Classical CD: The generosity of music

NZ pianist Michael Houstoun. Photo / Robert Catto

Forget red-nosed Rudolphs and jingling bells. December is a month for taking stock, reflecting on the joys and achievements of the year. And what better way than through CDs, including some outstanding local releases

Beethoven sonatas
Michael Houstoun (Rattle)

Our leading pianist and cultural icon revisits Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas, following a successful national tour. The 14 CDs are housed in a slipcase with a generous book, and Steve Garden's recording allows you to get up close and personal with both player and composer as Houstoun uncovers worlds within worlds spanning from sublime beauty to boisterous humour.

The Sublime Voice
Carlo Bergonzi (Decca)

This double album is a fine tribute to the Italian tenor, who passed away just five months ago. Recordings from half a century ago might betray their age but Bergonzi's artistry has not dimmed. Offerings range from a 1958 La Boheme (with Renata Tebaldi) to a particularly superb 1966 Rigoletto (with Renata Scotto and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau).

In the Night
Stephen Hough (Hyperion)

Music of the night, as presented by English pianist Stephen Hough, is framed by Schumann, signed off with a vivid recreation of the fantastical Carnaval. In between, Chopin and Beethoven share their nocturnal mysteries with Hough's piano sonata notturno luminoso.

Poems of Love and War
Jack Body (Naxos)

That greatest of all instruments, the human voice, is at the core of an album showcasing one of our most original composers. Countertenor, Indonesian vocalist and speaker reveal Jack Body at his most passionate, political and whimsical; but listen first to violinist Martin Riseley in Body's ravishing Meditations on Michelangelo.

Bruckner Symphony 9
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Inevitably, Claudio Abbado's final concert appearance must deliver an emotional charge all of its own. Those nervous of the weighty Anton Bruckner need not fear. The Italian conductor welcomes us into the symphonist's sometimes foreboding terrain with a clarity and lyricism that seem to bring Mediterranean breezes wafting over the Alps.

St Petersburg
Cecilia Bartoli (Decca)

The latest musical adventure of the flamboyant Italian mezzo takes her north to Russia where she unearths the operatic secrets of the Mariinsky archives. The luxurious Decca package follows a popular and proven formula: intriguing scholarship and delightful music taken from Italian operas written for three generations of Tsarinas as well as the usual campy photo-shoots.

Mozart Piano Concertos (Decca)

In a good year for Mozart -Masaaki Suzuki's new Requiem is waiting to burst out of its wrapping - Mitsuko Uchida's disc of two Piano Concertos (K 456 and 459) stands out. Uchida casts her pianistic pearls with her customary elegance, but also proves herself a remarkably astute conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Voice of the Soul
Voices 16 (Atoll)

The full title of the disc says it all - "A journey of traditions, story-telling and passionate music of the senses." Karen Grylls' Voices NZ Chamber Choir presents a millennium of music from around the globe with flair, from Hildegard of Bingen (with taonga puoro) to Benjamin Britten (without). The highlight is David Hamilton's mystical Karakia of the Stars.

Landscape Preludes
Henry Wong Doe (Rattle)

A dozen Kiwi composers respond to our country's landscape, from most angles imaginable. With the music ranging from feisty to friendly, Henry Wong Doe nails every flickering mood with magisterial ease. Joy comes in juxtaposition, especially when Eve de Castro-Robinson's this liquid drift of light is followed by the sheer intensity of Samuel Holloway's Terrain Vague.

Landscapes of the Soul
Lyell Cresswell (Naxos)

The perfect introduction to the gnarly yet often spiritual world of New Zealand composer Lyell Cresswell. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is under the baton of Hamish McKeich, a conductor long committed to the contemporary, and it shows, especially in the brilliant 2010 Piano Concerto, with soloist Stephen De Pledge.