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

@jim5559 

I have found one Schubert disc in what may appear to be a set to come on the CPO label. String Quartets include Rosamunde and Death and the Maiden which are up to their consistently high standards. The dynamics are superb with a lovely rich and well layered sound. I would certainly recommend it. It's on Idagio at the moment. Let me know what you think if you find it.

You caught me , I really don't like  Idagio or the rest of them , no great reason , 

just don't like them . What you said is all I need.

Cheers 

IMO Corelli is at the head of the Great , who cares, in North American at least.

He had influence on two Germans , Bach and Handel, esp. the later..

When I need both rest and energy I often go to Corelli .

The orchestra  is the Slovak Chamber Orchestra out of Prague in 70's and 80's .

More proof  of my cry that the Czechs are the most Classical Music  people in the world .

 

 

Vivaldi is very young when he published his sonatas opus 2...

He was very motivated by the Corelli domination of all Italian musical scene..

I imagine him, offering his work with a real but also some " distorted sense of humility" to the older Master.. With the back tought to prove itself to the old master in the Corellian writing style and form itself....

These Vivaldi sonatas are very Corellian inspired one but with the characteristical Vivaldian melodic pulse and rythmical surge though...And some say erroneously that they lack the  depth of the future works to come, they dont lack depth they dont look for depth at all,   here Vivaldi was looking   for a magical SPELL and he succeeded...

I imagine the old master reading them or playing them and thinking about this young man like the future master of all musicians by his seductive spontaneous inspiration , save perhaps Bach or Beethoven or Mozart and very few others to come..

Corelli is great indeed...And the Vivaldi "greek gift" is a testimony to the old master also...But also a treat....These Vivaldian sonatas are a pure masterpiece, never surpassed by other Vivaldian sonatas to come, they are not an imperfect work by a beginner at all, even if vivaldi is 21 years old....These pieces a no less achieved and polished than any of his future best works, they present a cohesive rythmical unity between them that is marvellous...Vivaldi wrote and never work hard save for certain works where he put some hard polishing effort, the "4 seasons" for example and these sonatas i think because he wanted to impress the Corelli roaring lion...

I listened to these sonatas opus 2 near one thousand times, almost each day for more than three years when i was writing ... I know, i know i am a bit too passionate and excessive man in music or in love ... 😁😊

I prefer this old interpretation on conventional modern instruments to the new one with old instruments...

 

Well, you do have great taste , mahgister !

I need to go back from most present composers because there is a lot of dissonant

and very little consonant .

Only Janacek got over that mountain ,at least to my taste . Of course he was Czech, build into his native tongue .

Basis is Basic .

You can NOT be too passionate when it comes to the greatest feat of the Western World !!

All else in Art is a picture of something else , Classical Music is the thing itself .