Looking for dynamic recordings

[RBFC]

Here's some various Shostakovich symphonies that are well performed with good sound:

 

Shostakovich 1 & 7

Leonard Bernstein/ Duetsche Grammophone

 

Shostakovich 4

Vladimir Ashkenazy/ Decca-London

 

Shostakovich 11

Alexander Lazarev/ Linn Records

 

*#11 holds the unofficial title of having the wildest outburst of percussion in any "major" symphony. This is truly spectacular if you like this genre of music.

 

Others:

 

Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony

Chung/ Duetsche Grammophone

 

* This set my personal record for loudest symphonic performance attended live. I saw the Cleveland Orchestra perform this under Esa-Pekka Salonen almost 20 years ago. It blew the roof off Severance Hall! Salonen also has a version on CBS Masterworks that's pretty good.

 

Malcolm Arnold: Overtures

Arnold/ Reference Recordings

 

*This is available as a CD, but is being issued as a 24/176.4 HRx high-res file as well.

 

 

Something completely different:

 

Kroumata Percussion Ensemble

BIS232

 

* This was BIS first CD release, and had a warning about dynamic range and speaker damage on the front cover.

 

La Folia

Paniagua/ Harmonia Mundi

 

*Taking a classic "folia" (dance) theme and running with it, Paniagua adds chain saws, Land Rovers, and other effects to turn this into a riot. These are serious ancient music performers (with several excellent "straight" releases to their credit) that just cut loose and have fun with this one.

 

 

These should provide an interesting start. With about 1000 classical CDs in my collection, there are MANY more awesome pieces to be heard. I'll try to get back and post some more soon.

 

Lee

 

 

 

 

 

[AV-OCD]

Thanks Lee. That's a massive collection of classical you have. I really only dabble in the category, so it is good to have a resident expert like you providing recommendations.

 

[RBFC]

Tim,

 

You're welcome. However, I'm NO expert. Learning about the classical repertoire is a life-long endeavor. There are so many works, so many sub-genres, it's impossible to hear/collect it all. I'll be glad to help with whatever I can, though.

 

Lee

 

[RBFC]

For organ music, which will test the bottom end and dynamic range of your system, I'd recommend the following:

 

"Pipes Rhode Island"

Riago CD RIACD101

available from www.elusivedisc.com

 

"Pictures at an Exhibition"

Dorian CD

http://www.dorian.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=5519

 

These are just a couple of really good ones. There are many more.

 

Lee