I would like to start a thread, similar to Orpheus’ jazz site, for lovers of classical music. I will list some of my favorite recordings, CDs as well as LP’s. While good sound is not a prime requisite, it will be a consideration. Classical music lovers please feel free to add to my lists. Discussion of musical and recording issues will be welcome.
I’ll start with a list of CDs. Records to follow in a later post.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor. Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Vanguard Classics — Vienna Festival Orch. Prohaska, conductor. Prokofiev: Scythian Suite et. al. DG — Chicago Symphony Abbado, conductor. Brahms: Symphony #1. Chesky — London Symph. Orch. Horenstein, conductor. Stravinsky: L’Histoire du Soldat. HDTT — Ars Nova. Mandell, conductor. Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Analogue Productions. — Dallas Symph Orch. Johanos, cond. Respighi: Roman Festivals et. al. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.
All of the above happen to be great sounding recordings, but, as I said, sonics is not a prerequisite.
Well, I see the Frog has gifted us another example of the art of the link ! Hope more will . + 17 on his recommend of the Milstein and the Pittsburgh , neither ever made a bad recording .
Fact, if you brush up a bit on your history you will increase your fun with classical music a lot . All music is effected by where and when it was composed and the language of the composer .
Schubert, I have a different POV of what has made Orpheus10's thread endure. 1) His thread is as much about him as anything. He is opinionated, outspoken, and is prepared to defend his opinion. 2) He gets out in front with his opinions - he is not passive and he drives the thread. He is not easily intimidated (even when maybe he should be). 3) He creates dialog and controversy which can work well with folks who are not easily intimidated. Even then watching this dialog at its best is very entertaining, and often educational.
Frogman, great to see that you've joined the thread! I had been hoping you would, providing us with the benefit of your formidable knowledge and background in classical music.
Regarding Schubert's good suggestion about YouTube links, here is a link to the complete Telarc recording of the Firebird Suite and the Prince Igor excerpts that has been discussed. The link is not to YouTube, but rather to Archive.org, which I think many of you will find worth exploring in connection with older recordings. (Entering a name or term of interest in the site's Search box is probably the best way to make use of it. For example entering "Toscanini" returns 205 hits to look through, including one that is particularly notable IMO which I've cited at the end of this post).
N.B: To hear the deep bass notes at the beginning of the Firebird Suite you'll probably find yourself turning the volume of your computer speakers WAY up. And likewise in the closing seconds of the "Berceuse," just before the "Finale" begins. Be sure to turn those settings WAY down for the dynamic peaks of the recording, which you'll see approaching in the graphical representation of the audio shown near the top of that page. Otherwise, both you and your computer speakers may not appreciate the consequences :-)
Also, speaking of older recordings which can be found at Archive.org, here is Toscanini's 1940 performance of Brahms' First, transcribed from 78 rpm records. This is my favorite performance of my favorite symphony, and is easily good enough to make the primitive sonics completely irrelevant, IMO.
whart, I don't know exactly how to define 'spare' but I certainly do enjoy the composer's solo piano music below - it certainly is not exactly 'romantic' but it's not acerbic either, but then Scriabin's isn't either.
Prokofiev's Sonatas and, for me his other music as well if not more. I think Frederic Chiu on Harmonia Mundi is excelent, all 10 volumes.
Janacek - An Overgrown Path, Sonata, and In The Mist by Rudolf Firkusny on RCA.
Nikolai Medtner - A good cross section of a collection of small pieces by Geoffrey Tozer appear on Chando Vol #1 of 7 volumes. An audiophile approved recording can be found on a Chesky reissue of 3 larger works.
Lastly, Shostakovich. His 'Piano works' by Askenazy on Decca and/or Titiana Nikolayeva playing Three Fantaastic Dances, 24 preludes, and Piano Sonata #2, on Hyperion
@newbee - my thanks. I'm not sure the entire body of Scriabin's work can be described as spare. There's a sound that I'll try and find a better example of, with fewer notes, more held notes. Appreciate the recommendations-- I abandoned classical for a long while, and this thread is helping me get back into things I haven't thought of, or listened to, in a while.
Whilst scurrying around for my Christmas CD’s today I found one I totally forgot I even had .
"Christmas with Thomas Hampson " + Saint Paul Chamber Orch. under Hugh Wolff . Teldec 2 73135-2
This is a 1991 recording ,still available, that caught the young American baritone voice at it’s peak aka Mt. Everest . The SPCO plays about as well as music can be played to further his cause . Rare for "Christmas" CD’s it is pure class from the first note to the last !
A double treat if you have any German, he sings some in the tongue they were written in in perfect German . In Germany today he is considered one of the best in the Germanic rep. esp. Mahler’s songs .
newbee, you must have good taste , the Janacek by Firkusny is truly iconic. I wore one out, on my second ..Not totally wrong about O-10 either . Al., could not agree more about the Toscannini Brahms .
Not for nothing, but in a recorded live performance of a symphony or concerto, who is the guy who screams approval a split second after the last note is played?
Does that annoy you as much as it does me? Or am I just a curmudgeon?
It bothers me if one jerk does it but not if the entire audience does it . My best moments are when 5 seconds of silence follows the last note . Some pieces favor this with a great performance and other pieces the audience on the audience on their feet with same . It is what it is .
I agree. If there is a spontaneous reaction from the whole audience, that’s fine. But, too often, there’s one exhibitionist who just wants to to be heard.
It’s so bad with the opera cliquey on "Live from the Met’ I just stopped listening to it . Opera needs to be seen anyway, it’s half theater after all. . IMO listening to opera at home is DVD time .
The classical repertiore is so extensive, I think the most useful response is suggesting some mainstream and some non-mainstream works that might open doors for those unfamiliar or minimally familiar with classical . These works are not necessarily my favorites but they might work to get the novice started.
Traditional gateway works
Symphonic:
Beethoven symphonies 3,5, and 9.
Violin Concerto
Mahler symphonies 1, 4, and 9.
Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra
Stravinsky, Firebird and Petrushka
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Brahms: Violin Concerto
Bruch Violin Concerto
Sibelius Violin Concerto
Chamber Music:
All Schubert Trios
Schubert string quintet in C, op163
Beethoven Moonlight, Pathetique, and
Apsionata piano sonatas
Beethoven Archduke Trio
Non traditional gateways that might
work, especially if you like driving rhythms or can tolerate some
dissonance.
Shostakovich, Cello Sonata #2
Beethoven Late String Quartets
Bartok String Quartets, especially 4,
5, and 6.
Stravinsky, Right of Spring, Duo
Concertante, and Violin Concerto
Also I recommend a book that is
probably over 40 years old, but a wonderful introduction to the basic
classical repertoire with recording recommendations:101
Masterpieces of Music and Their Composers by Martin
Bookspan
My wife and my mom don't listen to classical but love Brahms sym no. 4. Carlos Kleiber's recording generates the most adrenaline. Haitink/Concertgebouw from the 70's is super duper in my book. Honorable mention goes to Bohm/Vienna.
Amen to the vinyl Barbirolli’s Sibelius 2 . I have the album cover in a frame on my wall .
For refined folks in other aspects of life the piece I sometimes recommend as a start is Mozart’s Symphony # 39 , very lyrical and gentle with fantastic clarinet work, as sunny as a day in May . Best one I have is Sir Charles Mackerras with the Prague Chamber Orch. Telac CD80148 ,also has Symp.#36 I buy anything Sir Mac does period .
Mozart any lover of classical should have. Sym.#38 " Prague ". one of his very best + 40 and 41. Eine Klleine Nachtmusic K. 525 Piano Concertos 9,20,21and 24. Violin Con 3+5 Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola K.364 Clarinet Quintet K.581 Clarinet Concerto K.622 Requiem in D Minor, one I like a lot is Stattskapella Dresden under Peter Schreier , both for performance and sound
@schubert You are so right to remind us that music did not begin with Bach. Great recommendations. As for the Elizabethan school, may I suggest the Clerkes of Oxenford for Tallis, and Byrd on glorious vinyl by L'Oiseau-Lyre.
Going back even further, there is a fabulous French Decca set of gatefold Gregorian Chant, in about 50 volumes, of which I have only half, as well as my personal favourite, Salve Feste Dies on Phillips.
ANY of Mozart’s Piano Concertos (with the possible exception of the first three numbered concertos which he didn’t actually compose but arranged.) Brendel or Perahia are as good as any pianists in these.
Rachmaninoff: “The Bells” (his favorite composition and mine) for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Not well known, but a masterpiece by this supreme genius whose time has finally come after many years of snobbish derision. Rattle is excellent in this.
Brahms: Serenades, in D and A Major. Great symphonic compositions from the youthful Brahms. Kertesz on London/Decca is an oldie but goodie.
Glazunov: Violin Concerto. An unjustly neglected work. Beautiful from beginning to end. Oistrakh or Heifetz are supreme
All my life I've tried to have the aha classical moment. Has never happened, with one exception: Gorecki #3. I own four versions. I find it profound. I own ten records by others, I try each annually to see if I'll warm up to them. One other contender maybe: Saint-Saens #3.
Anyhoo - I'll keep eye on this thread for ideas.
To scott_w. You said you liked Gorecki #3. It is a musically unique and very profound work whose subject is death and torture. In terms of subject matter you might try a group of songs by Mahler: Kindertotenlieder, songs on the death of children. It is very haunting and profoundly sad. I like the version by Janet Baker, Leonard Bernstein, and the Israel Philharmonic.
It was interesting to me that your other favorite was Saint Saens #3. Your might call this absolute music without a theme. It is a sonic spectacular show piece, but not profound in the way the Goredki is.
rvpiano, Re the Bells, don’t forget All-Night Vigil. My favorite Rachmaninoff choral. I like Paul Hiller and the Estonian Phil Chamber Choir.
Folks have been mentioning the standard VC’s by the Greats. Some what off the beaten path, yet both enjoyable and memorable, and pretty well done as a group, by Julia Fisher on Pentatone, are the VC’s of Khachaturian, Prokofiev, and Glazunov. I especially like her Khachaturian.
For something in the VC group rarely ever mentioned in these forums, regrettably I think, but then who wants to hear a ’Hollywood’ composer - Miklos Rozsa’s VC on Koch . If anyone likes Rozsa, Chandos has three CD’s which in addition to a lot of Hungarian music is a Cello Concerto I like a great deal.
Now if you like the possibility of some good stuff coming out of Hollywood I can’t resist recommending some of the music of Nino Rota. As an introduction I would recommend Riccardo Muti’s CD on Sony "LaStrada". It contains "Il Gattopardo" which has the potential to become an earworm, an incredible peice.
Next, a recommendation for Malcolm Arnold Dances and Overtures on both Reference and Chandos. The Reference is great ’audio’ as well.
Lastly, speaking of Ballet - how about the Carmen Ballet for strings and perecussions. No Brass! No kidding, great stuff. Put together by a Russian by the name of Shchedrin. I like the LP by Gerard Schwartz, but the same on his CD is pretty good too. Both are quite spacious.
Excellent thread idea, RVPiano. Thought about this a while as I have been collecting since the 70s and have too many favorites to list. So here are three "fives" that are extraordinary for both their performances and recording quality (for their day, of course): 1. Karajan’s 1963 recording of the Beethoven 5th for DG and recently issued in HD digital formats. The third and fourth movements (played without pause) are a test for the bass and dynamics of any audiophile system. The orchestral playing defines the nature of "kick-@@@" performance. 2. Chailly’s 2013 recording of Mahler’s 5th with the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Sometimes cited by engineers as the best orchestral recording ever made (from a technical standpoint) its extreme transparency mirrors Chailly’s performance style of adherence to the composer’s score. And speaking of scores, the Blue-ray visual is so accurate you can read the scores of the performers in front of them... 3. Davis’s 2014 of Nielsen’s 5th with the London Symphony Orchestra. This hybrid issue has multiple recording formats presented and I find the 96/24 FLAC the best for my stereo system and the DTS-HD MA 192/24 best for a 5.1 system. If you enjoy locating instruments as they sit in an orchestral soundstage, this should be one of your friends. Might also be interesting to consider the reverse: the best recording ruined by terrible fidelity... ...and I suggest one candidate would be the Furtwangler Brahms Symphonic recordings ranging from 1947-51 and released by Major Classics. The first disc (and symphony) is fine and shows how well radio broadcasts can be presented in modern digital form. It also shows the personable and innovative style of Furtwangler, which is very enjoyable and hints at why he was such an influence on Karajan and others. Then the rest of the discs (and symphonies) are laughably bad as regards fidelity. But the performances are just as good. So there is this huge tension between trying to like the performance while being disgusted with the sound. Worth trying once for the laughs...
The Eiji Oue/ Minnesota "Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances " recording on Reference is , as Frogman has said , a magnificent recording . The woodwinds on the first 5 minutes make me play just that over and over. My other favorite , Simon Rattle with the Berlin Phil. has more drive but the Minnesota winds play better, IMO than the Berlin ones which surprised the hell out of me , and the Minnesota is more lyrical and refined . Berlin percussion is better but its always better than anyone. That said, there is a triangle bit that the MN player played better than any triangle piece I ever heard .
Re: Rachmaninoff “The Bells”. I based my recommendation of Simon Rattle in this piece because of a live telecast of him on the Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall site— a truly exciting rendering. Sadly, his Warner Classics CD, IMO, is leaden with the sound to match. I did a comparison of 12 recordings of “The Bells” and came to the following conclusions: Ashkenazy on Decca/London was my favorite along with Kondrashin on RCA. The former had among the best sound, the latter, unfortunately, the worst. Surprisingly, the non-Russian Jose Serebrier on Warner was among the best performances, with some of the best sound. Semyon Bychkov on Hanssler was similarly good.
Probably more than you wanted to know about this piece.😊
Hello everyone. I thought perhaps some "Contemporary Music" would be of interest as well. I have about 3000 Lp’s. Some rock, jazz, folk rock but the bulk of my collection is Classical with about 800 being 20th Century only. I enjoy almost all forms oof music but get a particular thrill discovering music that I have never hear of, much less heard.
Starker doing the Kodaly unacompanied Cello Sonata on Period Pecords is a killer of gigantic proportions. I wish you could all hear it in the original in mono. Here is Starker playing it at a much later date:
For me, a part time classical lover, I'll never forget one of the first pieces that I was introduced to as a young boy. I must have been 7 or 8 years old, and a family friend use to play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major for me on his turntable. I would get super enthusiastic and move my hands like a conductor of an orchestra, the music playing nice and loud :-)
To this day, it is a favorite of mine. I have tried a few versions, but the one I like most this far, with a wonderful performance as well as great sonics is this one:
veriwide100, great post and right you are ! The Lutoslawski -Concerto for Cello is a fave of mine too . A truly great recording is Rostopovich on one of the EMI " Great Recordings of the Century " .
rvpiano, I only have two performances of 'The Bells' - I'm intrigued by your recommendation of Askenazy on Decca. I have his other Decca recordings and have always enjoyed them, often preferring them. I'll see if I can find his version of 'The Bells'.
Since you seem to like this type of music I have a recommendation for you - Alexander Grechaninov, a Russian who's best music (IMHO) is his choral output. Assuming you are not familiar, but interested, I suggest you listen to his 'premier recordings' of Symphony #1, Snowflakes, and Missa Sancti Spiritus by Valery Polyansky with the Russian State Symphonic Cappella and the Russian State SO on Chandos. I'd buy this disc for "Snowflakes' alone. You've got to hear it!
Now if your interested in more Gretchaninov try his Passion Week by the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Kansas City Chorale on Chandos.
I've been plugging through the Hyperion 19C piano concerto series, with many worthy but ultimately forgettable pieces. Last night listened to some Scharwenka concertos, that were surprisingly good. On Collins, though I see he's on Hyperion as well. If you're tired of Grieg, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, etc., give it a try.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll definitely order it. Polyansky’s recording of “The Bells” is among the best. One of the great musical experiences of my life was at a live concert with him conducting Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. Truly extraordinary.
I'm very fond of Philips orchestral recordings from the 1970's, especially those recorded in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. They are a near-perfect blend of both the recording and musical arts.
Some favorites include those with Colin Davis including the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique and Beethoven Violin Concerto with Grumiaux, Mozart Symphonies with Joseph Krips, Haitink's Tchaikovsky symphony cycle and French music, including a disc of Bizet and classic recordings of Debussy and Ravel, among many others.
Outside of the Concertgebouw, explore Philips' recordings of early Verdi operas with stellar casts (the young Jose Carreras for example) mostly led by Lamberto Gardelli, all in excellent sound. Also check out Haitink's Bruckner with the Vienna Philharmonic (some in early digital that also sound very good). Another fave is Puccini's Tosca led by Davis and his hardly noticed version of Haydn's The Seasons with the BBC Symphony.
If you're interested in a deep dive, there is a 50 CD set devoted to Philips' stereo analog years available for a bit over $2 a disc, as well as a Haitink "Symphony Edition".
This is a good opportunity to say it again--there's no better bargain than the 60 disc box set of the Beaux Artes Trio commemorating their 60th anniversary. You can find it for around 100 dollars on ebay. It will give you a life time of great listening.
A great thread, indeed - it's encouraging to know there are (still?) many classical music enthusiasts here! I would like to throw a few names into the mix. I will add more to this thread as my time allows (quite possibly with some Hindemith, a favorite of mine). A recent favorite of my listening has been English string and symphonic music by 19th and 20th century composers: Bax, Moeran, Elgar, RVW, Allwyn, to name a few. Here's a tip (I almost hate giving out secrets, but it may not be THAT much of a secret).... any Lyrita recording is superb, and if on LP, a fantastic UK pressing with Decca lineage. Another suggestion from the english music world is the Reference Recordings release of the Kansas City Symphony, with Michael Stern at the helm, playing Elgar's Enigma Variations (and The Wasps is also included). A very fine performance, heartfelt and moving Nimrod (it IS the litmus that these recordings are judged on, is it not? :) ). I have the 'audiophile 2x45rpm' album; the pressing is superb, as is the sound. (I would assume the SACD would be equally good; I have not heard it, however)
newbee, Thanks for the heads-up for the Malcolm Arnold "Dances and Overtures" on Reference . I has that once upon a time but he had slipped off my radar . Yesterday I ran across his Symphonies 5 and 6 on Naxos by the National Symphony of Ireland in a local store . Some of the best "modern" music one could hope to hear very well played + great sound . Real power with something to say .
Well I’ll have to buy a new one myself . Saturday a couple dropped in to wish me Merry Christmas , the wife is German, from Hamburg .and a teacher of German . I played the Hampson for them and in one of the German sung pieces she started to cry . Natch, I had to give it to her and was happy to do so.
Schubert, If you want to explore more Malcolm Arnold you are in luck, in spades. You can get complete sets of Arnold’s music, including all his symphonies initially appearing on Conifer Records in a huge set by Sony and a set of just his symphonies by Chandos, on Amazon for less than $30. I have some of each - the original Conifer seems a tad brighter and more forward, the Chandos a bit more ’relaxed’. Either set though is an huge bargain in any event, and the Conifer by Handley might be a bit more in line with the Composer’s intent if that is important to you.
Here is a disc to fool your ’knowledgeable’ friends. A Stravinsky symphony (#1) which sounds more like Glazunov or Rimsky-K etc than the Stravinsky we all know. I have a Decca recording of the Detroit SO conducted by Dorati. This was Stravinsky’s 1st published music and well worth knowing and having in your collection. It can be found in many set’s of his other works.
A couple of English pieces that sound "Irish", pieces by off the beaten path composers that I enjoy. Arthur Sullivan - "The Irish Symphony" by Hickox on Chandos and Granville Bantock - Celtic and Hebridean Symphonies by Handley and the Royal Phil on Hyperion.
Now for some Finnish music not composed by Sibelius, but quite enjoyable non the less. Uuno Klami’s Karelian Rhapsody et al by Petri Sarkari and the Iceland SO on Chandos. If you enjoy this I can recommend his 2 symphonies(#1 &2) on Ondine by Tuomas Ollila and the Tampere PO. I think I prefer #1 more. If you like these his other works are self recommending I think.
On the lighter side, is an LP titled “Gershwin on Broadway,” with a very young Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic in Gershwin overtures. The panache of the playing is infectious and the sound is world class: One of the best renderings of an orchestra on any medium. It appears from time to time on Amazon used, also on eBay. Well worth searching for. Interestingly, there’s a half-speed mastering of it that does not sound as good as the original.
Upon reflection, my comment about the sound of the Gershwin record has to be qualified to reflect my system and, to a certain extent, my taste. Of course, I can’t guarantee it will sound superlative on all systems.
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