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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
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,288 posts
 
A music server helps to keep track but getting metadata right for classical CDs specifically to facilitate ease of access is somewhat time consuming compared to other genres. Automated services often do not do a great job tagging Classical albums so manual effort is involved to keep things up to date and consistent. 90%+ of my non classical CDs get tagged automatically pretty well by Windows Media Player automatically prior to ripping whereas only a minority of classical CDs do not require any manual editing prior to ripping. Some do not tag at all and info must be entered manually.

There are probably other tools/services that handle classical CDs better I believe.
gsm18439
895 posts
 
I have classical CDs arranged by composer - ignoring the minor fillers. I have a separate section for CDs that have equally important compositions by more than one composer - arranged by "instrument." For example, I have a section of string music for CDs such as the Heifetz recording of both the Beethoven and Mendelsohn violin concertos, string quartet anthologies, boxed sets of works by a single artist, etc. Not perfect, but it seems to work. What does get lost is a "single" CD of works by obscure composers that I tend to forget.
eelii08 OP
169 posts
 
Ok, i would need a few more responses, in a list format if possible, to try to do a first compilation. Anyone else willing to contribute?
11flat6
55 posts
 
no doubt there are some classical music experts amongst the many audiophiles on this forum, but...

wouldn't it be a lot easier to visit some classical music forums??
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,377 posts
 
A) 5 Recommended Masterpieces and CD Recordings

1) Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony no. 3 in E-flat major Op. 55 'Eroica'

'klemperer the cologne years vol.1'
Andante naïve

and/or

Paavo Järvi Beethoven Symphony no.3 Eroica/Symphony no.8
The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
RCA Red Seal

2) Wolfgang Mozart Symphony no. 41 in C-major K. 551 'Jupiter'

VIENNA PHILHARMONIC (1972-1981) Mozart
Krips Oistrakh Pollini
Andante

3) Johannes Brahms Symphony no. 4 in E-minor Op. 98

CELIBIDACHE Müncher Philharmoniker
Brahms 2,3&4
EMI CLASSICS

4) Ludwig Van Beethoven Violin Sonatas no. 5 in F-major Op. 24 'Spring' and Sonata no. 9 in A-major Op.47 'Kreutzer'

Beethoven Complete Violin Sonatas
Augustin Dumay Maria Joao Pires
Deutsche Grammophon

5) Gustav Mahler 'das lied von der erde'
'the song of the earth'

EIJI OUE
Minnesota Orchestra
Michelle DeYoung John Villars
Reference Recordings

B) My 5 Favorite Composers and Some of Their Great Works.
I did not make this list of composers or works associated with them in any particular order. Doing so would require making incomparable comparisons.

1) Johann Sebastian Bach
'Brandenburg Concertos' 'Goldberg Variations, Toccata and Fugue,
'The Art of the Fugue'
and the Organ recordings of Helmut Walcha

2) Ludwig van Beethoven
The 9 Symphonies, The Orchestral Overtures, The Piano Sonatas, The String Quartets, The Violin Sonatas, The Cello Sonatas, The
Piano Trios

3) Johannes Brahms
The 4 Symphonies, The Violin Sonatas, The Cello Sonatas, The Piano Trios, The Clarinet Sonatas and also those adapted for Viola, The String Quartets, The Piano Raisonne', German Requiem

4) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Piano Concertos, The Later Symphonies especially starting with the Haffner, The Violin Concertos, The Haydn String Quartets, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze de Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Missa Solemnis in C,
Requiem in D-minor

5) Franz Joseph Haydn
A little bit of research goes a long way. Wonderful Symphonies, String Quartets, Piano Sonatas and Choral pieces.

C) I own roughly 500 classical CD's and roughly 100 classical Vinyl (monophonic) Records.
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