"Accessible" can be a dirty word in contemporary classical music. For decades, composers have outfitted their works with gnarly tangles of complexity, and heaven forbid if there's a tune you can hum.

A holiday album that cuts through seasonal glut, a late collaboration by Jim McNeely and Helmut Lachenmann’s string quartets are among the highlights.

A moving collection of vocal works, including world premiere recordings of music by the eminent Hungarian composer Gyorgy ...