Classical music thread welcoming your suggestions and why...

Ah, a Classical Music thread that actually announces exactly what it is...😀

In any event, a good intro might be to say what I like like about the stuff...er...genre.

First off, the utterly excellent tunes. Or the exciting, mind-bending lack of same...

How it can express drama, danger, comedy, or romance to beat the band.

The utter beauty of the sound that's produced.

The complexity and sophistication that hides within the music's accessibility. Putting it another way, the sheer joy of being caught up in the profundity that lurks within the prettiness.

Pardon the thread drift, but say what you will about pianist Maurizio Pollini possessing more finger speed than soul, more often than not he’s my go-to guy when I want to hear some Chopin. Out and out exhilarating. I might have mentioned it in another thread, way back when, but I saw him perform live, once upon a time in L.A. Hair flying, reach-out-and-mow-down-the-stars virtuosity.

I've no doubt mentioned this sometime in the distant past on this site, but just in case I gotta say that Andre Watts is my favorite Liszt interpreter. His Columbia Masterworks LP hasn't got the greatest sound but his un-mannered, just-tell-us-the-story virtuosity never fails to catch me up in the narrative. When I daydream about playing Liszt (a composer whose works are perhaps just north of this would-be pianist's)  it's his versions that emerge from my fingers. Saw him once in concert, too.

Give the Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields chamber orchestra a try if you are looking for performances of Classical Era and Late Baroque Era repertoire, especially Mozart and Haydn. The fidelity of their recordings ranges from very good to downright excellent. Orchestral string tone is a particular highlight. The band's performances, most notably the ones conducted by Neville Marriner, are unfussy and insightful.  Their LP pressings are never less than excellent. I got a bunch of 'em.  And oh, yeah, I've seen them live a couple of times.

For the past couple hours I've had Idagio randomly streaming Romantic Era violin concertos my way that, not only have I never heard, I've never heard of the composers, either. In any case, no matter who Gernsheim and Frohlich were, they came up some engagingly pretty, tuneful stuff.  Well-played by soloists and orchestras I've never heard of, either. Fine fidelity. Just call me a contented couch potato.

I've got my share of Musica Antiqua Koln LPs & box sets. Whether the stuff they perform is obscure or Greatest Hits, they do it with soul and panache. A particular favorite of mine is the three LP set Deutsche Kammermusik vor Bach, stuff J.S. listened to when he was a sprite. I've come close to wearing out Side One, the side that features the works of Johann Adam Reincken, an under-rated, under-heard composer if there ever was one. A kaleidoscope of moods. Great tunes.

Me and the wife saw the ensemble live when they did a concert in Pasadena. After the performance, they joined the concertgoers in the lobby to share drinks & snacks. My wife considered it an imposition to ask the band to mingle with us but I was in seventh heaven. I mumbled a few words in German to 'em and shook a couple hands.

This thread takes me back to my Tower Records days at the Panorama City branch, where the classical music department was up the squeaky stairs to the second floor. There was the customer who pronounced Deutsche Grammophon as "duchesses grab-a-phone," and Daniel Barenboim as Daniel Bound-boom. He was a good guy, though, who always bought one or two albums.

@bdp24 The stairs to the Classical section were next to the Ticketron Kiosk, to the right when you entered the store. And let me tell ya’, everybody hated being ordered to work the Ticketron window. More often than not, the Ticketron Machine would just decide to take it’s own special "I don’ wanna work" break. And when the machine did work, you could guarantee a queue of personally offended customers snarling, "What? No more Stones/Dodgers tickets?????" 🙄

I'm pretty sure I saw Nyiregyhazi in performance during the guy's momentary, end-of-life resurrection of his career. It was in L.A., I can't remember exactly where the concert was (The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion?) but I had a truly excellent seat. The audience wasn't large but it was absolutely worshipful.  Nyiregyhazi played with a playful, indulgent "why the heck not?" affability. Unfortunately, he only had a glimmer of his once magical chops. In any case, it was a heck of an experience.