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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.


rvpiano
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
938 posts
 
kef_lover,

Just got the Monteux set.
Gorgeous performance of the Nocturnes!
One question though. It’s probably my system acting up again, but I heard most of the audio coming from the right channel. I don’t notice that with the next selection (Tchaikovsky.)  Do you have the same phenomenon on your set?
I would guess not.  I think my preamp has to be defective.
Post removed 
ps
411 posts
 
I think Domenico Zipoli is a fascinating figure.
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
938 posts
 
Schubert,

I got the beginning of your post regarding Mahler’s 7th Symphony in my email but it seems the full text was removed from the forum.  
What’s up with that?

It seemed you were beginning to say you liked the symphony, although I know you’re not a Mahler lover.  That is the most challenging symphony of the lot for most Mahler aficionados.  It took me a long time before I “got it.”
schubert
4,867 posts
 
I was taken by the performance of Adam Fisher and the Dusseldorf Symphony . Fisher handled the over-emotionality and variants that bother me in Mahler very well and it was a live performance from the Dusseldorf
Tonhalle which has very good acoustics .
IMO Fisher is formidable, as good as anyone around .Budapest is the most musical city I know about, fantastic audiences and he is very beloved there , so I’m not alone in that .

I don’t like music that seems "bombastic" for its own sake to ME ,which to me ,Mahler does .
Obviously , says nothing about Mahler and a lot about me .
Janacek, for instance, brings the house down but all in the service of the music and in an organic way and I love him .
A lot of Mahler to me seems to turn back on itself like a dog chasing its tail.
Hard to do that in vocal music , that, and my deep love of the German language make Mahler A-OK in that realm to me .

Of course I’m not a musician and reading Music Theory 101 from The
U of MN bookstore and X thousand liner and program notes is the extent of my musical
education . But we all have to listen with our own ears .



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