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

WRONG again , If you were not that there in 1950’s and were of adult reasoning you have ZERO idea of what happened and never will .



schubert

If you were not that there in 1950’s and were of adult reasoning you have ZERO idea of what happened and never will
Huh? If you think "rock and roll ... has destroyed classical music" you apparently are not living in the present time. That is all.



It matters what you mean by destroyed. If you mean popularity, I’d say if anything there seems to be an uptick in that due to orchestras finally coming to their senses and playing more pop music like movie scores. If you mean the craft of making new classical/orchestral music, that was ruined in the middle of the 20th century with the advent of atonal music (which also destroyed jazz as well). I’m afraid we’ll have lost at least 2 generations to atonal music due to professors in colleges over emphasizing it currently. A bigger issue, tbh, is the way Hans Zimmer has destroyed movie music, which has enjoyed 80 years of success. 
So if you mean popularity, then all is as well as could be given classical will never become “pop” again. If you mean the music being written today sucks, then blame 20th century composers for a shift to atonality which was never going to be popular and drove the most talented composers away. 
Interesting piece by John Helmer on popularity of classical music in Russia, on radio and online.  Helmer is longest serving english speaking correspondentin Russia, originally from Australia, but also lived in USA.  He usually writes about politics and economic/business.
http://johnhelmer.net/radio-orfei-can-still-pull-the-state-budget-strings-but-can-it-stream-to-save-...
Just as the novel went all the way to Finnegans Wake and then came back to chronologically organized coherent narrative, so I think we're well back from the atonal period.  Look at the popularity of Arvo Part or Goreki.  My own favorite from the youngest generation is Dobrinka Tabakova.  Check out her album String Paths on ECM.