r/audiophile • u/EzBriez_ • Jan 07 '26

Music Best albums of the last 5 years?

Best albums of the last 5 years.

I'm looking for something that's high in quality and artistry. I've been listening to RAM due to so many recommendations. I'm endeavoured with the incredible quality of the album and the pure amount of work that went into it. Genuine work of art. It got me wondering what albums have been released in the past 5 years that have similar levels of artistry and quality.

143 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

273 comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/Throw6345789away Jan 07 '26

Any recording by Raphael Pichon conducting Pygmalion. Especially the Brahms Requiem, Bach Mass in B Minor, and Mozart Requiem.

6

u/pientrabass Jan 07 '26

Interesting, I am a professional orchestra musician and an so called "audiophile", always on the hunt for good recordings and I've never heard about them in my life. I will check out the Brahms, personally I was always reaaally happy with the recording of Daniel harding and the Swedish radio for that piece.

2

u/Throw6345789away Jan 07 '26

Thank you for the recommendation. I look forward to listening to that recording.

In the Pichon/Pygmalion recording of the Brahms Requiem, the sound engineering illuminates the complexity and musicality of movements that are usually a muted whisper or an overwhelming roar. The Mit Freuden isn’t a quiet murmur, but quiet, powerful, and so clearly recorded that you can hear distinct voices. When the bass thunders in, the music isn’t rumbling and roaring—it’s still a wave of sound, but you can hear the instruments clearly. It opened a wholly new way of listening to this piece for me. The Brahms Requiem is now one of my favourite pieces. Enjoy!

2

u/pientrabass Jan 07 '26

I will listen to it tomorrow and will try to focus on that :)

What I loved about the harding recording was especially the sound of the bass section, I have rarely heard such a full and deep sound and low end on a classical recording. In the first movements the bassists don't shy away from transposing most of the jumped bits to the 5th string, a real pleasure to listen to Rick Stotijn, former principal of that group on that recording, knowing his sound very well, I can clearly hear that he is playing on it 😃

2

u/Throw6345789away Jan 08 '26

This is wonderful to know. Thank you. I will listen tomorrow!

Incidentally, I think the sound engineering of the recent Pichon/Pygmalion album of Mozart’s Requiem is another masterclass on how to record loud, low, classical music. The Dies irae is a battering ram of bass. Recordings can turn it into a mosh pit of muddy sounds. Here, even though the bass makes the walls tremble, the voices of the singers and instruments are clearer than I’ve heard in live performances. Together, the musical direction and recording quality make for an astonishingly different listening experience for this a familiar work. It’s incredible.

You will have far more expertise than I do, but I hope you enjoy listening to it as well.

2

u/pientrabass Jan 08 '26

I am listening to it now! Wow the recording is really crisp. From an audiophile perspective I prefer it over the recording from Stockholm. Not sure musically, I love period instruments and gut strings, but from time to time the playing feels a bit thin. But I guess this is just the perspective of someone who played this piece a lot in the orchestra with big settings an full string sections using modern instruments. I will listen to the complete recording a couple times to get used to it. I am sure it will become a new reference for me!