# 5 Favorite Recordings?



## linz

1. Liszt's Mephisto Waltz no.1 (orchestral version) Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic, {circa 70's}

2. Wagner's Tristan und Isolde Furtwangler, Flagstad, Philharmonia Orchestra 

3. Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Otto Klemperer, Lucia Popp (Queen of the Night)

4. Mahler's 5th Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic, {circa 80's}

5. Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Gregiev, Vienna Philharmonic, (new recording!)

P.S. Ordered Der Rosenkavalier/Bohm/Dresden, excited to get it in the mail soon!


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## Topaz

1. Beethoven S5/7 Carlos Kleiber VPO
2. Schumann S1-4, Sawallisch, Staatskapelle
3. Berlioz Sym Fantastique, Tilson Thomas, San Francisco
4. Schumann, Dichterliebe, Fritz Wunderlich
5. Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra, Reiner, Chicago SO


N.B. Subject to change at the drop of a hat!


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## linz

I myself own Klieber, 5th and 7th, and it is incredible. There is also Mahler's 5th/Inbal/Frankfurt RSO, Berlioz/Beecham/Symphonie Fantastique/'(EMI) Great Recordings of the Century', and Bruckner's 5th/Wand/NDRSO/'89.


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## Topaz

I think most of the EMI "Great Recordings of the Century" are worth considering. Each one I have bought has always been a winner. There is a very good orchestra and conductor and performer, and the sound quality is excellent given that many of the recordings are quite old (back to 50s ans 60s in some cases)

I also like the DG label. I have never yet bought a duff CD on the DG label. 

Regards the Carlos Kleiber Beethoven Symph 5/7, I bought it because I had seen such marvellous reviews of it. Even though I already had 4 recordings of the 5th, I bought it and was astonished. It's perfect in all respects. Excellent Xmas present.

The Fritz Wunderlich (tenor) CD referred to in my post above is excellent. It contains some famous Beethoven and Schubert songs like Adelaide and An Silvia respectively, as well as Shumann's very famous Dichterliebe (a song cycle). In sound quality it's an excellent CD and a superb introduction to the world of "lieder". For anyone not too sure about it, it's where piano and voice have equal weight. It's not heavy stuff by any means, just the contrary: simple songs. The lieder on this CD are all in German but there's a translation if you need it. Wunderlich was very famous in his day but died many years ago after an accident; his voice is superb for this type of music. 


Topaz


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## linz

When I first started listening to Classical at 15 years old, I only bought Duetsche Grammaphone. The reason was, when you line them up on a shelf, in alphebetical order by composer, it looks so 'O.C.D.' friendly!


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## robert newman

1. Grieg and Schumann Piano Concertos (EMI) - Soloist Dinu Lipatti (mono). 

Totally amazing performances. We may all have heard the Grieg concerto a hundred times but NOT till you hear Lipatti's cadenza at the end of the 1st movement. Astounding artistry. And, as for Lipatti's Schumann recording - well, put it this way - that recording is more than 50 years old and it's in mono. It's astounding for a million reasons. 

2. Ralph Vaughan Williams - 'Serenade to Music' (for Vocal Soloists and Orchestra). Adrian Boult. - A masterpiece in every way and this recording never bettered. 

3. Mozart Piano Concertos 20 and 21 - Soloist, Friedrich Gulda - DG - No words to convey its greatness. 

4. Beethoven Symphony No. 7 - DG - Conductor Carlos Kleiber - Stunning ! 

5. Mozart - Divertimenti KV136-8 - Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Neville Marriner 

Perhaps the finest ever chamber orchestra performances I've ever heard for a single disc. 

(We might haggle about who actually wrote these 'Mozart' works but the music itself is often sublime). 

And as a possible encore - 

Mendelssohn and Tchaikowsky Violin Concertos - Soloist, Jascha Heifetz - RCA


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## Shane

Not my "ultimate" list, but some of my top contenders:

1. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2/Sviatoslav Richter/DG
2. Beethoven - Complete Piano Sonatas/Richard Goode/Nonesuch
3. Bach - Goldberg Variations/Andras Schiff/EMC
4. John Williams/Music of Barrios/Sony
5. Shostakovich - Complete String Quartets/Emerson Quartet/DG


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## Odocoileus

1	Gorecki	Symphony 3
2	Copland	Appalachian Spring
3	Beethoven	Symphony 7
4	Beethoven	Symphony 9
5	Rodrigo	Concierto de Aranjuez


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## Kurkikohtaus

An incredible recording of an oft badly recorded piece is the *Cleveland Orchestra* conducted by *Pierre Boulez* playing Stravinsky's *Rite of Spring*. The exactness found here is to be expected from Boulez, but what I find particularily refreshing is the precise respect given to Stravinsky's original metronome markings. That said, it is the _slowest_ recording I've ever heard of this piece, as most conductors do it much faster than Stravinsky wrote.


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## linz

1992 DG, Boulez looks great with that comb-over doesn't he? This was my absolute favorite recording of any work, for much of my youth. His mechanical as opposed to romantic interpretation of the music is first class. I especially loved the emaculate drums of 'Glorification of the Chosen Victim' and 'Sacrificial Dance'. I do believe this is the best preformane of the work ever! (* * * * *)


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## Kurkikohtaus

A little "aside" for the Boulez / Rite / Cleveland recording:

My first reaction to the _Danse Sacrale_ section that ends the piece was that it must be way too slow. So I "clocked" the tempo using a special "tap-in" feature that my digital metronome has... and was astonished to find that it was exactly 16th note = 126, which is what Stravinsky prescribes.

This tempo leads to another interesting point:

The _Danse Sacrale_ when done faster, as it usually is, becomes somewhat acrobatic for the conductor. Indeed, it appears in the final round of many conducting competitions. When the 8th note is taken as the basic unit of pulse, the conducting becomes very "jagged", in that bars that are written (for example) 5/16 are conducted _in 2_, with on waltz-like dotted-eight beat and then a regular 8th beat. As the meters change every bar, the actual beating becomes extremely complicated, as the conductor must keep extremely careful track of when to show the dotted-eighth beat and when to show the regular one. But at Stravinsky's prescribed 16th=126, it is very feasible and comfortable to conduct 16th notes. The meters still change from bar to bar, but the conductor must then only keep track of how many 16ths are in each bar but _doesn't have to worry about the type of beat he is showing_, because the beats are all 16th notes and all stay the same size/style.

Boulez is definitely conducting 16th notes here, I've seen him conduct (once live and once on a video) and I can very definitely picture what he looks like in this closing passage. Also, the orchestra is _so tight_ here, in a way that they simply couldn't be if he were conducting it the "hard way".

Well, back to the lists!


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## linz

Another fine recording of a contemporary of Stravinsky, Schoenberg/Pierrot Lunaire/Boulez/Schaefer/1998/DG. The compositions themselves were composed within a year or two of each other. (Circa 1910-1912)


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## Saturnus

It's a fact that Boulez is as good conductor as he is a bad composer, and he's extremely bad composer 

My tops:

1. J. S. Bach; The Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. _John Holloway_. (ECM)
2. R. Schumann; String Quartets no. 1 & 3. _Zehetmair Quartet_. (ECM)
3. Francis Poulenc; Complete Chamber music. _O. Doise (oboe), A. Tharaud (piano), P. Bernold (flute), L. Levéfre (bassoon) & more_. (Naxos)
4. J. S. Bach; The Brandenburg Concertos. _Goebel/Musica Antiqua Köln_. (Archiv)
5. A. Rosetti; 3 Oboe Concertos. Lajos Lencsés (solo), _Warchal/Slowak Chamber Orchestra_. (cpo)


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## oisfetz

Tchaikovsky's Trio op.50: Gilels,Kogan,Rostropovich live
Schubert,Cherubini and Mendelssohn SQ,Melos SQ
Haydn SQ op.50: (first) Tokyo SQ
LvB last SQ:Yale SQ. Middle SQ:Fine Arts- "Kreutzer":Schneiderhann-Seemann
Dvorak complete SQrague SQ
Brahms v.s. 0istrakh-Richter-Bauer-Yampolski Trio op.8:Rubinstein-Heifetz-Feuermann
Shostakovich SQ first Borodin SA
Borodin SQ:Borodin
Taneyev SQ: Taneyev-Krasni SQ


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## G e o r g e

*Annie Fischer* Beethoven Complete Sonatas

*HvK* '62 Beethoven Symphonies

*Borodin* String Quartets, Shostakovich, Chandos

*Richter* - All his Schubert sonata recordings

*Ashkenazy* - Rachmaninov PC 2, 3 - Fistoulari, Kondrashin

(That was hard, I don't ever want to do that again, and yes, I know I cheated a bit) B)


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## StlukesguildOhio

1. J.S. Bach- Cello Suites- Pierre Fournier (One of my absolute favorite pieces of music. I own several versions and have heard several others but none strike me as deeply as Fournier's)
2. J.S. Bach- The Well-Tempered Clavier- Angela Hewitt (As above... I have Richter's and the Kirkpatrick's brilliant recording on clavichord... but Hewlitt's set is transcendant)
3. Puccini- "Arias" (EMI)- Maria Callas, Tullio Serafin, Philharmonia Orchestra- (The only answer one needs to why Maria Callas still has such a cult following. "Con onor muore" from _Madame Butterfly_ can make my hair stand on end. Callas turns this bit of fluff of a character into the most emotional... tragic of heroines.)
4. Richard Wagner- Tristan und Isolde- Karajan, Vickers, Dernesch, Ludwig, Berry, etc... (Absolutely erotic.)
5. Puccini- _Tosca_- Callas, Victor de Sabata, Di Stefano, Gobi, etc... (See above... perhaps THE greatest opera recording ever)

If I would cheat and add a second 5 it might include:

Chopin- Nocturnes- Rubinstein
Haydn- The Creation- Karajan with Janowitz, Ludwig, Berry, Fischer-Dieskau and 
Wunderlich! Could you ask for more?!
Mahler- Kindertotenlieder/Ruckertlieder etc...- Barbirolli and Janet Baker
Richrad Strauss- 4 Last Songs, 12 Orchestral Songs- Schwarzkopf and Szell
Beethoven- 5th and 7th- Kleiber


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## opus67

Five favourite CD's from my set (not in any order) as of 10/2/2007

Beethoven Egmont overture/9th - Fricsay, BPO

Beethoven 6th/Schubert 5th - Bohm, VPO

Mozart Piano concerto #12(tr. for piano and string quartet), piano quartet #2 - Brendel, ABQ

Beethoven - piano sonatas 8,14,21,23- Kempff

Tchaikovsky, Sibelius violin concerti - Perlman, Leinsdrof, Boston SO (I think I've played this CD the most number of times for the PIT concerto, though I might've played the Sibelius only a couple of times )


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## johnnyx

Bach Cello Suites - Fournier (1961 version)
Bruckner Symphony No. 8 - Celibidache MPO
Brahms Cello Sonatas - Du Pre & Barenboim
Beethoven Piano Sonatas - Barenboim
Mahler Symphony No. 3 - Bernstein NYPO


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## Keemun

Not a definitive list, but these rank near the top:

 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 - Wand, NDRSO 

 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 - Mehta, VPO 

 Mahler: Symphony No. 9 - Karajan, BPO (1982 live version)

 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Horowitz, Toscanini, NBC Symphony Orchestra (1941)

 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto - Kogan, Silvestri, Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris (1959)


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## Kurkikohtaus

Do you mean this Mahler 9?










One of the reasons that Karajan released this one is that the one from a few years before is somewhat flawed...

This one received an award from *Gramophone* magazine.


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## opus67

A Revision of my earlier list. All it takes is one CD and one month. 

Five favourite CD's from my set (not in any order) as of 11/3/2007

Beethoven Egmont overture/9th - Fricsay, BPO

Beethoven 6th/Schubert 5th - Bohm, VPO

Mozart Piano concerto #12(tr. for piano and string quartet), piano quartet #2 - Brendel, ABQ

Beethoven, Mendelssohn violin concertos - Menuhin, Furtwangler, Philharmonia Orchestra, BPO

Tchaikovsky, Sibelius violin concerti - Perlman, Leinsdrof, Boston SO


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## ChamberNut

Here are my current five favorite compilations from my collection (no particular order):

1. Beethoven - Complete Symphonies - Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Chamber Orchestra of Europe)

2. Beethoven - Complete String Quartets - Quartetto Italiano

3. Brahms - Orchestral Works - Wolfgang Sawallisch (London Philharmonic/Berliner Philharmoniker)

4. Beethoven - Complete Piano Trios - Beaux Arts Trio

5. Dvorak - Complete Symphonies and Other Orchestral Works - Libor Pesek (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Czech Philharmonic)

A few other honorable mentions for recent purchases (Mendelssohn - String Quartets/Octet - Emerson String Quartets) and (Schumann - Symphonies - David Zinman w/ Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich)


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## Keemun

Kurkikohtaus said:


> Do you mean this Mahler 9?


Yes, that's the one.


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## Manuel

Tartini: Devil's sonata - Andrew Manze. The finest violin recording, ever.

Bach: Goldberg variations - Gould. 1982

Brahms: 1st piano concerto - Gilels, Jochum

Puccini: Turandot - Olivero, Cigna, Ghione. 30's

Mahler: Symphony Nº 8 - Rattle in 2002 Proms.


But five is an awful number... more recordings would be

Prokofiev: 8th sonata - Gavrilov
Prokofiev: 3rd concerto - Argerich
Brahms: violin concerto - Neveu
Sibelius: violin concerto - Neveu
Vaughan-Williams: 1st symphony - Boult
Wagner: The Ring - Keilberth 1952, Bayreuth
Bizet: Carmen, anyone with Callas.
Bortkiewicz: violin sonata in g minor
Wolf Ferrari: violin concerto - Bustabo
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit - Pogorelich and François


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## ChamberNut

johnnyx said:


> Bach Cello Suites - Fournier (1961 version)
> Brahms Cello Sonatas - Du Pre & Barenboim
> Beethoven Piano Sonatas - Barenboim


Johnnyx,

I have Bach's Cello Suites, but w/ Pablo Casals. I enjoy it, but it is a mono recording, and I would love to get another great set that isn't mono. I am considering Rostropovich, Fournier or Yo-Yo Ma. I guess you'd obviously recommend the Fournier set? 

Might also be interested in the Brahms Cello Sonatas by Du Pre & Barenboim (as long as it's not a live recording ) I have the Du Pre & Barenboim live recording of Beethoven's Cello Sonatas, and there is alot of annoying coughing in the background!

I also have the Barenboim set of Beethoven Piano Sonatas.


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## Chi_townPhilly

Put me down for three lists. First, the "cheating" list: 
1) *Wagner* Ring cycle- Solti/Vienna
1a) *Beethoven* Symphonies- Karajan/Berlin '62 previously cited by *George*
2/3) *Chicago Symphony Orchestra* the First 100 years- 12 disc set (I told you I was going to cheat) A set of highlights, but I'll mention in passing Josef Hofmann in his only extent recording of the _Emperor_ Concerto, Kubelik in Mussorgsky-Ravel _Pictures_ and Stokowski conducting a "searingly intense" Shostakovich 10. 
3/4) *Philadelphia Orchestra* Centennial Edition- another 12 disc set. (I am _such_ a cheater) Sibelius well-represented... Stokowski in Symphony #2 and Stoki/Heifetz in the Violin Concerto. Toscanini rehearses (agreeably) and performs Berlioz "Queen Mab" scherzo. Ormandy with a pleasurable Schoenberg _Verklarte Nacht_. 
5) *Mahler* Symphonies 5, 9 & Adagio 10- Tennstedt/London Phil.

Second: the commercially available list: as above, except in place of the 24 Orchestra highlight discs- 4) *Wagner* Tristan und Isolde- Karajan/Berlin cited by *St. Luke* previously, and 5) *Bruckner* Symphonies- Solti/Chicago. I recognize this last may be a contoversial choice, but let me support my view. Bruckner was a direct fellow who said/wrote what he meant and meant what he wrote/said. "Mystery" in Bruckner is overrated.

Finally, the "if limited to single discs" tabulum:
1) *Bruckner* Symphony 5- Sinopoli/Dresden. See above. 
2) *Beethoven* Symphony 9- Furtwangler/Bayreuth
3) *Rachmaninoff* Piano Concerto 3- Argerich/Chailly. I know that Argerich has come in line for some rubbishing on this board, but I agree with the _Gramophone_ critics who put this on their list "100 great recordings." 
4) *Tchaikovsky* Swan Lake extended highlights- Ormandy/Philadelphia. No one can ever convince me that they're not absolutely ideal for this sort of repertoire! 
5) *Dvorak* Symphony #9 (_New World_) Kondrashin/Vienna


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## Kesiak

My favourites recordings among many others, try it, these are brilliant performances:

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4, 5 & 6
Evgeny Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, 1960

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
Valery Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra, 1998

Mahler: Symphony No 1
Leonard Bernstein, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, 1987

Borodin: String Quartets No 1 & 2
Borodin Quartet, (Emi)

Prokofiev, Shostakovich: Violin Concertos
Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Sir Colin Davis, Andrew Davis, London Symphony Orchestra,
BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1988, 1989

.. and many more of course


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## Manuel

> Prokofiev, Shostakovich: Violin Concertos
> Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Sir Colin Davis, Andrew Davis, London Symphony Orchestra,
> BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1988, 1989


Really? Do you prefer this one to the many Oistrakhs?


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## Kesiak

> Really? Do you prefer this one to the many Oistrakhs?


I have not had the opportunity to hear the Oistrakh's in these performances, but I know he was the "first" player, especially in Shostakovich concertos. But I like Sitkovetsky manner in both - Prokofiev and Shostakovich very much.


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## Don

My Big Five:

Mozart - Great Mass in C Minor/Leppard/EMI
Bach - WTC/Tureck/DG
Bach - Goldberg Variations/Tureck/DG
Bach - French Suites/David Cates/Music & Arts
Bach - St. Matthew Passion/Herreweghe I/Harmonia Mundi


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## Kesiak

Don, I have Gould's Goldberg variations (his second recording), have you heard it? Can you compare it with your:


> Bach - Goldberg Variations/Tureck/DG?


 It would be great.

By the way I like


> Bach - St. Matthew Passion/Herreweghe I/Harmonia Mundi


 very much!


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## Don

Kesiak said:


> Don, I have Gould's Goldberg variations (his second recording), have you heard it? Can you compare it with your: It would be great.


Okay - Tureck/Dg vs. Gould/1981:

Gould's sound is not as good as Tureck's. Gould is more of a straight-ahead and percussive player than Tureck who tends to explore the sidelines. Gould's tempos are significantly quicker than Tureck's. Both are fantastic performances.

Other great ones on piano:

Gould "55" and "59" (Salzburg) - Sony
Schiff - ECM (forget the Schiff Decca)
Koroliov/Hanssler
Rosen/Sony
Tureck/Philips (both this one and the DG are better than the VAI releases)
Nilolayeva/Classico

I prepared a lengthy review of many Goldbergs (piano, harpsichord, whatever) that can be found on the Bach Cantatas website under non-vocal works.


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## tahnak

*Five Favourite Recordings*

1. Mahler - Symphony of a Thousand - Sir Georg Solti + Chicago Symphony + Decca
2. Tchaikovsky - Pathetique - Yevgeny Mravinsky + Leningrad Philharmonic + Deutsche Grammophon.
3. Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique - Colin Davis + Concertgebouw Amsterdam + Philips
4. Beethoven - Choral - Zubin Mehta + New York Philharmonic + RCA
5. Bruckner - Ninth - Zubin Mehta + Wiener Philharmoniker + Decca


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## World Violist

This may well change soon enough... but here's my updated one:

1. Rubbra: Symphonies 5&6 (from the box). Hickox/BBCNOW
2. Sibelius: Symphonies 6&7, Tapiola. Vanska/Lahti
3. Mahler: Symphony No. 8. Chailly/Concertgebouw
4. Beethoven: Symphonies 3&8. Vanska/Minnesota
5. Britten: Curlew River. Britten/English Chamber Group/Pears/et al.


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## confuoco

Some of my top:

1. Debussy: Nocturnes, La Mer and other works - Pierre Boulez, Cleveland Orchestra
2. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 - Herbert von Karajan, BP
3. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Krystian Zimerman, Leonard Bernstein, VP
4. Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1 - Argerich, Kremer, Bashmet, Maisky
5. Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Stephen Kovacevich, Colin Davis, LSO


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## ncherone

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

Shostakovich, Symphony #10 - Karajan & Berlin
Gorecki, Symphony #3 - Dawn Upshaw; Zinman, London Sinfonietta
Prokofiev, Symphony #5 - Ozawa & Berlin
Bartok, Dance Suite - Boulez & Chicago
Brahms, Symphony #1 - Karajan & Berlin

My favorite new recording is Shostakovich, Symphony #4 - Hatink & Chicago... it just won the Grammy for best orchestral performance. It is really magical!


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