1. Chopin piano pieces, Artur Rubinstein (Etudes, Mazurkas by Maurizio Pollini or Nocturnes by Daniel Barenboim for better sound quality) 2. Anything played by Arthur Grumiaux, especially violin sonatas, concertos, etc, of J.S. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven -- mostly good sound too. 3. Beethoven Violin Sonatas by David Oistrakh (Itzahk Perlman for better sound on #2 and #5). 4. Tchaikovsky symphony cycle, Mariss Jansons (a superb cycle in terms of both sound and performance) 5. Schubert songs, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (Kathleen Battle for better sound) -- you may want to start with her 11 Schubert lieder collections along with Mozart lieders. Check out his late quartets too. (or, Edvard Grieg lieders, Anne Sophie von Otto, if you like lieder) 6. Albeniz piano music, Alicia Delarrocha (start with Iberia) 7. Debussy Suite Bergamasque on piano, Jacques Rouvier (or, Eugene Ormandy for orchestra which includes Clair De Lune from the suite and La Mer). 8. Beethoven piano sonata cycle (start with 8 and 14), Alfred Brendel (Emil Gilels for 21, 23) 9. Elgar Cello concerto, Jacquelin Du Pre on Cello. (or, Dvorak Cello concerto, Yo-Yo Ma) 10. Wagner orchestral highlights from the Ring, Szell. Most of them are critically acclaimed and quite popular among classical lovers, so good place to start a collection along with the suggestions of others, I think. You may want to grab Penguin Guide to Classical CD or Gramophone publications for tons of good classical music out there. Next year for the Vikes, or maybe not darn....
Buidling a Classical Library - MUST HAVES!
I started a r2d4 thread last week and am so impressed with the depth of music knowledge on this site that I'm going to start this one too. My knowledge of great classical recordings is so limited it's embarrassing to call myself a music lover. I've tried following some of the reviews in Stereophile, TAS and Golden Ear, but they all seam to have some agenda other than great sound, great performance and great material in mind. The fact that my system can resolve the subsonic activity of an earthquake during the highschool bands performance of Nutcracker or what ever Stereophile is about does nothing to help me find great music. My request, if you choose to accept it, is to identify the must have recordings to build library from scratch. PLEASE CONSIDER SONIC QUALITY, PERFORMANCE AND MATERIAL EQUALLY. As a lover of music I believe all three should be superior. Also, in the spirit of my last post, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CRITICIZING OTHERS SELECTIONS. IF YOU WANT TO ARGUE A SELECTION START A THREAD, LEAVE THIS ONE FOR KNOWLEDGE FOR THOSE OF US WHO NEED IT. THANK-YOU. Finally, please list a maximum top ten and even if your favorites already appear, list them anyway. This will help me figure out the first ones to buy. Vinyl and/or digital are acceptable as long as the material is still avalible.