This summer I finally completed my bedroom audio setup (Energy Reference Connoisseur 10 bookshelves and Onkyo integrated amp, with custom cabling, etc, close to ~1.5K total...still need a nice DAC, currently running everything off the X-Fi soundcard..thinking either Compass or DACMagic), I've been listening more and more to classical music (The Energy RC-10s are breathtaking, with an airy, dynamic, grand but smooth sound that's perfect for classical/acoustic/instrumental.) (I actually play both piano and violin, piano for 10 yrs, violin for 7), and I want to start expanding my classical music collection: I need more suggestions for classical, as well as artists themselves. I usually listen to Concertos, Symphonies, and trios/quartets. I'm also fairly critical with interpretation/character of either artists or groups, for a version of a piece, and I've pointed out some of the ones I prefer.
I currently listen to:
Violin Concertos -
(Preferred violinists: Hilary Hahn, Julia Fischer, Perlman, Joshua Bell, Anne-Akiko Meyers, Vengerov but no one's perfect, so far. Hahn comes really close...I
Sarah Chang..except for her Sibelius)
Mendelssohn - Concerto in E minor (Hilary Hahn, Nicola Benedetti, Meyer, or Bell, if I want to get emotive..)
Tchaikovsky - Concerto in D Major (Either Perlman or Fischer, although Heifetz's version is stunning, and Anne-Sophie Mutter has a good one)
Beethoven - Concerto in D Major (Again, Hahn)
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor (Hahn...I love her sound, and this is a hauntingly beautiful piece)
And several Mozarts...and the Sibelius and Bruch
Piano Concertos
Grieg in A minor (Arrau, but it's poorly recorded)
Rachmaninoff 2/3 (Argerich)
That's about it...
Symphonies
Mozart's 40th, 25th (Vienna Phil)
Beethoven's 5th, 9th (Berlin)
Dvorak's 9th (London)
Again, that's about it...I know it's quite pitiful right now..
I actually really like string trio/quartet pieces, something about the amazing synergy of a few instruments..but never had time to find more...only pieces have currently (and really like all three) are:
Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor
Beethoven Piano Trio in D major ("Ghost")
Shostakovich String Quartets (complete collection, Emerson String Quartet)
And a bunch of solo or individual pieces (usually well-known), such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Chopin Etudes (Winter Wind is my favorite), Paganini Caprices, Verdi's Requiem, La Campanella, Devil's Trill, etc) Although I really need to get into Bach more...I don't really have any Baroque-era music, besides Vivaldi's Seasons, and some violin/piano pieces.
Feel free to make any recommendations, but overall, I prefer more melodic pieces, but with complex, dynamic energy. High-strung and tense. You could almost say vehement. (that's why I also listen to soundtrack music, like the Dark Knight Soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer & James Newton-Howard). Although I also appreciate pieces that are just beautiful.
I currently listen to:
Violin Concertos -
(Preferred violinists: Hilary Hahn, Julia Fischer, Perlman, Joshua Bell, Anne-Akiko Meyers, Vengerov but no one's perfect, so far. Hahn comes really close...I
Sarah Chang..except for her Sibelius)Mendelssohn - Concerto in E minor (Hilary Hahn, Nicola Benedetti, Meyer, or Bell, if I want to get emotive..)
Tchaikovsky - Concerto in D Major (Either Perlman or Fischer, although Heifetz's version is stunning, and Anne-Sophie Mutter has a good one)
Beethoven - Concerto in D Major (Again, Hahn)
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor (Hahn...I love her sound, and this is a hauntingly beautiful piece)
And several Mozarts...and the Sibelius and Bruch
Piano Concertos
Grieg in A minor (Arrau, but it's poorly recorded)
Rachmaninoff 2/3 (Argerich)
That's about it...
Symphonies
Mozart's 40th, 25th (Vienna Phil)
Beethoven's 5th, 9th (Berlin)
Dvorak's 9th (London)
Again, that's about it...I know it's quite pitiful right now..
I actually really like string trio/quartet pieces, something about the amazing synergy of a few instruments..but never had time to find more...only pieces have currently (and really like all three) are:
Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor
Beethoven Piano Trio in D major ("Ghost")
Shostakovich String Quartets (complete collection, Emerson String Quartet)
And a bunch of solo or individual pieces (usually well-known), such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Chopin Etudes (Winter Wind is my favorite), Paganini Caprices, Verdi's Requiem, La Campanella, Devil's Trill, etc) Although I really need to get into Bach more...I don't really have any Baroque-era music, besides Vivaldi's Seasons, and some violin/piano pieces.
Feel free to make any recommendations, but overall, I prefer more melodic pieces, but with complex, dynamic energy. High-strung and tense. You could almost say vehement. (that's why I also listen to soundtrack music, like the Dark Knight Soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer & James Newton-Howard). Although I also appreciate pieces that are just beautiful.
), try Bruch #1 and Saint Saens #3... they are great! 
