Kate Molleson Top 10 Albums of 2018

The Herald's music critic Kate Molleson has chosen her Top Ten Classical Albums of 2018 and two Linn albums have made the list.

Firstly, Brahms: The Symphonies by Robin Ticciati and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Kate writes:  "The culmination of their nine years together: Robin Ticciati conducting all four Brahms symphonies at the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival. They were performances of clarity, intensity, discovery – the same energy and devotion captured on this brilliant valedictory recording. I love the sound the Scottish Chamber Orchestra makes here, the nut-warm 19th century horns and the sweet, super-alert period-ish strings. I love the transparency and the resulting detail. I love the intimacy in music that can sound bloated. Most orchestras use bigger forces for Brahms. I never once missed the bulk."

Secondly, Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day by Dunedin Consort conducted by John Butt, featuring Ian Bostridge and Carolyn Sampson. Kate writes: "The power of music to make harmony out of chaos: maybe what’s needed to shift the Brexit stalemate is a copy of the new Dunedin album (ha). For Easter, 2018, the Dunedin Consort decamped from Edinburgh to Krakow to take up residency at the Misteria Paschalia Festival and record Handel’s great ode to the patron saint of music. Bolstered by the Polish Radio Choir, tenor Ian Bostridge (pungent, punchy) and soprano Carolyn Sampson (dazzlingly good), everyone gets a moment to shine: Jonathan Manson’s breathtaking cello playing, John Butt at the organ summoning St Cecilia herself."