Both [Harmonielehre and The Gospel According to the Other Mary] benefit from the full palette of the Berlin Philharmonic, from powerful lower brass to exquisite wind solos and sensuous strings; the melodic line halfway through Part 1 of Harmonielehre, a symphony in all but name, can never have been more beautifully phrased or recorded. Each performance brings its own special character, even when the same sounds are in question.

Purity of sound, rhythmic precision and attention to detail make this a recording quite unlike any other to date. If there’s no experience quite like hearing Harmonielehre live in a hall, this is certainly a very close second…Petrenko conducts [The Wound-Dresser] with taste and discretion…The luxuriously lifelike sound the engineers have so artfully captured here, and indeed throughout the entire set, gives Berlin the edge. This is a treat not to be missed.

Its seven works are all already available on disc, but the chance to hear them played by one of the world’s greatest orchestras is a treat...The composer conducts both the earliest and the most recent of the works. His athletic account of Harmonielehre is more buoyant, less weighty than some, but 30 years after its composition it remains Adams’s greatest achievement.

Who can forget the great mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in the Cantata No. 199, “Mein Herze Schwimmt im Blut”? Fortunately, Ms. Sampson’s brighter version is different enough to be appreciated on its own terms.