[karljs]

Howdy,
I'm a big classical fan, especially when it comes to old baroque/classical period stuff.  I have a decent library of work, but I realized today it's almost entirely built around violin, cello, or piano.  I browsed around a little bit without any luck and so now I would really like to solicit some recommendations for enjoyable classical with focus shifted on to brass instruments.  Don't tell me to buy jazz! 

 
Obviously good sound engineering is preferred, but the music itself takes priority here.
 
Help please!
 
edit: I found this old, short thread, but would still like to hear more: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/60215/classical-with-brass-instruments

 

[SuprCrispyBacon]

Sorry I do not know much classical although I would be interested in knowing what tops your lists of what you already have of classical.
 

 

[SuprCrispyBacon]

oops

 

[karljs]

Quote:

Sorry I do not know much classical although I would be interested in knowing what tops your lists of what you already have of classical.
 

That's an incredibly difficult question to answer since my favorites vary significantly from week to week.  At the moment I've been listening to a lot of Bach, particularly his cello suites and solo violin sonatas/partitas.  Vivaldi is probably a close second at the moment with Rachel Podger's recording of La Stravaganza in regular rotation wherever I go.  I don't want to sidetrack the thread too severely, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[ArianneG]

IIRC off the top of my head there's a Horn Concerto by Mozart. Pretty bracing stuff. ClassicCat.net might have something there you could find.

 

[calaf]

ArianneG gave an excellent recommendation. The four Horn Concertos from Mozart are great, great stuff. The reference recording is the 1950s Brain/Karajan but I have a weakness for the ensemble playing and the sparkle of the 1969 Seifert/Karajan (one of the first classical music LPs I ever bought).
 
Hummel and Haydn wrote some very famous and much recorded trumpet concertos. This set http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002DDWM/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER (which I do not own) includes them and looks like an excellent sampler from "The" trumpet player of our times.
 
Bach wrote the best (Baroque) music, and brass is no exception. The first Brandeburg is a Concerto for 2 Corni da Caccia  ("hunting horns") and I am sure its exuberant opening Allegro will put a big smile in your face. And then of course there is the second Brandeburg concerto which is the touchstone of baroque trumpet playing. The six Brandeburg Concerti are usually recorded as a set, and one needs to have one or two in their collection. My favourite recording of the First is hands-down Savall, for the Second I am less sure (Savall is too "polite"). The most jaw-dropping recording I have heard for trumpet virtuosity is Alessandrini/Concerto Italiano. Hogwood may be more well-rounded, but still with plenty of fireworks.

 

[karljs]

Thanks for the recommendations!  I'll bump those Mozart concertos up to the top of my list and also check out the Hummel and Haydn.
 
Thanks for the impressions on Bach as well.  I have recordings of the Brandenburg Concertos but they aren't particularly great, so I'll try to listen to the ones you mentioned as well.

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

I'll third the Horn Concertos by Mozart and second the Trumpet Concerto recs. Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks is another obvious rec as it was originally scored for nine trumpets and nine french horns and has some magnificent brass sections. In fact, Handel did a lot of great writing for brass but they're usually mixed in with more traditional string-centric stuff. Although it's OOP, you may like this: http://www.amazon.com/Classical-Brass-Eastern-Gabrieli-Hindemith/dp/B000009K6H/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1289213043&sr=1-1

 

[FalconP]

This may interest you:
 

 

[Creibold]

"The Antiphonal Music Of Gabrieli" is one of the best brass cd's that's ever existed.
 
Perfect playing and a perfect sound too. The sound stage is just amazing. This is one of those CD's that people who actually play in brass ensembles love. 
 
Check this link:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Antiphonal-Music-Gabrieli-Giovanni/dp/B0000029PE