The Best Classical Albums of 2025 (So Far)
Friday, February 21, 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
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.
