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.


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I know this is almost a year old but I recently discovered this sad news and did not see any mention here on Agon. One of my favorite conductors growing up.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/obituaries/andre-previn-de...

Here's one final Liszt recommendation: Geoffrey Tozer, Liszt Piano Transcriptions [just about everything/everyone other than the set of Schubert transcriptions] on Chandos.  Very natural, good piano sound, and some fine pianism.  Tozer is mainly a Medtner specialist, but he ventures into a number of quite different composers.
While we are on a Liszt theme at the moment I have been listening lately to some stunning piano playing from Daniel Barenboim from 1973 to 1983. It is called The Romantic Piano 1 and it is on Idagio at the moment with a complete set of the Chopin Nocturnes , Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words and some stunning Liszt. He plays the Swiss Pilgrimage and also most of the Itallian one and some of the list Wagner transcriptions. There is also a superb account of the B Minor Sonata which I had never heard from him before. He really was some player before he went over to the dark side ( conducting ).