Stradivari Quartett has a novel approach to program notes.

Vivien Schweitzer reviewed the Stradivari Quartett's first U.S. performance for the New York Times. She focused her evaluation on the program notes, which featured reports on the provenance of the instruments, rather than vitae of the performers.

Lists of Recent Recordings

If you are looking for lists of critically acclaimed recordings, here are several:

The Year In Jazz: Best CDs Of 2008 by Gary Walker. (NPR.org)

'World Cafe' Picks 2008's Top 10 CDs by David Dye. (NPR.org)

Holiday Gift Guide: Classical Music by Vivien Schweitzer, James R. Oestreich, Anthony Tommasini and Allan Kozinn. (New York Times)

Holiday Gift Guide: Pop and Jazz by Jon Pareles, Ben Ratliff and Jon Caramanica. (New York Times)