2. music
  3. 132810-89202

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
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Its on my laptop and least it stays on eating cookies .My go to Beyer DT 990 Pro is too much for the laptop so I just ordered 2.5mm connects for my senns and bought some Audioquest Nighthawk phones which are low impedence and might work better with my Audioquest Dragonfly .
I LOVE the Leos Janacek string qts and they sound OK with a cheap pr of Sony’s I had hanging around.I don’t like the baby ABC way it sets up but see why they need too .But for 10$ a month so what.

I must be rich , the US Social Security Bureau just sent me a letter telling me I am in the top 5% in wealth of all folks receiving Social Security which
is 95% of all Americans over 65 . I am fairly well off but not rich , must be a lot of poor folk out there ! Why they would write such a letter is beyond me .  Perhaps they think I'm a MAGA  prospect .
jim204
881 posts
 
Len.       Have you ever considered a dedicated Headphone amplifier as they can usually take just about any impedence you care to throw at them. I think they would also allow much more quallity of sound as well. I have a Sennheiser HDVD800 head amp driving a pair of Sennheiser HD800 Phones which are high impedence at 300 Ohms and they are a breeze with the dedicated amp. In fact the head amp is so bomb proof that many times a friend of mine and I have had nights over at my place and he has connected his Hi Fi Man phones to the amp also and we have sat for hours listening to lots of music in fact a couple of times my wife joined us and we had three pairs of phones though the Headamp and it didn't even get warm.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Thanks , jim . I have a Beyer A 20 amp, built like a brick, as all Beyer gear is , that drives my DT 990 600 ohm easily . By my bed so I can have a Leos Janacek Qt . lull me to sleep . The "On an Overgrown Path" album on idagio is outstanding . Perhaps 15 years ago I heard my first Janacek and became a groupy within 30 seconds . Were such possible I’d like one of his Qts. played at my funeral .
schubert
7,386 posts
 
There is a great recording of Janacek's  First and Second  Qts . on IDAGIO
by a Qt. I had never heard of , Quartetto Energie Nove  ,  members of the Swiss Orchestra for the Italian area out of Lugago .There must be twenty recordings of his Qts . on idiagio ( good taste in Berlin) . I dipped into most of then and another goody is the Martinu Qt.
It is usually best to get Czech/ Slovak players in that every bar he ever wrote had the West Slavic language of  Slovakia in mind .Slovakia was the country mouse to Prague and Janacek was a Moravian patriot in the best sense of that word .There are exceptions of course , but even the great Sir Charles Mackerras
immersed himself into Czech culture to take on the fantastic operas of Janacek that have put him in the highest echelon in Europe .

jim204
881 posts
 
Len    You have me going with your Janacek recommendations I used to have Andras Schiff doing On an Overgrown Path and loved it but I lost it years ago. I used to do foolish things like loan records and CDs to people and never get them back because I forgot who I loaned them to in the first place. You have though put me in the mood to listen to a bit of Janacek now and I shall go onto Idagio tomorrow and have a hunt. Speaking of Sir Charles MacKerras have you ever listened to the Beethoven cycle of symphonies he did with The Scottish Chamber Orchestra. I went to the cycle he did up in The Usher Hall just before he committed them to disc. I went up every weekend for about five weeks to listen to them. There is something very right about Beethoven with smaller forces , for a fact he was used to listening to whatever they could cobble together. I always say that the best Eroica I ever heard was from MacKerras and the SCO in fact I do have a recording of him doing the Symphony for I think Linn records , do check it out it is worth a listen.
More to discover