Classical Music for Aficionados

No posts today.
Have we already run out of steam?

I just happened to listen to the same disc yesterday.
Great performances and sound.

Glad you both are enjoying the Telarc Stravinsky/Borodin recording.  As you undoubtedly saw I mentioned having that recording in LP form earlier in the thread, although I neglected to mention that in addition to the Firebird Suite it includes the Overture and Polovetsian Dances from Borodin's Prince Igor.

The latter will sound familiar to many who are not classical music aficionados because the music of the popular song "Stranger In Paradise," originally used in the 1950s musical "Kismet," was derived from it.  That song in turn having been recorded over the years by many popular artists, with Tony Bennett's version perhaps having been the most popular.

In my earlier post, also, I had cited the incredible dynamic range of the Firebird recording.  The most notable example being the contrast in volume between the almost whisper-like notes in the few seconds preceding the finale, and the concluding note of the work, which I've measured as reaching nearly 105 db at my listening position while listening to the recording at average levels in the mid-70s! 

Great performances and sound.

Indeed!  And regarding the sound, the quality is all the more remarkable considering that it was recorded digitally in 1978!

Best regards,
-- Al

P.S:  Schubert & Gs5556, thanks very much for your suggestions re the Cello Quintet.

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!