Six deserving to be heard in 2009 and beyond

The best-of compilations that mark the end of each year can have the unfortunate side effect of relegating their contents to the past, treating them as relics that go into a shoebox in your closet marked "2008." But if these are the best of what a year had to offer, they should be coming with us, getting played, heard, and talked about after the calendar flips. So here are some "bests" from the past year to take with you into 2009 and beyond.

Stravinsky: Three Symphonies and Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Simon Rattle - EMI

The Rattle-Berlin pairing has been alternately inspired and frustrating. But to judge from these two recent CDs, the relationship has truly gelled. The Stravinsky symphonies teem with energy and pointed, dancing rhythms. The Mahler makes a searing emotional impact yet is more tightly conceived and executed than an earlier effort with the Vienna Philharmonic. The future for this pairing looks increasingly bright.

Charles Ives: The Three Orchestral Sets

Malmo Symphony Orchestra & Chamber Chorus/James Sinclair - Naxos

The first orchestral set - "Three Places in New England" - is a staple, the second less so. But when Ives stopped composing in 1927, he left sketches for a never-completed third set. Here is its first recording, in a realization by two musicologists. It's impossible to say how close it is to what the composer would have come up with, of course, but its three movements sound eminently Ivesian. Sinclair also gives us an early version of "Three Places," making this a welcome reconfiguration of an old favorite.

Lee Hyla: Lives of the Saints/ At Suma Beach

Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose - BMOP/sound

This recording brought back memories of a rapturous concert performance of "Lives of the Saints" from 2006, with these same forces. Hyla takes texts by saints Francis and Teresa and others and sets them ablaze in unusual colors and irregular rhythms. Mezzo-soprano Mary Nessinger sings, speaks, and shouts as if possessed. After years in Boston, Hyla decamped in 2007 for Chicago; this is a timely reminder of his importance, no matter where his home base is. It also whets the appetite for future releases from BMOP's innovative label.

Olivier Messiaen

Various ensembles and soloists - naive; six CDs

Sure, 2008 marked the Messiaen centenary, but if its many commemorations proved anything, it's that the composer's radically individual voice will be relevant for years to come. My colleague Jeremy Eichler praised Deutsche Grammophon's 32-disc "Complete Edition" set in a recent article, but I found many joys in this slimmer box, which contains some of his most radiant and extroverted music, such as "Des Canyons aux Etoiles" and "La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ." The orchestral works are led with authority by two great Messiaen champions, Reinbert de Leeuw and Pierre Boulez.

Leonard Bernstein: Beethoven

Vienna Philharmonic and Concertgebouw Orchestras - Deutsche Grammophon, 7 DVDs

Here is an exhaustive, joyous record of Bernstein (mostly) in Vienna, conducting the city's sovereign composer with its flagship orchestra. The performances were filmed in the 1970s and '80s (in case you couldn't tell from the glasses and haircuts). Though no longer the dynamo he was earlier in his career, Bernstein infuses Beethoven's music - symphonies, overtures, piano concertos, and more - with a youthful kick which, combined with the orchestra's famed polish, yields scintillating results. Highlights include an arrangement of Beethoven's Quartet in C-sharp minor for the Vienna strings and a spiritually vibrant "Missa Solemnis" with Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra. Forget this year; there's enough wisdom and insight here to last a lifetime.