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     Len I can't fault you on the pollini treasure , I think it was not long after that disc that he retired from the platform to study for a while longer. That was the worst thing he ever did in my opinion because he went to study with Michaelangeli for a while and when he emerged he was quite a different pianist , gone was that beautiful crystalline tone to be replaced with pure ice. As far as I am concerned He just wasn't the same. I probably said before that I heard him in Glasgow once and he played a Mozart Piano Concerto and I think he was well suited to it. He played the whole concert with not a finger out of place and some of the most perfect pianism I have ever seen , but cold as ice. Pity.
I have Pollini vinyl from both the EMI and DG eras and I got no quarrel with either, other than DGs' slightly cool tonal quality.  As a matter of fact, it was the DG volume of Chopin Etudes that induced me to drag my childhood piano out of my parents' house and start going at it again.  I may have mentioned this previously but I saw him live once.  Utterly superb.
He played the whole concert with not a finger out of place and some of the most perfect pianism I have ever seen , but cold as ice. Pity.
It was also my experience of him.....in cd....Not lived tough....Perfection is not enough...

« Imperfection is the peak»  René Char