Jeremy Eichler's top CD picks of 2008

BRAHMS AND JOACHIM VIOLIN CONCERTOS; Christian Tetzlaff, violin. Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Dausgaard (Virgin Classics) Tetzlaff is a musician's musician, one of the most sensitive and compelling performers before the public today. His Brahms packs fierce expressive force but also uncommon eloquence and subtlety. And he ingeniously pairs the work with the deserving yet obscure "Hungarian" Concerto by the great 19th-century violinist Joseph Joachim, for whom Brahms wrote his own mighty concerto.

"LORRAINE AT EMMANUEL," Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano, Orchestra of Emmanuel Music conducted by Craig Smith and John Harbison (Avie) From the archives of Emmanuel Music comes this moving disc of performances by the revered mezzo-soprano, mostly led by the late Craig Smith, a pillar of the local music community. There are excerpts from Handel's "Hercules," but the two most arresting tracks are taken from Bach Cantatas (BWV 30 and 33) in which Lieberson sings with that tonal warmth and inner radiance that were hers alone.

BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS; Paul Lewis, piano (Harmonia Mundi) The British pianist completes his outstanding traversal of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas with this fourth volume featuring Nos. 5, 6, 7, 15, 19, 20, 26, 30, 31, and 32 spread across three discs. The clarity, openness, and breadth of imagination here is remarkable.

SCHOENBERG AND SIBELIUS VIOLIN CONCERTOS; Hilary Hahn, violin; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen (Deutsche Grammophon) Could this finally be the coming-out party for the Schoenberg Violin Concerto, some 70 years after it was written? Hahn's technically superb, warmly impassioned reading shows the Romantic heart that beats beneath this work's sometimes prickly exterior. Her Sibelius is less distinctive, but that work doesn't need her advocacy.

"GODS, KINGS AND DEMONS," Rene Pape, bass; Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Sebastian Weigle (Deutsche Grammophon) The German bass is one of the most vocally exciting and dramatically forceful singers out there today. This disc of arias features music from two of his signature roles (Verdi's "Don Carlo" and Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde"), plus a lot more.

OLIVIER MESSIAEN COMPLETE EDITION; (Deutsche Grammophon) The blazingly original French composer would have turned 100 on Dec. 10, and while there have been other tribute discs this year, nothing can match the rigor and completeness of this newly issued 32-CD box set, packed with authoritative performances. (See page N7 for more.)

BARTOK STRING QUARTETS; Belcea Quartet (EMI) The cycle of six Bartok string quartets, a harrowing landmark of 20th-century music, gets a fresh reading from this excellent young ensemble. The playing is lithe, intense, focused, and watchful, earning this set a spot near the top in a crowded Bartok field.

LULLY'S "PSYCHÉ," Boston Early Music Festival (CPO) Lully's opera, the mainstage production at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2007, has been given a richly satisfying recording that captures much of the freshness and elegance of the live performances. The cast includes the sopranos Carolyn Sampson and Karina Gauvin, both in radiant voice.

SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 4; Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink, (CSO Resound) Wedding expressive heat with formal clarity, this is an excellent live recording of what is arguably Shostakovich's greatest symphony.

MOZART'S "GRAN PARTITA" SERENADE AND BERG'S CHAMBER CONCERTO; Mitsuko Uchida, piano; Christian Tetzlaff, violin; Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted by Pierre Boulez (Decca). If anyone is going to unlock the mysteries of Berg's elusive Chamber Concerto it is these performers, who render it with a peerless sensitivity and remarkable responsiveness. As a bonus there's a crystalline rendition of Mozart's celebrated "Gran Partita" wind serenade.