# Desert island disks



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

We are going to do this just like the BBC ones. I know similar things have been done before but...
You are allowed 8 pieces of music, a book and a luxury item.

You must justify any recording/piece with a reason and must say why you have chosen the book and luxury item.

Have fun!

I will post mine later.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

1. Richter / Matacic - Schumann piano concerto
It is absolutely quintessential for my well bieng that I have a recording of this concerto and and Richter's recording is one of such riveting, passionate, fervent, emotion and compelling anguish. I adore it.
2. Milstein / Brazin - Mendelssohn violin concerto No. 2
I thought it would be nice to have a violin concerto on the list so... Milstein's playing is wonderful, absolutely sublime.
3. Simon / Fedoseyev - Schumann cello concerto 
I fell in love with this concerto quite recently and I am very often listening to it. I also improvise transcriptions for solo piano when reading the score for violin and piano just so I can play it myself.
4. Lubbock - Mendelssohn symphony No. 3
A very atmospheric piece I would love to listen to this on a remote desert island
5. Richter / Maazel - Brahms piano concerto No. 2
One of the best recordings ever. I would choose this because it is long so I would have more music to listen to and that is always a good thing.
6. Richter / Wislocki - Mozart piano concerto No. 20
So serene and beautiful, where would I be without it? Richter plays it so romantically so I chose his recording.
7. Richter - Schumann A - B - B - E - G variations
Why? I am not sure but it is live so there is clapping, maybe the sound of other humans happiness would give me some happiness.
8. Richter / Maazel - Bartok piano concerto No. 2
Because it is fun and would cheer me up I am sure.

Book: A book full of music scores.
Luxury item: My piano, to play the music from the music scores on.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

No one, anyone got anything to share, come on, don't be shy.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Burroughs said:


> No one, anyone got anything to share, come on, don't be shy.


I will! I promise. Gimme some time to work on it....


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Sure:

#1: *Gustav Mahler* - Symphony No 4 (Dame Margaret Price; London Philharmonic Orchestra u. Jascha Horenstein [HMV])
It is the most soothing music ever!

#2: *Gustav Mahler* - Kindertotenlieder etc. (Kathleen Ferrier, Wiener Philharmoniker u. Bruno Walter [HMV])
Helps me to cry!

#3: *Olivier Messiaen* - la Nativité du Seigneur (Olivier Latry [DG])
A perfect introduction to modern organ works.

#4: *Charles-Marie Widor* - Organ Symphony No 5 & No 6 (Oliver Latry [BNL])
Perfect music to kick start the day with! 

#5: *Johann Sebastian Bach* - Suites for Solo Cello (Janos Starker [RCA])
More music for the soul!

#6: *Dmitry Shostakovich* - Symphony No 13 Op 113 (Vitaly Gromadsky; State Academic Choir & Yurlov Russian Choir & Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra u. Kirill Kondrashin [Russian Disc])
A bloody great entertainment!

#7: *Johann Sebastian Bach* - Das wohltemperierte Klavier (Andras Schiff [ECM])
Just because this recording is so utterly lovely!

#8: *Sergei Rachmaninoff* - Vespers (All Night virgil) Op 37 (Klara Korkan & Konstantin Ognevoi; The U.S.S.R. Russian Chorus u. Alexander Sveshnikov [Melodiya])
yet another piece to sooth a lonely soul!

Book: *Charles Emil Hagdahl* - Kokkonsten som vetenskap och konst med särskildt afseende på helsolärans och ekonomiens fordringar (1878-79) (eng: The Art of Cooking as science and craft with a special emphasis on the demands of health and economy).

Luxury: A HiFi system with unlimited low frequencies (>10Hz) to fill the island with music!

/ptr


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

science said:


> I will! I promise. Gimme some time to work on it....


I promise I will not let you get away without giving me that list. :devil:


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Just a quick question - can we assume that the island already has quality audio equipment so that we can listen to the recordings? Otherwise there's be little point in taking them unless the luxury item is audio equipment.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

techniquest said:


> Just a quick question - can we assume that the island already has quality audio equipment so that we can listen to the recordings? Otherwise there's be little point in taking them unless the luxury item is audio equipment.


Evidently there is a source of power and wonderful audio equipment, but no internet connection, and all devices malfunction due to some special... something...


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

My hangup is the book. I've got my 8 disks: 

1. Chant Byzantine - Marie Keyrouz 
2. Black Angels - Kronos Quartet
3. Savina Yannatou Sings Manos Hadjidakis
4. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus
5. Tango Zero Hour - Astor Piazzolla
6. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
7. Chopin: Nocturnes - Arthur Rubinstein
8. American III - Johnny Cash 

And my item will be my teddy bear. 

But only one book? Crazy. Maybe the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Maybe Proust.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

science said:


> Evidently there is a source of power and wonderful audio equipment, but no internet connection, and all devices malfunction due to some special... something...


Then I have to change my "Luxury", let me think, I guess that there is a giant cave to inhabit, then I'm sure my luxury must be room for a tiny magma powered Father Willis organ, maybe a twin sister of the one in Salisbury Cathedral, I'd never be alone living with such lovely behemoth! 

/ptr


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Sorry, maybe I didn't do that right. Eight pieces of music rather than 8 albums? 

- Shostakovich: String Quartet #8 - Kronos Quartet. Really, it's my favorite recording of this work. I know it's not supposed to be, but it is. And as I'm alone on this desert island with no one to impress, I'm taking it. 

- Brumel: Earthquake Mass - Van Nevel: Huelgas Ensemble. Beats out Tallis because I like the deeper sound. 

- Bruch: Violin Concerto #1 - Rosand, Wyneken. The only recording of this work that I love, and I really, really love it. 

- Brahms: German Requiem - Klemperer. Cannot do without it. This can be my funeral music. 

- Takemitsu: From Me Flows What You Call Time. Nexus, St. Clair. This is not the recording that introduced me to this wonderful work, but almost as soon as I heard this it became my favorite one. This is music to listen to over and over and over. Which is what you need if you only get 8 works on a desert island. 

- Rzewski: Variations on 'The People United Will Never Be Defeated' - Hamelin. Actually my favorite set of variations at this point. Drury would be my second choice. I'm not sure he's not my first choice. Tough, tough choice. I'd be fine with either. 

- Wagner: The Ring - Solti. Of course. 

- Bach: Mass in B minor - Gardiner. Cannot be without this for a long period of time.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

techniquest said:


> Just a quick question - can we assume that the island already has quality audio equipment so that we can listen to the recordings? Otherwise there's be little point in taking them unless the luxury item is audio equipment.


Are you telling me you don't know the BBC's Desert Island Discs,it's been running for 300 years so why is it necessary to ask these things ?


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

*Music-*



1. Bach's _Well Tempered Clavier_- Bach is my favorite composer... this is perhaps his greatest work... and one which suites my more mathematical/structured mindset

2. Mozart- _Die Zauberflöte_- It's Mozart... such melodies... and certainly I'll need something more playful

3. Handel- _Messiah_- As a choral music lover I'll need at least one choral work and there is none better (although admittedly I'd miss Haydn's Creation and Mozart and Faure's Requiems).

4. Beethoven- _Symphony no. 9_- The single greatest symphony IMO

5. Wagner- _Der Ring Des Nibelungen_- I can't think of a single work of such breadth and grandeur (and besides I'll get some 15 or so discs of music )

6. Mahler- _Das Lied Von Der Erde_- Such an emotion-lade work... perhaps my single favorite song cycle... at least my favorite orchestral song cycle)

7. Verdi- _La Traviata_- Zeffirelli's film was my first real introduction to opera... and I remain enamored of Stratas performance.

8. Richard Strauss- _Salome_- I need one lush post-romantic work with a Modernist bite... and Stratas IS Salome.

*Book-*

I would be tron between the _Bible_, the _Arabian Nights_, Dante's _Comedia_, and the _Complete Works of Shakespeare_. I would something with an incredible rich array of narratives and poetry... ultimately I'd probably go with Shakespeare as being the richest.

*Luxury Item:*



Science has his teddy bear... I have mine.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

*Burroughs's desert island disks.*

Castaway's favourite
1. Mozart - Piano concerto No. 20 / Piano Concerto No. 23
Howard Shelley

2. Schumann - Piano concerto in A minor / Grieg - Piano concerto in A minor / Saint-Saens - Piano concerto No. 2
Howard Shelley

3. Schumann - Piano sonata No. 2 / Schubert - Piano sonata in A major
Murray Perahia

4. Mozart - Piano concerto No. 21 / Piano concerto No. 24
Howard Shelley

5. Mozart - Requiem 
Nikolaus Harnoncourt

6. Rachmaninoff - Piano concerto No. 2 / Piano concerto No. 3
Howard Shelley / Bryden Thomson

7. Chopin - Complete works
Martha Argerich, Claudio Arrau, Malcolm Martineau & Krystian Zimerman... etc.

8. Mozart - Symphony No. 38 / Symphony No. 39 / Symphony No. 40 / Symphony No. 41
Sir Charles Mackerras

Book - one full of sheet music

Item - Piano


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

science said:


> Sorry, maybe I didn't do that right. Eight pieces of music rather than 8 albums?
> 
> - Shostakovich: String Quartet #8 - Kronos Quartet. Really, it's my favorite recording of this work. I know it's not supposed to be, but it is. And as I'm alone on this desert island with no one to impress, I'm taking it.
> 
> ...


No, albums are fine


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Mozart complete keyboard concertos, Jos van Immerseel, fortepiano Anima Eterna.

JS Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, Nathan Milstein.

JS Bach, WTC, Book One, Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord.

FJ Haydn, London Symphonies, complete, Sir Colin Davis, Royal Concertgebouw.

FJ Haydn, Paris Symphonies, complete, Leonard Bernstein, NY Philharmonic.

FJ Haydn, The Creation, Andreas Spering, Capella Augustina.

William Schuman, Symphonies #3-10, Gerard Schwarz, Seattle Symphony.

Charles Ives, Piano Sonata #2, "Concord, Mass.,1840-1860" Easley Blackwood, piano.

Book: Hawaii by James A Michener.

Item: CD Player with 12 year lithium battery.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

C'mon people!!!


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

pieces to take with me

Beethoven 9th 

Bach Toccata and fugue

Chopin Fantaisie Improptu

Verdi Nabucco

Mozart Piano sonatas

Ravel Bolero

Giacomo Puccini La Boheme

Tomaso Albinoni Adagio (WITH DAVID GARRETT)

ALL THE ABOVE PIECES WILL KEEP MY SPIRIT ALIVE AND HIGH


book Fyodor Dostoevski's White Nights (at beautiful St. Petersburg)

item monopoly or harmonium or David Garrett's photograph hahaha


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

The desert island would sink. Here goes...

Complete works by:

J.S. Bach
Stockhausen
Beethoven
Messiaen
Stravinsky
Bartók
Lutosławski
Ligeti
Kurtág
Kagel
Xenakis
Carter
Nono
Berg
Webern
Schoenberg
Berio
Partch
Ferneyhough
Feldman
Johnston
Finnissy
Barrett

I am sure there's more.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> The desert island would sink. Here goes...
> 
> Complete works by:
> 
> ...


you are allowed only eight

or you have included your friends' as well? 

how about your book and chosen item?


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

From my collection I'd take:

Bach WTC - Schiff (the recent recording)
Bach Best Collection - EMI 
Ravel Orchestral Works - Tortelier
Ravel Complete Solo Piano Music - Pascal Roge
Bartok Orchestral Works - EMI / Rattle
Ives Symphonies/Orchestral works - Mehta
Rodrigo Complete Solo Piano Music - Gregory Allen
Rodrigo Complete Solo Guitar Music - various performers

Book? hmm tough one, maybe Homer's Odyssey 

Luxury item - my classical guitar (I'm assuming we would already have some other luxury item that would allow us to listen to this music!)


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

clara s said:


> you are allowed only eight
> 
> or you have included your friends' as well?
> 
> how about your book and chosen item?


Well, then...

Complete works by:

01. J.S. Bach
02. Stockhausen
03. Beethoven
04. Messiaen
05. Stravinsky
06. Bartók
07. Lutosławski
08. Ligeti

_* Do complete sets count as single items?_

Book: The Holy Bible (KJV)
Item: Gun


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> Well, then...
> 
> Complete works by:
> 
> ...


Yes, as long as they are available as one whole set.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> Well, then...
> 
> Complete works by:
> 
> ...


I will gladly sell you a lot of the Bach and Beethoven if you need it, as I have no room to walk anymore, in my listening room. I thought I had a lot of some others, but I must have given them away.

Too bad you require a KJV of the Bible. I have a nice copy of a Moses Mendelssohn (Felix's grandfather) translation of the Bible from Hebrew to German, using the German words pronounced phonetically in Hebrew! What irony!


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## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

1. Beethoven - The 9 Symphonies (John Eliot Gardiner / Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique)
2. Beethoven - The String Quartets (Takacs Quartet)
3. Bartok - String Quartets (Takacs Quartet)
4. Prokofiev - Piano Concertos 1 -5 (Vladimir Ashkenazy / Andre Previn)
5. Debussy - The Piano Works (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet)
6. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
7. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
8. Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians

I at least need box sets. 

Special Item: my iPod -- so that I have the rest of my music


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

I wouldn't take all big box sets, but there would be one or two (or three)...

1. Shostakovich complete symphonies - the Barshai set - because it is a wonderful set and it's cheap (reflects my ideals), and you can't get a better 13th.

2. Wagner - The Ring - the Solti box (of course). There's a lot I still have to learn about The Ring, so many those lonely nights on the island will be dedicated to learning and understanding as much as I can.

3. Mahler - Symphony No.2 - Robert-Schumann Philharmonie / Oleg Caetani. Not the best interpretation out there, but it works for me, and - especially - the very end is so superb it can actually cause a tear to be shed.

4. Mahler - Symphony No.3 - CBSO, etc / Rattle. There are probably better M3's too, but I really should have a Rattle disc among my 8 and this one is my choice. Mahler 2 & 3 are essential music for me.

5. Mahler 4 - Ljubljana / Nanut. An odd choice? Maybe, but Max Emmanuel Cencic is so superb in that final movement, it gives a whole new dimension to Mahler's 4th.

6. Respighi - Rome trilogy - RPO / Batiz. To many this music is pap, but I don't care - _I_ like it, I get a lot from it, and this Naxos recording gives it all the OTT punch as well as the tenderest of beautiful moments.

7. Rachmaninov 'The Symphonies' - Concertgebouw / Ashkenazy. Not only is it the very best interpretation of the 1st on disc, but the set also gives you the Symphonic Dances (which are a MUST), The Bells and The Isle of the Dead (which the desert island will of course eventually become).

8. Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 2 (A London Symphony) - LSO / Hickox. I can't go on the island and leave this work behind.

Book: A comprehensive guide to the Birds of the Desert Island (and nearby areas).
Luxury item: my birdwatching bins & scope.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

techniquest said:


> I wouldn't take all big box sets, but there would be one or two (or three)...
> 
> 1. Shostakovich complete symphonies - the Barshai set - because it is a wonderful set and it's cheap (reflects my ideals), and you can't get a better 13th.
> 
> ...


interesting list and well documented

Desert island has got white tail eagles and Phalaropus fulicarius


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> I will gladly sell you a lot of the Bach and Beethoven if you need it, as I have no room to walk anymore, in my listening room. I thought I had a lot of some others, but I must have given them away.
> 
> Too bad you require a KJV of the Bible. I have a nice copy of a Moses Mendelssohn translation of the Bible from Hebrew to German, using the German words pronounced phonetically in Hebrew! What irony!


Actually, I have more than enough Bach and Beethoven and also running out of space. As for the Bible, the only translations I read/study are the KJV and ESV (Reformation Bible).


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> Item: Gun


I love this part. Smartest post on this thread. hands down


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> Well, then...
> 
> Complete works by:
> 
> ...


yes, but Holy Bible and Gun? hahaha

maybe first sin, then confess for salvation


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Or maybe pray for salvation first and then throw the gun in the beautiful emerald green water?

Keep the Bible for the next approaching typhoon.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Mitchell said:


> I love this part. Smartest post on this thread. hands down


One thing I want when I'm experiencing the psychological effects of solitary confinement is the ability to shoot myself.


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## Toby Moore (Apr 11, 2014)

1. Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
2. Brahms - Symphony No. 2
3. Ralph Vaughan Williams - Flos Campi
4. Saint-Saens - Organ Symphony
5. Ives - Symphony No. 4
6. Rossini - La Cenerentola
7. Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms
8. Adams - The Wound-Dresser

Book: the Bible (ESV)

Luxury Item: a good, fluffy pillow


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

1. *Puccini* - *O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi*
Preformed by: Maria Callas, Tullio Serafin & the Philharmonia Orchestra

This piece would be very comforting on a desert island and I find Callas's voice very powerful, I find it has an almost magical feel to it. The piece has always been a favourite of mine and I imagine its beautiful melodies would quickly send me to sleep at night.

2. *Mozart* - *Symphony No. 40*
Preformed by: Sir Charles Mackerras & the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

This was one of the first pieces that actually got me interested in classical music and I often still listen to it today. The piece is one of Mozart's greatest, and I don't know what I'd do without it catchy themes and melodies. Sir Charles Mackerras's recording with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra is generally regarded as one of the best and I have yet to find one which I prefer. I especially enjoy Mackerras's brisk tempos, they make the piece really come alive.

3. *Schumann* - *Piano Concerto*
Preformed by: Howard Shelley & the Orchetsra of Opera North

This used to be my favourite piece and I still absolutely love it. The initial theme played by the orchestra and then pianist always captivates me, Shelley and the Orchetsra of Opera North play it beautifully with a very tenderly feel to it. The intermezzo is very soothing and the finale is full of great melodies and a great sense of joy.

4. *Mendelssohn* - *Violin Concerto No. 2*
Preformed by: Jascha Heifetz, Charles Munch & the Boston Symphony Orchestra

"The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven's. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart's jewel, is Mendelssohn's." This quote perfectly sums up my feelings about this piece. Heifetz performance is great, it's fast and emotional and the finale is brilliant fun to listen to.

*Castaway's Favourite*
5. *Mozart* - *Piano Concerto No. 20*
Preformed by: Howard Shelley & the London Mozart Players

I am in love with all of Mozart's minor pieces, this especially leans much further into the romantic era than all his other concertos, it is a very intense and emotional work. To me, it has much more moving and striking themes than the C Minor concerto, Mozart's only other minor concerto, which is one of the reasons I prefer it. The first movement is my favourite, it is very dark and a fervent passion runs prominently throughout it. The second movement is one of un-paralleled beauty and the last movement is once again, stormy and expressive, like the first movement. For me, the perfect recording of this work is the recording with Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players, Howard Shelley plays it as it should be played with plenty of vehemence and emotion.

6. *Mozart* - *Piano Concerto No. 24*
Preformed by: Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players

Again, as with the D minor concerto this is a work I hold very close to me, it shows a side of Mozart we don't often get to see, a darker side which makes a nice contrast to his other, more upbeat works. I particularly enjoy the recording with Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players.

7. *Beethoven* - *Symphony No. 9*
Preformed by: Herbert von Karajan & the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

A triumphant work of a great scale. This represented a great personal achievement for Beethoven and changed the world of music forever. The last movement's theme is great and the recording with Karajan is sublime. I would have to take this to my desert island.

8. *Mozart* - *Requiem in D Minor*
Preformed by: Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Arnold Schoenberg Choir & the Musicus Concertus Wien

Mozart's requiem is a great piece, it's a great shame that he didn't get to finish it before he died but nether less it's a masterpiece. Harnoncourt's recording is one which I often listen to and so would choose it to accompany me to my desert island.

*Book*: One full of sheet music so I could play music one the piano.

*Item*: Piano, so I could play the sheet music in the book.


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