San Francisco Classical Voice

Ross Bauer recommends Silence and Slow Time: Studies in Musical Narrative by Martin Boykan, Scarecrow Press (Book); Henri Dutilleux' Cello Concerto (Mstislav Rostropovich, Orchestra de Paris, Baudo, EMI ); Peter Lieberson's Raising the Gaze, Asko Ensemble, Cleveland Orch., Knussen conducting; Magnus Lindberg's Aura and Engine, BBC Symphony, London Sinfonia, Knussen conducting, Deutsche Grammophon; Mario Davidovsky's Salvos, Empyrean Ensemble, Arabesque.

Janos Gereben recommends a DVD of Zhang Yimou's 2002 Hero, (“not only for Tan Dun's stunning score, but for the entire echt-operatic film”); a CD or DVD of Paul Schrader's 1984 Mishima ("an ‘interesting' film with a remarkable score, perhaps Philip Glass's best work in the genre "); a pair of tickets for the Emerson String Quartet's January 15, 2005, concert in Herbst Theater; "a portable CD player with MP3 clearly marked on it - meaning that for about $50, the happy recipient will have even more music to play on the go (or home) than with the $300 iPod "; "any of the unique, inexpensive CD-ROMs (for the player suggested above) from Mike Richter's site. For about $10 each, you can have all Wagner operas or all of Callas' Juilliard master classes, etc."

D. Kern Holoman recommends tickets to almost anything at UCDavis's Mondavi Center, just to see and hear the room; MTT'/SFSO's new Mahler 2 CD; and, for the Ultimate Gift [chiming in with Rebekah Ahrendt above, — ed.], Richard Taruskin's Oxford History of Western Music (six vols., $500).

James Keolker writes: "How about a pair of tickets to Callas Forever in Santa's sock: the recent Zeffirelli film regarding the last weeks of the famous singer; the actress Fanny Ardant does not so much imitate Callas as portray her essence, and the plot idea of Callas filming Carmen, a role she never sang onstage, is intriguing."

Rajna Klaser-Ledoux recommends SAVAE, San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble's "Ancient Echoes: Music from the time of Jesus and Jerusalem's Second Temple."(World Library Publications (002348), 2002); and Oni Wytars' "On the Way to Bethlehem (Music of the Medieval Pilgrim)" (Ensemble Unicorn, Naxos 8.553132, 1995).

John Lutterman recommends Paolo Pandolfo's A solo, (Glossa 920403): "The album consists of music for solo viol from Ortiz through Abel, including a rather free adaptation of the 4th Bach cello suite. Some of the most interesting music making is found in two tracks of improvisations - one in Renaissance style, which amounts to a kind of dialog with historical sources, the other a tombeau which plays on more modern idioms. Pandolfo is one of a very small handful of musicians, along with Andrew Manze and Robert Levin, who have succeeded in developing a convincing recreation of historical improvisational practices — surely the most authentic form of historical performance."

Scott MacClelland recommends Marc-André Hamelin's Hyperion CD of Charles-Valentin Alkan's Grande sonate "Les quatre ages," and other solo piano works. "The music is fresh and original, and played with breathtaking virtuosity." (CDA66794)

Mack McCray this year "would give Retro-gifts. For my most treasured friends I would go to used-record stores and seek out analog discs of Carmen Cavallaro's amazing soundtrack for 'The Eddie Duchin Story,' the Schubert Moments Musicaux played by Artur Schnabel, and any one of the hilarious recordings of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards."

Kaneez Munjee recommends Magnificat's recording of Cozzolani's Vespro della beata Vergine (musica omnia); Rosenmüller's Vespro della beata Vergine, performed by Cantus Cölln, Konrad Jünghanel directing (Hamonia Mundi); and Josquin Desprez' Missa de Beata Virgine, with some motets of Jean Mouton, performed by Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier directing (also Harmonia Mundi). Oh, and that old standby for the early-music lover whose CD collection you don't know quite well enough: a gift certificate from Berkeley's “Musical Offering.”

Matthew Rahaim recommends the double live album Sampradaya-Carrying Forward a Tradition by Kishori Amonkar. "She's one of the most creative modern exponents of North Indian classical vocal music. It would be a good introduction for beginners. It's available (among other places) here."

Jeff Rosenfeld recommends Ernst Levy playing Beethoven, Liszt, and Levy. (Label: Marston).

Olivia Stapp recommends, for a lover of real Italian Opera, the Renata Tebaldi recording of Puccini's Manon Lescaut, with tenor Mario del Monaco, conductor Molinari-Pradelli. It is thrilling. For a Germanophile, Nilsson's Elektra is a sure way to knock their socks off.

Michelle Dulak Thomson (looking through recent releases) recommends the Belcea Quartet's disc of Brahms' First Quartet and Second String Quintet (EMI 5 57661 2); the Talich Quartet's sizzling complete Mendelssohn Quartets (originally issued disc-by-disc, but now collected as Calliope 3311/3); Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's disc of Handel arias, including all of Irene's arias from Theodora ("worth the price for the opening ‘As with rosy steps' alone") (Avie AV0030); the first two volumes of Robert King's ongoing Monteverdi Sacred Music project for Hyperion ( CDA67428 and CDA67438 are the volumes available here, though a third one has been released in Britain).

And she adds recommendations for two ongoing CD series. One is The Sixteen's newish label, Coro, which is reissuing a lot of that fine choir's recordings for the now-defunct Collins Classics label, including their five-disc survey of the Eton Choirbook music and (at present) two of their three magnificent volumes of Victoria. The US source for Coro can be contacted here. The other is New York Philomusica's marvelous catalog, now finally getting some decent distribution (see here). "The complete Mozart divertimentos (a great set of recordings) are very fine, but the couple of Mozart piano concertos with Robert Levin (as always, playing through the tuttis and improvising his own cadenzas) are better still. And the disc of Jacob Druckman's chamber music is maybe the best of the lot. My copy of that is subheaded ‘Our Living Composers, Vol. 2,' which is unfortunately no longer accurate, but this music is alive if anyone's is. (You can order direct from the ensemble, but their website helpfully links to the Amazon page for each disc.)"

"Oh, and a third vote for Richard Taruskin's Oxford History of Western Music, for the truly generous. I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet, but I think it's safe to say that the reader would never be bored."