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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
 
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.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
To the Czechs and Slovaks Rudolf Firkusny is THE man for Janacek’s piano works and I wouldn’t argue with them.
There is something right about smaller forces for many composers , their
music was written for same . My local St.Paul CO is world class and they can knock out Mozart , Haydn and Schubert symphony’s as well or better
than anyone this side of Vienna .The Scottish Orchestra’s show up on FM here often and they are all as ship-shape as a Clydeside built Frigate . I haven’t listened to any LvB symphonies in a long time , still play his String Qts a lot though.

Just grew weary of them , but for whatever reason every time I put on a Brahms or Schubert Symphony its like hearing them for the first time .Ditto plus for
Peer Gynt, I imagine I’ve heard that more than any other piece of music and I’m always happy in" The Hall of the Mountain King" .
jcazador
417 posts
 
Schubert
I share your weariness of Beethoven Symphonies.
But recently I listened to Idil Biret playing the Liszt transcriptions, and it was deja vu all over again.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Well ,   you have  better taste than me jcazador.
There are 3 people in music I just plain don't like .

First and foremost , Wagner, followed by Miles Davis and Liszt .But I will try to listen to the Biret if it doesn't cost me any money .Thank you .
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