# Please recommend some CDs!



## Sofronitsky

Lately I feel I haven't connected with music as passionately as I used to. I suppose that could be because I haven't heard alot of new music lately, or listened to it in the right setting. So I decided I should buy some new CDs, and am going to spend around 60 dollars.

Here is a rough list of works that I'd like to really experience for the first time, even if I have half listened to them on youtube before.

Schumann - Piano Concerto (Oddly enough I have never listened to this  )
Ravel - Daphins Et Chloe
Beethoven - Symphony no. 5 (I don't know why i'm putting this here, i'm going to buy the kleiber pairing with my favorite symphony, the 7th.)
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto no. 1
Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1
Schumann - Piano Quintet
Franck - Piano Quintet
Bruckner - Any Symphony (I'm very curious about this composer. I listened to the Adagio from his 8th symphony and got tears in my eyes towards the end when the development of that chord/ harp section)
Mahler - Symphony no. 2 (As an introduction to this composer, though I have heard the 5th)
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5
Schubert - Misc. Piano Sonatas

I know the list is really long, so if you consider one composer your speciality like i've noticed in some forum members (Air - schumann, Trout/Polednice - Brahms ) just recommend what you would like to.

Keep in mind that I'd like to have as many new works as possible, so if it's a toss up between a 10/10 performance at 20 dollars and a 9/10 at 8 dollars, I will take the second


----------



## Aksel

Sofronitsky said:


> Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5


Either the recording with Haitink and LSO, or the one with Maxim Shostakovich and LPO. Or both. They both have their qualities, but I prefer Shostakovich and LPO.


----------



## Sofronitsky

Aksel said:


> Either the recording with Haitink and LSO, or the one with Maxim Shostakovich and LPO. Or both. They both have their qualities, but I prefer Shostakovich and LPO.


Thanks Aksel, checking out the Maxim recording now. I also thought Petrenko might be good for the Tenth Symphony. If it came to being able to buy only one, should I get Petrenko/10 or M.S./5?


----------



## Aksel

Sofronitsky said:


> Thanks Aksel, checking out the Maxim recording now. I also thought Petrenko might be good for the Tenth Symphony. If it came to being able to buy only one, should I get Petrenko/10 or M.S./5?


I actually haven't heard the Petrenko recording of number 10, but I think I recall hearing some nice things about it. I probably should familiarise myself more with Petrenko as he's headed to Norway to conduct the Oslo Philharmonic.


----------



## Sid James

*RE Schumann's Piano Concerto *- I would recommend pianist *Dinu Lipatti's* recording, with the Philharmonia under von Karajan. Done sometime in the post-WW2 years, about 1950(?). I'm not sure if it's available on CD, or available at a good price, but if you can get past the mono sound (which is fairly clear but of course no match for more modern recordings), then you are in for a treat & what has been truly considered a "reference" recording by many pianists since. In any case, it has been highly regarded by both listeners & pundits alike over the decades...


----------



## itywltmt

If you want to try these works out for a test drive, I recommend browsing Public Domain Classic
http://public-domain-archive.com/classic/?lang=eng
where you will find many of these works.
Some favourites on CD:
Schumann - Piano Concerto - Radu Lupu and LSO
Ravel - Daphins Et Chloe - Dutoit and Montreal Symphony
Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1 - Gould and NY Philharmonic (the infamous "Don't be afraid, Mr. Gould is here" recording)
Mahler - Symphony no. 2 - Klemperer - Philharmonia Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony no. 5 - so many... Try Carlos Kleiber / Wiener Philharmoniker 
Bruckner - Any Symphony - the later symphonies by Yannick Nezet Seguin and l'Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montreal. Also, the complete set by Georg Tintner on NAXOS
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5 - Mariss Jansons and the Concertgebouw
Schubert piano sonatas - a few good ones can be found on line at
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/home/
(Go to "Music" and browse the Schibert works).
Good Luck!


----------



## Xaltotun

I'm not a very experienced listener but your list included several of my favourite works, so I'll list some CD recordings that I've liked:

Schumann/Piano Concerto: Sviatoslav Richter with Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte Carlo, conducted by Lovro von Matacic. EMI Classics recording also includes the wonderful Grieg Piano Concerto by the same performers.

Ravel/Daphnis et Chloe: Ernest Ansermet with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande! A truly magnificient version.

Brahms/Piano Concerto 1: Nelson Freire, Gewandshausorchester with Riccardo Chailly. Decca has a double CD version with the superb Piano Concerto 2 as well.

Bruckner is one of the best symphonists of all times, if you like his style - so why not buy a whole symphonic cycle? I have one with Barenboim/Berliner Philharmoniker. The sound quality is excellent and the spirit of the records is very "Brucknerian"!

As an introduction to Mahler 2, you might try Gilbert Kaplan on Deutsche Grammophon first? I don't know if that's a controversial choice, but it's a very clear version, you can hear everything that's going on. Indeed, the clarity of that recording helped me a lot in my quest to appreciate Mahler. For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!


----------



## Aramis

> Beethoven - Symphony no. 5 (I don't know why i'm putting this here, i'm going to buy the kleiber pairing with my favorite symphony, the 7th.)


Karajan from 1963 cycle



> Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1


Zimerman/Bernstein or Freire/Chailly



> Mahler - Symphony no. 2 (As an introduction to this composer, though I have heard the 5th)


Solti/Chicago or Antoni Wit



> Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5


Rostropovich cycle on Teldec


----------



## itywltmt

Xaltotun said:


> As an introduction to Mahler 2, you might try Gilbert Kaplan on Deutsche Grammophon first? I don't know if that's a controversial choice, but it's a very clear version, you can hear everything that's going on. Indeed, the clarity of that recording helped me a lot in my quest to appreciate Mahler. For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!


This is an intriguing choice, as Mr. Kaplan is a (wealthy) amateur who ONLY records Mahler's second, and he has done so at least twice as I recall. I myself have never heard the man conduct, but if Mahler 2 is all he does, maybe he's got something to say...

I still stand behind my recommendation (Klemperer), with Kubelik and the Bavarian RSO close second.


----------



## Vesteralen

*Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 1 - Clifford Curzon / George Szell *(if you don't mind a little audible breathing in the second movement). This is an electric performance in every way.

*Schumann - Piano Concerto - Fleisher / Szell *used to be my favorite, but though I have never gotten a copy of the *Radu Lupu / Previn / LSO *recording recommended above, I did hear the first movement on the radio years ago, and I have to say the interpretive single-mindedness between pianist and orchesta was outstanding - so that could be the way to go.

By the way, I have a Bruckner 8th on vinyl with Otto Klemperer conducting that is outstanding. The CD version of this is really pricey, however, so there have to be some less expensive modern alternatives.


----------



## haydnfan

I'll reply with some of my favorites.



Sofronitsky said:


> Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10


Petrenko on Naxos



> Schumann - Piano Quintet


Rubinstein/Guarneri Quartet



> Mahler - Symphony no. 2


Mehta/Vienna PO



> Schubert - Misc. Piano Sonatas


Radu Lupu box set


----------



## itywltmt

Vesteralen said:


> *Schumann - Piano Concerto - Fleisher / Szell *used to be my favorite, but though I have never gotten a copy of the *Radu Lupu / Previn / LSO *recording recommended above, I did hear the first movement on the radio years ago, and I have to say the interpretive single-mindedness between pianist and orchesta was outstanding - so that could be the way to go.


The Schumann/Lupu recording I own is a vinyl coupling of the Schumann and Grieg A minor concerti. I recently found a copy of the high bit rate remaster on "Decca Legends" of that same recording as a torrent (Before you judge my unscrupulous ways, remember that I own the vinyl, so I have no problem in that case). Here's a link to a bing search you could start from if you wanted a taste:
http://www.bing.com/search?q=grieg+schumann+lupu+torrent&src=IE-SearchBox


----------



## itywltmt

Xaltotun said:


> For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!


Or, at a budget price, the Chailly/Concertgebouw cycle, which includes the Deryk Cooke concert version of Mahler's 10th, which Bernstein steadfastly refused to record.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*Schumann - Piano Concerto*- Sviatoslav Richter, Fleischer w/ Cleveland/Szell, Cliburn/Reiner or the already mentioned Lupu.

*Ravel - Daphins Et Chloe*- Pierre Boulez, Charles Munch, Charles Dutoit, Pierre Monteux

*Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10*- Karajan/Berlin! There is no other.

*Shostakovich - Violin Concerto no. 1*- Vengerov/Rostropovich, Eugene Ormandy, Hillary Hahn

*Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1*- Gilels/Berlin or Fleischer/Cleveland with Szell

*Bruckner - Any Symphony*- Gunter Wand (any), no. 7- Karajan/Berlin (not Vienna) and no. 8- Karajan, no. 9- Carlo Maria Giulini

*Mahler - Symphony no. 2-* Rattle with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus or either Solti or Klemperer

*Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5*- Yuri Temirkanov, Vasily Petrenko, Bernstein, Gergiev

*Schubert - Misc. Piano Sonatas*- Wilhelm Kempff really owns these, but Uchida and Brendel are also good... and Brendel truly owns the Impromptus


----------



## samurai

Sofronitsky said:


> Thanks Aksel, checking out the Maxim recording now. I also thought Petrenko might be good for the Tenth Symphony. If it came to being able to buy only one, should I get Petrenko/10 or M.S./5?


@Sofronitsky, I would highly recommend the Petrenko version with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. I also have him conducting this same orchestra for Shostakovich's 8th Symphony as well. They are both standout performances, IMHO, of course.
In fact, I am seriously considering getting the complete Shostakovich symphony cycle conducted by Petrenko, once it has been released. Right now, though, I have been giving some thought to purchasing the Rostropovich box set of this cycle, should the Petrenko be unavailable for awhile or if it is too steeply priced.
p.s. You can get the 5th and 9th symphonies on one cd conducted by Bernard Haitnik leading the Concertgebouw and LPO performing these works respectively. It is on Decca and available thru Amazon.
Hope this helps!


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

I have the Naxos Petrenko recordings of Shostakovitch's 5 & 9, 8, and 11th symphonies. They are all quite good... better than good... and the 11th is rather stunning... but I doubt his 10th will match the fire of Karajan's classic recording which still stands as the standard against which all others are measured.


----------



## Sid James

Just remembered - *Yvgeny Mravinsky *was highly regarded as a Shostakovich conductor (even by the composer himself, Mravinsky premiered a number of the man's works). Another more recent conductor who's done all of Shosty's symphonies on the Chandos label (but don't know if they're still in print?) is *Neeme Jarvi*. I have heard these two guys conducting this composer's music & they put down very good accounts. Karajan also sounds fine, but I don't remember hearing him doing Shostakovich.

One thing about *Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5*, since you mention it, over the years there have been two main ways to interpret the finale. This was explained (& demonstrated) to me at a concert I attended of it last year. The first way is to play it kind of ironically, with a slowish - almost sluggish - tempo, talking to Shosty's feelings of being beaten with a stick & yet still having to put on a happy face. It sounds a bit forced and kind of emotionally detached. Many Euorpean conductors have a tendency to interpret it in this way. The "other" way is to play it with quick marching tempo (kind of goose-stepping), very upbeat & militaristic. American conductors tend to take it this way, I have heard Lorin Maazel's performance which is quite like this.

But at the end of the day, both approaches - though seemingly contradictory - are equally valid. The conductor at that concert said that when Bernstein visited the USSR & played the finale in the "American" way, Shosty (who was there) responded with something like "That's probably not how I meant it, but I like it!" So there you go - this is the beauty of the difference, subtlety of interpretation! (But I think that Steve Hillinger, the conductor I saw, also said that in terms of tempo, the "European" way is more correct, so he conducted the finale of the 5th that way at that concert)...


----------



## Air

Woah, I don't know why I haven't replied to this thread yet!

Here's how you kill two birds with one stone for the Schumann Piano Concerto and Piano Quintet. Both are very top recommendations of mine.










For _Daphnis et Chloe_ I have to mention the Dutoit/Montreal, which is utterly ravishing:










My favorite Schubert d.960 by a light-year would be Richter's - a reading that is excruciatingly pensive and heartfelt from beginning to finish. It's like a transformation - the sound becomes part of you - a feeling that I can only get from a few pianists. Don't worry about its formidable length (he takes it ultra-slow) - it just means that heaven will last longer for you!

Really, the only competition Richter has here is himself, but of the ones I've heard the Praga recording works the magic best [The cover shown is the box set - you can find the individual recording here]:










The other works I don't have as much experience or as strong of an opinion about. I will mention though that you can't go wrong with the Bruckner cycles of Karajan and Wand or any of Bernstein's Mahler. I've been in love with Mehta's _Resurrection_ ever since I first heard it (and it was my introduction to the symphony), but having received the Bernstein set just this week I've been exploring his 2nd too and may like it even better.

Anyhow, it's really hard to go wrong with any of these great recordings!


----------



## Meaghan

Xaltotun said:


> As an introduction to Mahler 2, you might try Gilbert Kaplan on Deutsche Grammophon first? I don't know if that's a controversial choice, but it's a very clear version, you can hear everything that's going on. Indeed, the clarity of that recording helped me a lot in my quest to appreciate Mahler. For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!


Ha, yes it _is_ rather controversial, mainly for the reasons stated by itywltmt. Musicians who have played under him like to complain about him in their blogs ("He's not a _real_ conductor, grr, humph...") and have insinuated that his being very wealthy has a lot to do with his getting chances to conduct. I too might be rather frustrated if I were a professional symphony musician and found myself playing under the baton of a man without professional training. On the other hand, the guy has done a great deal for Mahler scholarship. And I haven't actually heard his recordings, so I can't fairly knock him.

I second the recommendation of Bernstein/Sony. I think it's cheaper than his DG cycle. And Bernstein is my favorite conductor for Mahler 2 in particular. It's kind of the perfect symphony for him. And his recording with the NY Phil is on the Sony label. (Actually, I think he recorded it with NY more than once. So at least one of those is Sony.)


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

Just remembered - Yvgeny Mravinsky was highly regarded as a Shostakovich conductor (even by the composer himself, Mravinsky premiered a number of the man's works). Another more recent conductor who's done all of Shosty's symphonies on the Chandos label (but don't know if they're still in print?) is Neeme Jarvi. I have heard these two guys conducting this composer's music & they put down very good accounts. Karajan also sounds fine, but I don't remember hearing him doing Shostakovich.

I haven't heard any of Yvgeny Mravinsky's Shostakovitch performances... although his Tchaikovsky recordings are legendary. It seems he premiered 6 of Shosty's symphonies, and then refusal to conduct the premiere of Shostakovich's 13th Symphony in 1962 causing a permanent rupture in their friendship. Most of his Shostakovitch recordings date from 1961-62 or before.

It doesn't appear that Karajan was big on Shostakovitch. I don't see that he recording anything but the 10th... but his 10th...










... is stunning... and generally the standard against which all others are compared.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E0LBBI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1VJS332NBGD61583G8ES&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

I agree that Neeme Järvi is highly acclaimed... and I would add Bernard Haitink and Mariss Jansons. Personally, I'm not of the mind set that tends toward selecting a single conductor's box set of the complete symphonies of anybody... not at least, until I have looked around at the critical commentary and explored the works through a variety of conductors. By doing so, you are able to get a feel for which conductors really seem to interpret a given composer in the way that you most admire.


----------



## Keychick

Henri Dutillux
Symphonies #1 and #2
BBC Philharmonic Yan Pascal Tortelier on Chandos

Quite a hidden gem.


----------

