MARTIN: Le vin herbe. Sandrine Piau, Steve Davislim, and Jutta Bohnert, vocal soloists; RIAS Chamber Choir; Scharoun-Ensemble; Daniel Reuss, conductor. Harmonia mundi 901935.36 (79488183452). A beautifully restrained masterpiece - Frank Martin is more than a little better than many composers who are recorded rather more often than he.

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 9. L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Walter Weller, conductor. Decca Eloquence/Australia 02894428413. A number of orchestras play this music technically better, but the OSR completely captures the spirit of these symphonies, especially the Ninth. Thank you, Australian Decca, for putting this overlooked gem-of-a-recording on CD.

SIBELIUS: Orchestral Songs. Jorma Hynninen, baritone; Tampere Philharmonic; Leif Segerstam, conductor. Ondine ODE 823 (76119508232). Of all the CDs issued in 2007 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Sibelius, this is the one to which I listened most frequently. Hynninen is magnificent.

My Guilty Pleasure for 2007:
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 - arranged for piano, violin, viola, and cello by Ferdinand Ries. Mozart Piano Quartet. MDG 6431454-2 (76062314542). Though this chamber version cannot make one forget the original orchestration, this performance by the Mozart Piano Quartet still proved irresistible.

Reissue of the Year:
STRAVINSKY: Works of. Sony 88697103112. A set of 22 CDs containing of one of the greatest bodies of music written in the 20th century, performed by the composer. Retail price $34.99! The most unbelievably mind-bogglingly fantastically phenomenal "I wet myself" greatest reissue in the history of recorded music - towel, please!