Liszt piano concertos 1 & 2 played by Sviatoslav Richter. gorgeous, electric stuff.
Album named "Rite" Gustavo Dudamel conducting the simon bolivar orchestra, playing the rite of spring by Stravinsky and Noche de los mayas (night of the Maya) by Silvestre Revueltas. The final movement of the Revueltas piece has this manic energy to it, 17 percussionists going crazy on all sorts of drums with full orchestra, wild. Oh, and BTW, it was recorded LIVE! (no audible coughing though, amazing!)
Complete piano concertos of Prokofiev played by Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca) Piano concertos 2-3 are pure electric magic from the piano and orchestra. It is modern, but Prokofiev wasn't considered "ultra" modern, he was a Neo-classicist. Fantastic Russian music. The 3rd movement of the 2nd Concerto is like the gates of Hell being dragged open, marvelous.
Finally, the most modern (its worth a listen though, I know you like the older classics), but probably one of the most stunning pieces of music ever written is the 8th String Quartet written by Shostakovich in C minor (Get the Borodin Quartet on BMG Classics, Shostakovich chose them to showcase this work, they are fantastic). According to the score, it is dedicated "to the victims of Facism and war". I've never heard music with such meaning, strife, and depth. I got this from Classical archives and it gives you an idea of its emotional power:
"Along with the Symphony No. 8, Shostakovich's eighth string quartet is his most poignant expression of personal wartime experience, and remains one of his most popular and haunting pieces. The music of this quartet burns throughout with a passionate yearning and angry outbursts. The impact of the work, while it is technically complex and demanding, is wholly emotional, and is best heard with the composer's words kept in mind: "I feel eternal pain for those who were killed by Hitler, but I feel no less pain for those killed on Stalin's orders. I suffer for everyone who was tortured, shot, or starved to death. The majority of my symphonies are tombstones. Too many of our people died and were buried in places unknown to anyone, not even their relatives. Where do you put the tombstones? Only music can do that for them. I'm willing to write a composition for each of the victims but that's impossible, and that's only why I dedicate my music to them all."'
This is the deep end of "Classical" music, but once you've been there, everything else seems superficial to a certain extent, not recommended for casual listening. It is a refreshing change from my typical "Classical" music, I wouldn't lose this album (Boxset of complete Shostakovich String Quartets played by the Borodin quartet) for 1000 rock, pop, or jazz albums, and the performance of the 8th String Quartet is worth the entire set. It may be modern (written in 1960) but this is great music, and is at least worth a serious listen, who knows, you might like a little "modern" music.
hope you find something worth buying!
