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Top 5 Classical recordings

HI all,

I was wondering how many of the AuidogoN fellows engaged in Classical Music would like to have a Thread to share top picks and recommendations, that hopefully will be useful for those looking to start or otherwise expand a collection.

In order to be of help not only to people already into it, but also newcomers, I would ask a double question:

A.- If you were to recommend a top 5 list of masterpieces of all time, to a person looking to get into classical music with no knowledge at all, which would be you recommendations?

B.- Your favorite 5 composers and his 5 top masterpieces.

I know just 5 may be very hard, for question one specially, but to keep it simple and of help to others I thought it may be a good number. And will be easier to to average in the different responses.

Also please provide a recommended recording of each piece if possible.

Lastly I would ask to indicate the number of disks each one owns of the category. It can be interesting to see if the responses changes with the experience of the individual. I don't mean an specific number... don't wanr anyone counting for 3 days 3,543 discs... but maybe a range like:

C.-

1.- < 10
2.- > 10 - < 100
3.- > 100 - < 1000
4.- > 1000

What do you think?

I will start myself:

A.-

1.- Mozart, Piano concerto No. 20 & 21:

Recommended recording: Mozart Piano Concertos 20-25, Decca, Vladimir Ashkenazy, ASIN: B0000041LF

2.- Beethoven, 5th symphony

Recommended recording: DG, Carlos Kleiber ASIN: B000001GPX

3.- Vivaldi, 4 seasons

Recommended recording: DG, Anne-Sophie Mutter ASIN: B00002DE2L

4.- Schubert, Trout Quintet

Recommended recording: DG, Amadeus Quarter, Emil Giles ASIN: B000001GXF

5.- Brahms, Piano trio no. 1

Recommended recording: Phillips, Beaux arts trio (complete trios), ASIN: B00000416K

B.- (in no particular order)

1.- Schubert

a) String quintet D956.

Recording, DG Late sting quartets, string quintet, Emerson Sting quartet. (Trio series). ASIN: B0001ZWGI8

b) String quartet death and the maiden D810

Recording, DG Late sting quartets, string quintet, Emerson Sting quartet. (Trio series). ASIN: B0001ZWGI8

c) Symphony no. 9 the great

Sony Classical. Bernsein century. Symphony no 8 and no. 9. New York Philharmonic and Bernstein. ASIN: B00003WGO4

d) Piano quintet The trout D667

DG, Amadeus Quarter, Emil Giles ASIN: B000001GXF

e) Piano trio in E flat D929

Decca. Schubert complete trios. Beaux arts trio, Grumiaux trio. (Duo series). ASIN: B00000417B

2.- Tchaikovski

a) Violin concerto no 1

Living stereo. Brahms/Tchaikovsky Violin concertos. Heifetz/Reiner. ASIN: B0009U55RE

b) String quartet no 1

DG Masters. Dvorak American quarter / Tchaikovsky quartet no 1 / Borodin Quarter no 2. Emerson String quartet. ASIN: B000001GO3

c) Piano concerto no 1

Living Stereo. Tchaikovsky piano concerto no 1 / Rachmaninov piano concerto no 2. Van Cliburn. ASIN: B0002TKFRC

d) Trio for piano op 50

DG. Shostakovich - Tchaikovsky trios. Argerich, Kremer, Maisky. ASIN: B00000JSAC

e) Symphony no 6 Pathetique

DG, Tchaikovsky symphonies No 4, 5 & 6, Karajan. ASIN: B000001GYJ

3.- Dvorak

a) Cello Concerto. DG. Dvorák: Cello Concerto, Op. 104 / Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations, Op. 33. Rostropovich. ASIN: B000001GQ8

b) Quarteto Americano. DG. Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Borodin: Quartets. Emerson String quarter. ASIN: B000001GO3

c) New world symphony. Dvorák: Symphonies 8 & 9 / Kubelik, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. DG. ASIN: B000001GQ7

d) Piano Quintet. Dvorak: Piano Quintet, Op. 81/ String Quartet No. 10, Op. 51. Decca. Tacaks quartet & Andreas Haefliger. ASIN: B00001IVQR

e) Slavonic Dances. Sony. Cleveland Orchestra and George Szel. ASIN: B00005YD5H

4.- Rachmaninov

a).- Piano concert no 3. Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 2 & 3 / Ashkenazy, Kondrashin. Decca. ASIN: B00001IVQT

b) Piano concert no 2. Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 2 & 3 / Ashkenazy, Kondrashin. Decca. ASIN: B00001IVQT

c) Symphony no 2. Rachmaninov: The Symphonies. Ashkenazy. Decca. ASIN: B0000042HY

d) Piano sonata no 2. Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff/Concerto for Piano in Dm; Sonata for Piano No2/Vladimir Horowitz. RCA. ASIN: B000003ER1

e) Piano concerto no 1. Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 4, Decca, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andre Previn, ASIN: B00000427L

5.- Mozart

a) Piano concerto no 21. Mozart Piano Concertos 20-25, Decca, Vladimir Ashkenazy, ASIN: B0000041LF

b) String quartet no 14. (Hayden quartets). Warner Music. Alban Berg Quartet Mozart: String Quartets Nos. 14 - 23. ASIN: B000024MCP

c) Clarinet quintet. DG. Emerson String Quartet. Mozart / Brahms: Clarinet Quintets. ASIN: B00000IX73

d) Requiem. Mozart: Requiem / Tomowa-Sintow, Müller Molinari, Cole, Burchuladze; von Karajan. ASIN: B000001GK8

e) SYmphony no 41 Jupiter. Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 35, 36, 38- 41. DG. Karl Bohm. ASIN: B000001GQB

C) >100 - < 1000

Ok who is next... thanks
Eli
eelii08
jult52
155 posts
 
Eelii- About the Petersen Death and the Maiden, yes, I am one of the reviewers. Since you are a dedicated classical fan, I urge you to seek that underappreciated Berlin ensemble out. I have several hundred chamber music recordings and am a big fan of some of the well-known quartets (like the Emersons, most of the time!), and the Petersen Quartet is the most impressive ensemble I have ever heard in my life. Their recordings of the Beethoven 13th, Ravel and "Death and the Maiden" are each the best interpretation I have ever heard. They also record for a full-on audiophile label. Anyway, that's my rave.
newbee
4,767 posts
 
Mapman, FWIW you are right, Heifitz will not leaved one unmoved. Unfortunately a lot of folks find his playing too cool and austere on occasions, where someone with a nice warm tone like Perlman might really tug on their heart strings. I like Perlman a lot! Generalities though are not too useful when it comes to specific selections. :-)
eelii08 OP
169 posts
 
Thanks newbee, reprince, mapman,

I very much like both Heifetz and Mutter ( most of the time). I have some living stereo SACDs and sound great in general, one including Brahms and Tchaikovsky VC played by him and are fantastic. I will order the living stereo first I think.

Re Khachaturian, i also like Fisher a lot and have maybe 5 or 6 mainly VC including a great series of 2 discs with schuberts complete works for violin and piano not so well known but fantastic. So I will also place an order for his VC and see.

What are they, romantic era?

Jult, I have already more death and the maiden I can remember right now.... But I am always ready to search for another one if it is that good. So will also place and order for this and will let you know. What is the other piece on disk? Or is it played alone? I think is Takacs quartet that has only this in their CD. As much as I like them per instance in their middle beethoven quartets double cd, their schubert quartet I did not thought iit was that special, regardless of the very high critics they got.
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
I've been reading through this thread and it is fascinating. I'm not sure how to ultimately start with the five choices, so I'll just comment on a few items that caught my eye for now.

On the Mahler posts, I agree that Mahler is not the easiest composer to digest for a beginner, it has taken me years to acquire a taste for him. I very much like the overall SFO SACD cycle with Tilson-Thomas, good interpretations and top-notch sound, though there are indeed a lot of great performances out there that can top some of these interpretively. Newbee's suggestion of Zander on the Telarc label is very good, particularly in that, at least for a number of the recordings, Zander included a separate disc discussing the piece and his interpretation of it in the package. That's a great way to start to understand these very complex works. I find that I like his recording of the Mahler 9th (not the one to start with in the Mahler symphonies--I'd start 1, 2, 5, 4, and 6, before 9) the best of all the versions I've heard on record, it just connected with something in me and left me holding my breath at the end. And his Mahler 6 recording on Telarc has the unique feature of having both versions of the final movement in it, so you can hear the original version with its slightly different instrumentation as well as the third hammer of fate hitting the hero at the end, which was dropped from the version that is usually played and found on record.

I also noticed some mention of Chopin's piano music. There was a series of Chopin solo piano work recordings on the Connoisseur Society label by Ivan Moravec (which were released on CD by VAI) that are excellent recordings and some of my favorite interpretations. Plenty of other great recordings of Chopin's works and interpreters, but I think these recordings are worth getting if you can find them.
gsm18439
895 posts
 
I have been thinking about this thread and have come to the conclusion that it is an almost impossible task. I have more than 1000 classical CDs ranging from Renaissance polyphony to the present. I would, however, make two small contributions. For a Mahler newbie, his first symphony may be the most approachable and a good bridge to his later symphonies; there are many excellent recordings. The BIS recording (Nils-Erik Sparf and Drottingham Baroque Ensemble) is rarely mentioned, but is a worthy contender that brings a fresh approach to the Vivaldi Four Seasons.
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