Brooklyn Rider is a modern string quartet who’s sensibilities could be compared to the Kronos Quartet although their musical influences seem to be more from world music traditions than from popular music. Fitting into the “crossover classical” category, the group’s arrangements often include percussion, bass, or even electronics.

Dominant Curve, their latest album, was named one of NPR Music’s 50 Favorite Albums of 2010 . Along with a polished performance of Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor, there is an original piece by one of the quartet’s violinists titled Achille’s Heel, and an interesting arrangement of John Cage’s In a Landscape.

Passport, the group’s previous release (2008), is a collection of  Armenian folk songs arranged for string quartet, and I would have to say that I enjoyed these lively, folk-inspired arrangements more than the selections on Dominant Curve. I was impressed with the quality of playing on both discs.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and not far behind will be winter snows and Christmas. What better way to get in the spirit of the season than settling in with some relaxing holiday music.

Every year brings some surprising entries in the Christmas music genre. Last year, Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart topped the “I didn’t see that coming” list. This year, one of the more interesting offerings could be Christmas Cornucopia by Annie Lennox. It includes new interpretations of traditional songs and carols as well as Universal Child, an original song written by Lennox. Her silky alto voice would seem well-suited to this genre.

Other pop artists with new Christmas offerings this year include Mariah Carey with Merry Christmas II You, Indigo Girls with Holly Happy Days, and Wilson Phillips with Christmas in Harmony. Contemporary Christian artists Newsboys offer Christmas: a Newsboys Holiday.

Sure to be a big hit this year is Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle’s first Christmas album, The Gift. It offers some traditional carols, a few pop songs, and a rendition of Do You Hear What I Hear by Susan with Amber Stassi, the winner of the International Susan Search.

In classical music, new releases include Bryn’s Christmas: Carols and Christmas Songs by bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and Santo by tenor Juan Diego Florez. And what would Christmas be without The Nutcracker? Simon Rattle, with the Berlin Philharmonic, offers new recordings of the beloved ballet music in both a favorite selections and complete ballet version.

New choral collections include A Song in Season by the Cambridge Singers, A Brooklyn Tabernacle Christmas by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Anonymous 4′s The Cherry Tree: Songs and Ballads for Christmas, and Chanticleer’s A Chanticleer Christmas. Last year The Irish Tenors brought us Christmas. This year we get The Perfect Gift from the Canadian Tenors, Christmas by Celtic Thunder, and Noel by The Priest’s.

If you’re looking for some winter chill music you might try New Age artist David Arkenstone’s Visions of Christmas or Winter’s Songs: a Windham Hill Christmas. Or for a swinging, big band take on the holidays try Christmas Comes Alive by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

The title is a little misleading on this compilation of mostly vocal selections. There are a few songs that are “of” summer, such as Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess sung by Renee Fleming and The Summer Knows by Michel Legrand sung by Jose Carreras, but the collection is better described as music to enjoy on a relaxing weekend in summer. And for that purpose it is a nice mixture of performances by opera stars such as Fleming, Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as “classical crossover” artists like Hayley Westenra, Russell Watson, and Lisa Gerard.

Along with several arias, there are arrangements of popular songs like The Way We Were, Maria from West Side Story, and Volare, as well as old favorites like O Sole Mio and Granada. A duo named Duel offers instrumental arrangements of Cavatina from the soundtrack of The Deerhunter and Chi Mai by Ennio Morricone.

The soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s latest film is another successful collaboration with songwriter/musician, Robbie Robertson.  And as with every Scorsese film, the music is integral to the movie’s impact, but the soundtrack also stands alone as an exceptional listening experience in its own right.

Robertson has pulled together an atmospheric sampling of a who’s who in modern music from Fog Tropes by Ingram Marshall (perfect for the opening scene on board a boat moving through a choking fog) to works by John Cage, Gyorgy Ligeti, Morton Feldman, John Adams, and Lou Harrison. The music is ominous, unsettling, and perfectly matched to the mood of the film.  For me, the most memorable track is the overlay of Dinah Washington’s 1960 recording of This Bitter Earth on Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight. The result is simply stunning.

This CD is a collection of German songs from the early to mid-20th century sung by German born singer Theo Bleckmann. The minimalist arrangements for small chamber ensemble with piano by Fumio Yasuda are well suited to Bleckmann’s pure, transparent tone. As I started listening, I noticed the sound of static in the background, which I assume was to give the feel of an old radio broadcast. It was a little distracting, but they dropped it after the second song or so.

Many of the songs are Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht compositions, including Surabaya Johnny and Der Bilbao from Happy End. I’m a big fan of their work, but I have to say my favorites on this CD are Lili Marlene and Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt (Falling in Love Again), songs made famous by Marlene Dietrich. The arrangements are fresh and Bleckmann”s voice gives them an ethereal, haunting quality.