Classical Music for Aficionados


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.


128x128rvpiano
@gdnrbob  
I also tried Fideliser but got fed up with it and Instead bought some soft ware through Sam Laufer. It  was form Mark Porzilli the guy who dreamt up the Memory player and your machine is probably using it also. That soft ware was the one that really made my PC sing, I remember that during the installation Mark himself did it and he had partitioned a part of my hard drive into a 4 gig. space to put your music files that you were going to play. I was astonished the first time I played a file and I even remember the file "Mahler's second Symphony" off a DSD file cut from an SACD disc with The LSO cond, by Valery Gergiev . It absolutely blew me away The opening was earth shattering and the last movement opening was cataclysmic . The amount of headroom that recording had just had to be heard to be believed. That was a great day I had listening to files one after another and where the software scores is the increase in clarity right through the frequency range. The area most apparent was the treble it has a beautiful purity to it and it was worth the money just for that alone.     
Teed up for this afternoon is Ignaz Brull.  Thank you, Hyperion!  Concerto #1 kind of ho-hum.  Some nice moments in the slow movement.  The separate Andante rather better.  Now the opening of #2 is quite stirring.

And here's a related general observation, FWIW.  I see clearly that my collecting (CDs) and listening is primarily repertoire based.  Certainly, performers matter a great deal, but I look at the performers once I'm looking for recordings of a particular piece.  Looking at posts on this thread, it seems as if most others take the opposite approach: they have a bunch of favorite performers, and repertoire comes second (different repertoires are what certain performers specialize in).  Discuss??
Chopin Nocturnes with Hans Moravec, pianist with so "delicate" color control that God prefer this version...
Mahgister,

Are you sure you don’t mean IVAN Moravec?
A HANS Moravec is into robotics.
mahgister, FWIW, I think God prefers all of Moravec's music. He didn't record a lot but what he did is well worth hearing. I can recommend some more if your interested. 

twoleftears, I'm not sure what caused you to reach your conclusions, but I think it may be an illusion caused by some folks who have been around music for generations and have substantial familiarity with a lot of the great performers and the music in which they may excel. In the beginning I think most folks are repertoire based and become more artist oriented later after knowledge of the standard repertoire has been acquired. 

For example, I happen to like Massenet's PC also  (I have the same  Hyperion version as you.) I also happen to like a newer pianist, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. I found a CD in which he performs some Ravel, Debussy, and the Massenet. I bought it and was not disappointed, in either composers music, but especially his Debussy.  I went on to purchase all of his Debussy recordings as well. I like his style a great deal and will now likely follow most all of his recordings for something else that I might enjoy.  Oh, and I liked his Massenet  much more than Ossonce's. BTW that is a Chandos CD if you're interested.