On rare occasions the dominant cynical region of my homunculus is overidden by admiration. So, after following your jazz and now classical forays, instead of my reflexive "you've obviously got too much time on your hands" comment, I have to say I'm amazed and admire your knowledgeable, fastidious profferings, particularly with regard to jazz. I stand acynical,(temporarily) in admiration and say thanks. Great posts. Mark
Revised list: Best-of-Naxos classical catalog
Category: Music
The following list of top choices from the Naxos classical catalog has been revised from my original post a few days ago. I received a number of private E-mails from Audiogon readers, most of which said they liked most of the Naxos recordings. The following list has been revised to reflect the following changes:
a. Recordings that received only one award (from the classical music magazines mentioned in my first post) have been deleted, and only recordings with two or more awards have been included on the list.
b. The number of awards received by each recording is shown in parenthesis after the catalog number.
c. The list of composers has been expanded to include some lesser-known artists.
Here is the list of the top-rated recordings from the Naxos catalog:
1. Johann Albrechtsberger (1736-1809): Concerto in B-flat Major (8.553831) (2 awards)
2. Malcolm Arnold (b. 1921): Symphonies #3 & #4 (8.553739) (3 awards); Symphony #9 (8.553540) (3 awards)
3. C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788): Keyboard Sonatas (8.553640) (3 awards)
4. Samuel Barber (1910-1981): First Essay for Orchestra (8.559024) (2 awards)
5. Bela Bartok (1881-1945): Hungarian Pictures (8.5543210) (2 awards); Contrasts (8.550749) (4 awards)
6. Arnold Bax (1883-1953): Fantasy Sonata for Harp & Viola (8.554507) (3)
7. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano (8.554288) (3)
8. Arthur Bliss (1891-1975): Adam Zero (8.553383) (5)
9. Pierre Boulez (b. 1925): Piano Sonatas #1-3 (8.553353) (3)
10. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): Alla Marcia (8.554360) (3)
11. Anton Bruckner (1824-1896): Symphony #0 (8.554432) (4); Symphony #2 (8.554006) (4); #3 (8.553454) (4); #4 (8.554128) (4); #7 (8.554269) (4)
12. John Cage (1912-1992): Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (8.559042) (4)
13. Ernest Chausson (1855-1899): String Quartet, Op. 35 (8.553645) (4)
14. Frederick Chopin (1810-1849): Cello Sonatas (8.553159) (3)
15. Muzio Clementi (1752-1832): Piano Music (selection) (8.550452) (3)
16. Archangel Corelli (1653-1713): Concerto for Oboe and Strings (8.553391) (2)
17. Frederick Delius (1862-1934): Orchestral Works (8.553535) (2)
18. Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474): Missa l’homme arme (8.553087) (4)
19. Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Piano Quintet in A Minor (8.553737) (5); Symphony #3 (8.554719) (4)
20. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956): Clarinet Concerto; 5 Bagatelles (8.553566) (5)
21. Cesar Franck (1822-1890): Piano Quintet in F Minor (8.553645) (4)
22. Edvard Grieg (1843-1907): Piano Music #2 (8.550882) (3)
23. Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony #30 (8.550757) (2); Symphonies #74-76 (8.554109) (2); String Quartets, Op. 64, #1-3 (8.550673) (3); String Quartets, Op. 64, #4-6 (8.550674) (3)
24. Gustav Holst (1874-1934): Somerset Rhapsody (8.553696) (4)
25. Leos Janacek (1854-1928): Piano Music, Vol. #3 (8.553588) (2)
26. Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792): Olympic Overture (8.553734) (6)
27. Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 (8.553852) (5)
28. Darius Milhaud (1892-1974): Piano Music (8.553443)
29. Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994): Chain II (8.553202) (4)
30. E.J Moeran (1894-1950): String Quartets; String Trio (8.554079) (5)
31. Carl Nielsen (1865-1931): String Quartet, Op. 14 (8.553907) (3)
32. Jacob Obrecht (1457-1505): Missa Caput & Salve Regina (8.553210) (5)
33. Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880): Gaite Parisienne (8.554005) (6)
34. Walter Piston (1894-1976): Violin Concertos #1 and #2 (8.559003) (4)
35. Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953): Piano Concertos #1, 3, and 4 (8.550566) (3); Piano Concertos #2 and 5 (8.550565) (3)
36. Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928): Cantus Arcticus & others (8.554147) (5)
37. Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971): Orchestral Works (8.553567) (4)
38. Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Piano Music – Ancient Airs & Dances (8.553704) (5)
39. Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975): Cello Concertos #1 and #2 (8.550813) (4)
40. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Finlandia (8.554265) (2)
41. Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884): Ma Vlast (complete) (8.550931) (2)
42. Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Suites #1 and #2 (8.550644) (3)
43. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Symphony #5 (8.550738) (5)
44. Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901): Requiem (2 CD’s) (8.550944-45) (3)
45. Henry Vieuxtemps (1820-1881): Violin Concertos #2 and 3 (8.554114) (3)
46. Richard Wagner (1813-1883): The Flying Dutchman (8.660025-26) (4)
47. William Walton (1902-1983): Cello Concerto (8.554325) (4); Johannesburg Festival Overture (8.553402) (5); March for “A History of the English Speaking Peoples” (8.553869) (4); Violin Concerto (8.554325) (4)
The following list of top choices from the Naxos classical catalog has been revised from my original post a few days ago. I received a number of private E-mails from Audiogon readers, most of which said they liked most of the Naxos recordings. The following list has been revised to reflect the following changes:
a. Recordings that received only one award (from the classical music magazines mentioned in my first post) have been deleted, and only recordings with two or more awards have been included on the list.
b. The number of awards received by each recording is shown in parenthesis after the catalog number.
c. The list of composers has been expanded to include some lesser-known artists.
Here is the list of the top-rated recordings from the Naxos catalog:
1. Johann Albrechtsberger (1736-1809): Concerto in B-flat Major (8.553831) (2 awards)
2. Malcolm Arnold (b. 1921): Symphonies #3 & #4 (8.553739) (3 awards); Symphony #9 (8.553540) (3 awards)
3. C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788): Keyboard Sonatas (8.553640) (3 awards)
4. Samuel Barber (1910-1981): First Essay for Orchestra (8.559024) (2 awards)
5. Bela Bartok (1881-1945): Hungarian Pictures (8.5543210) (2 awards); Contrasts (8.550749) (4 awards)
6. Arnold Bax (1883-1953): Fantasy Sonata for Harp & Viola (8.554507) (3)
7. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano (8.554288) (3)
8. Arthur Bliss (1891-1975): Adam Zero (8.553383) (5)
9. Pierre Boulez (b. 1925): Piano Sonatas #1-3 (8.553353) (3)
10. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): Alla Marcia (8.554360) (3)
11. Anton Bruckner (1824-1896): Symphony #0 (8.554432) (4); Symphony #2 (8.554006) (4); #3 (8.553454) (4); #4 (8.554128) (4); #7 (8.554269) (4)
12. John Cage (1912-1992): Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (8.559042) (4)
13. Ernest Chausson (1855-1899): String Quartet, Op. 35 (8.553645) (4)
14. Frederick Chopin (1810-1849): Cello Sonatas (8.553159) (3)
15. Muzio Clementi (1752-1832): Piano Music (selection) (8.550452) (3)
16. Archangel Corelli (1653-1713): Concerto for Oboe and Strings (8.553391) (2)
17. Frederick Delius (1862-1934): Orchestral Works (8.553535) (2)
18. Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474): Missa l’homme arme (8.553087) (4)
19. Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Piano Quintet in A Minor (8.553737) (5); Symphony #3 (8.554719) (4)
20. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956): Clarinet Concerto; 5 Bagatelles (8.553566) (5)
21. Cesar Franck (1822-1890): Piano Quintet in F Minor (8.553645) (4)
22. Edvard Grieg (1843-1907): Piano Music #2 (8.550882) (3)
23. Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony #30 (8.550757) (2); Symphonies #74-76 (8.554109) (2); String Quartets, Op. 64, #1-3 (8.550673) (3); String Quartets, Op. 64, #4-6 (8.550674) (3)
24. Gustav Holst (1874-1934): Somerset Rhapsody (8.553696) (4)
25. Leos Janacek (1854-1928): Piano Music, Vol. #3 (8.553588) (2)
26. Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792): Olympic Overture (8.553734) (6)
27. Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 (8.553852) (5)
28. Darius Milhaud (1892-1974): Piano Music (8.553443)
29. Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994): Chain II (8.553202) (4)
30. E.J Moeran (1894-1950): String Quartets; String Trio (8.554079) (5)
31. Carl Nielsen (1865-1931): String Quartet, Op. 14 (8.553907) (3)
32. Jacob Obrecht (1457-1505): Missa Caput & Salve Regina (8.553210) (5)
33. Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880): Gaite Parisienne (8.554005) (6)
34. Walter Piston (1894-1976): Violin Concertos #1 and #2 (8.559003) (4)
35. Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953): Piano Concertos #1, 3, and 4 (8.550566) (3); Piano Concertos #2 and 5 (8.550565) (3)
36. Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928): Cantus Arcticus & others (8.554147) (5)
37. Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971): Orchestral Works (8.553567) (4)
38. Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Piano Music – Ancient Airs & Dances (8.553704) (5)
39. Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975): Cello Concertos #1 and #2 (8.550813) (4)
40. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Finlandia (8.554265) (2)
41. Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884): Ma Vlast (complete) (8.550931) (2)
42. Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Suites #1 and #2 (8.550644) (3)
43. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Symphony #5 (8.550738) (5)
44. Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901): Requiem (2 CD’s) (8.550944-45) (3)
45. Henry Vieuxtemps (1820-1881): Violin Concertos #2 and 3 (8.554114) (3)
46. Richard Wagner (1813-1883): The Flying Dutchman (8.660025-26) (4)
47. William Walton (1902-1983): Cello Concerto (8.554325) (4); Johannesburg Festival Overture (8.553402) (5); March for “A History of the English Speaking Peoples” (8.553869) (4); Violin Concerto (8.554325) (4)
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- 9 posts total
- 9 posts total