[gloom]

When I was a little kid, my parents forced me to play piano for about 10 years, so I don't have the fondest memory of classical music, and I never listened to it much. The 'Gladiator' and 'Conan the Barbarian' soundtracks changed that (the former is well-liked around here, but I slightly prefer the latter, and suggest anyone who likes the 'Gladiator' soundtrack check it out) - they are two of my favorite CDs.

My parents divorced about a month ago, and when my dad moved out of the house he took most of his possessions with him (including his 300+ jazz CDs). He left a few classical discs, though, and I snatched them up when I went home for winter break (I mentioned the CDs to him later, and he said I could have them).

I got:

Vivaldi / 'Le Quattro Sagioni' (the Four Seasons) - Philips Digital Classics - Pina Carmirelli on violin. La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, 7/1982.

Mozart / Piano Concertos 27 & 8 - Deutsch Grammophon - London Symphony Orchestra directed by Claudio Abbado, with Rudolf Serkin on piano.

Beethoven / Symphony #5 in C minor & Egmont Overture - Telarc - Boston Symphony Orchestra, directed by Seiji Ozawa.

Beethoven / Symphony #3 in E flat major "Eroica" - Denon - I can't read anything in the sleeve, because it's all in Japanese. It does say "Otmar Suitner conducting" and "Staatskapelle Berlin" on the disc itself, though.

and a few others besides.

So far I've listened to the first two, and I just started Beethoven's Symphony #5, and I'm loving every minute of it. The sound quality on this Telarc disc is <I>fantastic</I> (The Vivaldi disc also sounded very good), and I'm not sure that I'm even getting the full effect (I'm using a battered old Techincs CDP and Sennheiser HD580s). The dynamics are breathtaking: in the third movement, some passages are so quiet that road noise from outside my apartment, and conversation between my roommates two rooms away, drown out the music. I didn't touch the volume, though, because at this same setting the peaks are overwhelming, and almost too loud. Awe-inspiring!

I think I'm fast becoming a classical afficionado! I'll pick up more Beethoven and Mozard for sure, and maybe some Bach and Scarlatti (Scarlatti was my favorite composer when I still played piano).

 

[Trawlerman]

Congrats!

It's nice to see younger people becoming interested in Classical music. There really are some great recording out there and i'm sure that as you get older you will find that your appreciation for the more relaxed/refined music will increase.

I know my appreciation for music has just gotten better and better over the years. 5 years ago I wouldn't have listened to a Jazz CD if you paid me or held me at gunpoint. My Jazz collection now comprises some 50 CD's and is growing at an alarming rate

BTW, sorry to hear that your parents split up man. That's a real downer but unfortunately how life is these days. I couldn't even imagine what it's like to have that happen so i'm not going to say I know how you feel coz I don't, i'm sure it will come out right in the end.

Cheers, and good listening

 

[gloom]

I picked up a Deutsche Grammophon (spelled it right this time) recording of some Scarlatti sonatas on my way out to dinner with some friends tonight. I know that the label makes a big difference in classical music - I've noticed it myself, actually. The Telarc I mentioned in my first post has a dynamic range much greater than a generic EMI recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto and the Tempest that was in the stack I got.

As far as my parents go, I think things will be ok. At least they held things together until my younger brother and I were both in college (the last couple years had been a little rough, and in some ways this is a relief).

 

[redshifter]

if you want to check out some bach, pick up some recordings by a pianist named glenn gould. he had a way of picking out every line of melody in a bach composition and making it stand out. his style of playing the piano made it sound a bit like a harpsichord, which was the piano of bach's time.

i found playing scarlotti was more fun than listening, but that's me.

 

[Wes]

And don't dismiss the harpsichord itself for the music written in its time of dominance as the home keyboard instrument. Trevor Pinnock's disc of Scarlatti sonatas on DG Archiv should be heard just to see whether you are susceptible to the harpsichord's considerable charms, which include a clarity of all lines in polyphonic music that the piano rarely approaches (although Gould does a great job of simulating it).

 

[fredpb]

Since you like the Beethoven symphony, here are some others you may like:

Schubert: 2,6,9.
Mendelssohn: 3,4.
Beethoven: 1,2,7,8,6.
Schumann:Symphony #3 ("Rhenish"),4.
Rachmaninoff:1.
Bizet: Symphony In C.
Prokofiev:Classical Symphony (often paired with the Bizet).
Dvorak:7,9.
Tchaikovsky:4,5.
Haydn:104 ("London")
Mozart:35,40,41.

And, for "heavier" listening, Mahler 1,4,5. Start with
#1.

If you are budget minded, start with Schubert #9, then find a pairing of the Bizet and Prokofiev.

Someone has mentioned Beethoven's Triple Concerto (Piano, Cello, Violin, with orchestra). This is my favorite work. Either of the renditions with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are nice, and available.

 

[redshifter]

wes,
i totally agree with you on the merits of the harpsichord. i just find after a while the lack of dynamics of the solo harpsichord becomes a flat experience, even with a virtuoso like trevor pinnock playing. now, brandenburg #5 is a different story...

and wasn't the clavichord the home instrument of choice in bach's time ("the well tempored clavichord")?

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

well tempered clavier i think. not sure.

as far as mahler goes, i'd go 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 6th, 1st and then the others. with das leid thrown in somewhere in between.

 

[Wes]

redshifter,

True. Harpsichord dynamics are limited to infrequent step-wise changes of register and the built-in emphasis of massed chords over smaller ones and single notes. The trick is to create the illusion of dynamic change within a phrase by allowing small (unwritten) silences just before notes that are to take an emphasis. Still, that is only a simulation of piano dynamics, and tastes will and should differ.

The "well-tempered" instrument was not specified in Bach's title. The word was "Klavier" which could mean any keyboard instrument, could even have meant organ. The clavichords were usually more limited than harpsichords and spinets in the span of notes they could play and were without registers to give different colorings and loudness. The were also too low in volume for public performances for more than handfuls in a small room. So, they were more limited than the harpsichord, although they could do dynamic effects barred from the harpsichord (and micro-tonal effects barred from any keyboard instrument until the modern synthesizer).

Bach owned both harpsichords and clavichords. Most organists would have a harpsichord at home to practice on, and the amateurs who could afford either would probably have had a harpsichord first because it could do more.

xxHalberstamxx,

Let's not leave out "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" either.

 

[gloom]

Aiieee! I've been hijacked

fredpb, thank you for the recommendations. I actually have Beethoven's Triple Concerto, played by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert Von Karajan, recorded in 1969

I haven't listened to it yet, though.

I need some piano works, too, so if anyone wants to recommend some...

 

[Wes]

gloom,

Sorry for getting carried away on that tangent.

Piano concerti by Beethoven and Brahms are central to just about anyone's collection. There are two reissues that I own and like a lot. For Beethoven, Bishop/Kovachevich and Davis on Philips; for Brahms, Arrau and Haitink also on Philips, I believe. The latter one includes some very nice orchestral pieces, too.

Brahms, however much I may like him, is not as universally admired as Beethoven, so you might start with Beethoven to be on the safe side.

I like the harpsichord too much to qualify as a good source of recommendations on the solo piano literature.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloom Aiieee! I've been hijacked

(Looks back at original post.) Well it's not like you posted a question or anything. Quote:

I need some piano works, too, so if anyone wants to recommend some...

Okay, that's like a question.

Do you want solo piano work? Try to find a decent copy of some of Beethoven's sonatas (don't know which is the best one, anyone?). I also like Brendel playing any of Schubert's stuff -- Fantasies, etc. Also, you can't mention solo piano work without mentioning Chopin. The preludes and the etudes are probably his most recognizable, but the nocturnes are my favorite. Rubinstein does a commendable job on those.

How about some chamber music (duets, trios, etc.)? Again, Schubert (master of chamber music) -- the second Piano Trio in E flat, Death and the Maiden (quartet, I believe), and the Trout Quintet.

Piano Concertos? Rachmaninoff. All of the first three (there may have been only three, I think). Don't know which version. Also, Saint-Saens second is one of my favorites. Get the one with Andre Watts on piano. Easily the best. Also, surprisingly, the Liszt arrangements of other peoples' works (e.g. Beethoven's symphonies done as piano concertos) are quite fun. He also did those delightful Hungarian Rhapsodies.

Someone give some second opinions on these, as I don't want to be overwhelming, but I think I am.

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

yeah, i must say i haven't heard das knaben wunderhorn. that said, i haven't heard the 7th either. and i've only listened to the 4th once or twice. i'm very intrigued in the wunderhorn because the early symphonies supposedly borrow from it to a certain extent.

i really want to listen to more bruckner too. if i'm not mistaken, Naxos just released a box set of his symphonies, including a different version of his 8th (with a loud ending to the first movement). that should be cheap, so i may pick it up.

 

[redshifter]

wes, thanks for the thoughtful reply. i remember reading in my keyboard history book that the clavichord was a much more common instrument in homes than harpsichord for the reasons you stated. the clavichord, while quiet is capable of some dynamics. also some harpsichords can switch between loud and soft by engaging a second layer of strings--but you probably already know more about this than i do.

gloom,
for piano work by beethoven my favorite player is alfred brendel. he plays with great power and authority and for me gets right to the core of what beethoven was saying in his works. to me other players inject too much of their own personality into their playing, which can step on beethoven's voice. brendel presents the music with simple power and without fuss and doesn't let his ego or stylistic tricks get in the way. he also plays a wonderful chopin.

for bach, again check out glenn gould.

for mozart, especially his piano concerti, check out murry periah. he captures that "pearls on velvet" sound that mozart's music demands.

 

[fredpb]

Piano works? This stuff varies tremendously with performer.

You did not mention piano with orchestra, solo, or with other instruments.

Good starter for solo is Chopins "Waltzes". I am sure you will enjoy these.

Good choices for concertos are Beethovens 3rd and 5th piano concertos. Rachmaninoff's 2nd (and maybe 3rd). Grieg is wonderful. Mozart's #23 and #27 are nice.