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Recommendations for a few high SQ classical CDs

I have a modest collection of classical music CDs, most of it symphonic works, maybe 20-30 CDs at most. Most of my musical interest is with rock, roots rock and blues but I do enjoy classical music but have limited knowledge and experience.

I am also a new audiophile with my first hifi system for about a month now.

I would like some specific recommendations on just a few symphonies (for now). What I am looking for at this point is good CD recordings rather than the nature of the performance/conductor/orchestra. In other words, I'm looking for SQ first and performance quality second. I know that might sound backwards but I don't have enough knowledge to have a major preference between performances but I can hear SQ. Certainly a great recording of a great performance is ideal.

To keep things limited I am specifically interested in these works:

Beethoven's 9th
Mahler's 4th
Dvorak's 4th
Brahm's 4th

Certainly open to other symphonies by these composers. I have the works listed above and other symphonies by them as well.

Thanks for any recommendations,

George


n80

Showing 3 responses by bdp24

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,110 posts
 
@n80, oh yeah, Edmunds has a lot of solo albums, and one as a member of the great Rockpile (with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams). Dave just announced his retirement---he's in his mid-70's. He continued to perform "Sabre Dance" after going solo, usually as a set-closer. His playing on the piece is a real tour de force.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,110 posts
 
George, I have an interesting recommendation for you. Welsh Rock ’n’ Roll guitarist/singer/producer Dave Edmunds (well known as producer of The Stray Cats, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Everly Brothers and others, and member along with Nick Lowe of the great band Rockpile) was in a band before in 1970 starting his solo career, named Love Sculpture. Inspired by Keith Emerson’s reworkings of Classical compositions for ELP (Mussorgsky’s "Pictures At An Exhibition", of course), Dave and the two other Love Sculpture members recorded a Rock band version of Khachaturian’s "Sabre Dance". I am in general no fan of Rock versions of Classical music, "Sabre Dance" being the lone exception. Love Sculpture released two albums on British EMI.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,110 posts
 

George, I am going to make some assumptions about your approach to "Classical" music (parens employed because Classical, though used casually in reference to "serious" music, is actually a style of composition and performance of a specific type and time period in musical history). Coming from a background of "Pop" (non-Classical) music as you are (as am I), I would suggest you first explore Baroque music---J.S. Bach, Handel, Rameau, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Couperin, Purcell, Pachelbel, etc.

I do so for two reasons. First, it is the first music written in what we now consider "Western" tonality. The major/minor scales, which, in a seriously over-simplified manner, are attributed to Bach, credited as being the father of Western Music. And second, because Baroque music is performed in the brisk tempo of Pop songs, as apposed to the more languid Romantic music (the most well-known "Classical" period). And not just in tempo, but in the song-like structure and length of it’s compositions, I find Baroque to be the most easily accessible style of Classical music to Rockers, the perfect introduction to serious music.

For recordings of Baroque music, the Harmonia Mundi label (both French and U.S.A. branches) is as good as it gets, both in performance (mostly in "period informed" style) and sound quality. Hope you find this of help in your exploration of God’s greatest gift to mankind---music!

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