Let's talk Classical

[boomac]

Im in the mood to add a few selections to my classical music collection and would like a few recommendations. How about listing your three current favorite compositions? I think Max talked about listening to Peer Gynt on a regular basis and with that in mind, I picked up a copy and damn if I dont also find it to be an enjoyable listen. Give me three and add the specific recording if handy.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[George Roland]

If you want to give your Cornwalls' bass drivers a workout, try the opening of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D min. on the Michael Murray Telarc CD-80088. It's awesome. For opera, I just got Gunod's Romeo and Juliette on EMI, Cond. Plasson, and it is really beautifully recorded. A great performance and wonderful sound. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D min.SONY SK62634, Cond. Abbado is a really electrifying performance, and, as my Christmas Bonus recommendation, you can't go wrong with Handel's Messiah on original instruments, Cond. by John Eliot Gardiner on Philips 411 041-2.

Happy listening!

George

[Parrot]

Scott,

If you want Gardiner's Messiah, I'll send my NM 3-LP set of it to you for free. I'll never listen to it--I find the piece excruciatingly boring. Maybe your tastes will be more like George's and you'll like it. Consider it an early Christmas present.

[ben.]

Carl Orff Carmina Burana I like the 1981 Telarc DDD CD. Robert Shaw/Atlanta. The soprano is especially good on this one and there's a lot of meat to the piece other than the more-known parts of it. I like the tempos for the most part and the sonics are excellent.

Mussorgksy (various spellings published) Pictures at an Exhibition. Ravel's orchestral arrangement of the solo piano piece is popular for good reason. I don't really have a recording that I'm in love with for this one. I have a few different ones and they all sound too French - the brass parts should in the TieuIluries portion, but the strings and reeds need to be more Slavic gypsy than anything I currently have on hand. I do have an original Russian piano recording, but I knew the piece first from the orchestration and that's just how I hear it now.

Bartok Violin Concerto No. 2 and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. On RCA with Erich Leinsdorf conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra. Joseph Silverstein plays fiddle on it. Mine is Mono Dynagroove and it is the best sounding violin concerto disc I've heard. I have a really low tolerance for certain harshnesses in violins especially when played solo, and this thing is smooth as silk. Musically, the harmonic language is modern without being barbaric unlike some material the two composers can be known for. Lyrical and dynamic at the same time... Really seek this one out if they're around.

[Parrot]

Chopin: 4 Ballades. Krystian Zimerman. This is for sure a desert island disc. His Barcarolle is perfect. A few used ones available at amazon and you can check eBay.

http://www.amazon.com/Chopin-Ballades-Barcarolle-Op-60-Fantasie/dp/B000001G8Q/sr=1-1/qid=1165040229/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6130635-6656739?ie=UTF8&s=music

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and other stuff. Leon Fleisher, piano; George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. If this work doesn't move you, you're dead. I have it on LP.

http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Rhapsody-Theme-Paganini-Miroirs/dp/B0000025Q6/sr=1-1/qid=1165042021/ref=sr_1_1/104-6130635-6656739?ie=UTF8&s=music

Dvorak: Slavonic Dances. Szell/Cleveland. The definitive recorded performances. Buy the SACD or find it on vinyl.

http://www.amazon.com/Dvorák-Slavonic-Dances-Antonin-Dvorak/dp/B00000K4IG/sr=1-9/qid=1165042502/ref=sr_1_9/104-6130635-6656739?ie=UTF8&s=music

Mahler: Symphony 10. This is a live recording of Mahler's last symphony, finished as best as could be done after he was dead (no mean trick). Besides being the best recorded performance of the 10th, it's also a fantastic test for your music system, with a good 50dB instantaneous rise in volume from when part of the orchestra is playing, as instructed, as quietly as humanly possible and still be heard, to the whole orchestra coming in full force. CD only, and it was available exclusively inside the monthly BBC Music magazine.

http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphony-No-10/dp/B000BJOOF2/sr=1-1/qid=1165042755/ref=sr_1_1/104-6130635-6656739?ie=UTF8&s=music

For a great Pictures at an Exhibition, as mentioned above, it's tough to beat

http://www.amazon.com/Moussorgsky-Pictures-Exhibition-Hybrid-SACD/dp/B000AC5AZI/sr=1-2/qid=1165043446/ref=sr_1_2/104-6130635-6656739?ie=UTF8&s=music

This has the advantage of the original solo piano piece being coupled with Ravel's orchestral arrangement, all on one disc. Byron Janis is wonderful.

[boomac]

Paul said: Dvorak: Slavonic Dances. Szell/Cleveland. The definitive recorded performances. Buy the SACD or find it on vinyl.

That was one of the first classical pieces I bought and it's really a favorite. I don't have the Szell/Cleveland but it's now on my list.

Information like this is really helpful guys and I appreciate it!

[edwinr]

Rachmaninoff's 2nd, Mahler's 5th and Vivaldi's Four Seasons are my three current favorites. Although that'll change tomorrow.

[maxg]

Oh boy - are you going to get flooded out now!!

Right - lets put together a list of a few really classic pieces and see how we go. I will give you the versions I have - but there are always alternatives:

Bach Violin Concerto - Nilla Pierrou Lansmusikensemblen Claes-Merithz Petterson Opus 3 8012 S Germany

Bach Brandenburg - Concerto English Chamber Bengamin Britten London K38C 70041 S Japan 1 Super Analogue

Beethoven Piano Concerto 5 - Rubinstein Josef Krips RCA Victor Red Seal LM-2124 M US

Beethoven Symphony 3 - NBC Symphony Arturo Toscanini RCA Victor Red Seal LM 1042 M US

Beethoven Violin Concerto in D - Heifetz Boston Symphony Charles Munch RCA Victor Red Seal LM 1992 M US

Brahms Violin Concerto - Jascha Heifetz Chicago Philharmonic Fritz Reiner RCA Victor Red Seal LSC 1903 S US

Dvorak Cello Concerto - Pierre Fournier Vienna Philharmonic Rafael Kubelik London KIJC(M) 9215 M Japan

Elgar Cello concerto / Sea Pictures - Jacqueline Du Pre / Janet Baker London Symphony Sir John Barbirolli EMI ASD 655 S UK

Frank Symphony in D minor - RCA Victor Symphony Sir Adrian Boult RCA Gold Seal GL25004 S UK

Gershwin Concerto in F / Cuban Overture / I got rhythm variations - Earl Wild Boston Pops Arthur Fiedler RCA Victor Red Seal LSC 2586 S US

Grieg Pier Gynt - Adele Stolte Leipzig Vaclav Neumann Philips 6570 017 S Holland

Holst The Planets - Los Angeles Philharmonic Zubin Mehta London CS 6734 S US

Liszt / Enesco / Smetana Rhapsodies - RCAVictor Symphony Orchestra Stokowski RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2471 S US

Mendelssohn/Schubert Symphony 4 (italian), - 8 (unfinished) Symphony Vienna Philharmonic Karl Munchinger Decca VIV 33 S UK

Mozart Don Giovani (Highlights) - Kiri Te Kanawa Royal Opera House Covent Garden Colin Davis Philips 6570 097 S Holland

Puccini La Boheme - Maria Callas Del Teatro alla Scala Antonio Votto EMI 063-18298

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 3 - Vladimir Ashkenazy London Symphony Andre Previn London KIJC-9204

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade - Chicago Symphony Fritz Reiner RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2446

Stravinski The Firebird - Colombia Symphony Stravinski Colombia MS 6328 S US

Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin - Meditation - Tibor Varga Festival Jean-Marie Auberson EMI PA-V50-1-001 S Germany

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 - Vladimir Ashkenazy London Symphony Lorin Maazel London KIJC9225 S Japan 1 Super Analogue

OK - That will do for a start. Do not attempt to get all of this at once - go slow - buy, listen and feedback so we can adjust the list in the light of things you do and do not like. Some things we can take as read - everyone loves the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies and I never met a hater of Sheherezade. All the major violin concertos (in my pompous opinion) are here - that is my bias towards strings - sorry - try any one and let us know, Other than that a few pianos, a symphony or 2 touch of opera - most of the bases are covered. You also have music covering about 300 years so we might build a picture of the period you like too.

Enjoy the process - glad you liked the Grieg - I posted mine in the list for reference.

[Bill H.]

My Favorite is Puccini's -Madama Butterfly w/Maria Callas...........

[garymd]

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and other stuff. Leon Fleisher, piano; George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. If this work doesn't move you, you're dead. I have it on LP.

http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Rhapsody-Theme-Paganini-Miroirs/dp/B0000025Q6/sr=1-1/qid=1165042021/ref=sr_1_1/104-6130635-6656739?ie=UTF8&s=music

Scott,

I have an original Living Stereo and a Classic reissue of Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. I can send you my original since I'll never play it.

Lately I've been enjoying Mahler's 1st and the Living Stereo SACD of Saint-Saens Symphony #3 (Organ) - Boston Symphony.

[boomac]

I forgot that Larry C is traveling and I bet hell be bummed that I started this thread while he was away. Im sure hell get in on it though. Hes given me a fair amount of input and I can see from all of your recommendations, you're all pretty much on the same plane!

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

When Larry visited earlier this year he brought along and gave me: Carl Orff: Carmina Burana (The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy)

Max You must have posted several of your recommendations in the past because I actually have a few. The recordings may differ but that will give me the opportunity to seek them out for comparison sake.

I have:

Bach <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Brandenburg Concertos (Cologne Chamber Orchestra0

Brahms Violin Concerto (Perlman)

The Dvorak & Elgar Cello Concertos (Jacqueline du Pre)

Grieg Pier Gynt (The Royal Philharmonic Orchesrta Sir Thomas Beecham)

Grieg Pier Gynt (The Cleveland Orchestra with George Szell) An SACD that includes: Mussorgskys Pictures at an Exhibition

I dont have the Rachmannov Piano Concerto 3 but I have the 2 on a Hybred CD along with Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini (Werner Haas on Piano) I enjoy this very much.

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade - Chicago Symphony Fritz Reiner RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2446

I have the LP and two different CD recordings of Scheherazade(Reiner for one) and its a favorite. Last year my wife and I went to the ballet one week, (here in Milwaukee) and the next week I joined Larry C and Garymd for the concert at the Strathmore in MD. Excellent experience!

Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin - I have an SACD featuring Isaac Stern and the Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy The Mendelssohn Violin Concerto is included.

Paul My Dvorak Slavonic Dances is the Cleveland/Szell. I also like the New World Symphony. And yes, Id be happy to accept your offer for the Gardiner's Messiah. Ill PM you my address and you let me know about shipping.

This afternoon I think Ill seek out: (Christmas is a coming and one of the kids is itching to go shopping)

"Eine Kline Nachtmusik" by Mozart

Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D min. on the Michael Murray Telarc CD-80088

Chopin: 4 Ballades. Krystian Zimerman

[Parrot]

Paul My Dvorak Slavonic Dances is the Cleveland/Szell.  I also like the New World Symphony.  And yes, Id be happy to accept your offer for the Gardiner's Messiah.  Ill PM you my address and you let me know about shipping.

 

This afternoon I think Ill seek out:  (Christmas is a coming and one of the kids is itching to go shopping)

 

"Eine Kline Nachtmusik" by Mozart

Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D min. on the Michael Murray Telarc CD-80088

Chopin: 4 Ballades. Krystian Zimerman

 

I'd be surprised if you can find Zimerman's CD in a store.

If you want Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3, I highly recommend Martha Argerich's, with Riccardo Chailly conducting. That's a 10-star performance.

I can probably find a few other good LPs to send you free. Collecting classical vinyl is a cheapskate's paradise, with so much available for 10 cents to a dollar. 

[maxg]

"Collecting classical vinyl is a cheapskate's paradise, with so much available for 10 cents to a dollar. "

Its what makes life worth living!!!

I go into record shops and everything I like and want is in the bargain section!!

Thank god I dont like Jazz - that is always the most expensive rack there.

Of course - there is a flip side to everything. Allan's collection is probably worth a million and mine a thousand. Still I wouldnt swap them save to sell his and buy mine back....

[jt1stcav]

Here's three of my current favorite compositions (there are so many more, but I'll let Max educate us with his never-ending list)...

Richard Wagner: Tristan Und Isolde (complete)

Cesar Franck: Grande Piece Symphonique (organ)

Joseph Jongen: Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra, Opus 81

I could go on with works by Bach, Liszt, Vierne, Widor, Mozart, and on and on and on...[8]

[boomac]

Allan's jazz collection might as well be worth $1000 cause he'll never sell it.[H]

I'm off to the Second Hand Book Store to see if I can find any of these recommendations on vinyl.

[Parrot]

Here's a NM LP I picked up today for 25 cents at a moving sale. I have a fair amount of Horowitz, but never before heard his 1950 recording of Chopin's Second Sonata, "The Funeral March," as opposed to the one everyone knows, from 1962.


Critic Hank Drake wrote:

For decades Horowitz had a problematic relationship with Chopin's Second Sonata. A 1936 attempt to record the piece was aborted due to the pianist's first nervous breakdown (the first movement survives). Horowitz's 1950 recording for RCA is a bizarre collection of details, with a Funeral March that sounds like a Russian boat song on steroids. This 1962 recording is highly successful, however. Horowitz is obviously on top of the piece, technically, with his spare pedaling highlighting Chopin's use of counterpoint. The Funeral March is, for once, played with a crisp rhythm, the central section exquisitely balanced. He performed this work several times in the 1970s, but not as convincingly.

When I first started playing this, I thought the record player was broken, it sounded so low and slow. To give you an idea, the first movement on the 1950 recording is 7:52, compared to the 1962 recording of 5:20.

[LarryC]

Excellent, great to see this after a drought of threads and posts on classical. I'm somewhat back after a hard-drive failure (and all the work that takes to recover files and reinstall software) plus a bad cold.

Scott, do you have much in the way of Tchaikovsky? I think his Piano Concerto No. 1 is good to have around if the recording is good, and I really like Van Cliburn's on RCA Living Stereo SACD 82876-61392-2. This is a 1958 (!) recording, fresh after Van C returned from a trumphal gold medal win at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, right at the time Americans were feeling deflated by the original Sputnik (not the forum member, not yet anyway) and fears of Russia's power. This reissue was really worked over technically, and is outstanding imo. I also recommend Tchaikovsky ballet highlights, such as Nutcracker -- it's really interesting! -- Swan Lake, etc. I think you're familiar with his symphonies.

Speaking of concertos, do you have the Tchaikovsky or Mendelssohn violin concerto? I don't have particular recordings to recommend. EDIT: I just saw your list, and yes, you do. Instead, let me recommend the Georges Enesco (or Enescu) Roumanian Rhapsodies, especially No. 1. This CD would be good for its variety of tuneful, interesting pieces, although the stated price is ridiculous.[end edit]

You should also take a close look at MaxG's thread, Sometimes it is nice to take your own advice..... and its discussion of the Bach Brandenburg Concertos. These are good, although I think different people will have different preferences among the six concertos. I especially like the first and sixth, but am finding the others are worth listening to. Here again, the quality of the performance is critical, and I agree with comments in Max's thread that the Karl Ristenpart recording with the Saar Chamber Orchestra is the best one. However, I think you should go for a good LP copy if you can get one, not only becaus of the cost of the Amazon.com item that Paul mentioned, but because one reviewer expressed doubt that the CD reissue was serious stereo.

Finally, you might want to consider Richard Strauss's sensationally scored Alpine Symphony, which Skonopa and I are going to see at Strathmore on January 13 (Dead-of-Winter Strathmore Concert: Alpine Symphony (R. Strauss) a... ). Go to this recording on Amazon.com, scroll down the web page, and listen to some of the excerpts to see if you like it.

All I got for now....Larry

[stan krajewski]

You didn't specify LPs so here are 3 CDs:

Mahler Symphony #9 Berlin Philharmonic - Sir John Barbirolli Angel CDM 7 63115 2

Dvorak Symphony #9 Vienna Philharmonic - Herbert Von Karajan Duetsche Grammophen 415-509-2

Shostakovich Symphony #5 - Berlin Philharmonic - Semyon Buchkov - Phillips 420 069-2

The thing about these 3 CDs is that they are great performances and yet recorded extremely well.

As much as I like Toscanini and Furtwangler, their recordings usually sound not much better like a tin can at the end of a string. At least the CD transformations that I have heard so far.

[Kriton]

Uh, I may have missed this but - I have a few questions -

Boom, do you like music that thumps, large and lush, or quiet and contemplative?

The
gamut could span from Wagner to say, Debussy - and personally I like a
smattering of both - as much as they are played and trite as it may
sound, Clair De Lune and the Ride of The Valkyries from the Ring cycle,
are spectacular pieces - I personally lean toward opera myself, and
could name just a boat load of good opera, but I am not feeling that is
your preference? There are a lot of good opera compilations that
you may want to look at - I can recommend a few if you are
interested. A few of my favorite singers are Ettore Bastianini,
Leonard Warren, Franco Corelli, Leontyne Price, Maria Callas, Lauritz
Melchior, Renata Tebaldi, Brynn Terfel, Jerome Hines, and the list goes
on...

On the other hand, there are times when the only thing I
can stomach are what I am currently listening to, Palestrina and
Allegri's Miserere (1500's polyphonic church music) - I guess what I am
asking is are you leaning totally toward instrumental or vocal too?

Whether
you consider the pieces classical or not - the Gershwin classics are
just fun to listen to - American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue - again,
trite, but great. In the more contemporary vein, when I want to
test my speakers at good volume and get a good dose of brass, I will
throw in Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copeland, a piece that is
very recognizeable andjust plain cool.

I also highly recommend (in the beautiful quiet vein) Lark
Ascending by R .Vaugh WIlliams, actually pretty much anything by Vaughn
Williams is just some wonderful modern (not atonal) music - He put quite a few of
the most recognizeable English hymns to orchestral versions that are
marvelous, the main theme of the movie "Master and Commander" was a
famous V. WIlliams piece entitled "Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis",
great stuff - fantastic for Klipsch speakers...

There is
just so much out there, hard toknow where to begin or stop - I don't
have the organizational skills of Max, sorry to say.

K

[LarryC]

As much as I like Toscanini and Furtwangler, their recordings usually sound not much better like a tin can at the end of a string. At least the CD transformations that I have heard so far.

Well put. Those recordings tend to be of historical interest, and it takes a special ability to hear through a tinny, grainy, limited sound just how good some of them were. In actual fact, I usually listen to modern stereo recordings, since I think the stereo effect is better at revealing detail, with greater clarity, lower distortion, and more realism.

Still, if you want a hair-raising performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, take a listen to the Toscanini-Horowitz recording of 1943: