Classical Music for Aficionados


I would like to start a thread, similar to Orpheus’ jazz site, for lovers of classical music.
I will list some of my favorite recordings, CDs as well as LP’s. While good sound is not a prime requisite, it will be a consideration.
  Classical music lovers please feel free to add to my lists.
Discussion of musical and recording issues will be welcome.

I’ll start with a list of CDs.  Records to follow in a later post.

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique.  Chesky  — Royal Phil. Orch.  Freccia, conductor.
Mahler:  Des Knaben Wunderhorn.  Vanguard Classics — Vienna Festival Orch. Prohaska, conductor.
Prokofiev:  Scythian Suite et. al.  DG  — Chicago Symphony  Abbado, conductor.
Brahms: Symphony #1.  Chesky — London Symph. Orch.  Horenstein, conductor.
Stravinsky: L’Histoire du Soldat. HDTT — Ars Nova.  Mandell, conductor.
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Analogue Productions. — Dallas Symph Orch. Johanos, cond.
Respighi: Roman Festivals et. al. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.

All of the above happen to be great sounding recordings, but, as I said, sonics is not a prerequisite.


128x128rvpiano
I have just discovered the existence of this thread, which I see has been going for several months now! I am not on this site as much as I used to be.  I hope that this thread survives as long as the jazz one has - certainly the discourse here is in general more informed and polite....rvpiano is to be commended for starting it!

Perhaps because I am a professional horn player, what I noticed as I just read through this entire thread is the lack of wind music mentioned in relation to strings and piano.  Maybe Frogman will chime in and help me out here!  Here are some recommendations for those of you who may be interested in some music for winds:

I'll start with Mozart, one of the greatest composers for winds. Of course the horn concerti - one cannot do better here than the classic performances by Dennis Brain, though of course there are several other good recordings.  The clarinet concerto is also considered one of the greatest concertos ever written for any instrument.  The Gran Partita became more widely known after the movie Amadeus came out, and there is plenty of fantastic music for winds in Mozarts output. There are many good recordings out there - back in the day the London Wind Soloists put out a good set, as did the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and there are other good sets as well. I have always said if I could form any chamber ensemble I wanted, it would be a wind octet. So much fantastic music for this ensemble, much of it by Mozart, including arrangements of most of his operas. 

Of course, one cannot mention wind music without including Richard Strauss. His horn concerti are amazing - try Hermann Baumann in this repertoire. Also included on the LP was the Weber Concertino -Weber was another great writer of wind music, especially for the clarinet.  But Strauss also wrote much great wind music patterned after Mozart, big serenades. The Happy Workshop is a good one.  The old Netherlands Wind Ensemble was a great group that recording much of the chamber music I have mentioned. 

As far as music for brass goes, there is plenty. The old Philip Jones Brass Ensemble recorded a very great deal. And for schubert, I'll mention some Hindemith - his Concert Music for Strings Brass and Percussion is excellent, as well has his Symphony for Band - the greatest work every composed for that ensemble. I also cannot resist mentioning his Sonata for Four Horns, one of the greatest horn quartets ever composed. But of course everyone's favorite piece of horn chamber music would be the Brahms Trio. 

I'll start there, hopefully this will spark some more discussion here!



learsfool:

Welcome to the thread and congratulations on being a professional on what is, assuredly, the most "unpredictable" of instruments.

My favorite horn piece has always been the Schumann Konzertstuck and recently found a recording with natural horns by Gardiner and the ORR. Lots of power, needed for the natural horns that seem better at bombast than lyricism.

Have also recently explored the Mozart/Karajan/Brain recording you mention and it is astonishingly good for the 50s. A tragedy that he died in a car accident at the height of his considerable fame.

Keep us abreast of the horn recordings these days and, once again, WELCOME!

learsfool brings up wind concertos and just this last week listened to multiple performances of the Copland Clarinet Concerto -- always a favorite.

Was surprised by the fact that all three performances were superb. Rarely have I found a concerto that has received such splendid performances across the board.

And from the original performance by the dedicatee Benny Goodman, this work seems to have inspired the best in its area.

learsfool,

Indeed, welcome to the thread!
It’s good to have you.  I’m happy that you’re mentioning wind masterpieces.
I’ve enjoyed most of the selections you’ve cited for years.
 I would really like to get a recently remastered copy of Brain’s Mozart.
All I have now is a scratchy LP.
A neglected wind work which I really enjoy is Corigliano’s Oboe Concerto.
A brilliant work which explores the various incarnations of the instrument.
Burt Lucarelli’s recording is the only version I know of.  It’s probably still available, used, on Amazon.
Again, welcome to the discussion.
 Hopefully, we’ll have more participants as we go along.
I have been a great fan of Schumann since the 60’s when I first discovered Classical Music and also think his Konzertstuck is one of his finest .
I was VERY lucky to hear Hermann Baumann play it with the Leipzig Gewandhauss under Masur . One of the greatest artists I have ever heard live ! As good as it gets .I also heard Corigliano’s Oboe Cnt . played by the Minnesota live on FM ,
and like everything he does , it is very good .
I have wondered several times what happened to learsfool, esp. re this thread . I have no doubt that along with frogman and rvp he is the the best Musician on here .

My very favorite of all wind pieces is Carl Nielsen’s "Wind Quintet Op 43" . There is a wonderful recording on Nimbus with the Vienna Quintet which also has a fine Hindemith " Klein Kammermusik" .Nielsen’s " Clarinet Concerto" Op.57 is also very compelling, a fine recording with Frost and the Lahti Symphony is on BIS 1463 in very good sound as well .Nielsen, like Hindemith , is grossly underplayed ,at least in US .