THE BEST OF 1983

CLASSICAL

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (Archiv). Trevor Pinnock leads his crack English Concert in crisp, exuberant performances.

Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin; Two Portraits (Deutsche Grammophon). Bartok's bloodcurdling ballet gets an elemental reading from Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony.

Elliott Carter: Night Fantasies; Piano Sonata (Nonesuch). One of the landmarks of 20th century keyboard music, the Sonata (1945-46) is definitively Interpreted by the late Paul Jacobs.

Copland: Short Symphony; Ives: Symphony No. 3 (Pro Arte). Quintessential slices of orchestral Americana, lovingly realized by Dennis Russell Davies and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Charles Tomlinson Griffes: Piano Music (Nonesuch). Griffes' unique brand of American romantic impressionism gets a persuasive reassessment from Noel Lee.

Philip Glass: Koyaanisqatsi (Antilles). The minimalist sound track from the movie stands on its own as a symphonic suite of rare power and passion.

Janacek: Jenufa (London). The greatest of Leos Janacek's nine operas gets a recording worthy of its stature from Sir Charles Mackerras and Soprano Elisabeth Soederstroem.

Puccini: La Rondine (CBS Masterworks). Kiri Te Kanawa, Placido Domingo and Conductor Lorin Maazel star in Puccini's unaccountably neglected confectioner's delight.

Verdi: Falstaff (Deutsche Grammophon). Renato Bruson is an autumnal Sir John in Carlo Maria Giulini's bittersweet live recording.

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Philips). Soprano Hildegard Behrens is a stellar Wagnerian in Leonard Bernstein's incandescent performance of the most erotic of operas.

ROCK AND JAZZ

David Bowie: Let's Dance (EMI America). Smooth and elegant, like the edge of a new knife, this sharp, soulful album marked Bowie's return to top form.

Culture Club: Colour by Numbers (Virgin). Lead Singer Boy George may look like Peter Pan at a transvestite Mardi Gras, but this band purveys a straight and joyous brand of pop.

Wynton Marsalis: Think of One (Columbia). Mathematical arabesques on the trumpet by a 22-year-old who is fast turning from a prodigy into a world-class pro.

Malcolm McLaren: Duck Rock (Island). The year's funniest and most slaphappy dance record mixes Zulu chants, New York City jump-rope songs and hip-hop street culture into an anthropological jamboree.

Randy Newman: Trouble in Paradise (Warner Bros.). Part stand-up comedy, part The Day of the Locust: Newman's best since 1972's Sail Away.

Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra: What's New (Asylum). Nine standards, done straight, by a pop queen collaborating with an old orchestra master. It must have seemed crazy, but it's a hit and a seemingly effortless tour de force.

Paul Simon: Hearts and Bones (Warner Bros.). The finest album yet by one of the best songwriters in anybody's neighborhood.

Talking Heads: Speaking in Tongues (Sire). SoHo soul and uptown rhythm: nobody mixes it up better.

U2: War (Island). Righteous rock with social savvy, fierce as a street fight.

X: More Fun in the New World (Elektra). The New Wave rolls on: if William S. Burroughs fronted a garage band, it would sound like this.