[markl]

Hi,
What are specific classical CDs that are:

1. known to be extremely well-recorded
2. probably of more recent vintage (no mono tracks from the 30's, please)
3. CDs where the specific PERFORMANCE by a symphony or musican is considered the "essential" or "definitive" performance of a particular piece.

I know squat about classical, so I need CDs where the sound just floors you and the performance is special. Hopefully this will keep me interested as I attempt to gain an appreciation for classical.

markl

 

[neil]

Hey Jude -- tell 'em about your 1812 Overture recording, and your Carmina Burana recording -- I've had a copy of each of these classic pieces, and they both were pale in comparison to the ones that Jude has his hands on.

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

The John Elliot Gardiner ENO CD of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, to my ear, blows everything else i've heard out of the water (Levine, Gui) both sonically and profomance wise. I don't get to the second and third CDs very often (i'm a busy man and i hate listening to music half way through), but the first has a great sense of drama throughout, and Byrn Terfel is magnificent as Figaro (i think this is HIS role), and the others are wonderful as well (especially Don Basillio). if you don't have a copy of Le Nozze di Figaro, run out and get this one. it was released on (Deutche Grammophone) Archiv if i'm not mistaken.

Apart from that, my Segerstram recording of Mahler's 6th (on Chandos) has very good sound and is supposed to be a very good proformance.

 

[DanG]

As I've mentioned before several times on these boards and will continue to do so since I love these CDs so much, here are my two favorites:

1. Bartok -- 6 String Quartets, performed by the Emerson String Quartet (Deutsche Grammophon)

This is a 2-CD set filled with the most amazing music I have ever heard in my life. I also have the Juilliard Quartet's rendition of the 6 string quartets, but they are so lifeless and bland in comparison.

I think my father put it best when he said this:
"After listening to the Juilliard Quartet's performance, I couldn't understand why Bartok's string quartets were called 'the best thing to happen to music since Beethoven's string quartets.' After listening to the Emerson Quartet's performance, it all became clear."

Bartok's music is very complex and is difficult to appreciate if you're not already a hard-core classical music fan. If your favorite music is by Vivaldi or Johann Strauss, Bartok probably isn't for you (and neither is Schoenberg, for that matter

). But I'd suggest giving it a listen anyway.

2. Beethoven -- Complete String Quartets, performed by the Alban Berg Quartett (EMI Classics).

This is a 7-CD set with all the string quartets written by Beethoven. This is my second-favorite music and comes quite close to the Bartok quartets. While not every single quartet on these CDs is amazing (some of the Razumovsky ones can get a bit dull, I think), the music and performance is still phenomenal. This is strongly recommended for anyone who likes any type of classical music (except Johann Struass

).

Another recommendation I'll make is for the 8-10 CDs containing all of the piano music Arthur Rubinstein (considered by most to have been the greatest pianist who ever recorded music) played. While some pieces were recorded in mono, the music is just so amazing that it would be foolish to pass it by because of audiophilic snobbism.

Now, I've mentioned before the Chesky Gold CD of Reiner conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing Brahms No. 4. While I'm sure this is a finely-recorded piece of music, the performance is nothing special (at least I don't think so). Maybe it's a bit too quick to pass judgement on all of Chesky records because of this one CD, but I'd hesitate to recommend Chesky discs over others just because they're supposed to have higher-quality recording. Before buying any of their CDs, be sure to read reviews not only on their CDs, but also the specific performances.

I hope this helped!

Dan

 

[zoboomofo]

Scherchen '59 of Mahler's 2nd. Great piece. Great sound. Love the tympani!

 

[frankclone]

Check out Penguin Guide to Classical Music on CD. The items
w/rosettes are considered definitive recordingby reviewers .

 

[markl]

Tanks, frankclone, that should be perfect!

 

[beowulf]

Check the Royal Philharmonic Collection CDs.

All are super-budget price, edited by Tring, and with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performances.

These CDs are advertised as " 32 bit DDD high quality audiofile edition", and so far all I got are pretty good when it comes to audio quality, some are amazing (and some of those are excellent even in performances)

I recommend Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which sounds amazing, and also Holst's The Planets and Copland, all on this collection, all with excellent sound quality and top notch performances.

These CDs are pretty cheap, and quite a good choice sometimes.

 

[KR...]

This CD is a must have I think :

RICHARD WAGNER - ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
by National Philharmonic Orchestra

TRACK LISTING

1. Tristan and Isolde: Love Music from Acts II and III
2. Die Walkure: Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music
3. Siegfried Idyll
4. Gotterdammerung: Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music
5. Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries

http://www.chesky.com/

 

[blr]

beowulf.
I have 3 of these "audiofile" editions by the royal philharmonic orchestra, Mozart, Sibelius and Organ works and none of them sounds so audiofile to me. Dunno what they mean by this 32 bits (is anyone recording in 32 bits resolution yet and why...) but they're no more than OK. In fact some Naxos CDs sound much better to my ears.

 

[AndreYew]

I found that the Gardiner Marriage of Figaro mentioned above has quite a number of overloads in it. It's also recorded in that high-fi, in-your-face kind of sound that DGG likes to do.

Now here're some of my picks that others can pick apart:

1. Mahler Symphonies #1 and 9 on Virgin Classics for $12, which is a bargain for both works on two CDs. Libor Pesek conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in the Mahler 9, and Andrew Litton conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the Mahler 1. Both are fantastic performances with great orchestral execution and technique, and fine interpretations. The Mahler 1 is quite Romantic and dramatic while maintaining its continuity and not falling to pieces. The Mahler 9 is quite intense.

The sound is very, very good, comparable to the best audiophile recordings. The perspective is somewhat middle of the hall, and the orchestra has a nice, laid back tonal balance.

2. Vivaldi's Four Seasons on Opus 111, low-price I believe. Fabio Biondi conducts the Europa Galante. If there is one Four Seasons to own, it's this one. The performances are dramatic and high-contrast with high-virtuosity playing. This is a Four Seasons you won't be embarassed to show to your classical-music friends.

Sound is also very good here, with a sense of the performance space coming through very clearly. When the players wind it up, there is a definite sense of being surrounded by the musicians, and being swept up by the sound.

3. Fazil Say playing Mozart piano sonatas and other Mozart piano pieces on WEA/Atlantic Classics. These are imaginative interpretations of many well-known Mozart piano pieces, played with great imagination, energy, and verve.

The recorded piano sound is very good, with a good sense of the performance space, and very good tonal purity. Dynamics are excellent, and listen for the decay of the notes into the ambience.

4. One more Mahler piece: Mahler Symphony #5 on Telarc. Benjamin Zander conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra. Not only is the performance highly idiomatic and expressive, but there's also an excellent discussion disc included that explains many details of the symphony and Mahler's work. It's a great place to start off a novice Mahlerian, and after listening to the discussion disc, you will have so many places to hear the sensuality and complexity of orchestral sound to really make those high-end headphones work for you.

Recording quality is typical of the recent Telarc releases, and that's excellent with great dynamics and lush orchestral tonality that still maintains great clarity.

Edit: Take what the Penguin Guide says with many grains of salt. They ignore some very worthy recordings, and have their own biases.

--Andre

 

[reynman]

markl,

I recommend Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C Minor "Resurrection" Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra w/ Kathleen Battle and Maureen Forrester on Telarc.

Big, grand orchestral work using the entire orchestra especially oboes. The second disc is the vocal portion.

Regards - reynman

 

[MessierObject]

You want well-recorded performances? I got yer well-recorded performance, right here...!

It's the 1712 Overture, by P.D.Q. Bach, on Telarc.

I can only guess that Telarc's excellent recording engineer has a perverse streak; or maybe, as in the movie Animal House, he figured:

"This calls for a really futile and stupid gesture...and I'm just the guy who can do it!"

In any event, this is a disk in the "classical music comedy" genre...whisper that into your mind's ear five times slowly. And I have never heard better recording anywhere, anytime. The spun gold of the brass section; the dimensionality of the human voices; the microdynamics in the background of the masterpiece, "Einstein on the Fritz"; the purity of the crash, as the host falls through a warehouse floor ...all convincingly preserved for posterity...or maybe, posteriority...

And, you will never never ever again be able to listen to the 1812 Overture again without thinking of Yankee Doodle...

 

[john w]

The one on EMI Previn conducting. The imaging on this one is real good for the brass choirs in the dies irea. You get three directions for the brass choir, which is the closest you can get on recording. Nothing beats a live performance where the brass choirs are placed at the compass points of the hall.It gives a real impact which is awesome - I have heard 5 live ones. Boulez did one in April in Cleveland,which I wanted to see. I think DG has recorded it.

The recording of this work on Naxus label is also quite good, and it's only 10.99 for a 2 cd set. The Previn is also a bargin - 17.99 2cd set plus the Symphony Fantastique is included.

A sleeper - Beethoven's 5th conducted by Gunther Schuller.This is even better then the C. Kleiber which Penguine guide recommends. I think it takes a snowy day in July for Penguine to change it's ratings. In other words they don't re-review most of the war horses.

I can go on and on. If you are interested let me know.

 

[markl]

So I just bought my Penguin Guide at Borders-- thanks again for the suggestion. This is EXACTLY what I needed.

So, using the guide while I was at Borders, I decided to find a good version of Bach's Bradenburg Concertos to test drive some classical. I chose this piece because Nick Drake was supposed to have loved it. Had to start somewhere, and I figured if Drake dug it, it must be good.

So Borders didn't have Penguin's primary reco, but they did have #2, which is directed by Roy Goodman and on the Hyperion Dyad lable. I am very new to classical, and I now realize how friggin' COLOSSAL and COSTLY a task it is going to be to get into this form of music. Oh well. I am also branching out into jazz as well, but that's another story and financial burden.

So far, I am enjoying the sound of the CD-- not extremely dynamic, but I'm not listening to rock, am I? I trust the guide's opinion that the sound on the disk is "very good".

Not sure what to make of the music yet (I have it on now). If the 15 year old me could see me now actually attempting to sit down and listen to friggin' Bach, he would have either cried or maybe howled with ironic laughter. Oh well, here I go...

markl