My Essential Classical Albums.

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, semente said:

What are your performance suggestions for some of these great violin concertos?

 

For Bruch, Mendelssohn, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky I am happy with the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

But about Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms & Mozart?

 

 

I couldn't tell you definitively, but I do love the Chung recordings. I have this one:

 

 

Regarding the Sibelius, I don't have the Kavakos, but your mention of it will make me seek it out. I've seen Leonidas Kavakos perform it with the Berlin Philharmonic on the Digital concert hall, and he was amazing.

[austinpop]

I do have the Hendl, and other Heifetz recordings.

 

But I have to admit, I tend to favor recording fidelity over "musicality," as I am no expert. Therefore I find the Heifetz recordings hard to listen to due to their poor SQ.

[austinpop]

3 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

Ps. I'm in particular interested in Sibelius symphonies. What are your favorite performances, guys?

 

I myself love the recent Vänskä/Minnesota cycle, both for performance and sonics. 

 

But I will be the first to admit I am not expert on Sibelius performances.

[austinpop]

My favorites for Mahler are:

1. The full cycle by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony 

2. The partial cycle by Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra 

 

Both are excellent modern recordings. Zander's bonus discs explaining the pieces are icing on the cake.

[austinpop]

For Mahler's 2nd, my absolute favorite is Gilbert Kaplan's recording on DG with the Vienna Philharmonic.

 

Kaplan's involvement with this piece is worth reading about. People tend to have strong views for and against him. 

 

The SACD recording quality is outstanding - atypical of DG, to be honest! - and I love the performance too.

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, rando said:

Looking for recommendations on the best Telarc has to offer from their heyday in the 80's.  No Mahler and no Night On Bald Mountain, please. 

 

This is what I have in my library. I like all of them, especially Paavo Järvi. As requested, the Mahler and the Kunzel have been filtered out. 

 

[austinpop]

 

 

28 minutes ago, rando said:

 

@austinpop I ended up coming home with a few Japanese Telarc Mahler discs today.  Seeing as this is your bailiwick I wondered if you would care to point me in the direction of a few other recordings of his works.  I have no idea if these two are at all recommended.   

 

     

 

I haven't actually heard the Slatkin 2nd, but enthusiastically endorse the Zander 9th. You should find a bonus disc in the package with Zander's explanation of the piece movement by movement. I found it fascinating.

 

I recommend all of Zander's Mahler on Telarc. He hasn't done the full cycle with them, only 1, 3, 5, 6, and 9. His recording of the 2nd on Linn isn't as compelling.

 

For the 2nd, Gilbert Kaplan with VPO on DG.

 

And then the entire cycle by MTT and the SF Symphony.

[austinpop]

On 11/11/2017 at 1:04 PM, sphinxsix said:

Would love to get some more contemporary recording recommendation too.

 

I liked this one enough that I want to seek out more by Moser:

 

You can't go wrong with Rostropovich, du Pré, and Starker, of course. I admit I really enjoy Yo-Yo Ma too:

[austinpop]

9 hours ago, rando said:

Moser 'Dvorak & Lalo' album was phenomenal the first few listens when it came out.  Over the course of his next two albums I've come to realize the fortuitous pairing with Hrůša was what made it stand out.  You may discover differently, but I don't feel either have recorded anything near as good since. 

 

Sadly I missed hearing Moser perform in a local church as I learned about the concert an hour beforehand.  Hrůša is just missing out on some larger appointments which have gone to older more accomplished conductors.  If you happen to be near Cleveland I would suggest attending his only planned concerts in the US next season.

 

Thanks for that. Bummer - I was hoping they'd done more together.

 

I will certainly look out for his ůša concerts!

[austinpop]

29 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

I'll try a slightly different angle approach this time. What are your favorite classical albums from let's say last 2-3 years, guys?

 

A few I can think of:

 

    

 

I'm sure there are others!

[austinpop]

delete

[austinpop]

38 minutes ago, rando said:

          

 

 

Fairly sure these all qualify.  Overwhelming majority of new to me music in recent years has been decidedly older recordings.  The Moser/Hrůša recording of Dvořák and Lalo's cello concertos was my first experience with hi-res digital.

 

 

Thanks! 

 

+1 on the Moser. Definitely worth Czech-ing out.

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, Norton said:

 

Try the Manfred Symphony too, my favourite recordings :

 

https://tidal.com/album/26631061

 

https://tidal.com/album/52223381

 

 

 

+1

 

Also this recent release: https://open.qobuz.com/album/0002894832323

[austinpop]

2 minutes ago, Norton said:

 

I like that one very much too, but on Tidal and in the format that cannot be named...

 

Yeah sorry, should have also included the Tidal link: https://tidal.com/album/79118296

 

I'm spending most of my time on Qobuz now, especially with the Roon integration now live. Especially for classical, it's a veritable candy store!

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, Norton said:

 

Been thinking about Qobuz too, but worried may not work in UK after March 29th...hope it’ll be specifically included in any renegotiated backstop...

 

Too bad you couldn't get it into the vote yesterday. Brexit non-negotiables:

1. Irish backstop
2. continued Qobuz service

... not necessarily in that order of importance.  

 

[austinpop]

23 hours ago, Bob Stern said:

 

Yes, the last movement is very soothing to put you in a sleepy mood.

 

The 7th has not one, but two movements entitled "Nachtmusik," so the late night theme is very appropriate!

23 hours ago, Bob Stern said:

 

Try skipping the first movement of the 3rd.

 

(Unlike my preceding post, this comment is not facetious.)

 

Sacrilege!

[austinpop]

9 hours ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

Didn't listen Ivan Fischer's. Comes to mind Kondrashin with Concertgebouw, Kubelik on Audite, Bernstein on Columbia. However, many fine and quite different versions available to choose from. As with most of Mahler's symphonies. It is difficult and good thing at the same time, if you don't like one particular performance you may try another one always.

 

Every new version of a familiar piece can jar at times, because it doesn't conform to the version you're familiar with. I am finding this Fischer version growing on me. So DO listen to it.

 

Beyond that, my favorites are MTT/SFS, Bernstein/NYPO, and Jonathan Nott/Bamberger on Tudor.

[austinpop]

On 4/10/2019 at 12:58 AM, AnotherSpin said:

 

Both Salome and Electra are not so lengthy, so it is easy to listen without too much effort. Bartok's Bluebeard Castle is even shorter. 

 

If you will like Strauss, you may try to listen a short selection of instrumental pieces from Wagner's Der Ring recorded by Solti. Or, I would suggest to check a particular selection with Maria Callas below.

 

I am trying to recall what brought me to opera many years ago. I think I was very much impressed with opera fragments in some films as well. 

 

 

 

 

I love this album!