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The Best of Naxos' classical catalog

Category: Music

Most of the classical music fans among our A-gon membership are familiar by now with the Naxos label, which offers a huge catalog (179 pages) of classical, jazz, and international recordings at budget prices (single CD’s are $6.99). Many of their releases have won multiple awards from various magazines, such as the Penguin Guide, Gramophone, BBC Music, Classics Today, Diapason, Repertoire, Cannes Classical Awards, and Stereoplay. The awards recognize not only quality of performance, but also recording/audio quality.

I was in Borders Music a few days ago, and picked up a copy of Naxos’ 2001 catalog. After perusing it, I was surprised by the large number of recordings that have received multiple awards. The following list reflects some of the best Naxos releases that have received at least 2 awards (most have won 3 or more). At their modest budget price, these recordings present a fine opportunity for classical music neophytes to start building a library of recordings at minimal cost.

(Catalog number follows name of composition)
1. Johann Albrechtsberger (1736-1809): Concerto in B-flat Major (8.553831)
2. Malcolm Arnold (b. 1921): Symphonies #3 & #4 (8.553739)
3. Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974): Suite #3 for violin, viola, and string orchestra (8.553715)
4. Samuel Barber (1910-1981): First Essay for Orchestra (8.559024)
5. Bela Bartok (1881-1945): Hungarian Pictures (8.5543210)
6. Arnold Bax (1883-1953): Symphony #3 (8.553608)
7. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano (8.554288)
8. Arthur Bliss (1891-1975): Adam Zero (8.553383)
9. Anton Bruckner (1824-1896): Symphony #2 (8.554006); #3 (8.553454); #4 (8.554128); #7 (8.554269)
10. Ernest Chausson (1855-1899): String Quartet, Op. 35 (8.553645)
11. Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Piano Quintet in A Minor (8.553737); Symphony #3 (8.554719)
12. George Enescu (1881-1955): String Quartets #1 and #2 (8.554721)
13. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956): Clarinet Concerto; 5 Bagatelles (8.553566)
14. Cesar Franck (1822-1890): Piano Quintet in F Minor (8.553645)
15. Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony #30 (8.550757); Symphonies #74-76 (8.554109); String Quartets, Op. 64, #1-3 (8.550673)
16. Gustav Holst (1874-1934): Somerset Rhapsody (8.553696)
17. Leos Janacek (1854-1928): Piano Music, Vol. #3 (8.553588)
18. Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792): Olympic Overture (8.553734)
19. Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 (8.553852)
20. Darius Milhaud (1892-1974): Piano Music (8.553443)
21. E.J Moeran (1894-1950): String Quartets; String Trio (8.554079)
22. Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880): Gaite Parisienne (8.554005)
23. Walter Piston (1894-1976): Violin Concertos #1 and #2 (8.559003)
24. Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953): Piano Concertos #1, 3, and 4 (8.550566)
25. Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928): Cantus Arcticus & others (8.554147)
26. Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971): Symphonic Studies; Cello Concerto (8.554763)
27. Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975): Cello Concertos #1 and #2 (8.550813)
28. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Finlandia (8.554265)
29. Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884): Ma Vlast (complete) (8.550931)
30. Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Suites #1 and #2 (8.550644)
31. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Symphony #5 (8.550738)
32. Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901): Requiem (2 CD’s) (8.550944-45)
33. William Walton (1902-1983): Cello Concerto (8.554325); and March for “A History of the English Speaking Peoples” (8.553869)

Good listening to everyone!
sdcampbell
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I agree 100%. Another big big plus which is probably a benefit of being a budget label, is that I have never if hardly ever heard an over-produced Naxos CD, of the kind I complain about with many Deutche Grammophone, etc. They just about put the raw recording straight on the CD which no (over) manipulation by a bunch of engineers with bad hearing and/or bad taste.


At their prices Naxon cannot afford to spend the money to screw it up like the big label can (and do).

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,519 posts
 
I do not care for the sound of "most" Naxos classical CD's and no longer purchase them (even for $1 each on the used market). I am not really into "audiophile recordings" and these just rub me the wrong way to the point that I do not enjoy them (they sound a bit like bad surround sound to me). My preferred budget label is PMG/PILZ, most of which are digital recordings (also said to be a "no no"), but regardless of this I like the sound as well as the performances and have over 100 of them (each to his/her own). For budget classical LP's I find much of the older MHS (Musical Heritage Society) library to be quite nice. Not in that the the pressing are great, but many of the perfomances are quite "out there". They have CD's as well, but I only own a few.
sdcampbell OP
2,136 posts
 
Interesting comment, Dekay. I have only bought a few of the Naxos releases so far, but I've been very impressed with both the performances and the audio quality. The releases that I listed are ones that have won 3, 4, even 5 different "best of" awards from the magazines mentioned, which is why I thought this might be a good starting place for newer classical listeners.

I agree with your comment about the MHS releases -- I have about 50 of their LP's, acquired 15-20 years ago.

Given the different reactions that Dekay and I have to the Naxos label, I'd be interested in hearing what experiences other have had.
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drubin
3,274 posts
 
I have bought several of them and appreciate that they offer some slightly obscure things, such as the Bax, some Gerald Finzi (I love Gerald Finzi), and others (I think these things are somehat obscure). Price is great, what have you got to lose? There are several on the list above I will probably order.

But I've never been impressed with the sonics at all, the recordings all sound soft and dull to me.
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