# The ONLY recording that will do



## bwv543

Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?

For me, I find this is most often true when I come to a piece for the first time. I will latch on to the recording that causes me to fall in love with a piece, and for a period my love of the piece will be associated almost exclusively with that recording. This was especially true in my early years of listening to Bruckner. Later on, I'll branch out.

There are still a couple of works, though, for which one recording surpasses all others by a long shot in my mind. Beethoven 9 - Karajan's 1963 BPO recording; Mahler 6 - Bernstein with VPO.


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## mbhaub

Can't say that there is only one for anything. Truly great music can be interpreted many different ways and that's what makes listening to classical so much fun: you can have a lot of different takes on the same music. That's not to say I don't have my preferences. There is one recording of the Elgar 2nd that I think is the best ever made, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying the other 30 or so recordings I've collected.

What you mention is imprinting: the first way we encounter a work is often so deeply ingrained that it becomes the standard and it's really hard to shake it. Bernard Herrmann recorded the Raff 5th 50 years ago and those of us who sought out rare repertoire loved that recording and for us that was, and still is, THE Raff 5th. In the last 30 or so years it's been recorded at least six more times, and Herrmann still is the favorite. Never mind that the newcomers are much more accurate and follow Raff's tempo markings far better - that first recording was so important. Same thing with Schmidt 4th: Mehta's 50 year old recording is still the one we imprinted with. Given time and experience you can learn to love other recordings just as much, if not more.


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## Olias

There are a few for me. I have more than one recording of the work (mainly to hear different interpretations, or just different sound technology) but I always come back to just one, mainly because the artist does the work exactly how I would like to hear it. A good example for me is Gardiner's production of The Marriage of Figaro (with Bryn Terfel and Alison Hagley). No matter how many versions of Figaro I hear or see, I always come back to that production as my personal definitive version. It's pretty normal to have a favorite of anything, but I don't want that to prevent me from hearing other versions and/or interpretations.


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## Becca

bwv543 said:


> Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?


No.

_(At some point, someone is going to do it better so it would be foolish to ignore the possibility.)_


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## Azol

None except for those rare compositions where you don't have the luxury of multiple recordings.
Sometimes there are only two or three of them, one being clear favorite with superior orchestra and/or conductor. Bantock's Hebridean Symphony comes to mind where Vernon Handley just blows all competition out of the water.


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## joen_cph

In major, much-recorded works it's often a question of not having heard the good/superb alternatives also in existence.

However, for me:

Nielsen 5/Bernstein
Beethoven 5 /C.Kleiber
Gubaidulina Piano works, Concerto /Rauchs
Mahler 6 /Currentzis
Shostakovitch 8/Haitink
Honegger 2,3 /Baudo
Martinu 6 /Neumann
Pettersson 9 /Comissiona
Pettersson 6 /Kamu
Schumann Piano Cto /Argerich,Harnoncourt

Others are/have been worth my time, but these are on a different level, for me.


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## Livly_Station

I just discovered Ricardo Muti's cycle of Schumann's symphonies with the Wiener Philarmoniker... and I don't think I'll ever need to listen to another one.


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## Manxfeeder

My problem is, once I find a recording that I think is "perfect," I don't listen to it that much; instead, I usually listen to other recordings to see if they match up. It's a personality quirk that bothers me.


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## amfortas

Manxfeeder said:


> My problem is, once I find a recording that I think is "perfect," I don't listen to it that much; instead, I usually listen to other recordings to see if they match up. It's a personality quirk that bothers me.


Strange. Of all your personality quirks, that's the one that bothers me least.


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## Enthusiast

I don't think I am given to becoming so attached to one recording that I reject all others. That's just not me. The closest I come is the Holliger recordings of the Schumann symphonies. Since encountering them I rarely listen to and enjoy most other recordings of the works.


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## Animal the Drummer

Dennis Brain's once-in-a-lifetime version of the Mozart horn concertos. I've heard nothing else that compares.


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## Heck148

Animal the Drummer said:


> Dennis Brain's once-in-a-lifetime version of the Mozart horn concertos. I've heard nothing else that compares.


Brain's are excellent for sure, but Clevenger and Tuckwell are really great as well....they both play with a bigger dynamic range than Dennis, but that clean, purity of tone is a Brain trademark...can't go wrong with any of them...


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## Olias

Heck148 said:


> Brain's are excellent for sure, but Clevenger and Tuckwell are really great as well....they both play with a bigger dynamic range than Dennis, but that clean, purity of tone is a Brain trademark...can't go wrong with any of them...


Love Tuckwell and Brain for recordings with the modern horn. Interestingly though, my personal definitive CD is Lowell Greer because he is just amazing on the natural horn.


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## Animal the Drummer

You guys seem to know more about the technicalities involved but Tuckwell (I don't know those other versions yet) sounds quite a bit more "rough and ready" than Brain to me. He still plays the horn very well, but (IMHO at any rate) Brain gets it to sing more than anyone else I've ever heard. Ditto the horn quintet and (for example) the Brahms trio.


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## Kreisler jr

But unlike the clarinet or flute the horn is an "outdoors" brass instrument that should not only/mainly "sing". I think Brain is often a bit narrow in focussing on beautiful sound and "singing".


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## Animal the Drummer

I respect that view but I don't share it. When it comes to art music like the Mozart concertos, making any instrument sing is a top priority for me. It's not the only important element in the music but I don't agree that there are others which supersede it.


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## Merl

Enthusiast said:


> I don't think I am given to becoming so attached to one recording that I reject all others. That's just not me. The closest I come is the Holliger recordings of the Schumann symphonies. Since encountering them I rarely listen to and enjoy most other recordings of the works.


If you like the Holliger, Enthusiast, have a crack at the Gaudenz, Zinman or Ticciati sets. I rate the Holliger highly too (but do like the others a lot as well).


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## SanAntone

Have you heard them done using a natural horn?






Pip Eastop (horn) & The Hanover Band

Lowell Greer and Ab Koster have also done these works with period instruments.


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## Kreisler jr

Hermann Baumann with Harnoncourt was the first on natural horn in the 1970s, I believe. These are rather rustic but I think it is a good alternative to those who make it as seamlessly singing as possible.


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## Krummhorn

One of my favorite labels is Deutsche Grammophon for organ works. I have a complete album of Helmut Walcha playing the entire works of JS Bach for organ. 

Outstanding recordings.


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## Heck148

Animal the Drummer said:


> You guys seem to know more about the technicalities involved but Tuckwell (I don't know those other versions yet) sounds quite a bit more "rough and ready" than Brain to me. He still plays the horn very well, but (IMHO at any rate) Brain gets it to sing more than anyone else I've ever heard. Ditto the horn quintet and (for example) the Brahms trio.


Tuckwell and Clevenger play different styles from Brain - bigger dynamic range, and bigger tonal palette as well. It's true that Brain had a very sweet, pure singing sound....But some others get more color out of the horn - it's interesting to compare their different versions of Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and strings. All terrific, yet different....
Tuckwell, Clevenger, Ph. Farkas and Roland Berger[VPO] all got a huge variety of tones from the horn, they really explore the timbral possibilities. They are/were all great players.


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## JohnP

No. One of the joys of collecting and listening to classical music, for me, is comparing performances. I can often narrow my preferences to a few, but not to one. Not that it matters here, but there are some piano recordings that stand alone for me.


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## Heck148

JohnP said:


> No. One of the joys of collecting and listening to classical music, for me, is comparing performances. I can often narrow my preferences to a few, but not to one.


That's pretty much where I end up....I enjoy different approaches to great music...listening to different great conductors and musicians performing the greatest music...I often end up with 2, 3 or more favorites, and these are subject to modification, addition, subtraction as I hear new performances.


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## fluteman

Becca said:


> No.
> 
> _(At some point, someone is going to do it better so it would be foolish to ignore the possibility.)_


I agree, Becca, and I can think of some specific examples. I grew up with Bernstein's Rite of Spring with the NY Philharmonic, and that was a formidable recording that made a strong impression on me. But not so strong that many years later I couldn't appreciate Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra, in some ways an even greater achievement, imo. I also grew up with the Budapest String Quartet's "Library of Congress" Beethoven quartet cycle from the early 1950s. As a result, their slightly weaker later stereo cycle could never be my favorite. (First violinist Josef Roisman badly broke his arm in a fall shortly after the early 50s cycle and imo was never quite the same). But other quartets have come along and done equally impressive cycles. The Juilliard, of course. But also the Smetana and the Tokyo and others.

Kurt Sanderling's recording of the Rach 2nd with the LPO stood alone for me for a long time. But more recent efforts, in better sound and without the cuts in the final movement (possibly made by Sanderling to fit the whole symphony on one LP?) probably have superseded it. I'm a fan of Jansons and Ashkenazy.

Other old recordings still stand pretty tall for me. Mravinsky/LPO's Tchaikovsky Pathetique. Beecham/RPO's Mozart Jupiter (the 1950 mono one). Rubinstein's Chopin Scherzos. Gould's Bach Goldberg Variations. Wilhelm Backhaus's Brahms and Artur Schnabel's Beethoven. Karl Munchinger's Bach St. Matthew Passion with Hermann Prey, Elly Ameling et al. But in every case, later versions have brought something new and worthwhile.

So I've never understood the 'imprinting' idea. Some recordings are especially memorable, but certainly more than one of each of these great works. The ones that go back to my childhood are sentimental favorites, but can be overtaken.


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## bwv543

Krummhorn said:


> One of my favorite labels is Deutsche Grammophon for organ works. I have a complete album of Helmut Walcha playing the entire works of JS Bach for organ.
> 
> Outstanding recordings.


DG does some great organ recordings - you should check out Simon Preston's Bach set (though I think his "detached touch" is overdone at times). Back in the day Harmonia Mundi and Decca had some great Bach recordings as well.


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## bwv543

Heck148 said:


> That's pretty much where I end up....I enjoy different approaches to great music...listening to different great conductors and musicians performing the greatest music...I often end up with 2, 3 or more favorites, and these are subject to modification, addition, subtraction as I hear new performances.


This is the norm for me as well, particularly when I'm engaged in the conscious and intellectual pursuit of repertoire knowledge. I'll come to a piece because it's "on my list", so to speak, and study and compare different recordings.

But there are times when a piece of music suddenly and unexpectedly grabs at me with great intensity - the musical equivalent of a strong and irresistible infatuation. In that case the intensity is associated not just with the abstract concept of the piece but with a particular rendition of it, and various nuances and idiosyncrasies in the performance become part of the attraction. That mellows after a time, and then comes a greater openness to the piece.

This is what happened when I discovered Bruckner in my late teens. He wasn't anywhere near the top of my list, but a music course introduced me to the 2nd mvt. of #7, and I was sunk. I became obsessed with his last 4 symphonies and for some time there was only one recording of each for me (#6 - Klemperer / New Philharmonia; #7 - Karajan / BPO; #8 and 9 - Wand / NDR live in Lubeck Cathedral).

Later on I made a conscious effort to study the earlier symphonies and his other works - not just the masses and motets but some of the obscure pieces (Helgoland, the Missa Solemnis, G minor Overture, the first version of #8, etc.). I never developed a clear-cut favorite recording of any of these pieces, and now for all of his works I have at least 3 or 4 recordings I like. For #6 I actually no longer even care for the Klemperer that much (I've come to appreciate brisker tempos on the first movement a la Sawallisch).

But I will say that there are not many pieces in the symphonic repertoire or elsewhere that I know as well as those last 4 symphonies, where I daresay each symphony is almost totally committed to auditory memory and where some movements have well in excess of 100 plays on my iPod alone, and that adds a special joy to the process of engaging new recordings.


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## Enthusiast

Of course, Brain was a great musician. But when we compare his Mozart with other more recent recordings it is worth bearing in mind that the horn that Brain played was smaller and had a smaller sound than the ones used by Tuckwell and many others who came later. For me Brain's horn was very appropriate for Mozart (although the use of a natural horn may be even more so) but Tuckwell's bigger sound worked as well or better than Brain in the Strauss concertos.


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## Enthusiast

Merl said:


> If you like the Holliger, Enthusiast, have a crack at the Gaudenz, Zinman or Ticciati sets. I rate the Holliger highly too (but do like the others a lot as well).


Thanks, Malx. I know the Zinmans well and have heard one of the Ticciatis. Both good, as you say, but for me the Holliger has something extra, I'm not sure I can pinpoint what!


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## Becca

Enthusiast said:


> Of course, Brain was a great musician. But when we compare his Mozart with other more recent recordings it is worth bearing in mind that the horn that Brain played was smaller and had a smaller sound than the ones used by Tuckwell and many others who came later. For me Brain's horn was very appropriate for Mozart (although the use of a natural horn may be even more so) but Tuckwell's bigger sound worked as well or better than Brain in the Strauss concertos.


While I acknowledge how good Brain, Tuckwell, etc. are, I will take Alan Civil TYVM


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## Enthusiast

^ The one with Klemperer? Or with Marriner? Or ... (there are sure to be others). I have and enjoy the Klemperer one.


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## Becca

^ Yes, the Klemperer.


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## fluteman

I notice now this thread was supposed to be limited to orchestral recordings. Well, I should have mentioned the Fricsay Beethoven 9 with Fischer-Dieskau. That one has been hard to beat. The Reiner / CSO Strauss tone poems and Bartok Concerto for Orchestra and (even more so) Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, the Munch / BSO Daphnis et Chloe, Dorati's Firebird with the LSO, Svetlanov's Shostakovich 7 with the USSR State Symphony with that unique Russian sound, and the Boult/LPO Vaughan-Williams 9 all get an honorable mention.


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## bwv543

Thanks for these recommendations. I just listened to the Shostakovich recording... hoo boy! That may be a new favorite for the 7th. I do love Russians playing Russian music. 

Strauss / Reiner / CSO is a relatively recent discovery of mine as well, and I was pretty instantly hooked.


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## Kreisler jr

fluteman said:


> I notice now this thread was supposed to be limited to orchestral recordings. Well, I should have mentioned the Fricsay Beethoven 9 with Fischer-Dieskau. That one has been hard to beat.


I like it but I think there is one big and one smaller problem that prevent it from being a clear first choice for me. 
The big problem (maybe fixed in more recent remastered issues, I have one from a Fricsay edition of the 1990s?) is that the finale sounds totally different from the first three movements and the orchestra sounds too thin, too small and too far away whereas the solo singers are "in your face" (same problem plagues his "Fidelio"). 
The smaller problem is a very slow adagio which does not really fit with the leaner approach in the other movements.


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## Brahmsianhorn

There is a difference between a recording that I think will never be matched vs a recording that is so definitive you can’t even listen to others. The second category is extremely rare for me.

For instance, I think it’s virtually impossible that I will ever hear a Beethoven 9th that matches Furtwängler/BPO 1942 or a Tosca that matches Callas/De Sabata, but I still will derive pleasure from others (dozens of others in the case of the 9th). 

I can only think of two recordings that are definitive to the point I don’t need to hear any others:

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture - Dorati/Mercury

Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 - Gardiner/Archiv

.


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## Yabetz

No, I like hearing different readings and approaches. It makes the music itself more of a living thing.


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## Endeavour

In most cases I have multiple recordings of almost everything I own as I enjoy hearing different approaches.

That said, if I were forced to go to a desert island or whatever there are certain recordings I would be totally content with being my only option for the rest of my life.

A few Examples:

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos performed by I Musici recorded in 1984








Bach's Goldberg Variations performed by Glenn Gould recorded in 1981








Mahler's Das Lied Von Der Erde performed by Leonard Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic with James King and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recorded in 1966








Puccini's La Boheme performed by Herbert Von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic with Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni recorded in 1972


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## damianjb1

bwv543 said:


> Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?
> 
> For me, I find this is most often true when I come to a piece for the first time. I will latch on to the recording that causes me to fall in love with a piece, and for a period my love of the piece will be associated almost exclusively with that recording. This was especially true in my early years of listening to Bruckner. Later on, I'll branch out.
> 
> There are still a couple of works, though, for which one recording surpasses all others by a long shot in my mind. Beethoven 9 - Karajan's 1963 BPO recording; Mahler 6 - Bernstein with VPO.


The recording that fits this description for me is (not an orchestral recording) Strauss - Four Last Songs. Jessye Norman with Kurt Masur conducting. I listen to other recordings but for me - none come close.


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## Enthusiast

Yabetz said:


> No, I like hearing different readings and approaches. It makes the music itself more of a living thing.


I agree: it's almost like going to a concert and being able to revisit it as often as you might want.


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## SanAntone

bwv543 said:


> Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?
> 
> For me, I find this is most often true when I come to a piece for the first time. I will latch on to the recording that causes me to fall in love with a piece, and for a period my love of the piece will be associated almost exclusively with that recording. This was especially true in my early years of listening to Bruckner. Later on, I'll branch out.
> 
> There are still a couple of works, though, for which one recording surpasses all others by a long shot in my mind. Beethoven 9 - Karajan's 1963 BPO recording; Mahler 6 - Bernstein with VPO.


Not really. I am more interested in the music instead of the performance. Unless a recording has some problem, audio quality, or something glaring about the performance (especially with opera), almost any decent recording will satisfy my interest in hearing the music.

That said, for my most favorite works I will usually have a go-to recording. My go-to recording of the *Duruflé* _Requiem_ is this one:

Philip Ledger, Dame Janet Baker, Stephen Roberts, John Butt, Choir of King's College, Cambridge


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## Orfeo

Glazunov: Symphony no. II (Fedoseyev and the USSR Radio & Large SO, - Melodiya/Brilliant)
Glazunov: The Sea (Jarvi and the Royal Scottish Symphony - Chandos)
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini (Svetlanov and the Russian Federation - Canyon
Scriabin: Symphony no. I (Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra - EMI/Warner)
Rachmaninoff: Symphony no. I (Ashkenazy and the Royal Concertgebouw - London Decca)
Atterberg: Symphonies II & III (Rasilainen with the NDR and Frankfurt Radio - CPO)
Sibelius: Symphony no. II (Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic (VPO) - DG)
Ives: Symphony no. II (Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic - DG)
Myaskovsky: Symphony no. XXVII (Svetlanov and the Russian Federation - Melodiya/Alto)
Bruckner: Symphony no. VII (Karajan and the VPO - DG)
Bruckner: Symphony no. VIII (Wand and the Berlin Philharmonic - RCA)
Bruckner: Symphony no. IX (Giulini and the VPO - DG)
Bax: Symphonies II, III, and VII (Thomson and the London Philharmonic - Chandos)

And so forth......


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## JTS

Animal the Drummer said:


> Dennis Brain's once-in-a-lifetime version of the Mozart horn concertos. I've heard nothing else that compares.


Try them played on a natural horn. Quite a revelation


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## Taplow

Speaking of horns. I've tried many, but this is the only recording of the Strauss No. 2 for me …


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## FrankE

No.
I'm still trying to find THE recording for many of my favourite works 
In fact acceptable recordings of some would be nice.


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## pianozach

I have only one: The first *Antal Dorati* recording of *Tchaikovsky*'s *1812 Overture* and *Capriccio Italien*.

I grew up with the recording and it rather did "imprint" heavily on me.


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## Kreisler jr

The first recording of the "1812" I heard (and it was one of the first ca. 10 classical works I encountered and loved as a teenager) was a Soviet era recording on an Eurodisc LP that had changed the hymn at the end to a different one that was not considered as "tsarist" as the original. I hardly ever listen to this piece anymore but it took me a long time to get somewhat used to the original version and I still prefer the other hymn... So if it was a favorite piece, I'd probably have to stick with that recording (Konstantin Ivanov).


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## Triplets

There are a host of works that I first encountered as a teenager that I developed an attachment to my initial recording so strong that I disliked others. Eventually that withered away as one becomes more exposed to alternatives. Back then there was no streaming and I had less disposable income for multiple recordings of the same work, so that was definitely a factor. However I think the main reason was the enthusiasms of youth tend to be stronger than those we acquire at later stages of life


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## bwv543

Good observation, though my recent discovery of Schumann's Violin Concerto has reminded me that mid-life obsessions can still be quite strong! :lol:


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## bwv543

pianozach said:


> I have only one: The first *Antal Dorati* recording of *Tchaikovsky*'s *1812 Overture* and *Capriccio Italien*.
> 
> I grew up with the recording and it rather did "imprint" heavily on me.


Is that with the Minneapolis SO? If so, I have it - very enjoyable!


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## Daland2021

Furtwangler's Tristan, Eroica, Beethoven's violin concerto and piano concerto nr. 4. 

Brucker's 3-9 symphonies & Mass nr. 3 by Celibidache with MPO. 

Missa Solemnis, Das Lied von der Erde, Fidelio by Klemperer and New Philharmonia Orchestra. 

Rachmaniniv's Vespers under Polyanky 

Schubert's sonata nr. 21 by S. Richter 

Mozart's Coronation Mass by Markevich (Lamoureux) 

Lohengrin under Abaddo with WPO 

Shostakovich's violin concerti by Oistrakh & cello concerti by Rostrapovich 

Brahms piano concerto nr. 1 with Gilels under Jochum with BPO


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## HerbertNorman

Schubert's Sonata 21 - Alfred Brendel

Shostakovich violin concertos - David Oistrakh 
Shostakovich cello concertos - Mtislav Rostropovich

Schubert Winterreise - Dietrich Fischer Dieskau (pianist Alfred Brendel or Gerald Moore)


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## Animal the Drummer

I love Brendel's Schubert playing, and there's much to admire in his B flat sonata, but his refusal to play the first movement repeat or the bridge passage leading to it puts his recording out of court for me.


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## jegreenwood

I recently picked up a couple recordings of the Symphonie Fantastique, included in box sets, and this week I listened to two. They did nothing to change my mind that this was simply not music I liked - EXCEPT FOR Paul Paray on Mercury.


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## fluteman

I'm not one to "imprint" on the first good recording I hear. However, this one continues to stand above the many others that have been released since, even ones by Danish performers that reviewers say have a better way with Nielsen's idiom, and even though those reviewers may have a point. The musical and technical level here is just sky high.


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## Heck148

fluteman said:


> I'm not one to "imprint" on the first good recording I hear. However, this one continues to stand above the many others that have been released since, even ones by Danish performers that reviewers say have a better way with Nielsen's idiom, and even though those reviewers may have a point. The musical and technical level here is just sky high.
> 
> View attachment 160384


The story has it that Drucker recorded the Clarinet Concerto on one take.....Bernstein asked him if he wanted to retake any parts, redo anything...Drucker replied something like <<I'm fine, the orchestra has a few places to clean up, but I'm all set>>


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## Rach Man

This is easy!









:lol:


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## Enthusiast

Isn't the feeling that only one account will do a rather restricting one? Doesn't it close our ears to other ways and leave us stuck with a single idea of what the music does? I have had lots of recordings that were for some time the way I wanted the music played (the only one that would do) but after a while I wanted to experience other angles of the pieces. Sometimes, the recordings I fixated on remained among my favourites but sometimes I even came to see them as lacking something important.


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## SONDEK

I'm not going to claim to have heard them all, but alternative versions of the slow movement in Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto [Emperor] never seem to cut it for me.

Once the Fleisher/Szell/CO outing was imprinted on me, no other version sounds quite right.

(I have tried...)









Actually, I could say the same for the slow movement in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, under the gentle touch of Michelangeli/Gracis/PO.









(Again, I have tried...)

I would very much welcome alternative recommendations.


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## Waehnen

No matter how much I have tried to find alternative versions, I haven't been able to find better of these 2. Which I consider perfect versions, so the problem at hand is not all that big!

*Sibelius: The Oceanides, Neeme Järvi/Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6, Pathétique, Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker*

BTW, only recently have I come to fully realize and appreciate the great work by Neeme Järvi. What a musician! He makes everything WORK.


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## kangxi

While it's not purely orchestral, the 1st act of Valkyrie with Bruno Walter, Lotte Lehmann, Emanuel List and the incomparable Melchior is way out in a class of its own. I'll happily listen to other recordings but I always, always, come back to this one
And another, from the world of Schubert lieder, is Peter Anders singing D943 Auf dem Strom. Yes, I can listen to other singers (and horn players I suppose) but the benchmark is set by Anders. It was that performance opened my ears to this lied. I'd heard others beforehand, but it took that one to do it. There's not been its equal since.


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## Ravn

I have three:

*Bruckner's 7th symphony - Rattle & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. *
Not that other recordings are bad, but out of all the ones I've heard this one is _it_. I think I've heard (or at least sampled) all recordings available on Idagio, and no one comes even close.

*Sibelius's Karelia Suite - Järvi & Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. *
This is a special case, I don't even like this particular recording that much. I love the piece, but when I heard it the first time (live) it was fast, loud and nasty, which are three qualities I haven't heard in any recordings of this work. Järvi's performance is somewhat loud, but I will keep looking for recordings that are more to my taste. I would love any recommendations (but I've heard all recordings on Idagio, and no-one did the trick).

*Beethoven's 9th - Szell & Cleveland Symphony Orchestra*
Not a work I listen to a lot, but this recording is something special. Perfect balance between choir and orchestra.


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## MAS

Don't know if this can be classed with Orchestral Music, with the orchestra reduced to eight cellos. Nevertheless, this for me rates as the _Only _recording of *Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5*. It was written for Bidu Sayao at her insistence and she persuaded the composer Heitor Villa Lobos to score it for soprano and cellos instead of violin and cellos. She told him that she could "sound like a violin," and she does in the reprise of the melody, singing _a la bouche fermée _. She's the only one to sing the last note in one breath, making a _portamento _from the previous note. Sayao said it was a difficult piece, since it required great breath control.

The other movement beyond the _Aria - Cantilena_ did not exist when Sayao and the composer recorded it for Columbia (now Sony). The second "movement" _Dança - Martelo_ was composed later that year (1945).


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## VoiceFromTheEther

Ravn said:


> *Beethoven's 9th - Szell & Cleveland Symphony Orchestra*
> Not a work I listen to a lot, but this recording is something special. Perfect balance between choir and orchestra.


Indeed. One can hear the heroic horns coming through the choral storm of the finale.


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## Knorf

bwv543 said:


> Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?


Absolutely not. If it's a piece I love and respect, it will always be apparent that no one performer or conductor can possibly have all of the answers. Even when I retain a "favorite," I'm keenly aware of and remain interested in alternate ways to perform it.

Having said that, there are indeed a few recordings that I have found so satisfying that I have never felt compelled to seek out another version. For example, the Brahms Piano Trios on Decca with Suk/Starker/Katchen.

But under no circumstances would I conclude there are no other recordings of interest, or ignore that there might be one to even displace that set as my favorite!


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## Heck148

Ravn said:


> *Sibelius's Karelia Suite - Järvi & Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. *
> This is a special case, I don't even like this particular recording that much. I love the piece, but when I heard it the first time (live) it was fast, loud and nasty, which are three qualities I haven't heard in any recordings of this work. Järvi's performance is somewhat loud, but I will keep looking for recordings that are more to my taste. I would love any recommendations (but I've heard all recordings on Idagio, and no-one did the trick).


Barbirolli/Halle - wonderful, really rousing, well- played...


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## Rogerx

Sibelius: Kullervo/Benjamin Appl (baritone), Helena Juntunen (soprano)/ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra & Lund Male Chorus, Thomas Dausgaard

Mahler/ Symphony no 8 / Solti

Mahler /5 Karajan

I would give away all others that I have, thank goodness I have control over that.


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## verandai

I wouldn't go as far as calling it the "only worthwhile recording" - but it is the best recording I found so far, of Maurice Ravel "La Valse":

- Orchestre National de France
- Leonard Bernstein
- Link:


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## Tarneem

Becca said:


> No.
> 
> _(At some point, someone is going to do it better so it would be foolish to ignore the possibility.)_


perhaps it's not a matter of logic, but a matter of loyalty. LOL


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## Becca

Tarneem said:


> perhaps it's not a matter of logic, but a matter of loyalty. LOL


Where does it say that loyalty can't be foolish?


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## AndorFoldes

Yes, the Jochum/Berlin Philharmonic recording of the Linz version of Bruckner's first symphony is clearly the best recording I have heard of that work.


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## Heck148

AndorFoldes said:


> Yes, the Jochum/Berlin Philharmonic recording of the Linz version of Bruckner's first symphony is clearly the best recording I have heard of that work.


A lot of great B7s - Solti, Tennstedt, Walter, von Matacic...superb performances....


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## AndorFoldes

Heck148 said:


> A lot of great B7s - Solti, Tennstedt, Walter, von Matacic...superb performances....


B7 or B1? My post was about the latter.


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## Ravn

VoiceFromTheEther said:


> Indeed. One can hear the heroic horns coming through the choral storm of the finale.


Exactly! This feature of this recording is quite addictive and leads to most other recordings becoming letdowns.


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## Coach G

bwv543 said:


> Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?
> 
> For me, I find this is most often true when I come to a piece for the first time. I will latch on to the recording that causes me to fall in love with a piece, and for a period my love of the piece will be associated almost exclusively with that recording. This was especially true in my early years of listening to Bruckner. Later on, I'll branch out.
> 
> There are still a couple of works, though, for which one recording surpasses all others by a long shot in my mind. Beethoven 9 - Karajan's 1963 BPO recording; Mahler 6 - Bernstein with VPO.


1. *Beethoven*: _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_ (Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra) very smooth
2. *Mahler*: _Symphony #4_ (Judith Raskin/George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra) again, smooth, well balanced; and I'm not even THAT much of a Szell fan!
3. *Nielsen*: _Symphony #3_ (Leonard Bernstein/Royal Danish Orchestra); very robust; never felt the need to purchase another recording
4. *Prokofiev*: _Symphony #1 "Classical Symphony" _and _Symphony #5_ (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic Orchestra); again, robust
5. *Haydn*: "Paris" and "London" Symphonies (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic Orchestra); very enthusiastic, elastic, and joyful; the ONLY way to listen to Haydn unlike you want it HIP
6. *Copland*: _Appalachian Spring_, _Rodeo_, _Billy the Kid_; _Symphony #3_; etc (Leonard Bernstein) Bernstein OWNS the music of his friend Aaron Copland, the rapport, affection, and musical telepathy is ever present.
7. *Brahms*: _Double Concerto_ (Zino FRancescatti/Pierre Founier/Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra or...Isaac Stern/Leonard Rose/Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra) two smooth recordings from the Golden era; those on a budget needn't buy both.
8. *Rachmaninoff*: _Vespers/All-Night Vigil _(Paul Hilliard/Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir or...Sigvards Klava/Latvian Radio Choir) It's those big Baltic basses that do it; again, those on a budget needn't buy both. 
9. *Britten*: _Everything_ (Ben Britten's own recordings with his little band of friends: Peter Pears, Mstislav Rostropovich, Stanislav Richter, Mark Lubotsky, Dietrich Fischer-Diskau, etc) Britten always said that he wrote for people not the instrument they played, so the original recordings with Britten and friends is always the gold standard. 
10. *Mahler*: _Symphony #3_ (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic Orchestra, 1960s Columbia recording) Bernstein's earliest recording that he dedicated to his friend and mentor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, is for me, the most intense and energized. Along with Bruno Walter, Mitropoulos championed Mahler long before Bernstein made it fashionable, but Mitropoulos' cycle of Mahler symphonies is incomplete and it suffers from antiquated sound technology. I like to think that Bernstein's famous Mahler cycle is the one that Mitropoulos would have recorded had he lived a bit longer.


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## Animal the Drummer

Interestingly Szell wasn't a Mahler fan (nor am I as it happens) so the success of that recording is testament to his professionalism if nothing else.

I have a distant connection to the recording myself, in that Judith Raskin was the cousin of the husband of one of my law lecturers many moons ago.


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## Subutai

DEFINITIVE. (As opposed to favourite)

Bach JS: Violin Concertos (Kennedy-BPO)
Beethoven: Symphony 3 (Szell-CO)
Berlioz: Harold in Italy (Davis-LSO)
Brahms: German Requiem (Klemperer-PO)
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Levine-CSO)
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites (Karajan-BPO)
Part: Benjamin Britten Memorian Cantus (Benedek-HSO)
Rachmaninov: Isle of the Dead (Ashkenazy-RCO)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (Gergiev-KO)
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (Markevitch-PO)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony 6 (Currentzis-AE)
Vaughan-Williams: Thomas Tallis Fantasia (Barbirolli-LS)


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## Becca

There is no such thing as 'definitive', it's art, personal preference ... favourites.


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## perdido34

Animal the Drummer said:


> Interestingly Szell wasn't a Mahler fan (nor am I as it happens) so the success of that recording is testament to his professionalism if nothing else.
> 
> I have a distant connection to the recording myself, in that Judith Raskin was the cousin of the husband of one of my law lecturers many moons ago.


Szell conducted Mahler 6 and 9, as well as Das Lied von der Erde, a number of times in concert--where did you get information that he wasn't a "Mahler fan"? Maybe he wasn't a fan of _everything _Mahler wrote, but clearly he liked three of the symphonies and DLVDE enough to program them repeatedly.


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## joen_cph

Szell also recorded Des Knaben Wunderhorn, several parts of Symphony no.10, etc.


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## Kreisler jr

In the 1950s and 60s it was not that uncommon to conduct only a few Mahler or Bruckner or Schubert or Dvorak symphonies. It still isn't, or at least it shouldn't give anyone pause or be a reason to overanalyze such decisions/preferences.


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## Animal the Drummer

perdido34 said:


> Szell conducted Mahler 6 and 9, as well as Das Lied von der Erde, a number of times in concert--where did you get information that he wasn't a "Mahler fan"? Maybe he wasn't a fan of _everything _Mahler wrote, but clearly he liked three of the symphonies and DLVDE enough to program them repeatedly.


From the lecturer mentioned in my second paragraph, who got it from Judith Raskin.


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