# Recommendations, please!



## Bardu

I am eager to begin listening to classical music. I have Wagner's Ring (Solti) and really enjoy it. I would like to hear some works for solo piano. 

I have already begun listening to Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations and Well Tempered Clavier. 

I would like some recommendations for Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and other romantic composers you would recommend I start with. I'm sure everyone's opinion is different, but whatever you consider the best, the most influential, desert island discs, composers I wouldn't want to miss, etc. 

I am looking for specific CDs that I could purchase. Thank you!

I do tend to prefer old, classic recordings that have an long established reputation rather than newer recordings. 

Thank you!


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

There are some recordings from the early 20th century now selling on Naxos if you want old recordings. I'm sure there would be some excellent things from the 1920s and 1930s of the repertoire you are looking for. It might be worthwhile to collect them. Here's one with Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven all in one disc: http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.110684


----------



## Itullian

Beethoven Sonatas, Kempff
Chopin works, Arrau
Mozart Sonatas, Uchida
Schubert sonatas, Brendel

Beethoven symphonies, Bohm.
Schumann symphonies, Bernstein
Mozart late symphonies, Marriner 
Haydn London symphonies, Colin Davis

that should be a nice start.


----------



## Stargazer

For solo piano, I'd recommend all 32 of Beethoven's sonatas. I prefer the later ones myself, but they're mostly all really good.


----------



## Conky

I'm sort of new, having only been listening to classical for four years or so. When I was an absolute beginner, I made it a point to listen to the big famous pieces first. Here are a few of the very recognizable chamber pieces, plus some that I personally enjoy:

Bach, Partita no. 2, "Chaconne" (heartbreaking piece)
Beethoven, piano sonata #8, "Pathetique"
Beethoven, piano sonata #14, "Moonlight"
Beethoven, piano sonata #17, "Tempest"
Beethoven, string quartet #14 (very challenging, for me at least - be careful!)
Chopin, nocturne #1
Schubert, String Quartet #14 "Death and the Maiden" (_excellent_ piece)
Schubert, Winterreise (a song cycle technically, although I don't know if lieder count as chamber music per se)


----------



## Lukecash12

I would highly recommend Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, they are accessible and each encompasses one specific mood very well:

Revery




Regrets


----------



## Vaneyes

Mozart PCs 14, 23, 25 - Moravec
LvB Late Sonatas - Pollini
Chopin Mazurkas - Michelangeli


----------



## Guest

Recently, I found Michael Finnissy's English Country Tunes quite thrilling. Give 'em a shot


----------



## dgee

Do yourself a favour and get a bunch of Debussy and Ravel piano music as well. Don't be too hung up on "classic recordings" (often a function of nostalgia I think rather than absolute quality) - Blazouvet, Roge, Thibaudet and Aimard are recentish and extremely good in this repertoire, for instance. Go for Levin and Brautigam for characterful Mozart, or Bilson if you want more "classic"


----------



## dgee

arcaneholocaust said:


> Recently, I found Michael Finnissy's English Country Tunes quite thrilling. Give 'em a shot


Hells yeah baby!!!






Possibly not what the OP requested, but yuss that is bracingly awesome


----------



## Alypius

Bardu said:


> I am eager to begin listening to classical music. I have Wagner's Ring (Solti) and really enjoy it. I would like to hear some works for solo piano.
> 
> I have already begun listening to Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations and Well Tempered Clavier.
> 
> I would like some recommendations for Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and other romantic composers you would recommend I start with. I'm sure everyone's opinion is different, but whatever you consider the best, the most influential, desert island discs, composers I wouldn't want to miss, etc.
> 
> I am looking for specific CDs that I could purchase. Thank you!
> 
> I do tend to prefer old, classic recordings that have an long established reputation rather than newer recordings.
> 
> Thank you!


Bardu, Welcome to Talk Classical. I presume that you posted this under the "Solo & Chamber Music" section because, as you noted, you are exploring works for solo piano. Are you also looking for chamber works of Mozart and Beethoven? Both Mozart and Beethoven (and then the romantics) have an astounding array of chamber works worth exploring (esp. their string quartets). I noticed that several others have already posted recommendations of symphonies and concertos. If you are, in fact, looking for symphonic and other orchestral works, you might post a 2nd thread under the "Orchestral Music" section of the forum.

As for the keyboard works of Mozart, Beethoven, and the romantics, others around Talk Classical have an encyclopedic knowledge of these older recordings (including old historic recordings) -- and hopefully they will post a much wider array of older classic recordings. For the moment, I'm going to limit myself to just a few recommendations of Beethoven and Chopin. I'll add a post on the solo piano works of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms later.

For Beethoven, there are so many classic ones. But let me single out just one: Emil Gilels. He, sadly, died before he could finish recording the complete sonatas of Beethoven, but these are a wonderful collection and some of the finest performances:










Alfred Brendel will have many advocates as well. You mentioned an interest in the old and established, but be sure and read about and consider recent performers (we need to support living artists who are trying to make a living by creating master performances for a new generation). Paul Lewis, a student of Brendel, has a splendid cycle of the Beethoven sonatas on Harmonia mundi. And one of the finest recordings of last year was the debut of a young Russian pianist named Igor Levit, who has a masterful performance of the late Beethoven sonatas on Sony.

For Chopin, many prefer Artur Rubenstein, whose 10 CD collection has recently been reissued:










Among older performers, I prefer Samson Francois:










Consider also Nelson Freire who has a great performance of Chopin's _Nocturnes_. Early in his career, Murray Perahia did a fine performance of Chopin's 4 _Ballades_ (awarded a Penguin Guide Rosette and named among _Gramophone Magazine_'s "100 Greatest Recordings"; in 2002, he released a superb performance of Chopin's _Etudes_ (Sony, 2002).

Also you asked about Mozart on solo piano. For that era, I prefer the solo keyboard works of Haydn. Mozart is wonderful in so many areas, but his solo keyboard works are nowhere near as important his piano concertos.


----------



## Alypius

A follow-up to the above, here focusing on Schubert and Brahms since you also asked about romantic composers.

For Schubert, there are two cycles by well-recognized older artists: Alfred Brendel and Radu Lupu. Both have been boxed up and are readily available.

















A friend of mine has extolled the virtues of Brendel's original cycle from Philips (and later remastered by Australian Eloquence); but I've not heard it, but perhaps you might check into that. My personal preference is a much newer cycle, by one of Brendel's students, Paul Lewis (whose Beethoven I recommended). Lewis issued a complete cycle of Schubert's mature sonatas in a three volume series on Harmonia mundi (2011-2014) (and this includes as the others do, Schubert's magnificent _Impromptus_, _Moment Musicaux_, and other miscellaneous piano solo works).

For Brahms, the classic survey of the complete solo works is by Julius Katchen:










I prefer the recent performance of Brahms's _Handel Variations_ by Murray Perahia (Sony, 2010), which also includes a fine performance of Brahm's _Klavierstucke_ ("Piano Works"), op. 118 and 119. On Emil Gilels' performance of Brahms' two brilliant Piano Concertos is included a dazzling performance of Brahms' other late piano work, the _Fantasias_, op. 117.


----------



## Lukecash12

Alypius said:


> Bardu, Welcome to Talk Classical. I presume that you posted this under the "Solo & Chamber Music" section because, as you noted, you are exploring works for solo piano. Are you also looking for chamber works of Mozart and Beethoven? Both Mozart and Beethoven (and then the romantics) have an astounding array of chamber works worth exploring (esp. their string quartets). I noticed that several others have already posted recommendations of symphonies and concertos. If you are, in fact, looking for symphonic and other orchestral works, you might post a 2nd thread under the "Orchestral Music" section of the forum.
> 
> As for the keyboard works of Mozart, Beethoven, and the romantics, others around Talk Classical have an encyclopedic knowledge of these older recordings (including old historic recordings) -- and hopefully they will post a much wider array of older classic recordings. For the moment, I'm going to limit myself to just a few recommendations of Beethoven and Chopin. I'll add a post on the solo piano works of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms later.
> 
> For Beethoven, there are so many classic ones. But let me single out just one: Emil Gilels. He, sadly, died before he could finish recording the complete sonatas of Beethoven, but these are a wonderful collection and some of the finest performances:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Alfred Brendel will have many advocates as well. You mentioned an interest in the old and established, but be sure and read about and consider recent performers (we need to support living artists who are trying to make a living by creating master performances for a new generation). Paul Lewis, a student of Brendel, has a splendid cycle of the Beethoven sonatas on Harmonia mundi. And one of the finest recordings of last year was the debut of a young Russian pianist named Igor Levit, who has a masterful performance of the late Beethoven sonatas on Sony.
> 
> For Chopin, many prefer Artur Rubenstein, whose 10 CD collection has recently been reissued:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Among older performers, I prefer Samson Francois:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Consider also Nelson Freire who has a great performance of Chopin's _Nocturnes_. Early in his career, Murray Perahia did a fine performance of Chopin's 4 _Ballades_ (awarded a Penguin Guide Rosette and named among _Gramophone Magazine_'s "100 Greatest Recordings"; in 2002, he released a superb performance of Chopin's _Etudes_ (Sony, 2002).
> 
> Also you asked about Mozart on solo piano. For that era, I prefer the solo keyboard works of Haydn. Mozart is wonderful in so many areas, but his solo keyboard works are nowhere near as important his piano concertos.


If we're going for throwback recordings of Beethoven I have to say that Solomon Cutner is way up there for me. Guys like him are the reason I treasure my record player.














I highly suggest his interpretation of the Tempest as well.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

Brendel's first cycle, recorded in the 60s, was on Turnabout Vox, and it has been reissued at bargain price on Brilliant Classics. It contains many fine, fresh and youthful accounts of the early Beethoven sonatas, although the sound quality is a bit clangorous. The two later Brendel Philips cycles are excellent.

May I suggest the Quartetto Italiano in Beethoven's string quartets and the last 4 Schubert quartets, the Beaux Arts Trio in Beethoven's piano trios, and Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer in his sonatas for violin and piano, if older, established artists are preferred?


----------



## Nereffid

These are the main bits of piano music that served as my introduction to the genre:
Beethoven - Piano sonatas (the "named" ones, really)
Chopin - Preludes; Nocturnes
Debussy - Preludes
Grieg - Lyric Pieces
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsodies; Années de pèlerinage
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition

I'd suggest not being too concerned about particular performers. I started off with cheap recordings by "lesser" performers and I can't say it did me any harm!

If you go to the CD seller arkivmusic.com, they have a good browsing system and there's "professional" reviews available for many recordings to help you make up your mind.


----------



## Guest

Beethoven Sonatas, Wilhelm Kempff - exceptional recordings of 4 of the most famous "named" sonatas.







Perahia's recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations is one of my favorite piano recordings, hands down.







Hamelin is wonderful with Haydn's piano sonatas. There are actually 3 volumes, but try volume 1, and if you like it, get the other two.







Schubert's solo piano works are wonderful, especially the later works. Once again, Kempff is a master with this repertoire. Or if you only want the late sonatas, Pollini is also no slouch.


----------



## Fugue Meister

I know you didn't ask for it but check out some Scriabin solo piano works, especially if you enjoy Chopin and if you like Scriabin check out Prokofiev's piano sonatas. Oh and while on the subject of Russians I have to mention Shostakovich my personal favorite Russian, check him out he's the man. 

I'll cast my vote for Brendel or Giles for Beethoven's sonata's and all of them are terrific and must hears if I may say so. My favorite's are Op. 106 (No. 29), Op. 101 (No. 28), & Op. 109 (No. 30) but like I said you must hear them all (you may not like the ones I listed but you'll work your way up to them if not I have no doubt). Beethoven's string quartets are also some of the greatest music you'll ever listen to so get into them asap.

On the Mozart I'll second what Alypius said and say the piano concertos are way, way better than the solo keyboard sonatas, but his fantasies K. 397 & K. 475 are very cool. If you want better classical era keyboard sonatas do Haydn's they are far better IMO.


----------



## thetrout

I second Brendel's Schubert. If you do not want to buy the boxset, they have the famous works spaced out. I would start here:









It is perfect for a beginner, consisting as it does of lots of short - fairly joyful - 'Romantic' piano pieces. Then follow through with the final three Sonatas, absolute masterpieces of the genre (up there with the Beethoven's 'named' sonatas).


----------



## EDaddy

These are superb solo piano compositions and performances. Highly recommended.


----------



## Alypius

There are many fine recommendations on this thread, both of works and of recordings. But our original poster has, alas, apparently disappeared. Not a single response. Do others around here get frustrated with those who start threads and then simply disappear? No comments, not even a thanks? 

Ah, well, hopefully, the recommendations are of benefit to others on the forum.


----------



## Guest

I think we probably just get a lot of people who only have one question, and don't really care to participate in an online forum. Oh well, if it enhances the reputation and prestige of the site that people see us as a good source of information, we aren't really losing anything.


----------



## Weston

Sightly off topic: Sometimes circumstances prohibit followup. 

I was once on a progressive rock forum and started up a conversation about a group that was then new to me, Glass Hammer, a really great example of the genre for those who enjoy it. I then started getting emails from members of the group! It was pretty cool. The night I sat down to respond my internet supplier went out and did not come back on for many weeks due to technical issues in my area. 

I was so embarrassed about not responding to what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance encounter I just never followed up at all.


----------



## Marcel

In Baroque Music, Il Seminario Musicale.


----------



## thetrout

Well with a bit of luck, he is too busy listening to the music recomendations, in which case, I say it is a job well done.


----------



## HaydnBearstheClock

Definitely don't forget about Joseph Haydn:


----------



## hpowders

Try Mozart's piano concertos #'s 21 and 23.

Also Copland's Appalachian Spring.


----------



## Cosmos

Again, a lot of great recommendations here!

I'm going to add a few piano works that first got me interested:
*Rachmaninov's preludes*. "The" prelude in c-sharp minor is the most famous, but don't let it distract you from checking the others out! I also like Rachmaninov's two piano sonatas, though the second is a little more accessible I think. Also, his *Piano Concerto no. 2 * completely mesmerized me when I first heard it.
*Chopin's Ballades and Nocturnes.* While you should check out all his music, imo it's some of the best in the literature, these sets are the ones that got me hooked initially. Of the four Ballades, the first and the last are my favorites. I love all the nocturnes, but the ones that first sparked my intrigue were the three from Op. 9, Op. 27 no. 2, and Op. 55 no. 2
*Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies.* These have already been mentioned in this thread, but I want to second that suggestion because this set not only contains great music, but it also is a good sampler of the different moods of Liszt's music. Also check out the *Hungarian Fantasy for piano and orchestra*, which is a slightly extended version of the 14th rhapsody.
Of course, people have already mentioned *Beethoven's piano sonatas.* While I also second this recommendation, instead of just plopping all 32 of them on you, I want to highlight which ones I listened to first that eventually got me interested in the rest: no.1, no.8 "pathetique", no.14 "moonlight", no.17, and no.32
*Albeniz's Iberia.* This is a long set of beautiful Spanish impressionism. It's divided into four books, and each book has three pieces. The first book is my favorite, and I find it the most diverse. 
*Bach-Busoni and Bach-Liszt:* Liszt and Busoni both transcribed some of Bach's organ music for piano, and their renditions are phenomenal. From Liszt I'd recommend the *Fantasy and Fugue BWV 542 and the Prelude and Fugue BWV 543.* From Busoni, I recommend the *Prelude and Fugue in D Major, the Chaconne* (from Bach's solo violin partita), and his *"concert" version of the Goldberg Variations* [note, this is a rendition that is cut and modified, it's only about half of Bach's original and it contains a lot of Busoni's own rewritting of the music. If you're a purist, steer clear of this one]


----------



## Aaconn

Definitely some good choices.


----------



## Dasein

For Schubert if you get the chance I believe it's worth it to listen to Sviatoslav Richter's interpretation. He plays them considerably slower and it gives them a different feel entirely. I can't say I prefer 'normal' speed or slow myself, they are both good in their own right.


----------



## hpowders

I forgot to list the recordings above. For the Mozart piano concerto #23, check out Artur Rubinstein. For #21, Rudolf Serkin.

For Appalachian Spring, try the Leonard Bernstein/NY Philharmonic.


----------



## Albert7

Of course there's always Geza Anda's recording of Mozart's "Elvira Madigan" piano concerto if you fancy some nostalgia.


----------



## Peter Gibaloff

Try this lovely music


----------



## Peter Gibaloff

Piano composition of piano composer Isaac Albeniz but transcribed for guitar (like more popular Asturias):


----------



## aajj

albertfallickwang said:


> Of course there's always Geza Anda's recording of Mozart's "Elvira Madigan" piano concerto if you fancy some nostalgia.


I have this disc, with No. 20 in D Minor.


----------



## hpowders

Beethoven 9 Symphonies. Gunter Wand.


----------



## starthrower

Great piece by Barber played by a phenomenal Hungarian pianist.






You can find it on this wonderful collection.










http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=168040


----------

