The most coveted New Classical Tracks albums of 2016

Each week on New Classical Tracks, the featured recording is offered as a free giveaway, with copies given to lucky winners in a random draw. Looking back over the past 52 weeks of episodes, here are the top 10 most-coveted New Classical Tracks releases of 2016, based on number of people who entered each giveaway (so not super scientific, but fun!).

10. Jean-Yves Thibaudet: Erik Satie - The Complete Solo Piano Music (Decca)

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet has recorded the complete solo piano music of 20th-century French composer Erik Satie. The box set was recently re-issued to mark Satie's 150th birth anniversary.
Amazon

9. Simple Gifts: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Shaker Village (Naxos Records)

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center recorded an album at Shaker Village in Kentucky. "It's a magical place," says Artistic Director Wu Han. "It's a place where people search for a renewal of spirit."
Amazon

8. Invisible Stars - Choral works of Ireland and Scotland; The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, Desmond Earley-conductor (Signum Classics)

Formed in 1999, the Choral Scholars of University College Dublin are Ireland's leading collegiate choral ensemble. Their new album, Invisible Stars features choral works of Ireland and Scotland, and the album title comprises several symbolic meanings.
See also: New Classical Tracks Uncut: Desmond Earley
Amazon

7. Joshua Bell/Steve Isserlis/Jeremy Denk - For the Love of Brahms (Sony Classical)

Violinist Joshua Bell loves working with two of his closest friends, cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk. On their latest collaboration, they unite with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields to celebrate their love of Johannes Brahms.
Amazon

6. Barry Douglas - Celtic Airs (Chandos)

Barry Douglas is internationally known for his mastery of works by Tchaikovsky, but on his latest recording, Douglas embraces the music he heard growing up in Ireland. Douglas says there's just something about this music that makes everybody fall in love with it.
Amazon

5. (tie) Pinchas Zukerman - Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon and Philips

Deutsche Grammophon has released a 22-CD set containing the greatest recordings of violinist/violist/conductor, Pinchas Zukerman. Hear Julie Amacher's interview with Zukerman.
See also: New Classical Tracks Uncut: Pinchas Zukerman
Amazon

Rachel Barton Pine, Testament: complete sonatas and partitas for solo violin (Avie)

Rachel Barton Pine grew up playing the music of J.S. Bach at her hometown church in Chicago, where there is even a stained-glass window of Bach himself.
See also: New Classical Tracks Uncut: Rachel Barton Pine
Amazon

4. Kirk Elliott - Solstice Spirit (Pipestrelle)

Kirk Elliott is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, and self-employed music historian who's blessed with a very vivid imagination. The spark for his new recording, 'Solstice Spirit', was ignited by a single carol, and further fanned by late-night composing sessions and the desire to have something new in time for a series of Christmas concerts he'll be playing.

3. Emerson String Quartet, Complete Recordings (Deutsche Grammophon)

Emerson String Quartet - complete box set

Forty years into its career, the Emerson String Quartet is still going strong. Its creative output is thoroughly documented in a new, 52-CD box set of recordings on Deutsche Grammophon.
Amazon

2. John Lunn, Downton Abbey - the Ultimate Collection (Decca)

As the long-running and much-beloved television series 'Downton Abbey' comes to an end, composer John Lunn has released a double album of the show's unforgettable music.
Amazon

1. The Menuhin Century - (Warner Classics)

On the centenary of violinist and educator Yehudi Menuhin, a friend of the late musician has curated a comprehensive box set that celebrates the work and life of a man who was not only a gifted musician, but a kind and generous person.
>Amazon

Watch for more New Classical Tracks giveaways in 2017.

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