[seacard]

I got to listen to the Gardiner/Schumann set yesterday, and absolutely loved it. I know we discuss period recordings in various threads, but I was hoping to compile some of the best ones in one place to see what I'm missing.

My top 5:

Beethoven Symphonies/Gardiner
Mozart Symphonies/Pinnock
Mozart Piano Concertos/Levin
Beethoven Solo Piano Works/Brautigam
Haydn Paris Symphonies/Harnoncourt

 

[Aaron622]

Some of my favorites:

Haydn Quartets: Quatuor Mosaiques
Bach B Minor Mass: Gardiner
Mozart Clarinet Quintet: L' Archibudelli/Neidich

Of course being on period instruments does not make them "authentic," but I think these are genuinely good performances.

 

[seacard]

I also recently bought a few more that I've heard good things about, but haven't listened to them yet:

Beethoven Violin Sonatas 4 and 7: Staier/Sepec
Beethoven Piano Concertos/Lubin
Schubert Symphonies 5 and 8/Spering
Schubert Piano Sonatas D. 958-959/Staier
Mozart Piano Concertos 12, 14, 15, 21/Lubin
Wilms Symphonies 6 and 7/Concerto Koln

 

[Aaron622]

Can't say I know any of those. Come to think of it, pretty much all my period instrument recordings (at least orchestral ones) are Gardiner (the Mozart C Minor Mass is another good one), so I'm probably not going to add too much here. I've been tempted by the Gardiner Beethoven symphony set but haven't found a good deal on it. I have the single disc of the 3rd and 5th, and the Eroica I like a lot, not so much the 5th.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've got a few discs of Bach by Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music. They're amazing; I especially love the old harpsichords.

 

[Bunnyears]

Speaking of Hogwood, I recently picked up this recording which includes probably one the very few period instrument performances of the string quartet (quintet with the optional double bass) arrangement of the 'Serenade K 525 (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) by the Salomon Quartet.

Here are few other favorite HIP recordings by L'Archibudelli:

Schubert's Trout Quintet, Dvorák's String Quintet's 2 and 3 (thank you Masolino!); Haydn: The Last 3 String Quartets

And here is some more Haydn by Trio 1790. Although I have only vol. 6 pictured, all of the volumes are wonderful.

 

[Vicious Tyrant]

I love Arnold Ostman's Zauberflote (and Williams Christie's for that matter). I think they both do a nice job of giving an idea of what Mozart must have been hearing, or at least what I like to think he was hearing.

 

[Masolino]

Just got a recording (used) of Mozart's "Palatine" sonatas (K. 301-306) for fortepiano and violin, "Volume 1." Wonderfully full sound from both the violin and the keyboard, and the interpretaton by two Italian artists, Sergio Ciomei and Fabrizio Cipriani, is similarly rich yet artculate. A first-class issue from the Spanish label Cantus. Unfortunately this "Volume 1" is the only Mozart recording the two artists have made for this company. They later repeated K. 302 and K. 304 for the Dutch audiophile label Northwest Classics on a SACD plus two sets of variations for the same instrumental combination, with no sign of a fellow-up yet. Mozart wrote some extremely beautiful as well as very affecting music in the set, not least the e minor sonata K. 304, written in Paris upon receving the news of his mother's death.

 

[Bunnyears]

Masolino,

Let me know how that recording sounds! It looks very good.

I just picked some older recordings including these: Schobert Quartets, trios and sonatas; Mozart Divertimenti k. 334 and K. 247 - L'Archibudelli; Mozart Grande Sestetto Concertante - L'Archibudelli; Haydn Paukenmesse - Bruno Weil, Tafelmusik, Tölzer Knabenchor; Boccherini Fandango - Savall, Le Concert des Nations.

Interestingly, Schobert is supposed to have been an influence on the young Mozart, inspiring him to write sonatas for violin and keyboard. Masolino's recording ties in very nicely with this one.

 

[Masolino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears /img/forum/go_quote.gif Masolino, Let me know how that recording sounds! It looks very good. I just picked some older recordings including these: Schobert Quartets, trios and sonatas; Mozart Divertimenti k. 334 and K. 247 - L'Archibudelli; Mozart Grande Sestetto Concertante - L'Archibudelli; Haydn Paukenmesse - Bruno Weil, Tafelmusik, Tölzer Knabenchor; Boccherini Fandango - Savall, Le Concert des Nations. Interestingly, Schobert is supposed to have been an influence on the young Mozart, inspiring him to write sonatas for violin and keyboard. Masolino's recording ties in very nicely with this one.

The Cirpriani/Ciomei recording shines on my modest portable Stax,
so I am sure you will be gratified by it as well when you get it. I
have many of the recordings you listed above and they are invariably
first rate (or better). Even the ones I don't have yet - the Schobert
and the Boccherini - are either a long-standing classic or a new favorite among
many. Maybe you will indulge us by writing a more detailed review
for each so people will be lured into buying before some of them
disappear. (The L'Archibudelli Mozart discs are not all that easy to
find already if I am not mistaken. ) As an OT quip on the side,
I am also listening to a Mendelssohn quartet box (3 discs) recorded
by the Artis String Quartet. They do not use period instruments and
one can hear it quite distinctively, but the interpretations had won
several awards and are recommended almost unianimously by those
whose opinions I respect. I don't know whether one can get it (on the
Accord label) right in the US but don't let it pass when you see it.

 

[Masolino]

Dear Bunnyears I believe this one is for you!



Hyacinthe Jadin, a French composer at the time of Haydn and Mozart who lived to be only 25, nevertheless managed to write down and publish several sets of works before he perished from tuberculosis. Richard Fuller recorded a set of complete fortepiano music composed by Jadin, and now the string trios, recorded by the "German" group Les Adieux who occasionally work with soloists such as Andreas Staier. The trio consists of Mary Utiger (violin) who studied in Boston, Hajo Bass (viola) who was a founding member of MAK, and Nicholas Selo (cello) from London. Although the timeline of Jadin's life seems to suggest a comparison with Beethoven, I actually hear more of a Schubert in shaping based on these three trios dedicated to Rodolfe Kreutzer (the Beethoven-sonata "Kreutzer"?). Beautiful, well-crafted music that compares well with, well, young Schubert's work.

The most important reason to get the album is the sound quality. This has to be the most pleasant-sounding chamber music recording done on period strings that I have heard for a long time. So intimately smooth and yet so clear one cannot help close one's eyes while listening to the conversation between three string players.

Hyacinthe Jadin: 3 String Trios, Op. 2. Les Adieux Ensemble. NCA (New Classical Adventure) 9912846-215.

 

[Bunnyears]

Well, now I really have a reason to spend money!

The question is now going to be how much money this will cost and whether it is available here in the USA. Unfortunately, most of the great HIP recordings are released here late and only in small quantity.

Edit: It's available, but far from a budget selection! No matter, it will find it's way into the basket at amazon.

 

[Masolino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, now I really have a reason to spend money! The question is now going to be how much money this will cost and whether it is available here in the USA. Unfortunately, most of the great HIP recordings are released here late and only in small quantity. Edit: It's available, but far from a budget selection! No matter, it will find it's way into the basket at amazon.

This one is available in the US and, I believe, another reason to spend your (and my) money. Now we are both fans of Andreas Staier and (incresingly) Christine Schornsheim. Well they made an album together a few months ago and on a most extraordinary instrument called vis-à-vis combining a three-keyboard harpsichord with a fortepiano. There are only two such things in existence today and the speciemen they recorded this album on is from a museum in Verona, Italy and was made by Andreas Stein in 1777. The programme is as interesting as the instrument sound:

Mozart Works for piano duet:

Sonatas K358, K381 (123a)
Six variations KV398 (416e) on the tune 'Salve tu, Domine' from Filosofi immaginarii by Paisiello
Six German Dances K509 (transcr. pour piano)
Prelude & fugue in C K394
Modulierendes Praeludium K284a
KV deest - Fragment of prelude K624

Improvisation Christine Schornsheim & Andreas Staier

 

[Assorted]

Do A=440 and French bow's count?

And if we just ignore ovpp:

My favorite St Matthew's Passion:

 

[Masolino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do A=440 and French bow's count?

Certainly not with the steel strings Kramer used on his instrument. A less compromised version can be found below, also from ECM: