Lisa Batiashvili (violin)Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim
Deutsche Grammophon · 4796038 · 70 minutes
Lisa Batiashvili and Barenboim make a dream team here, and you can feel that connection in every phrase — there’s a real sense of two musical minds completely in sync. Batiashvili’s playing has this gorgeous inward quality, never showy, always searching for something deeper in the music. If you want a Brahms and Bartók pairing that feels genuinely alive rather than just technically accomplished, this one’s hard to beat.
Awards:
- Presto Recording of the Week — 18th November 2016
- BBC Music Magazine — April 2017 — Concerto Choice
- Gramophone Magazine — January 2017 — Disc of the Month
- Gramophone Awards — 2017 — Finalist – Concerto
“Batiashvili focuses on poetic intimacy in this deeply thoughtful performance.”
— BBC Music Magazine, April 2017
Anja Harteros (soprano), Elīna Garanča (mezzo), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), René Pape (bass)Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Daniel Barenboim
Decca · 4785245 · 85 minutes
Barenboim brings something genuinely monumental to Verdi’s Requiem here, and the La Scala forces give him exactly the weight and warmth he needs to pull it off. The four soloists are a dream cast — Harteros and Garanča blend beautifully, while Kaufmann and Pape anchor everything with real authority. It’s the kind of recording that reminds you why this piece can feel like the greatest opera Verdi never wrote.
Awards:
- Presto Recording of the Week — 16th September 2013
- Gramophone Magazine — November 2013 — Editor’s Choice
- Presto Favourites — Recommended Recording
“Barenboim’s interpretative view is grand in conception, with the La Scala performers offering him sufficient depth and richness of tone…the four soloists form a quartet finely balanced in…”
— BBC Music Magazine, Christmas Issue 2013,4 out of 5 stars
Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim (piano duo)
Deutsche Grammophon · 4793922 · 75 minutes
Two absolute giants of the piano sitting side by side and tearing through the Rite of Spring together — it’s the kind of recording you almost can’t believe exists. Argerich and Barenboim bring this brutal, seismic piece to the keyboard with a chemistry that feels both ferociously alive and, somehow, almost silkily elegant. BBC Music Magazine gave it five stars for a reason, and if you haven’t heard it yet, clear your afternoon.
Awards:
- Presto Recording of the Week — 27th October 2014
- Presto Recordings of the Year — Winner 2014
“Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring prompts several adjectives: brutal, revolutionary, relentless, terrifying…But elegant? Urbane, seductive, sensuous? This astonishing performance is all that and…”
— BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2014,5 out of 5 stars
Daniel Barenboim (piano)Staatskapelle Berlin, Andris Nelsons
Deutsche Grammophon · 4779520 · 73 minutes
Barenboim playing Barenboim with his own orchestra is a pretty special setup, and you can really feel that deep sense of ownership throughout both concertos. He moves between elegance and real muscle with such ease, especially in the E minor, where those contrasts hit harder than you’d expect. Nelsons keeps the Staatskapelle tight and responsive, making this one of those recordings where everything just clicks into place.
Awards:
- Gramophone Magazine — August 2011 — Editor’s Choice
- Building a Library — September 2016 — Also Recommended
“Always authoritative, Barenboim is by turns graceful and gutsy, an especially good combination in the E minor Concerto – and his orchestra, the Berlin Staatskapelle (here under Andris Nelsons),…”
— BBC Music Magazine, July 2011,5 out of 5 stars
Gaston Litaize (organ)Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Deutsche Grammophon · 4746122 · 56 minutes
Barenboim brings something almost cinematic to Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony, and paired with Gaston Litaize’s enormous, cathedral-filling organ sound, the whole thing just *lands* with incredible weight and drama. The Chicago Symphony plays like they mean every single note, and that famous finale still gives you chills no matter how many times you’ve heard it. If you’re going to own one recording of the "Organ" Symphony, this is the one earning its place on the shelf.
Awards:
- Building a Library — February 2015 — First Choice
Daniel Barenboim (piano), Michael Barenboim (violin), Kian Soltani (cello), Martha Argerich (piano), Staatskapelle Berlin
Deutsche Grammophon · 4837537 · 72 minutes
Few recordings capture such a genuine sense of musical family as this one, with Daniel Barenboim joined by his son Michael and close collaborator Kian Soltani in a program that feels deeply personal rather than just professionally assembled. Martha Argerich’s presence adds another layer of warmth and electricity, and the Staatskapelle Berlin brings that characteristic rich, dark sound that makes everything feel grounded and special. It’s the kind of disc where the chemistry between the players leaps right out of the speakers.
Awards:
- Presto Recording of the Week — 11th June 2021
- Presto Recordings of the Year — Finalist 2021
- International Classical Music Awards — 2022 — Nominated – Assorted Programs
“Michael Barenboim and Kian Soltani are the concertmaster and principal cellist of the Barenboim-founded West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, so the stellar quality of their playing is no more a surprise…”
— BBC Music Magazine, August 2021,4 out of 5 stars
Alisa Weilerstein (cello)Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim
Decca · 4782735 · 62 minutes
Alisa Weilerstein was still in her mid-twenties when she made this recording, and yet she plays the Elgar with a maturity and emotional weight that stops you in your tracks. Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin wrap around her like they’ve been playing this music together for decades, and the pairing with the Carter concerto is a genuinely inspired choice that makes both works feel richer. It swept up just about every major award going in 2013, and honestly, listening to it, you completely understand why.
Awards:
- Presto Recording of the Week — 4th February 2013
- BBC Music Magazine — February 2013 — Disc of the month
- Gramophone Magazine — February 2013 — Editor’s Choice
- BBC Music Magazine Awards — 2014 — Recording of the Year & Concerto Award Winner
“Weilerstein avoids nostalgia [in the Elgar] and produces instead an account that is full of passion, grief and nobility of feeling…Her interpretation [of the Carter], at once remarkably expressive…”
— BBC Music Magazine, February 2013,5 out of 5 stars
Daniel Barenboim (conductor & piano), Rubén González, Joseph Golan (violins), Charles Pikler, Li-Kuo Chang (violas) & John Sharp, Stephen Balderston (cellos)Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Apex · 2564682429 · 76 minutes
Barenboim conducting from the piano feels like exactly the right move here — there’s an intimacy and directness to the performance that you just don’t get when the soloist and conductor are two separate people with two separate agendas. The Chicago Symphony players lean in close, and the whole thing has a wonderful conversational warmth, like everyone in the room genuinely wants to be there. It earned Building a Library’s top spot back in January 2010, and honestly, it’s not hard to hear why.
Awards:
- Building a Library — January 2010 — First Choice
