskaja – including some discoveries – performed with the violinist’s usual intensity.
Bartók. Ligeti String Quartets
Marmen Quartet (BIS)
A superb album from the Award-winning Marmen Quartet, their cohesion of vision and vibrant virtuosity on stunning display in this collection of Hungarian works from Bartók and Ligeti.
Beethoven String Quartets, Op 18
Calidore Quartet (Signum)
The Calidore Quartet have drawn plaudits throughout this Beethoven cycle – the middle quartets a Recording of the Month – and this early set is a wonderful journey’s end (or, rather, beginning).
Debussy Chamber Works
The Nash Ensemble (Hyperion)
A gorgeous immersion in Debussy’s music from the excellent players that comprise the Nash Ensemble – in fact it’s just as much an immersion in their chamber music-making brilliance.
‘Italophilia’
The Counterpoints (Challenge Classics)
Music-making of absolute grace and individuality runs throughout this exquisite album from Early Music collective The Counterpoints, which explores the influence of Italy on London musical life of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Franck. Tournemire ‘L’Orgue Spirituel’
Peter Stevens org (Ad Fontes)
A recital rich in instrumental colour and atmosphere from Peter Stevens which powerfully evokes the spiritual air of Westminster Cathedral, on whose Grand Organ it was recorded.
‘Seelentrost’
Isabel Schicketanz sop (Perfect Noise)
A wonderful debut solo recital album from soprano Isabel Schicketanz, which explores early Baroque music about the soul, whether at times of distress, loneliness or loss, and all delivered with captivating intimacy.
Vivaldi ‘Sacro furore’
Carlo Vistoli counterten Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / Georg Kallweit (Harmonia Mundi)
Countertenor Carlo Vistoli brings expressive poignancy to Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus and Stabat mater, matched in interpretative elegance by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
Dennehy Land of Winter
Alarm Will Sound / Alan Pierson (Nonesuch)
A beautifully crafted portrait of landscape and seasons from Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, his sound world compellingly caught by modern music specialists Alarm Will Sound.
Mozart Horn Concertos
Alec Frank-Gemmill hn Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Nicholas McGegan (BIS)
Alec Frank-Gemmill captures with brilliance all the joy and personality of Mozart’s glorious concertos for the horn.
Mozart Piano Concertos Nos 19 & 23
Kristian Bezuidenhout fp Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (Harmonia Mundi)
Kristian Bezuidenhout continues his always-enjoyable survey of Mozart’s music for keyboard with wonderful performances of Piano Concertos Nos 19 and 23.
Schubert String Quartet No 14, ‘Death and the Maiden’
Kuss Quartet (Rubicon)
A vivid performance of Death and the Maiden from the excellent Kuss Quartet, set in the fascinating context of two new commissions responding to Schubert’s chamber-music masterpiece.
JS Bach Eleven Organ Chorales
Masaaki Suzuki org (BIS)
A glorious organ recital from Masaaki Suzuki, continuing his Bach survey, recorded on an instrument (in the Martinikerk, Groningen) perfectly chosen to reflect the dynamic breadth of the pieces.
Telemann Ino
Amanda Forsythe sop Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra / Paul O’Dette, Stephen Stubbs (CPO)
Telemann’s theatricality is wonderfully conveyed by the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra and soprano Amanda Forsythe.
‘Lucrezia’
Sols; Les Paladins / Jérôme Correas (Aparté)
Four Baroque cantatas from different composers that tackle the story of Lucrezia, brought dramatically to life by some superb singers, plus Les Paladins on fine form under Jérôme Correas.
‘A Monk’s Life’
The Brabant Ensemble / Stephen Rice (Hyperion)
Stephen Rice’s Brabant Ensemble present an engaging programme of music exploring monastic life, including lesser-known composers from the post-Reformation German-speaking world.
‘Voices of Thunder’
Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford / Mark Williams (Coro)
The new Hermann Eule organ of Magdalen College, Oxford is presented in all its glory in music leading up the present day, the choir shining just as gloriously.
