“Which criteria shall I use to determine the 5 best albums of all time? A question that can hardly be answered. It must be music that survives decades and maybe even centuries. So I asked myself the question “Which albums fascinated / inspired me most and would still do the same in 20, 50 or 100 years?”.
1. Ludovico Einaudi – In a Time Lapse
“My favourite album by Ludovico Einaudi. I’m a big fan of his music and waited impatiently for this album to come out. You can not produce a better arrangement for an ensemble of piano and strings! The fantastic compositions are perfectly shaped, whether powerful tutti passages or gentle solo piano lines. To top it off, there is the guest performance by exceptional violinist Daniel Hope. In my opinion, it’s a masterpiece of contemporary music.”
2. Woodkid – The Golden Age
“For me, Woodkid has created a whole new genre of music with this album. Absolutely brilliant album!”
3. Nikolaus Harnoncourt – Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9
“On this album Harnoncourt perfectly summarised the symphonic work of Beethoven, in my eyes. Especially the recordings of the symphonies 3,5 and 7 are among my absolute favourite interpretations of these works.”
4. Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
“I have always been a big fan of Vivaldi. Up until this album, I had a skeptical attitude towards new versions of Vivaldi’s violin concertos and attempts by contemporary composers to rewrite his pieces. But Max Richter has managed to preserve the pieces in their basic forms and at the same time, create something completely new. An extremely inspiring album.”
5. Yann Tiersen – Eusa
“It takes nothing more than a single sound of a piano to create entire worlds. A pure piano album that reflects the beauty and boundless expression of the piano in all its simplicity and complexity.”
Read more: Peter Broderick’s Top Five Piano Albums
Listen: Classic Album Sundays and Spitalfields Music present Max Richter & André de Ridder Interview
