Many wonderful recommendations; thanks to all. I would like to recommend the music of some less known composers and some unusual works.
A very broad historical perspective can be very rewarding and puts the music in better context, imo. The compositional evolution of the music throughout its various historical periods can be fascinating. As such, I would like to recommend a recording of the music of one of the most intriguing composers of the Renaissance period, Carlo Gesualdo. His personal life was marked by notoriety and scandal. His music was incredibly ahead of its time with the use of dissonance and chromaticism in a way that would not become commonplace for at least two hundred years. I Iove his madrigals; Book 6 in particular. Two favorite recordings:
Kassiopeia Quintet /Globe Records:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j2HbQsUIBQI
Concerto Italiano/Alliance Records:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-_F1OuMeVSw
Moving ahead almost three hundred years. One of my favorite composers, this time from the late Romantic period, Alexander Glazunov. His Violin Concerto is a favorite. Although the RCA recording by Jascha Heifetz is probably the most popular, my favorite is by the great Nathan Milstein with the Pittsburgh Symphony on EMI:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HOFt7QZ61LI
Another composer whose vocal music I really like is the Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. This recording of the Girls Choir Of Budapest on Angel Records (EMI) is, as far as I know, available only on original lp, but is worth finding and copies should be available. It also includes choral works by Bela Bartok:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMjZQWdi0Bg
Speaking of Bartok. His string quartets are described by some as “difficult” music; of course, that is entirely relative. His Quartet No.3 is a good place to start for anyone unfamiliar with his unusual harmonic language. This recording by the Kasacs Qt. on Decca is excellent:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pAu0WROpq-g
John Adams is my favorite of contemporary “Minimalist” composers. IMO, his music is in an entirely different category compared to the more well known Phillip Glass. This recording on Nonesuch Records of his chamber work “Road Movies” for violin and piano is typical Adams with emphasis on rhythmic impetus and the influence of other genres including jazz and bluegrass.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8rBUvtBfeMnGlQdvmA0K0vmXmADXwM9P
The OP mentions one my favorite works, Rachmaninov’s “Symphonic Dances”. Also one of my favorite records from the standpoint of sound. Fantastically natural timbres that remind me of the best of the Decca recordings (but a little “juicier”) which as much as one can generalize about recorded sound of different labels are my favorites. Pretty good performance overall; but, imo, kind of lackluster as far as individual solo performances are concerned; especially the woodwinds (the beautiful saxophone solo is borderline embarrassing in the intonation department). This version on Reference Recordings with Eiji Oue conducting the Minnesota Orchestra is my favorite:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVnO6tbYEM
Thanks for the great thread and Happy (and Musical) Holidays to all!
A very broad historical perspective can be very rewarding and puts the music in better context, imo. The compositional evolution of the music throughout its various historical periods can be fascinating. As such, I would like to recommend a recording of the music of one of the most intriguing composers of the Renaissance period, Carlo Gesualdo. His personal life was marked by notoriety and scandal. His music was incredibly ahead of its time with the use of dissonance and chromaticism in a way that would not become commonplace for at least two hundred years. I Iove his madrigals; Book 6 in particular. Two favorite recordings:
Kassiopeia Quintet /Globe Records:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j2HbQsUIBQI
Concerto Italiano/Alliance Records:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-_F1OuMeVSw
Moving ahead almost three hundred years. One of my favorite composers, this time from the late Romantic period, Alexander Glazunov. His Violin Concerto is a favorite. Although the RCA recording by Jascha Heifetz is probably the most popular, my favorite is by the great Nathan Milstein with the Pittsburgh Symphony on EMI:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HOFt7QZ61LI
Another composer whose vocal music I really like is the Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. This recording of the Girls Choir Of Budapest on Angel Records (EMI) is, as far as I know, available only on original lp, but is worth finding and copies should be available. It also includes choral works by Bela Bartok:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMjZQWdi0Bg
Speaking of Bartok. His string quartets are described by some as “difficult” music; of course, that is entirely relative. His Quartet No.3 is a good place to start for anyone unfamiliar with his unusual harmonic language. This recording by the Kasacs Qt. on Decca is excellent:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pAu0WROpq-g
John Adams is my favorite of contemporary “Minimalist” composers. IMO, his music is in an entirely different category compared to the more well known Phillip Glass. This recording on Nonesuch Records of his chamber work “Road Movies” for violin and piano is typical Adams with emphasis on rhythmic impetus and the influence of other genres including jazz and bluegrass.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8rBUvtBfeMnGlQdvmA0K0vmXmADXwM9P
The OP mentions one my favorite works, Rachmaninov’s “Symphonic Dances”. Also one of my favorite records from the standpoint of sound. Fantastically natural timbres that remind me of the best of the Decca recordings (but a little “juicier”) which as much as one can generalize about recorded sound of different labels are my favorites. Pretty good performance overall; but, imo, kind of lackluster as far as individual solo performances are concerned; especially the woodwinds (the beautiful saxophone solo is borderline embarrassing in the intonation department). This version on Reference Recordings with Eiji Oue conducting the Minnesota Orchestra is my favorite:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVnO6tbYEM
Thanks for the great thread and Happy (and Musical) Holidays to all!