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.
rv , no matter where you go with Bach you end up on top. My respect for you is great , we all have our reasons for what we are and are not . You can call me whatever you want to .
If Churches have anything to to do with you not being religious I can understand that . But I try to remember they are Hospitals for the sick not Temples for Saints .
Jim, you have written many good things on here but have topped yourself this day .
I feel and do exactly what you do and say. I start nearly every morning with a Bach Cantata , yes for the beauty and for my love of the German language , but also what for St . Augustine said to Luther who said it to Bach .
"A Hymn well sung is a Prayer said twice ".
If I do get to Heaven , I am going to ask Jesus for a seat near you !If we pass on the same day, I ’l say " I’m with him". Albain gu brath
I really do not know how I would have survived my childhood without Bach in my life. As I am now reaching my seventh decade I have to say that Bach is my anchor and I couldn't go through a day without listening to something of his and to bolster my spirit for the day ahead and if this is the day for me to depart I can go with my heart and soul ready because of listening to one of his soul cleansers. Jim.
Just received set of 75 Bach cantatas conducted by Karl Richter on two Blu-ray discs in 24/192 resolution. Wonderful performances in crystal clear sound. Extraordinary buy at $79.
Not yet Jim , but I intend to Amazon it soon . I love Debussy and Rameau even more . I’ve don’t believe I ever heard a French composer that I did not like , been neglecting them of late , were there only 300 years of life for Classical Afiicionados !
thanks Jim, thanks Schubert Somehow i had never heard of Demidenko, and have not yet found his Bach Capricio, but your recommendation led me to several other of his recordings. I especially like his Live at Wigmore Hall which includes some works unknown to me, e.g. Vorisek, Kalbrenner, Gubaidulina.
@schubert Len, have you heard Olaffson's new recording of Debussy and Rameau ? It's a cracker, he has one of the most perfect techniques I have heard and he honed it immersed in Bach and I would love to hear him play the Goldberg's I bet he could give a visionary performance.
Thanks Jim Have Lewis's Haydn, very fine, also Schubert sonatas, Mussorsky Pictures, Beethoven Sonatas, Diabelli Variations, Weber & Schubert sonatas. Will have a search for those Bagatels.
@jcazador Funnily enough Jeremy I was expecting a lot more from Dershavina's Haydn but they weren't for me, I must admit I enjoy Hamelin more. Have a listen to Paul Lewis he is quite a star in them, oh and he has just released a recording of the Beethoven Bagatels which are really
Ekaterina Dershavina
has also recorded 9 cds of Haydn, very nice.+ Alexy Stanchinsky, which i have not been able to find.+ Nikolay Medtner, 2 cds, unable to find.
@mahgister If you need a little break from Schiff and still need some Bach try The Goldberg Variations played by, Ekaterina Dershavina quite different from Schiff but also superb. It may be just what you are needing ,I love her playing.
I am in my third hours of listening Bach Schiff playing and unable to go with any other files.... :)
Help me!
Each time i put this Schiff playing , i am trapped for 4 hours....
Proof that my embeddings audio system methods are at least minimally good because piano is very hard to make subtle with all his hues and shades of colors....
Or perhaps it is also the perfect recording of this cd.....If i want to keep some modesty..... :)
Here's another strong recommendation for a Beethoven 3, this time a semi-historical one to go with the modern one done by Dudamel + Venezuela.
Barbirolli, BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1967, paired with An Ellizabethan Suite arr. Barbirolli, issued by the Barbirolli Society and remastered by Dutton Laboratories using their CEDAR method. Splendid all round with a truly majestic slow movement.
@mahgister I entirely agree regarding Perahia , I find his brand of pianism far superior than Pollini's. Also I was on Idagio earlier and I saw Pollini's earlier Beethoven Piano sonatas and found them glacial but of course that is only my opinion as I am sure many people will be seduced by a wonderful technique , not me though. I also had a listen to Prahias new recording of the Hammerklavier Sonata and I was mighty impressed
Off hand Jim , I’d say the English-Speaking land with the least blood on her hands is Canada .Gave the natives some bad times but no mass genocide and has tried hard to make amends . Nobody else has . I respect Canada .
I would call England worse, or was the worse . I believe Scotland was just cannon fodder, but was proud of it because it had little else . What else is Scotland The Brave ? But as they say, We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns
Goodness me Len , Paul Robeson now there's a name from the past. As a kid in the fifties we had an old box of 78s in a cupboard and there were 2 or 3 Robesons there. I loved Ol Man River of course but the one that I was always playing was Trees which I really loved at the time . Of course father didn't like me playing the 78s too much as it played havoc with the stylus that was more suited to 45s and 33 1/3 but I didn't care it was better than his pipe band records so there was an uneasy truce that if I played my stuff when he was out it was OK. You know That film of him in Wales , I remember seeing it in a local cinema in it must have been about 1960 and I enjoyed it so much I hid in the toilets so as to see it again. I have to say though that McCarthyism really crippled Robeson and they hit him where it hurt by making it impossible for him to get roles in films and in theatres. We all as counties have heinous things that we would rather forget, the Brits have a terrible past with imperialism look at what we did to India, appalling.
Now you talk about me knowing things, you are quite an erudite gent yourself. You have a nice week my friend and keep your "lugs" tuned.
Jim, you never stop me from being amazed with your encyclopedic knowledge of all things classical pianistic
One man in a hundred thousand !I send you a clip of a man among the very best singers and human beings every born in the USA, who was also beloved in Scotia and Wales.
Wouldn’t surprise me if you have seen it or him , but just in case....... P.S . Joe hill was the greatest US Unionist of American miners , was charged with murder of someone in Utah , our most conservative state, and was hung in a matter of days . https://youtu.be/B0bezsMVU7c?t=4
Helsinki Phil is a wonderful Band . I heard then do a Sibelius 2/ Vanska few years ago , didn’t come down for a week . Perahia is excellent on Schubert as well .
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