classical music recommendations

[afg34]

I want some violin and maybe flute; orchestras are fine also. Please recommend me some artists or CDs.

 

[Guarneri]

A list assuming you don't have much classical recordings already:

Romance of the Violin - Joshua Bell; this is a best selling cd for good reason, lots of very beautiful solos especially suited for non-musicians (I don't know if you are one or not.)

Four "great" violin concertos: Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor, Beethoven Concerto in D major, Tchaikovsky Concerto in D major, and Brahms Concerto in D major. There are other good concertos, but these are the 4 that set the standards. Good artists include Heifetz, Oistrakh, Perlman, Milstein, etc. For sonically better recordings try newer artists like Sarah Chang, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Kyung Wha Chung, Midori, and Perlman.

Masters of the Bow 2 CD set - A great collection of famous solo violin concert pieces (not concertos or sonatas). Variety of great artists, superb song selection, good recording quality.

Orchestral music:

Beethoven Symphonies 5 & 7 - Carlos Kleiber, Vienna Philharmonic

Beethoven Symphonies 4 & 6 - Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony

Beethoven Symphony #9 - Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic, 1970's version

Scheherazade - Valery Gergiev, Kirov Opera Orchestra

Dvorak Symphony #9 - Raphael Kubliek, Berlin Philharmonic

L'arlesienne and Carmen Suites - Charles Dutoit, Montreal symphony. These suites have great flute solos as well as orchestra parts. Great for some fresh listening after symphonies.

Obviously, these are just my opinions and recommendations and there are clearly a lot more good music but it's getting late and I really need to get some sleep. Good luck and I think this list is a good starting point for you =P

 

[wower]

The Beethoven Triple Concerto paired with Brahms double is a great disk to start a classical music collection with. Very moving music, well recorded at a price anyone can live with. Sorry I can't do the fancy picture linking thing.

Amazon.com: Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Brahms: Double Concerto / Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Richter: Music: Mstislav Rostropovich,Ludwig van Beethoven,Johannes Brahms,George Szell,Herbert von Karajan,Berliner Philharmo

 

[Tyson]

Check the link in my sig below.

 

[Rlynn]

Here is a lovely flute CD I picked up recently. Modern composers, but not dissonant: Hanson, Arnold, Griffes, and more.

Alexa Still, Flute

 

[ProzacMessiah]

Flutist Sharon Bezaly has a number of very good releases on BIS. I'm pleased with the 3 I've aquired so far: the Mozart concerti, Bridge Across the Pyrenees, and Nordic Spell.

 

[coredump]

I realise that LaserLight is not highly regarded but you can get Masters Of Classical Music for about $20 which includes 10 hours of music. Listen to them and decide what you like. You can always buy a better recording later. I have it and have been enjoying the heck out of it.

Includes

Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann II Strauss, Richard Wagner, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Franz Schubert, Giuseppe Verdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, Fryderyk Chopin

 

[kikkomang]

i recommend bach's sonatas and partitas. more spefically, i recommend milstein as the violinist playing the S&P's.

Amazon.com: Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin: Music: Johann Sebastian Bach,Nathan Milstein

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coredump /img/forum/go_quote.gif I realise that LaserLight is not highly regarded but you can get Masters Of Classical Music for about $20 which includes 10 hours of music. Listen to them and decide what you like. You can always buy a better recording later. I have it and have been enjoying the heck out of it. Includes Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann II Strauss, Richard Wagner, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Franz Schubert, Giuseppe Verdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, Fryderyk Chopin

I'm actually very pleased with most of the Laserlight releases. They, in some ways, predated Naxos in getting wider exposure for some good Eastern Europe artists' work. Laserlight presented some better alternatives to labels like Decca, Sony and DG, who previously held a lock on some classical stars. Haydn's cello concerto played by Miklos Perenyi is a top drawer choice as are others.

 

[Ansel]

Lately I've been enjoying the Anne-Sophie Mutter, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Witold Lutoslawski recording. Its modern classical but Mutter's playing is fantastic. I would also recommend the Bach sonatas for violin and harpsichord with Laredo and Gould performing.

 

[technobarbie]

I'm really into string quartets right now. Try Beethoven's Middle String Quartets or Shostakovich String Quartets.

For a cheaper alternative try Prokofiev's - Violin Concerto or Schubert's - Death of a Maiden quartet.

 

[joeq70]

This is a little different than the music others have posted, but it is indeed classical. I recommend that you check out Ólafur Arnalds.

 

[prosound]

Mozart: Violin Concertos 3 & 5 / Mutter, Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto; Flute Concerto No. 1; Bassoon Concerto

Mendelssohn, Bruch: Violin Concertos