Most achingly-beautiful music

Ravel and Prokofiev. has anyone mentioned these geniuses? Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe and Piano Concertos demand great equipment. huge dynamic range. Prokofiev's romeo & juliet, piano concertos 1,2, and 3, and violin concerto no. 2 are essentials. Especially listen for the excellent contrast at the beginning of Romeo & Juliet montagues & capulets theme! (before the famous lumbering melody strikes) A true test of concert hall aptitude.

Van Morrison, almost anything by him moves me.

Oh boy, music which I cannot perform without a good ,long period of desensitization to get my emotions under control.Also, have any of you noticed that the emotional impact seems to increase as we get older? The Allegri "Misereri", the Brahms motets, in particular, "Warum?" and "Las Dichts Nur nichts nicht dauren" but all of them are great The J.S. Bach motets also persist in blowing me away after 30 years of exposure.

Right on Brownie. That is a beautiful recording of The Planets. I also have to go along with previous posts about Margo Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies, (Sweet Jane), as well as putting forward Maggie Reilly on some of the Mike Oldfield albums (eg Five Miles Out, To France etc.) Haunting....

Paul

Klemperer's Mahler 2
Kim Kashkashian's Britten Lachrymae
Byron Janis
Shostakovich 11 'The Year 1905'
Peter Pears singing Britten