Classical Music for Aficionados

Great thread idea, RV, and thanks for starting it. Also, kudos to Ghosthouse for suggesting the idea in your "Do classical CDs made from early analog tapes sound better on your system than new CDs?” thread.

A strong +1 re your mention of the Horenstein/LSO recording of Brahms’ First on Chesky. As I said in the other thread, it’s probably my all-time favorite symphony, and this recording is magical.

Some additional favorites of mine. I have all of them on LP unless otherwise noted:

--Any of the recordings of solo piano music by Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert on the French Astrée label, performed on period instruments by Paul Badura-Skoda. Incredible sonics (at least on the LP versions; I have no knowledge of that label’s CDs), and wonderful music beautifully performed.

--Dvorak “New World” Symphony, Horenstein/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a Chesky CD. Music that I would expect to be immediately appealing even to those who are not by any means aficionados of classical symphonic music; a wonderful performance; and as I said in your other thread:

I find the sonics on this recording to be so amazing that I would expect anyone having a bias against the CD format would find themselves re-thinking their outlook after hearing it.

--Chopin “Piano Sonata No. 3,” Edward Auer on an RCA Japan Direct-to-Disc LP.
--Chopin, “Piano Sonata No. 3,” Hyperion Knight on a Wilson Audio CD.

This beautiful music is perhaps my favorite piano sonata, and these recordings are the best overall combinations of sonics and performance I am aware of.

--"Danses Anciennes de Hongrie" -- Clemencic Consort (Harmonia Mundi France).
--“Musique de la Grèce Antique” [i.e., music of ancient Greece] -- Gregorio Paniagua, Atrium Musicae de Madrid (Harmonia Mundi France)

It’s hard to go wrong with just about any recording on the French Harmonia Mundi label. And the music on many of their recordings that is from the Renaissance and other early times is generally just plain fun to listen to.

Stravinsky “Firebird Suite,” Robert Shaw/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on Telarc. This excellent performance of a very likeable work may have the widest dynamic range of any recording I have ever heard, other than Telarc’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with the notorious cannon blasts.

Best regards,
-- Al

Charles1dad 12-10-2017
I particularly like cello and piano duets and would appreciate all recommendations of this type.

Charles, cellist Janos Starker and pianist Gyorgy Sebok recorded three Bach sonatas (S. 1027, S. 1028, and S.1029, which may also be identified as being in G Major, D Major, and G Minor respectively) on the great Mercury Living Presence label many decades ago.  I have it on an original LP, and I don't know if it has been released on CD or incorporated into a CD set or compilation.  But if it has been, and you can find it, I guarantee you will be delighted!

Best regards,
-- Al
   

The focus by Schubert and others on chamber music reminds me that a number of critics and many classical music aficionados consider the Schubert String Quintet, Op. 163, D. 956, also known as Schubert’s Cello Quintet, to be the single greatest piece of chamber music ever written. It’s certainly among the greatest IMO.

I’m also reminded that it is under-represented in my collection. I have the recording by the Alban Berg Quartet with Heinrich Schiff, from the early days of digital, and the early 1970s recording by the Juilliard String Quartet with Bernard Greenhouse. (They also recorded that work in digital form in the 1980s, when some of the membership of the Juilliard Quartet was different). Both are fine performances, but leave something to be desired sonically.

Anyone else have some recommended recordings of the Cello Quintet?

Best regards,
-- Al

Glad you both are enjoying the Telarc Stravinsky/Borodin recording.  As you undoubtedly saw I mentioned having that recording in LP form earlier in the thread, although I neglected to mention that in addition to the Firebird Suite it includes the Overture and Polovetsian Dances from Borodin's Prince Igor.

The latter will sound familiar to many who are not classical music aficionados because the music of the popular song "Stranger In Paradise," originally used in the 1950s musical "Kismet," was derived from it.  That song in turn having been recorded over the years by many popular artists, with Tony Bennett's version perhaps having been the most popular.

In my earlier post, also, I had cited the incredible dynamic range of the Firebird recording.  The most notable example being the contrast in volume between the almost whisper-like notes in the few seconds preceding the finale, and the concluding note of the work, which I've measured as reaching nearly 105 db at my listening position while listening to the recording at average levels in the mid-70s! 

Great performances and sound.

Indeed!  And regarding the sound, the quality is all the more remarkable considering that it was recorded digitally in 1978!

Best regards,
-- Al

P.S:  Schubert & Gs5556, thanks very much for your suggestions re the Cello Quintet.

Frogman, great to see that you've joined the thread!  I had been hoping you would, providing us with the benefit of your formidable knowledge and background in classical music.

Regarding Schubert's good suggestion about YouTube links, here is a link to the complete Telarc recording of the Firebird Suite and the Prince Igor excerpts that has been discussed.  The link is not to YouTube, but rather to Archive.org, which I think many of you will find worth exploring in connection with older recordings.  (Entering a name or term of interest in the site's Search box is probably the best way to make use of it.  For example entering "Toscanini" returns 205 hits to look through, including one that is particularly notable IMO which I've cited at the end of this post).

https://archive.org/details/StravinskyTheFirebirdborodinPrinceIgor-Telarc-Vinyl24-bit/Side1.wav

N.B:  To hear the deep bass notes at the beginning of the Firebird Suite you'll probably find yourself turning the volume of your computer speakers WAY up.  And likewise in the closing seconds of the "Berceuse," just before the "Finale" begins.  Be sure to turn those settings WAY down for the dynamic peaks of the recording, which you'll see approaching in the graphical representation of the audio shown near the top of that page.  Otherwise, both you and your computer speakers may not appreciate the consequences :-)

Also, speaking of older recordings which can be found at Archive.org, here is Toscanini's 1940 performance of Brahms' First, transcribed from 78 rpm records.  This is my favorite performance of my favorite symphony, and is easily good enough to make the primitive sonics completely irrelevant, IMO.

https://archive.org/details/BRAHMSSymphonyNo.1-Toscanini-NEWTRANSFER

Enjoy!  Best regards,
-- Al
  

Very nice list, DBB; thanks for compiling it. 

Personally, I would have suggested Beethoven symphonies 6 & 7, rather than 3, 5, and 9, but of course they're all great!

Best regards,
-- Al
  

P.P.S: Although I believe two horns are playing during most of its "solo" horn passages perhaps Ravel’s "Pavane pour une infante défunte" might nevertheless be considered to fit within the ground rules Craig stated. If so I would consider it to be a strong contender.

Best regards,
-- Al

I wouldn’t presume to designate it as the most beautiful orchestral horn solo, but at or near the top of my personal list would be the one at the beginning of the Finale of Stravinsky’s "Firebird Suite."

Also, there are certainly some beautiful moments for horn in the last movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.

The fact that those works as a whole are among my favorite classical compositions, especially in the case of Brahms’ First, certainly contributes to my feelings about their horn passages.

Best regards,
-- Al

P.S: Learsfool, great to see that you’ve joined the thread!

Congratulations on the new speakers, RV. I was happy to see in one of your other threads that they’ve worked out great!

Is the Solti/Chicago 9th you referred to the 1972 recording with Burrows, Lorengar, Minton, & Talvela, that was co-engineered for Decca by the great Kenneth Wilkinson? If so, I have the two-LP Mobile Fidelity reissue of that recording, ca. early 1980s. And although somehow I haven’t listened to it in quite a few years I indeed clearly recall it as being wonderful in terms of both performance and sonics. In fact I recall that during the 1980s there were even some occasions when I used it in showrooms to audition speakers.

Congratulations once again. Best regards,
-- Al