Best of 2018 Roundup
Here’s a roundup of the Best-of lists our artists were included on for 2018.
NPR
NPR Music's Best Classical Albums Of 2018
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“The mark of a great composer, it's been said, is an unmistakable sound. Agree or not, the music of Anna Thorvaldsdottir is detectable in just a few atmospheric notes….With these vibrant performances by the International Contemporary Ensemble, Thorvaldsdottir once again proves to be among the most distinctive voices today.” —Tom Huizenga
The New York Times
The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2018
Three tracks Sono Luminus albums were included on this list:
Aequilibria from AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“This collection of Thorvaldsdottir chamber works is a tour of vivid sound worlds nimbly navigated by members of the International Contemporary Ensemble. At the album’s heart is “Aequilibria,” a piece with rich contrast and surprising balance between spaciousness — conveyed through airy fifths — and knotty smallness.” —Joshua Barone
Apostolo glorioso’ from Impermanence — Lorelei Ensemble
“While it’s fun to dip in and sample, the album unfolds its full mesmerizing effect when you follow the singers on their squiggly line through music history, weaving together the ancient and the new in wondrous ways.” —Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
Loom from H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
““Loom” begins with a thin thread of sound that is patiently roughed up and smoothed out in ways that seem both generous and brittle, with the light seeming to enter right where the texture appears most broken. Listeners equally equipped with patience and openness will be rewarded by this quiet and wise music, written and performed by women.” —Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
WQXR
The Best Classical Albums of 2018
Impermanence — Lorelei Ensemble
“utterly gorgeous…Impermanence, the third album by the Boston-based, all-female Lorelei Ensemble, has consistently rendered me verklempt since it was released in September.” —Zev Kane
National Sawdust
Best of 2018: Noteworthy Recordings
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
—Steve Smith
I Care If You Listen
2018 Contemporary Classical Music Albums: Editor’s Picks
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“Anna’s compositional voice is glacial and textural–simultaneously dark and luminous. The patient, careful, and deliberate performances by the International Contemporary Ensemble allow her music to gradually unfold into massive soundscapes.” —Amanda Cook
H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
“Nordic Affect is exceptionally versatile and sensitive, proving to be equally at home in both driving minimalism and serene atmospheres.” —Amanda Cook
The New Yorker
Notable Performances and Recordings of 2018
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
—Alex Ross
Spin
15 Experimental Albums We Loved in 2018
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“…beautiful hues on the horizon at dusk.” —Winston Cook-Wilson
Textura
Top 20 Classical
Windows — Bruce Levingston
—Ron Schepper
Second Inversion
Second Inversion’s Top 10 Albums of 2018
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“Like the stunning natural landscapes of her native Iceland, Thorvaldsdottir’s compositions echo with the full subtleties of timbre, the music expanding and contracting, breathing and humming and vibrating like the earth.” —Maggie Molloy
H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
“Wide-ranging sound worlds from Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Mirjam Tally, and Hildur Guðnadóttir comprise the album, each offering a distinct perspective on the ways in which we hear and create sound—our individual voices and the ways in which they interact.” —Maggie Molloy
Classical MPR
New Classical Tracks: Most coveted releases of 2018
The Celtic Lute — Ronn McFarlane
—Evan Bock
KUSC
KUSC’s My Favorite Things: Our Favorite Albums of 2018
For Glenn Gould — Stewart Goodyear
“One great Canadian pianist pays tribute to another on this album where Goodyear recreates Gould’s now-legendary U.S. debut recital.” —Brian Lauritzen
The Celtic Lute — Ronn McFarlane
“The album makes for a lovely journey through Ireland and Scotland thanks to the “vivacity and delicacy” of the lute. Lovely!” —Dianne Nicolini
KDFC
Our Favorite Albums of 2018
The Celtic Lute — Ronn McFarlane
Find The Celtic Lute on Dianne Nicolini, Ray White, and Rik Malone's lists!
“American lutenist Ronn Macfarlane found the lute after a journey in the 60s that began with the electric guitar and then classical guitar and the conservatory. Eventually, an eclectic calling took him to the Renaissance stringed instrument. His latest goes deep into the Celtic (Scottish and Irish) lute songbook.” —Ray White
“This disc grabbed me from the first track – it’s recorded up-close so it doesn’t vanish into the boggy mists, and you get a great sense of McFarlane’s superior playing.” —Rik Malone
Sequenza21
Best of 2018: Composer Portrait CDs
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“This CD is ICE’s second portrait recording of Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s music, and her third portrait CD overall. Yet Aequa truly stands apart from the others. Each piece has a sense of flow, sometimes akin to churning water or rippling wind, and in others to oozing lava. Amid these fluid forms are also found visceral pools of unrest.” —Christian Carey
Arkiv Music
ArkivMusic's Best of 2018
The Celtic Lute — Ronn McFarlane
AnEarful
Best Of 2018: The Top 25
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“…yet another showcase of her wondrous work.” —Jeremy Shatan
Boston Globe
Great Boston-area classical albums of 2018
Impermanance — Lorelei Ensemble
Seven Words From the Cross — Skylark Vocal Ensemble
“Each of these excellent groups brings a sound that’s both powerful and transparent, with pinpoint intonation.” —David Weininger
Zoë Madonna’s best classical albums of 2018
Seven Words From the Cross — Skylark Vocal Ensemble
“A masterful, warmly rendered amalgamation of time periods and styles.” —Zoë Madonna
H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
“This unique quartet’s latest fusion of music and ecology irrigates and invigorates the senses.” —Zoë Madonna
Impermanance — Lorelei Ensemble
“Contrary to the title, this album is here to stay.” —Zoë Madonna
Rafael’s Music Notes
Top CDs and DVDs of 2018
Impermanance — Lorelei Ensemble
Early Departures — Matei Varga
Wicked Local
Best Classical CDs of 2018
H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
“Gorgeous music that might be called new-age if it weren’t so simultaneously detailed and delicate, interspersed with English-language spoken word.” —Keith Powers
Impermanance — Lorelei Ensemble
“Some of the sound-worlds, not just the contemporary ones, are exotic to the extreme…” —Keith Powers
Albums From This List on Sale:
For the month of January, all albums mentioned in this article are available for 25% off. Use the code ‘BEST2018’ at checkout. Click here to peruse the sale albums.
Additional Featured Reviews:
The Wall Street Journal
‘Aequa’ by the International Contemporary Ensemble, ‘He(a)r’ by Nordic Affect and ‘Collider’ by Daníel Bjarnason Reviews
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“Mostly, her works are dark meditations that first tap into a sense of melancholy desolation, but then gradually and relentlessly morph into strange, otherworldly structures. You hear that most directly in “Aequilibria” for large chamber ensemble (2014), the biggest work on “Aequa.” A cello drone gives way to busy, distant- sounding string and wind passages; brass writing moves between ominous, sustained tone, textured buzzing and Wagnerian heft, and a mournful alto flute line hovers briefly over a bleak ensemble texture. Shortly before the piece ends, unexpected percussion bursts and delicate piano tracery push the music toward an eerie landscape— a musical equivalent of magical realism.” —Allan Kozinn
H e (a) r — Nordic Affect
Burning Ambulance
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
AEQUA — International Contemporary Ensemble & Anna Thorvaldsdottir
“The production and mixing on AEQUA is frankly breathtaking. The instruments, so often required to go far beyond their traditional roles, rattle and boom, scrape and clatter; the music is swathed in reverb, but always for dramatic, not romantic, effect; and the use of space, be it distance between instruments or the overall immersive quality of each grouping, is mesmerizing. Thorvaldsdottir’s use of sound puts her in the room with composers as disparate, yet linked, as Roscoe Mitchell, Tom Waits, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Autechre, without taking ideas from any of them…” —Phil Freeman