Concerning recordings, my three favorites of the year are:

Bach's Six Keyboard Partitas/Craig Sheppard/Romeo Records - One of the
best-ever piano recordings of Bach's Partitas.  Reminds me of Glenn Gould
without the eccentricities.

Beethoven's Complete Piano Sonatas/Sheppard/Romeo - Another Sheppard
triumph.  Where has this man been all these years?

Bach's Well Tempered Clavier/Jill Crossland/Signum Classics - This is
actually scheduled for release in the summer of 2007.  I was fortunate
to receive an advance copy.  Crossland's forte in this repertoire is a
superbly nuanced set of performances with beautifully crafted and subtle
changes in texture, dynamics and tempo.  The result is that each phrase
sounds fresh and distinctive without any reduction in musical progression
and cohesion.

As for live performances, can't recall seeing any in 2006 and no bothered
by the fact.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]