Some longtime favorites that span almost four centuries: Allegri's Misieri (w/Palestrina & Mundy) Tallis Scholars on Gimmel 339. Transcendently beautiful music and singing. J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor, J.E.Gardiner, Archiv 415 514-2. A great sounding version of an essential cornerstone of Western music J.S Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, Book I, Andras Schiff, London 414388-2. A nicely balanced (not too Apollonian, not too Romantic) version of this fabulous music. I never get tired of this. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, Mariss Janson/London Phil., London 293514. Great sound, great music, lively and engaging performance. Stravinsky's Divertimento, Suites 1 &2, Octet. Riccardo Chailly. London 417114-2. Lesser known but absolutely beautiful music by Stravinsky. I don't know why this stuff isn't more popular. Warm and very fine sound. Delius' Florida Suite. Vernon Handley. Chandos 8413. A winner on all counts. Schoenberg's Pelleas & Melisande. Daniel Barenboim. CBS 38557. This exquisite piece bridges Wagnerian musical language and the new idioms that followed. Not atonal or abrasive at all. All of these are sure to please (on all three of the counts you listed) and were purchased on the basis of reviews that impressed me. Hope you find something that gives you pleasure from this list. Will.
Buidling a Classical Library - MUST HAVES!
I started a r2d4 thread last week and am so impressed with the depth of music knowledge on this site that I'm going to start this one too. My knowledge of great classical recordings is so limited it's embarrassing to call myself a music lover. I've tried following some of the reviews in Stereophile, TAS and Golden Ear, but they all seam to have some agenda other than great sound, great performance and great material in mind. The fact that my system can resolve the subsonic activity of an earthquake during the highschool bands performance of Nutcracker or what ever Stereophile is about does nothing to help me find great music. My request, if you choose to accept it, is to identify the must have recordings to build library from scratch. PLEASE CONSIDER SONIC QUALITY, PERFORMANCE AND MATERIAL EQUALLY. As a lover of music I believe all three should be superior. Also, in the spirit of my last post, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CRITICIZING OTHERS SELECTIONS. IF YOU WANT TO ARGUE A SELECTION START A THREAD, LEAVE THIS ONE FOR KNOWLEDGE FOR THOSE OF US WHO NEED IT. THANK-YOU. Finally, please list a maximum top ten and even if your favorites already appear, list them anyway. This will help me figure out the first ones to buy. Vinyl and/or digital are acceptable as long as the material is still avalible.