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
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Superb:

Ivan Moravec "Portrait"  11 cd collection

from Beethoven to Janacek

 

Give me any pianist name that play at the same level or better i will buy his album right now...If i dont already know him ... 😊

Moravec is one of my FEW gods on piano....All his album are TOP artistic playing with none musically underpar with the others...I listen to them all...If he is not the best he is beside the best interpreter of a piece...This pianist is not so well known because probably he is too great to be true...

His color sense is astounding and his mastery of the flowing "hues" unsurpassed save by few other gods....he dont play piano , he is a painter...

Do you want to SEE the "cathedral engloutie" under water?

I was in love with Debussy after listening him....Never before...

When your eye catch what look like a cathedral under water you never forgot it...

I discovered Moravec because of a friend who wanted to cure me at all cost of my Sofronitsky and Nyiregyhazi serious disease for months....He succeeded...I was able at last to listen to another pianist....😁😊

 

«Only a diamond can replace a diamond»-Lazare Kaplan diamond cutter

 

 

 

listen to it at 4m41s.

I would like to say that Claudio Arrau and Vladimir Horowitz were fully up to and in certain ways passed Moravec with their playing. As far as Arrau is concerned you only have to look on Idagio at the moment and he is playing the 4 Ballades and the 4 Scherzi. which was a stupendous disc when it came out at first. I went through a couple of LPs by constantly playing them. It was so strange for a lot of people to believe that a South American who trained in the Germanic tradition could play Chopin so well. He had a repertoire that ranged from Bach to Schoenberg. His Debussy was beautifully liquid and his rubatos were wonderful. And now of course we have Mr Horowitz who I think got better as he got older and thank goodness he still had a reasonable technique left to give us some wonderful recordings for us to savour. Get your wallet out !!!