# Challenge Question: Your 100 favorite classical ALBUMS.



## Guest

Of course this is a toughy - but you don't have to answer it all at once. You can just post ten or twenty favorites, then add more later over time. Once you hit 100 you can only add new favorites by removing others. No one gets to go over 100! No exceptions! 

Artwork would be nice but is not required.

You should list your personal favorite albums at this point in time. Don't feel like you have to include all the greatest or most historically significant works. And don't feel like you have to list the best available reference recordings of your favorite works. Just list whatever album you have and you love. Remember - you can change your answer at any time.

Also, the idea is to list albums that you have, but for those sane people amongst us who have modest collections, feel free to list less than 100 albums, or feel free to include albums that you don't have but that have made a strong impression on you and would be one of your favorites if you did have them. 

This question is really about ALBUMS not WORKS. Just list albums you most enjoy listening to. If you want to list 100 versions of Das Lied von der Erde that's your choice. Or if you want to list multi-album sets, that's okay too. List whatever you consider to be your favorites.

I think answering this question will be a lot of work, but I hope it is a fun challenge for everyone. And I certainly look forward to seeing other people's answers. 

I'm gonna start working on my answer to this question and post it in pieces over the next few days.

Fire away! :tiphat:


Edit: As SLG has noted, your Top 100 do not need to be in order.


----------



## TrazomGangflow

1. Chopin-Favourite Piano Works-Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca)
2. J. S. Bach-Brandenburg Concertos-English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten (Decca)
3. Dvorak-Symphonies no. 8 no. 9-Berliner Philharmoniker, Rafael Kubelik (Deutsche Grammophon)
4. Various Composers-The Essential Piano Album-Various Artists (Various)
5. Mozart-Mozart Famous Overtures-Various Artists (Excelsior)
...


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

I'm going to assume that this is in no particular order... I'll start with these:














































*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## Arsakes

Take these 2 for now, It's a though job for me over my low speed internet!


----------



## bassClef

My top 1000 or so - in average rating order 








Though that's only the digitised ones - I'm not laying all my CDs out on the carpet in order to take a photo!


----------



## Manxfeeder

Shucks. I'm afraid that by the time I reached 100, my favorite albums would change, and I'd have to start over.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

I just picked up that Liszt/Karajan the other day. Some nice stuff, indeed. Better than my old recordings of his orchestral works that I bought when I was first seriously starting to collect classical recordings and had no idea about which recordings to get.


----------



## Vesteralen

In no particular order, but numbered for my own convenience, since I intend to do them two at a time:

1.






...2.


----------



## Guest

Ok, here are my favorites - if picture uploading works!









Looks good enough.


----------



## Guest

Here come some more....


----------



## Guest

Oh the magic of iTunes! I used Grab to capture screen shots, then used preview to convert the Grab .tiff output to .jpeg for upload.


----------



## Guest

Click on the smaller images to get a large image!


----------



## bassClef

BPS said:


> Oh the magic of iTunes! I used Grab to capture screen shots, then used preview to convert the Grab .tiff output to .jpeg for upload.


Can iTunes now sort by rating? It never used to be able to, but I haven't used it in aeons (and wouldn't go back to it even if it did!).


----------



## Guest

As you can see, I have a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to classical music, in the sense that virtually all of my favorites are pleasant to listen to. This may change if and when I get bored with nice music.

I also tend to favor late romantic chamber music (except string quartets) as well as slightly lesser-known composers.

Finally, my collection is heavily biased toward newer releases -- early on I decided to support current artists instead of pouring more money into the estates of Callas, Bernstein, Karajan, etc. Not saying this is right or wrong -- it is what it is.

I'm not sure this is exactly my Top 100 -- I see one or two that shouldn't be there. But in general, I think I can strongly recommend all of the above albums!


----------



## Guest

@bassClef - I just made a "manual" playlist and dragged albums into it. You can then sort the albums/tracks manually and then "Copy To Play Order" to make your ordering more permanent. Also, if you have a Rating column visible you can sort by this, but ratings are just 1 to 5 stars - not fine-grained.

Once I went to album view, though, iTunes sorted them in some way I don't understand and wasn't my intention. I couldn't quickly figure out what was going on though, so I left the albums above sorted a-la-iTunes.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto

Where does one start? Just a few random ones, maybe to help out the newbiew members.


----------



## moody

My daughter says I must be nuts because very few have taken up the challenge.
But I found 
Fumbling about in the caverns of my collection quite therapeutic.
I have no idea how to put sleeves online ,this is because I am a dinosaur and too lazy to learn.


Here is the first batch.
Beniamino Gigli, tenor. Many discs.
Conchita Supervia, mezzo. Sings "Carmen ". EMI
Leopold Simoneau, ten. and Pierette Alarie, sop. x2 cds of opera 1963. MD
Teresa Stich-Randall, sop.A Portrait. Westminster.
Ferrucio Tagliavini, ten. The Cetra Recordings.1940/3 Centauer.
Virginia Zeani, sop. Opera Arias. Bongiovanni.
The Art of Richard Tauber. Box.EMI.
Count John McCormack. Pearl. x2 Boxes.

Boito. "Mefistofele" Prologue. Nicola Moscona, bass. NBC S,O. cond. Arturo Toscanini. Broadcast. RCA
Donizetti. "L'Elisir d'Amore". Margharita Carosio,sop. Nicola Monti,ten, Tito Gobbi, Bar.Melchiore Luise,bass. Rome/Santini.1952.
Gounod. "Faust". Eleanor Steber, sop.Eugene Conley ,Ten.Cesare Siepi ,bass. Metropolitan Opera.cond. Fausto Cleva.CBS 1951.
Lortzing. "Undine". Gottlob Frick,bass.Lisa Otto,sop. Rudolf Schock, ten. cond. wilhelm Schuchter. Ariola-Eurodisc.
Mozart. "Die Entfuhrung". Anneliese Rothenburger,sop.Lucia Popp,sop. Nicolai Gedda,ten. Gottlob Frick,bass. Vpo/Josef Krips.1966. EMI.
Verdi. " Aida" Zinka Milanov, sop. Jussi Bjorling,ten. Leonard Warren,bari. Fedora Barbieri,mezzo. Rome Opera. Jonel Perlea. RCA 1955.
Verdi "Rigoletto". Leonard Warren,bari. Erna Berger,sop.Jan Peerce,ten. RCA Orchestra. cond. Renato Cellini. 1950. RCA/Naxos.
" " Act 4. Zinka Milanov,sop. Jan Peerce,ten. Leonard Warren,bari. NBC S.O /Toscanini. Broadcast. RCA.
" "Un Ballo in Maschera" Jan Peerce,ten. Zinka Milanov,sop. Kersten Thorborg, cont. Metropolitan Opera. /Bruno Walter.
Live. 1944.


----------



## Vesteralen

3.






4.








Two "A"'s from my collection.


----------



## Couchie




----------



## powerbooks

To StlukesguildOhio and Couchie

Can't believe you guys pick Angela Hewitt's Bach......


----------



## Prodromides

I'll list 20 albums per post, but I'm also numbering them in order of preference:

1. Finlandia Records FACD 349 (1987 CD), Aarre Merikanto's _Fantasy for Orchestra_, _Pan_, _Symphonic Study_, etc. Performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

2. Cybelia CY 812 (1987 CD), Charles Koechlin's _Le Buisson Ardent_, _Au Loin_, etc. Leif Segerstam conducts the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.

3. Solstice SOCD 81 (1992 CD), live recordings from 1966 of Andre Jolivet's _Symphonie No.3_, _Concerto No.1 for Cello and Orchestra_, etc. Orchestre National De France conducted by the composer.

4. EMI CDC 5 55121 2 (1994 CD), Karol Szymanowski's _Symphony No.3_, _Stabat Mater_, etc. Simon Rattle conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

5. Timpani 1C1056 (year 2000 CD), Maurice Ohana's _Livres des Prodiges_, _Anneau du Tamarit_ & _Synaxis_ performed by Arturo Tamayo conducting Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

6. Accord 202332 (1992 CD), Andre Caplet's _Le Miroir de Jesus_ & _Inscriptions Champetres_ performed by solistes des Choeurs de l'Orchestre National de Lyon (& Quatuor Ravel) under direction by Bernard Tetu.

7. Warners Classics 4-CD compilation set from 2004 of "enregistrements Erato" of vintage Andre Jolivet.










8. RCA Victor's 2-CD set from 1994 on Charles Koechlin's "The Jungle Book" with David Zinman conducting the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the reverse side of which is pictured below:










9. Soundspells Productions CD 104 (1990 CD) of Meyer Kupferman's _Jazz Symphony_ & _Challenger_ performed by the Lithuanian National Philharmonic under Juozas Domarkas.










10. BIS-CD-760 which released _A Flock Descends Into The Pentagonal Garden_, plus other works by Toru Takemitsu, in the year of his death - 1996. Tadaaki Otaka conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

11. Marco Polo 8.223316 (1990 CD), Bohuslav Martinu's _The Epic Of Gilgamesh_ with Zdenek Kosler conducting the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.

12. Ondine ODE 881-2 (1997 CD), Einojuhani Rautavaara's _Angels and Visitations_, _Violin Concerto_, etc. Leif Segerstam conducts the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

13. EMI CDM 7 64369 2 (1992 CD), Charles Koechlin's _Ballade for Piano and Orchestra_ & _The Seven Stars Symphony_. Alexandre Myrat conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.

14. Chandos CHAN 9065 (1992 CD), William Alwyn's _Lyra Angelica_, _Autumn Legend_, plus more, by Richard Hickox and the City of London Sinfonia.

15. Victoria VCD 19050 (1991 CD), Arne Nordheim's _Spur_ + _Rendezvous for Strings_ + _Boomerang_ performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Per Dreier.

16. Finlandia Records FACD 376 (1989 CD); the Finnish Cello Ensemble performs _Concerto for 12 Cellos_ and other works by Einar Englund.

17. Philips L 77.421 L (1961 LP); the Orchestre Philharmonique de la R.T.F. under direction by Andre Girard performs the dramatic oratorio *Les Perses* by Jean Prodromides, which also serves as my TC user ID:










18. Cybelia CY 829 (1988 CD), two _Quintettes_ by Charles Koechlin performed by Centre National de Musique de Chambre d'Aquitaine.

19. Marco Polo 8.223325 (1990 CD), _Pan_ by Vitezslav Novak with Zdenek Bilek conducting the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra.

20. Warners Classics 4-CD compilation set from 2004 of "enregistrements Erato" of vintage Maurice Ohana.










http://avaxhome.ws/music/classical/Maurice_Ohana_Les_Enregistrements_Erato.html


----------



## Philip

Excellent thread.


----------



## science

I love you all. This is my favorite kind of thread. I will participate too, eventually.


----------



## brianwalker

Couchie said:


>


What program do you use?


----------



## peeyaj

@Couchie

You don't have any/ Schubert CD in your collection???! What the....


----------



## Couchie

powerbooks said:


> To StlukesguildOhio and Couchie
> 
> Can't believe you guys pick Angela Hewitt's Bach......


I enjoy my Bach free of incessant muttering...


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## Couchie

brianwalker said:


> What program do you use?


iTunes. I dragged a piece off my favorite albums into a new playlist. Set to grid view. Then capture screenshots with cmd-shift-4 (OSX).


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio




----------



## peeyaj

Who wants to gift me this? You'll be my favorite person the whole of my life?  This would certainly be in my top my 100 cd collection.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

To StlukesguildOhio and Couchie

Can't believe you guys pick Angela Hewitt's Bach......

I have J.S. Bach's Well Tempered Clavier in the following recordings:










-Genius... yet I suspect I am getting as much Gould as Bach










-I feel the same about Richter... What I am hearing is a Russian Romantic Bach. Yet still genius.










-Brilliant delicate recording on clavier.










-Elegant and stately... definitely slower than many newer recordings. Sound is somewhat dated.










-Beautifully played... wonderfully "transparent". If I were limited to a single WTC I'd be torn between Schiff and Hewitt although I'd sorrowfully miss Gould and Tureck especially.


----------



## SimonNZ

peeyaj said:


> Who wants to gift me this? You'll be my favorite person the whole of my life?  This would certainly be in my top my 100 cd collection.


Careful: I haven't actually looked at that box, but my understanding is that the book is just song texts and introductions, like the reissues of that series. If you want Graham Johnsons extensive, fascinating and indespensible song-by-song commentary - which, as great as those discs are is really the major attraction of the series - then you'll have to be gifted the original individual issues. But then again GJ is supposed to be working his notes into a mammoth tome to be published by Harvard or Yale, if memory serves.


----------



## peeyaj

SimonNZ said:


> Careful: I haven't actually looked at that box, but my understanding is that the book is just song texts and introductions, like the reissues of that series. If you want Graham Johnsons extensive, fascinating and indespensible song-by-song commentary - which, as great as those discs are is really the major attraction of the series - then you'll have to be gifted the original individual issues. But then again GJ is supposed to be working his notes into a mammoth tome to be published by Harvard or Yale, if memory serves.


I know that..  Someone give this set a 3 stars on Amazon because of that exact reason. If someone would gift me this, I would just download the commentaries (in pdf format), in the Hyperion website. My understanding is that Hyperion made them available because of that issue.


----------



## moody

CHAPTER 11.

Karl Erb, tenor. Many discs but particularly Schubert and Wolf.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, bari. Scottish Songs and Folk Songs by Haydn, Beethoven and Weber. with instrumental ensemble. DGG 1061.
Chopin. Seventeen Polsh Songs,Op.74. Two Polish Songs, Op.Posth. Oda Slobodskaya,sop.Frederick Stone,pno. Revolution.
Faure. "La Bonne Chanson" and other songs. Gerard Souzay,bari. Dalton Baldwin,pno. Phillips, 1960.
Liszt. Songs. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,bari. Joerg Demus,pno. DGG .
Loewe. Ballads. Josef Greindl,bass. Hertha Klust,pno. DGG.
" " Hermann Prey, bari.Gunther Weissenborn,pno. EMI 1963.
Mahler. Das Lied von der Erde. Kathleen Ferrier.cont. Julius Patzak, ten. VPO/Bruno Walter. Brit.Decca/Naxos.
" Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Janet Baker,mezzo, Geraint Evans,bass-bari, LPO/Wyn Morris. IMP.
" Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen. Heinrich Schlusnus,bari. Hessian Radio S.O/ Winfried Zellig. DGG Live. 1950.
Mussorgsky. Songs and Dances of Death.plus Seven Songs. Kim Borg,bass. Prague RadioS.O. cond. Alois Klima. Supraphon.
Schubert. Die Schoene Muellerin. Gerard Souzay,bari. Dalton Baldwin,piano. Phillips 1964.
" Winterreise. Peter Anders,ten. Gunther Weissenborn,pno. Acanta. Live. 1948.
Schumann. Dichterliebe. Charles Panzera, bari. Alfred Cortot,pno. EMI 1935.
" " Axel Schiotz,ten. Gerald Moore, pno. EMI 1946.
" Lieder aus dem Spanischen und aus "Myrten" Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, bari. Jorg Demus,pno. DGG 1961.
Wagner. Wesendonck Lieder. Eileen Farrell,sop. orch.cond. Leopold Stokowski. EMI.


----------



## Crudblud

powerbooks said:


> To StlukesguildOhio and Couchie
> 
> Can't believe you guys pick Angela Hewitt's Bach......


I can't even listen to Bach on a piano.

No really, pianos don't have CD trays or speakers. And forget trying to get an LP to play on one of those things... I don't know how they ever caught on.


----------



## Guest

@crudblud - you just have to know how to push the black and white keys on the front.


----------



## Crudblud

BPS said:


> @crudblud - you just have to know how to push the black and white keys on the front.


Indeed. But in all honestly, I can't abide Bach on the piano, same with Scarlatti.


----------



## Couchie

Crudblud said:


> Indeed. But in all honestly, I can't abide Bach on the piano, same with Scarlatti.


A good Bachist can invoke a harpsichord with a piano.


----------



## Prodromides

Continuing to chug along with my next 20 rankings - positions 21 through 40.

[For convenience, I decided to refrain (for the most part) from details about performing ensembles and these albums' years of release]

21. Accord 200612: 2nd disc of Accord's 3 CDs on orchestral works by Giacinto Scelsi. Includes "Uaxuctum" & "Anahit".

22. Montaigne MO 782101: 1st volume of 4 CDs on orchestral music by Roberto Gerhard (contains "The Plague" cantata with "Epithalamion")










23. Ondine ODE 872-2D: Aarre Merikanto's opera "Juha".

24. Le Chant Du Monde LDX 78689 (LP): "Le Livre des Katuns" plus other works by Jean Prodromides.










25. Marco Polo 8.223504: orchestral version of Charles Koechlin's "Les Heures Persanes".

26. Marco Polo 8.223357: "Amazonas", "Erosao", "Genesis", etc., by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

27. Ondine ODE 790-2: Vaino Raitio's orchestral pieces written during the 1920s.

28. Caprice CAP 21365: various performers on vintage recordings of music by Karl-Birger Blomdahl.

29. Koch International Classics 3-7341-2 H1: Richard Rodney Bennett's "Concerto for Violin" along with 2 others of his works.

30. Koch Schwann 3-6491-2: "L'Arbre des Songes", "Timbres Espace Mouvement", plus more by Henri Dutilleux.










31. Timpani 1C1027: a comprehensive collection of all works for string orchestra by Andre Jolivet.

32. Ades 14.190-2: "La Noche Triste" opera by Jean Prodromides.

33. Claves CD 50-2817 - a 2008 CD of recent works by Luis de Pablo, one being "Danzas Secretas".

34. ITM 6-04 - a 1991 CD of world premiere 1989 recordings on "Geysir", "Hekla" plus other nature-based tone pictures by Jon Leifs.

35. Stradivarius STR 33698; 4 orchestral works by Luigi Dallapiccola, which include "Variazioni", "Dialoghi", & "Three Questions With Two Answers". Recorded in 2002, but not released onto CD until 2005, this Stradivarius album may appear to have been competition for the Chandos label's Dallapiccola survey which began in 2004. While the Chandos versions of these pieces are also superb, I prefer this Italian disc which presents the finest selections of Luigi's _oeuvre_ in chronological order from 1947 through 1963.

















36. Finlandia Records FACD 371: works for mixed choir by Erik Bergman.

37. Marco Polo 8.223291: the 2 violin concerti by Karol Szymanowski.

38. Telarc CD-80560: Jerry Goldsmith's _Music for Orchestra_, including the cantata "Christus Apollo" based upon the writing of Ray Bradbury.

39. Timpani 1C1039: this first volume of Timpani's 5-CD survey of music by Maurice Ohana includes "T'Haran-Ngo" with 2 of Ohana's concerti.

40. Simax PSC 1318: this exemplary CD album from 2011 offers tribute to the passing of Norway's Arne Nordheim (1931-2010) by having "Canzona" & "Monolith" & "Fonos" on the program as well as Nordheim's 1963 "Epitaffio" (which now serves fittingly as his own epitaph). Highly recommended!










http://www.grappa.no/en/simax-classics/epitaffio/


----------



## Guest

Wow Prodromides - that's quite an impressively esoteric list you are building up! No Beethoven or Bach? Or dozens of other more popular composers?

I'm worried that if science sees this list it might bankrupt him! 

Even CoAG might be rendered speechless! :devil:


----------



## Lenfer

BPS said:


> Here come some more....
> 
> View attachment 7020
> 
> 
> View attachment 7021
> 
> 
> View attachment 7022


I have a lot of these recordings!


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio




----------



## StlukesguildOhio




----------



## Crudblud

Couchie said:


> A good Bachist can invoke a harpsichord with a piano.


And would you say Hewitt is the way to go for that kind of reading?


----------



## emiellucifuge

Just some of the recordings I treasure the most


----------



## Vesteralen

5.






6.








Just plugging along


----------



## emiellucifuge




----------



## Sonata

What a fun thread idea! my recordings definitely aren't reference recordings. I'm only just now in the last couple of months paying attention to one recording versus another. These aren't in any definite order either. I'm lucky in that as a new listener, I can probably include just about every recording I've liked into this list. That will change with time I'm sure though!

1.








My favorite opera. I haven't heard the rest of Il Trittico, though I will at some point.

2.









3.









4.









The above are just highlights albums....I expect at some point down the line, full versions will supplant these two, but I haven't yet completely explored these two beyond highlights.

5.









6.









Honestly, opera isn't this high on my listen-list. But I'm listening to some now, so that must be why it's easy for me to rattle these ones off.


----------



## Philip

Prodromides' picks are so out of the box, it opens up a whole new dimension of classical music.


----------



## Prodromides

BPS said:


> Wow Prodromides - that's quite an impressively esoteric list you are building up! No Beethoven or Bach? Or dozens of other more popular composers?
> 
> I'm worried that if science sees this list it might bankrupt him!
> 
> Even CoAG might be rendered speechless! :devil:


Thanks for the words of support, BPS ... and for creating this thread.

While I can listen to a Beethoven symphony or a solo harpsichord or solo cello piece by Bach, I don't own their music on albums.
There is a reason for this, but I don't wish to bore readers with lengthy details.
In short summary, my _modus operandi_ for collecting one-of-a-kind albums and placing focus on those composers with scant-to-modest representations of their music on recorded media is the realization that the very existence of such typically goes out-of-print in a matter of years with little chance of re-issue and/or newer recording(s) to replace them.

The music of Tchaikovsky, for example, will be in print during any given point in time and on whichever media format is current.
The same holds true for the 3 "B"s as well as almost any music written prior to the 20th Century.

The earliest composition I have on disc is Lalo's 1876 Cello Concerto, and my area of interest resides within the most recent 100 years (1913 up through to the present). This should not be misconstrued as any sort of judgment upon music's worth or lack thereof. Rather, it's the concept of collectability which motivates my album purchases. Aspects which weigh in on my considerations include such topics as 1) does the music of composer XYZ have ample, adequate or sparse representation?, 2) would such music of XYZ possess appeal to the majority of listeners or be limited to adventurous connoisseurs?, 3) is the record label a major player or a specialty endeavor of limited interest?, and so on ...

The music of Mozart, Chopin or Wagner has existed in prior mediums like 78 r.p.m.s & 33.33 LPs, CDs, etc. and will continue to exist in the future ... on _whatever_ technology lies ahead.

On the flip side, however, if one wishes to explore the music of Meyer Kupferman, then one needs to acquire those remaining available CDs from Soundspells Productions while they may be still up for grabs. What are your chances of hearing Kupferman's music if you don't investigate Soundspells' catalogue? (Yes, there's You Tube videos on some of this material, but the sources for almost all these clips are simply uploads of Soundspells CD programs anyway).

What would be the odds that another enterprising label will champion the music of Kupferman in the future? Slim to none, no doubt - a situation which only perpetuates the overall unfamiliarity that consumers have regarding Kupferman whilst they continue to get albums on (and multiple versions of) the familiar and widely-distributed music of composer ABC, for an illustration.

Which, in its own way, circles back to the reason for the existence of a forum thread such as this one - to help disseminate specialty information to members inclined towards exploration and to help foster interest in music which, to others, may have been completely off their radars...


----------



## Prodromides

Philip said:


> Prodromides' picks are so out of the box, it opens up a whole new dimension of classical music.


Mucho Gracias, Philip!

Maybe they come out of the Police box from DOCTOR WHO - the TARDIS.  [... or better yet ... the TARDICM (time and relative dimensions in classical music)  ]


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio

*****


----------



## StlukesguildOhio




----------



## Vesteralen

7.






8.








I just keep plod, plod, plodding along.....


----------



## Sonata

the next batch!

7.









8.









9.









10.


----------



## Sonata

11.









12.









13.









14.









15.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto

BPS said:


> You should list your personal favorite albums at this point in time...


----------



## Arsakes

HarpsichordConcerto said:


>




....................


----------



## Vesteralen

9.






10.








humdedumdedumdedum


----------



## emiellucifuge




----------



## moody

CHAPTER THREE.

Beethoven. Piano Concert No.4. Elly Ney Frankischer Landsorchester. Cond. Willem van Hoogstratten. Colosseum 1962.
" Piano Concert No.5 "Emperor". Robert Casadesus Concertgebouw Orch. Amsterdam. cond. Hans Rosbaud.Phillips.
Brahms. Piano Concerto No.2 Gina Bachauer London Symphony cond. Stanislaw Skrowaczesky. Mercury.
Dohnanyi. Variations On a Nursery Theme. Kornel Zempleni, Piano.
Ruralia Hungarica. Hungarian State Orchestra. cond. Georgy Lehel. Westminster/HMV.
Gershwin. Rhapsody In Blue. Concerto In F. Andre Previn, piano. Cond. Andre Kostelanetz. CBS.
Liszt. Piano Concerto No. 1. Hungarian Fantasy. Earl Wild. Columbia S.O. cond. Andre Kostelanetz, CBS.
Mozart. The Piano Conceri. Lili Kraus. Vienna Festival Orch. cond. Stephen Simon. CBS.
Rachmaninoff. The Piano Concerti. Earl Wild. Royal Philharmonic. cond. Jascha Horrenstein. RCA/Chandos.
Saint-Saens. The Piano Concerti. Jeanne-Marie Darre. French Radio Orchestra. Cond.Louis Fourestier. EMI.
Tchaikovsky. Piano Concerto No.2 (Original uncut version) Peter Donahoe, Piano.Bournemouth Symphony. cond.Rudolf Barshai. with Nigel Kennedy and Steven Isserlis. EMI.
Beethoven. Violin Concerto. Alfredo Campoli. Royal Philharmonic. cond. John Pritchard. HMV.
" Triple Concerto. Serkin/Laredo/Parnas. Marlboro Festival Orch. cond. Alexander Schneider. CBS.
Tchaikosky. Violin Concerto. Mischa Elman, London Symphony. cond. John Barbirolli. Hmv 1929./Naxos.
Wieniawski. " "No.2. " Robin Hood Dell Orch(Philadelphia).cond. Alexander Hilsberg. RCA 1950/Naxos.
Operatic Paraphrases For Violin and Orchestra, Ruggiero Ricci. Radio Luxembourg Orch,cond. Louis de Froment. Vox.
Soler. Six Concerti For Two Organs. E.Power Biggs and Daniel Pinkham.. CBS.


----------



## moody

CHAPTER FOUR.

Beethoven Sonata No.27. Sonata No.21 "Hammerklavier". Egon Petri.piano Dell'arte 1957. 
Beethoven, Sonata No.7. Sonata in F Min. "Appassionata" Vladimir Horowitz, piano. RCA 1961.
Brahms. The Complete Piano Music. Julius Katchen. British Decca.
Gottschalk. Piano Music. Eugene List. Vanguard.
Granados. Douze Dances Espagnoles, Op. 37. Gonzalo Soriano, piano. hmv.
Liszt. Annees de Pelerinage cpte. Edith Farnadi, Piano. Westminster/HMV.
Liszt. 1. The Hexameron. 2. Reminiscences de Norma. Raymond Lewenthal, piano. RCA.
Rachmaninoff. Transcriptions. Ruth Laredo,pno. CBS.
Scarlatti. Sonatas. John Beckett, harpsichord. Saga.
Jorge Bolet. The 1974 Carnegie Hall Concert. RCA.
The Legendary Pianist Simon Barere. Remington
Dvorak. String Quintet In E Flat Maj, Op.97. The Cypresses For String Quartet. The Dvorak Quartet with Josef Kodovsik, viola.
Supraphon.
Dvorak. String Quartet "American",.
Smetana.String Quartet "From My Life". Panocha Quartet. Supraphon.
Schubert. "Trout" Quintet. Artur Schnabel, pno, The Pro Arte Quartet HMV.
Italian Woodwind Music. Vivaldi,Cambini,Rossini, Ponchielli. Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet with Anthony di Bonaventura. CBS.


----------



## Crudblud

moody said:


> CHAPTER FOUR.
> 
> Beethoven Sonata No.27. Sonata No.21 "Hammerklavier". Egon Petri.piano Dell'arte 1957.
> Beethoven, Sonata No.7. Sonata in F Min. "Appassionata" Vladimir Horowitz, piano. RCA 1961.
> Brahms. The Complete Piano Music. Julius Katchen. British Decca.
> Gottschalk. Piano Music. Eugene List. Vanguard.
> Granados. Douze Dances Espagnoles, Op. 37. Gonzalo Soriano, piano. hmv.
> Liszt. Annees de Pelerinage cpte. Edith Farnadi, Piano. Westminster/HMV.
> Liszt. 1. The Hexameron. 2. Reminiscences de Norma. Raymond Lewenthal, piano. RCA.
> Rachmaninoff. Transcriptions. Ruth Laredo,pno. CBS.
> Scarlatti. Sonatas. John Beckett, harpsichord. Saga.
> Jorge Bolet. The 1974 Carnegie Hall Concert. RCA.
> The Legendary Pianist Simon Barere. Remington
> Dvorak. String Quintet In E Flat Maj, Op.97. The Cypresses For String Quartet. The Dvorak Quartet with Josef Kodovsik, viola.
> Supraphon.
> Dvorak. String Quartet "American",.
> Smetana.String Quartet "From My Life". Panocha Quartet. Supraphon.
> Schubert. "Trout" Quintet. Artur Schnabel, pno, The Pro Arte Quartet HMV.
> Italian Woodwind Music. Vivaldi,Cambini,Rossini, Ponchielli. Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet with Anthony di Bonaventura. CBS.


Your formatting is horrendous.


----------



## moody

Crudblud said:


> Your formatting is horrendous.


What's wrong with it?


----------



## ArthurBrain

A 100?

I'll have a start at it....


----------



## Crudblud

moody said:


> What's wrong with it?


It's nigh unreadable is what's wrong with it. Though I do appreciate that you actually took the time to type it out instead of pasting a bunch of album covers.


----------



## Philip

Crudblud said:


> Though I do appreciate that you actually took the time to type it out instead of pasting a bunch of album covers.


Yes, using images is visually interesting but the search engines will have a hard time tracing you back here with keywords. Plus, hotlinked images get deleted all the time... so all this hard work will go to waste in a couple of years.

Leave archaeological evidence!!! Include text!!!

Peace out


----------



## ArthurBrain




----------



## ArthurBrain

Crudblud said:


> It's nigh unreadable is what's wrong with it. Though I do appreciate that you actually took the time to type it out instead of pasting a bunch of album covers.


Ah, is that frowned upon here? I don't mind typing stuff out as well as doing covers really but some places seem to prefer one to the other....


----------



## Philip

ArthurBrain said:


> Ah, is that frowned upon here? I don't mind typing stuff out as well as doing covers really but some places seem to prefer one to the other....


Hotlinking is frowned upon on the internet in general.


----------



## ArthurBrain

Philip said:


> Hotlinking is frowned upon on the internet in general.


Hmm, not so much in my experience in regards to posting images as it's pretty much commonplace on plenty of forums, though that said it'd be quicker to just type out stuff in regards to lists like this anyway I suppose....


----------



## Philip

ArthurBrain said:


> Hmm, not so much in my experience in regards to posting images as it's pretty much commonplace on plenty of forums


Yes that's why the software offers you to host a local copy.


----------



## starthrower

Bartok-3 Piano Concertos by Gyorgy Sandor Sony
Bartok-Music For Strings, Percussion, Celesta Ozawa Philips
Charles Ives-Symphonies 1 & 4 Tilson Thomas Sony
Varese-Ionization; Ameriques Boulez Sony
Schnittke-Concerto Grosso No.6/Symphony No. 8 Chandos
William Schuman Symphonies 4 & 9/7 & 10 Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz Naxos
Beethoven-Symphony No. 6 Delos
Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol 1 by John O'Conor
Stravinsky-Petroushka/Le Sacre Boulez DG
Stravinsky-Firebird Complete LSO/Nagano
Barber/Hanson-Orchestral works Vox 2CD
Debussy-Piano Music/String Quartet 2CD on cheapo label I can't recall.
Ravel-Orchestral Works Martinon EMI
Lutoslawski-Symphonies 3 & 4 LA Philharmonic/Salonen Sony
Lutoslawski Orchestral Works Vol 8 on Naxos
Schoenberg- 5 Pieces For Orchestra/Chamber Symphony No.1 Rattle EMI
Penderecki-Orchestral Works 2CD EMI
Ligeti/Norgard Violin Concertos Chandos


----------



## SimonNZ

Crudblud said:


> It's nigh unreadable is what's wrong with it. Though I do appreciate that you actually took the time to type it out instead of pasting a bunch of album covers.


I find that recommendations with cover art are more likely to stay in my memory, and aids remembering multiple recommendations of the same work. The cover may also contain important bits of information not typed, for example that the album is in the Veritas series, which I generally love and welcome knowledge of ones I may have missed.


----------



## ArthurBrain

Philip said:


> Yes that's why the software offers you to host a local copy.


Oh well, hopefully I've been doing that then....


----------



## Philip

ArthurBrain said:


> Oh well, hopefully I've been doing that then....


It doesn't really matter... it's just for the sake of longevity (and not hogging somebody else's bandwidth). Otherwise, this whole thread will look like this in less than 5 years:


----------



## ArthurBrain

Philip said:


> It doesn't really matter... it's just for the sake of longevity (and not hogging somebody else's bandwidth). Otherwise, this whole thread will look like this in less than 5 years:


Fair enough, I'll restrict the use of images a bit more.


----------



## Philip

ArthurBrain said:


> Fair enough, I'll restrict the use of images a bit more.


You don't have to, just make sure that if your images are hotlinked, you include a short text description. If it were up to me this website would only be images and videos (as audio clips of course).


----------



## Prodromides

With this next round of 20 albums, I've got a lot of BIS ...

41. Accord 200402: this first volume of orchestral works by Giacinto Scelsi includes _Aion_ & _Konx-Om-Pax_.

42. BIS-CD-1050: _Hafis_ plus more by Jon Leifs.

43. Carus 83.445: In my opinion, this CD is the most satisfying of discs to feature choral music by Andre Jolivet. Includes the hitherto unfamiliar _Missa Uxor Tua_ as well as a more recent interpretation of _Epithalame_.










44. Accord 201092: Charles Koechlin's Sonata for Viola and Piano is partnered here with his chamber version of "Paysages et Marines" (originally pieces for solo piano).

45. Finlandia Records FACD 387: Aarre Merikanto's choral piece ("Genesis") is companion here to his Violin Concertos #s 2 & 4.

46. ebs 6070: a superbly recorded and performed pairing of Ernest Bloch's works for cello & orchestra - _Schelomo_ & _Voice In The Wilderness_.

47. London 289 460 208-2: the complete works of Edgard Varese in a 2-CD set.

48. Supraphon 10 3393-2: Sir Charles Mackerras and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra offer listeners high octane performances of 2 of Bohuslav Martinu's most enduring works - _Double Concerto_ & _Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca_.

49.BIS-CD-1212: Is this a superhero? ... or ... perhaps Count Dracula? Neither - it's composer Arne Nordheim and his 31-minute _Concerto for Violin and Orchestra_, a superhuman opus which'll chill your blood.










50. BIS-CD-573: Symphonies #s 6 & 7 by Vagn Holmboe.

51. Koch International Classics 3-7216-2 H1: Calling all druids - stop waving all those curved knives and mistletoe in the air for about 52 minutes so you can listen to what your American musical warlock Charles Tomlinson Griffies had conjured for thee - _The Karin of Koridwen_!










http://avaxhome.ws/music/classical/Griffes_Kairn_of_Koridwen_Ensemble_M.html

52. Kairos 0013152KAI: There is a revival of interest in Austrian modernist Friedrich Cerha's music thanks to labels like Kairos. This 2011 album features a number of Cerha's recent works from between 2006 & 2009 (of which _Instants_ is, I've found, most impressive).

53. Valois V 4687: Florent Schmitt's mercurial _Symphonie Concertante_ for piano and orchestra is the highlight for me; also includes _Reves_ - another lovely work.










54. BIS-CD-1030: Excellent string writing from Jon Leifs ("Reminiscence du Nord" & "Elegy") bookends the main attraction of "Hekla", one of the key works by Leifs.

55. Conifer Classics 74321-15005-2: Malcolm Arnold's Symphonies #s 7 & 8.

56. mode 238: This 2011 CD is a significant album with respect to the music of Morton Feldman - 5 works for large orchestra (all world premieres!) representing 25% of all of Feldman's orchestral output within a 25-year period (1951 through 1976).










57. Skarbo SK 3913: one of my favorite independent French labels now enters onto my Top 100 with music by Aubert Lemeland. This album showcases _L'Hiver Qui Vient…_ & _L'Automne et ses Envols D'Etourneaux…_ plus more.

58. Chandos CHAN 9694: Roberto Gerhard's Concerto for Orchestra is paired along with his Symphony No.2.

59. NMC D156: Yet another excellent and essential CD program from 2011 is NMC's latest offering of music by Harrison Birtwistle. "Night's Black Bird", "The Shadow Of Time", plus "The Cry Of Anubis" for tuba & orchestra.

60. Arion ARN 68299: works by Andre Jolivet for solo organ includes _Hymne a l'Univers_, _Mandala_ and more.

Whew! Over half finished at this point


----------



## moody

Crudblud said:


> It's nigh unreadable is what's wrong with it. Though I do appreciate that you actually took the time to type it out instead of pasting a bunch of album covers.


Well show me a short example of what you suggest for I have one more to go...be a good chappie.


----------



## moody

SimonNZ said:


> I find that recommendations with cover art are more likely to stay in my memory, and aids remembering multiple recommendations of the same work. The cover may also contain important bits of information not typed, for example that the album is in the Veritas series, which I generally love and welcome knowledge of ones I may have missed.


Well I would just love to oblige you, but I don't know how.
Also I can't read the detail on most of the posted covers in any case.


----------



## moody

Chapter Five.

Beethoven Symphony No.9 Peter Anders, etc Berlin Phil. cond Wilhelm Furtwaengler. Live 1942. Unicorn

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique New Philharmonia. cond. Leoplod Stokowski. British Decca.

Chavez Symphonia India. Symphonia di Antigone. Sinfonia Romantica. Stadium Symphony cond. Carlos Chavez. Everest

Dvorak New World Symphony. NBC Symphony. cond. Arturo Toscanini. RCA.

Schubert Symphony No.9. London Philharmonic . cond. Sir Adrian Boult . HMV

Sibelius Symphony No.2 Concertgebouw Orch . cond. George Szell. Phillips

Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony London Symphony . cond. Jascha Horenstein . EMI

R.Strauss Ein Heldenleben London Symphony . cond. Leopold Ludwig . Everest

Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Ballet--complete. London Symphony ' cond. Antal Dorati . Mercury

Suppe / Auber Overtures Detroit Symphony . cond. Paul Paray . Mercury

Mussorgsky Pictures At An Exhibition Cleveland Orchestra . cond. George Szell. CBS
Kodaly Hary Janos Suite
Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije Suite

H.Owen Reed La Fieste Mexicana Eastman Wind Ensemble . cond. Donald Hunsberger. American Decca
Carlos Surinach Paens and Dances of Heathen Iberia
Roger Nixon Fiesta del Pacifico

Gould Spirituals For Orchestra Chicago Symphony. cond. Morton Gould . RCA
Copland Dance Symphony

Stravinsky "Petrouchka" "The Firebird" Paris Conservatoire Orchestra . cond. Pierre Monteaux . RCA

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring. Minneapolis Symphony. cond. Antal Dorati. Mercury


----------



## Prodromides

... onwards onto rankings #s 61 through 80 ...

61. Nimbus Records NI 5357: The BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra renders superlative performances on 4 works by Alun Hoddinott, including _Star Children_ & _The Heaventree of Stars_.

62. Donemus CV 33: This "Composer's Voice" CD features 4 works by Geert van Keulen, with 1990's _Tympan_ being my favorite. Interestingly for a classical music album cover, its design displays a photo of female mannequins' legs sporting a variety of stockings.










63. Koch Schwann 3-1132-2: solo piano pieces by Andre Jolivet, including one of my all-time favorites _Cinq Danses Rituelles_.

64. EMI CDS 7 54011 2: George Enescu's opera _Oedipe_ on a 2-CD set.

65. Hanssler Classic CD 93.106: This volume of Hanssler's superb CD survey of music by Charles Koechlin showcases 2 world premiere recordings of _Vers la Voute etoilee_ and the I-never-thought-I'd-see-this-on-disc _Le Docteur Fabricius_!










66. Arabesque Recordings Z6618: the 2 Piano Quintets by Ernest Bloch.










67. Koch Schwann 3-1524-2H1: the complete works for flute by Goffredo Petrassi contains his Concerto for Flute and Orchestra along with all his other chamber pieces.

68. Finlandia Records FACD 106: Paavo Heininen's opera "The Damask Drum".

69. Denon CO-18073: Volume #4 of Denon's series of orchestral works by Toru Takemitsu includes several early 1960s pieces such as _Coral Island_ & _Corona II_ as well as _The Dorian Horizon_, into which Takemitsu incorporated small portions from his film score to _Woman In The Dunes_.










70. Philips 438 008-2: the Orchestre de Paris offers a compelling version of _Timbres, Espace, Mouvement_ plus other works by Henri Dutilleux.

71. Delos DE 1017: One of the finest albums ever on music by Heitor Villa-Lobos, featuring 2 of his earlier and wild works ("Uirapuru" & "Choros No.8") along with the beguiling "Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra".

72. Calliope CAL 9876: Conductor Roland Hayrabedian and the vocal & instrumental ensemble "Musicatreize" prove themselves to be the definitive interpreters of the choral music by Maurice Ohana, music which is highly idiosyncratic and often-times avant-garde.

73. Aurora Contemporary ACD 4966: 2 sound sculptures by Arne Nordheim.










74. Hyperion CDA66420: _Flos Campi_ highlights this edition of Hyperion's CD series on English choral music by Vaughan Williams.

75. ASV CD DCA 716: this well-conceptualized album gathers together all the pieces written for Horn and Piano by Charles Koechlin, of which the noble-sounding _Sonata for Piano and Horn_ is the standout.

76. Supraphon 10 3640-2 031: Although this CD's runtime duration clocks-in at under 40 minutes, this is the most satisfying version, for me, of Josef Suk's symphonic poem _The Ripening_ (my favorite work by Suk).

77. CPO 999 241-2: Symphonies #s 2 & 3 by Benjamin Frankel, with the bonus of the composer's own spoken introductions to both works.

78. Simax PSC 3115: orchestral songs and symphonic poems by Fartein Valen.

79. Piano 21 P21 027-A: a 2-CD album from 2006 which belatedly releases analogue recordings from 1982 on 3 concert works by Mikis Theodorakis for piano and orchestra. The early 1955 _Suite No.1_ is quite a revelation to behold.










80. Cybelia CY 842: Florent Schmitt's colorful "Antony and Cleopatra" is the centerpiece of interest here.


----------



## Prodromides

Arrival at the finish line...

81. EMI Classics CDC 7 54421 2: EMI has had multiple versions of "Job - A Masque for Dancing" by Vaughan Williams, but I like most this performance by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Hickox.

82. Accord 202292: Complete works for flute by Andre Jolivet. There've been a variety of record labels presenting Jolivet's chamber music with flute, but this 2-CD set is the most definitive I think.










83. CPO 999 147-2: Symphonies #s 2 & 4 by Isang Yun.

84. Olympia OCD 439: Piano Concertos #s 2, 3 & 6 by Alexander Tcherepnin (his 3rd piano concerto is my favorite).










85. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901417: Chamber works by Andre Caplet for string quartet, harp, and/or female vocalists ; contains the "Conte Fantastique" which is based upon Poe's _Masque of the Red Death_.

86. Kairos 0013242KAI: 2 orchestral works by Friedrich Cerha, one of which - "Concert for Percussion and Orchestra" - ushered in Cerha's 'comeback' ( ... so to speak).

87. New Albion Records NA039CD: Morton Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" is partnered with his "Why Patterns".

88. Chamade CHCD 5632: A contemporary _Requiem_, written in a post-modern idiom by Renaud Gagneux.

89. Stradivarius STR 33700: The complete 8 "Concerti per orchestra" by Goffredo Petrassi.


















90. BIS-CD-930: Another volume from BIS's CD series on the music of Jon Leifs; his waterfall tone poem "Dettifoss" is the main draw here, but Leifs' early 1930 "Concerto for Organ" is amazingly audacious, too.

91. Opus 111 OPS 30-246: The 2 large-scale choral works by Maurice Ohana are the astrological/mythical "Office des Oracles" which co-habitats with the "Messe".

92. Ottavo OTR C59344: Volume 2 of George Enescu's symphonic music yields a most satisfying, for me, performance and recording of Enescu's _magnum opus_: the Symphonie No.3. The tempi are not too quick (as they were in Olympia's parallel CD series on this same material), and, while the Chandos rendition is also excellent, this Ottavo disc offers the real Romanian deal.










93. Simax PSC 3108: Geirr Tveitt's infectious water sprite "Nykken" takes the lead on the Tveitt discography, galloping quite ahead of the more plebian pieces that we typically hear from Tveitt. This early Simax CD also has an outstanding companion in Tveitt's "Harp Concerto No.2", too, but the BIS version of "Nykken" is also excellent and gets paired with the 2 Concertos for Hardanger Fiddle.

94. Soundspells Productions CD 120: The "Three Faces of Electra" and "Rhapsody for Guitar and Orchestra" by Meyer Kupferman.

95. Marco Polo 8.223379: An early CD of music by Alexandre Tansman; includes "Four Movements for Orchestra" and "Stele in Memoriam d'Igor Stravinsky". This Marco Polo disc served as my introduction to the musical sphere of Tansman, and it remains my favorite. I am glad, though, that over the past 20 years there has been an increase in the number of albums of Tansman music available, not least of which are the 4 volumes via Chandos.

96. Marco Polo 8.223448: This is the 1907 version of Florent Schmitt's "The Tragedy of Salome", for scaled-down instrumental forces. Nonetheless, this is the album of Schmitt's "Salome" which I listen to the most and like the best.

97. Adda 581166: This independent French label - Adda - is yet another one I admire for advocating the music of contemporary composers and helping, in a smaller fashion, to distribute lesser-known works beneath the klieg lights of the major players. I was concerned that no Adda album would enter my top 100 - but here it is! The captivating chamber music of Isang Yun is superbly recorded and performed within, and the highlight for me is Yun's hypnotic 1977 "Concerto pour flute et petit orchestre".

98. BIS-CD-1230 / 1231: "Baldr, Opus 34: A Choreographic Drama in Two Acts" (1943-1947) by Jon Leifs. This is a major effort by Leifs and "Baldr" is a pivotal work in Leifs' development, effectively dividing Leifs' _oeuvre_ into either an early period (pre-"Baldr") or late-period maturity. "Baldr" features musical portraits of a hurricane and, later on, a volcanic eruption during its 90-minute duration. This serves as a template for the Leifs yet-to-come, foreshadowing Leifs' predilection towards depicting natural phenomena in music. Another idiosyncratic characteristic of Leifs surfaces in "Baldr" in which Leifs, for the first time, augments the percussion section of the orchestra with non-standard items such as anvils, pistols, cannons, rocks, & metal chains!

99. Arion ARN 68286: Chamber music for oboe, oboe d'amour, or cor anglais with or without piano by Charles Koechlin. The reverse side of this CD, shown below, details the program:










100. Stradivarius STR 33329: Chamber ensemble pieces by Luis de Pablo; includes "Segunda Lectura" with 2 other titles.
[this album would be the first to depart from this list if any CD release forthcoming during the remainder of 2012 happens to impress me enough to warrant its inclusion within.]


----------



## Guest

Bravo Prodromides! I look forward to returning to your list repeatedly to consider some of your insights.

Bravo to everyone else who has made it to 100 as well!


----------



## moody

THE LAST CHAPTER.

Liszt orch. Tchaikovsky. Concerto In the Hungarian Style. (first recording).
Liszt. Hungarian Fantasia.
Schubert arr. Liszt. Wanderer Fantasia.
Cyprien Katsaris,pno. Philadelphia Orch. cond. Eugene Ormandy. HMV.

Liszt. Soirees Musicales (after Rossini). Vincenzo Balzani,pno. Peters International.

Moscheles. La Tennerezza, Gigue, Sonata Melancolique, La Petite Babillarde, Three Characteristic Etudes, La Leggerazza.
Phillip Challis, pno. Revolution.

Rodrigo's Piano Music. Played by Joaquin Rodrigo and Victoria Camhi Rodrigo Spanish HMV.

Messiaen. Reveil des Oiseaux. Oiseaux Exotiques. Le Bouscarle. Yvonne Loriod, pno (Mrs.Messiaen).
Czech Philharmonic cond. Vaclav Neumann. Supraphon.

Rossini. Quartets For Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn. M embers of the New York Woodwind Quintet. Saga.

Johann Strauss In St.Petersburg. Berlin Symphony cond. Robert Stolz. BASF (2 LP)

Offenbach Concert Rondo for Cello and Orchestra. Ofra Harnoy,cello.
Overture To a Grand Orchestra.
Souvenir d'Aix-Les Baines. Valse.
Schueler Polka. American Eagle Waltz.
Cincinatti Pops Orch. cond. Erich Kunzel. Vox.

Beethoven. Thirty Two Variations In C Minor.
Variations In F Major, Op.34.
"Eroica " Variations.
Denis Matthews, Pno. Vanguard/Top Rank

Beethoven. Symphony No.8.
Symphony No.9. (Mahler edition) Pittsburgh Symphony cond. William Steinberg. Command Classics/EMI.

Tchaikovsky. "The Seasons". 1. Piano version. Alexei Cherkassov,pno.
2. Orchestral Version. USSR Symphony. cond. Yevgeny Svetlanov. Melodiya/CBS.

Tchaikovsky. Suite No.4 "Mozartiana". Andante Cantabile from Op.11
Arensky. Variations On a Theme of Tchaikovsky, Op.35a.
Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia cond. Anshel Brushilow. RCA.

Turina. "Canto a Sevilla" Victoria de los Angeles, sop. London Symphony. cond. Anatole Fistoulari. EMI

Roberto Murolo. A Chronological Anthology of Neapolitan Song, 1600-1800. Durium.

Clare Croiza, Mezzo-Sop. (1882-1946). French Songs. Croiza Records.

Claudia Muzio,sop. Operatic Arias 1920-23. Re-recordings from Edison Diamond discs. CBS.

Tiana Lemnitz,sop. Arias from German and italian Operas 1930-40. Electrola.

Lotte Lehmann,sop. Songs inc. "Songs of Vienna". 1940's Rec. CBS.

Ivan Kozlovsky,tenor Rachmaninoff Songs. 1947-52 rec. Melodiya.


----------



## Prodromides

moody said:


> Messiaen. Reveil des Oiseaux. Oiseaux Exotiques. Le Bouscarle. Yvonne Loriod, pno (Mrs.Messiaen).
> Czech Philharmonic cond. Vaclav Neumann. Supraphon.


Hi, moody.

I was not aware that an album of Messiaen music was performed by a Czech conductor & ensemble; I searched online and saw this LP of the program you describe:










This is being listed, though, as a Vox Candide LP - is your entry based on this vinyl record or did this program resurface on a Supraphon CD?


----------



## moody

Prodromides said:


> Hi, moody.
> 
> I was not aware that an album of Messiaen music was performed by a Czech conductor & ensemble; I searched online and saw this LP of the program you describe:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is being listed, though, as a Vox Candide LP - is your entry based on this vinyl record or did this program resurface on a Supraphon CD?


This is the original Supraphon 1967 LP and the sleeve note is by the man himself.


----------



## science

Ok, I'm going to start the easy way, just with the ones that I'm sure will make the list.

The remaining 50 or so are difficult because there must be at least four times that number that are basically tied. There are also a few where I'm not sure which recording I will choose. Some very good stuff is going to get left off.

Ok, here are six. I'll start with the most idiosyncratic, recordings that I wouldn't expect to find on other people's top 100.










Sorry about that image. I don't like the big ones like that, it comes across (to me) as pushy. But this is such a rare disk that I couldn't find a nice 300x300 image.

This is Savina Yannatou, sort of a folk-jazz-world-fusion artist, singing the music of Manos Hadjidakis, a 20th century Greek composer not very famous outside of Greece. Agnes Baltsa did a fairly popular album with a bit of his music (and other 20th c. Greek composers) called "Songs My Country Taught Me." That's easier to find and also very nice, but not going to get on my top 100.

As for this one, I bought it on a whim and I have no idea why. Then I listened to it about three times without it hitting me. About five years ago I was in the habit of "listening" to music as I slept. I was just curious about how it would affect my sleep, whether I'd remember the melodies, etc. Anyway, one night about three in the morning I woke up and there was this haunting, beautiful music and it just went on and on, and after about thirty minutes of it I had to get out of bed and see what it was. It was this. From then until now every time I hear this music (which is only once or twice, maybe three times a year) it just amazes me.

There's really nothing all that special about it - it's not Xenakis or Nono or Stravinsky or whatever. It's pretty traditional. But it's so beautiful. Couldn't leave it off my top 100.










This is here for "From Me Flows What You Call Time." I love this work - it's so well named, it really feels like a meditative communion with the mystery at the heart of the universe.

One thing that impresses me so much is the balance. Everything is balanced. Sound and silence are balanced. Rhythm and tone are balanced. Not in a symmetrical way, but in a more profound way. Like the cosmic mysteries, it seizes attention. Time seems to stop as you approach its source. This work, I suspect, could've been eight hours long and people would listen raptly, effortlessly focused.










Well, enough of that snobby stuff, let's get middle-brow. This is a pretty popular work and there are several recordings more popular than Rosand's. I haven't heard them all of course. Anyway, to me the essence of the works of Bruch included here is sweetness. Unapologetic over-the-top romantic sentimentality. And no recording that I've heard captures that better than Rosand's. I suspect this work would be more popular if it were played this way more often. Sometimes you've just got to let go and emote, unencumbered by self-awareness, let alone cynicism. This is music for those times.










More unapologetically romantic music. This one tends more toward the beautiful than the sweet. If you like Delius, Bax, and so on, this is for you.










These works deserve to be as well-known and loved as the second and third piano concertos, or at least as the second symphony. One thing I love about Rachmaninoff's music - it's becoming a theme here - is how unapologetic it is. He knew he wasn't supposed to write music like that. We know we're not supposed to like it. But it didn't stop him and it won't stop me!










A lot of other people will have this work on their list, but probably no one else will choose this recording, and I couldn't blame them. The sound has been surpassed by dozens of later recordings. It's in the old pre-HIP style. But I love this one the most. Of course it was the first one I owned, one of the first classical CDs I ever bought, so I'm biased beyond even the most remote respectability. But when I want to fear God and enjoy the drama of old-fashioned Christian death and judgment, nothing else will do.

Those are my most idiosyncratic choices; I'll be more conventional in future posts.


----------



## science

Filed under "there's no accounting for taste." This was given to me by a woman who received it as a gift and couldn't stand it. Lot of things I didn't understand about that woman, but in this case... trying to be charitable, I figure that perhaps her soul was defective somehow. This is the very sound of heaven - not the angels, this is the Trinity's own uncreated energies expressed musically. I think the theology there is orthodox Orthodox, but if not, so much the worse for orthodox Orthodox theology.

This recording is surprising popular here on TC. Good for us. We really are people of exquisite taste, utmost civility, and impeccable breeding.










You had to know something like this was coming because I am absolutely unable to restrain my irony. From the music that legitimized a millennium of predatory exploitation to variations on one of the great democratic protest songs of human history. (Dylan's "Masters of War" is better. Maybe "We Shall Overcome" is too. But maybe not.) While we are still free, listen to it and dream of trampling down fascist regimes everywhere. Hamelin masters it, and I'd choose his recording if the Rzewski were my sole concern, but Drury is good too and comes with the original song, which I wouldn't be without.










I have to be careful or there'll be half a dozen Kronos Quartet recordings in my top 100. I'll try to restrain myself. After these, two more, tops. But I can't leave these out. Lots of good stuff here. The Golijov is not too far from Klezmer music. Catchy, fascinating, and best of all it is a masterwork of timbre. The relationships between the various clarinet-ish sounds and the strings could not be explored more intensely or enjoyably.








*

The Crumb is one of the great works of the past half-century. Sorry, conservatives. It just is. (And while we're on it, you might try Ge Gan-Ru's "Fall of Baghdad" quartet.) And so, of course, is Shostakovich's 8th string quartet, also on the Black Angels disk

I've heard that better recordings of these works exist. Well, I've heard some of those, and I disagree. Kronos may well be unsurpassable.

(Also on the Black Angels disk is an fun arrangement of Tallis' Spem in Alium.)










Stockhausen's Stimmung, Riley's In C, and even Adams' Harmonielehre probably won't make my top 100, though I like them all. But Reich's Music for 18 can't be omitted. Like Golijov's music above, and perhaps the Byzantine chant too, there is something primal - spiritually and intellectually primal, but anyway primal - about it. I can't say my mind doesn't wander when I listen to it, but my gut certainly doesn't.










Sorry, this should've been up there with the more idiosyncratic selections. One of the things that makes me sad is that in all of the hate expressed for the music of Xenakis and Stockhausen and so on, people can't spare a breath to hate Nono too. Italian 20th century music has some gems - Berio, Sciarrino - but Nono is my favorite for now, and although Intolleranza 1960 is the one you'll want to look up first, this Pollini disk is my own favorite. (Recently I got Kancheli's Lament, dedicated to Nono. I liked it immediately, best thing I've ever heard of Kancheli. Not going to make my top 100, but wanted to mention it.)


----------



## science

With #13-18 I want to get some of the very highly predictable stuff out of the way.

















































Those are so famous, for me to comment would be fatuous.


----------



## science

With #19-24 I will continue with some of the fairly obvious choices.

















The De Larrocha disk includes music she recorded a few times, and of the two I've heard this is the one I prefer. This is some of my favorite piano music.

















That second choice might be cheating. The thing is, it has some real gems, including the Eroica Variations. Gilels would be a lot of people's first choice for sonatas 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, and 26. (If I were forced to take a minority position, I'd go with Jandó on Naxos.)

















Back in the days when I was suckered into believing that comparing dozens of recordings was the essence of listening to classical music, I acquired three sets of Chopin's Nocturnes (this, and also Pollini and Arrau). I like all three, and I believe that this is my favorite for sentimental rather than musical reasons. Well, anyway, this is the one I would fight for when the classical music muggers ransack my house.

The hardest thing for me to make up my mind about through selections #1-24 was Kertész vs. Kubelik. Well, I'm going with Kubelik. I have no good reason for this, so, whatever. But Kubelik feels cleaner to me, purer, and Kertész feels thicker and richer. Others would probably feel differently. Anyway. I might recommend Kertész to others, but I'll take Kubelik.


----------



## science

It looks like the Gilels Beethoven image is broken. That's ok. I'm moving on anyway.

On #25-29, I'm going to be a touch more idiosyncratic. Though these are all fairly popular recordings of famous music, they probably wouldn't make most other people's top 100. I'll come back to the great classics later.

















I'm counting that as a single recording; there was no excuse for releasing them separately rather than as a two-disk set. (There is a 3-disk set that comes with some other concertos.) Anyway, I love them. Hate to be iconoclastic, but these may be my two favorite hours of Bach ever recorded - excepting the Hotter recording of Cantata #82, which will get on this list at some point.

















I also have Stryja and Rattle, but my favorite recording of the Stabat Mater is Shaw's. The coupling (Poulenc) is just ok, not a life-changing, world-shaking masterpiece like Szymanowski's. Rattle has the best coupling, IMO. But Shaw just gets everything right on this - the orchestra, the dynamics, everything.

Shaw also gets the Fauré and Duruflé right.

















Speaking of Fauré, his piano quintets are my favorite of his chamber works. That's a bit unusual as well, it seems that for some reason most people prefer the quartets. I couldn't tell you why. But I am in love with this Domus disk of the quintets.

Zimerman's disk is my favorite hour of Liszt. He gets the Sonata just right (though I have a soft spot for Pogorelich), and the couplings are all great.


----------



## science

#30-35 are dedicated to the German hegemony, and the Titans of Early Stereo.

















Ok, the TES dedication gets off to a bad start, but I can't help myself. Not one of Gardiner's biggest fans, but this is my favorite recordings of the Mass.

With Richter I get the TES theme on track properly. Richter used to be my favorite in everything Bach. His Matthew Passion is still my favorite.

















If I'd tried to do it in order, Klemperer's Brahms' Requiem would've been in the top five.

















Ok, just over 1/3 done!


----------



## Prodromides

Thanks, science, for your contributions thus far.

I have a few observations upon what you've written, and, if you'll permit me to offer some feedback, I hope you'll accept my thoughts in the spirit in which they're given...

... namely, you sound apologetic about some of your selections, such as 1) your preference for one composer's piano quintets over his string quartets, or 2) writing something like "enough of that snobby stuff" after stating the beauty of a Takemitsu piece.
No need for apologies ... just keep postin' about what you love most, right?

Another observation is that the bulk of your entries are albums from the "major player" labels: lots of Deutsche Grammophon, a number of EMI titles, a pair of Telarcs, here a Sony - there a Philips ... etc.
So far, what intrigues me the most from your postings is the Harmonia Mundi disc of Byzantin chant.  
What are your feelings towards lesser-known talents and independent record labels?
As someone who loves democratic protest songs and dreams about trampling regimes, you nonetheless lend your support to the corporate giants in classical music recordings. 

Also, it might be preferable to include the label names on all your album selections (as I had done within my listings), because, if any given JPEG happens to be sucked into a black hole in cyberspace, TC members reading this thread may have no idea you are referring to Fischer-Dieskau's Schubert or Schubert's late string quartets. :tiphat:


----------



## science

Prodromides said:


> Thanks, science, for your contributions thus far.
> 
> I have a few observations upon what you've written, and, if you'll permit me to offer some feedback, I hope you'll accept my thoughts in the spirit in which they're given...
> 
> ... namely, you sound apologetic about some of your selections, such as 1) your preference for one composer's piano quintets over his string quartets, or 2) writing something like "enough of that snobby stuff" after stating the beauty of a Takemitsu piece.
> No need for apologies ... just keep postin' about what you love most, right?


Of course I am apologetic - I realize that almost no matter what albums I choose, someone is going to find a way to criticize them. So my defense mechanism is to be critical first. I'm going to continue to do that. My experience of online classical music discussion is that it is one huge contest, everyone looking for a way to put each other (and their music) down. The presence of mods forces us to be subtle about it, but it's not much different.

One person says you don't listen to enough choral music, another that you don't listen to enough symphonies, or solo keyboard, or organ music, or opera, or Baroque opera, or HIP Baroque opera, or classical guitar, or classical lute... another says you don't listen to enough early music, another one says you don't listen to enough Baroque, others that you don't listen to enough Bach or Haydn or Mozart or Beethoven or Schubert or Schumann or Liszt or Wagner, another one says you don't know enough of the obscure romantics, another that you're too focused on romanticism, another says you don't listen to enough of the Second Vienna School, another says you don't listen to enough Scandinavians, or enough Russians, or enough Italians, or says you're stupid if Takemitsu is the only Japanese composer you know, another says you don't listen to enough music of the past 40 years, another says it's not enough of the past 10 years, another that you don't listen to enough of the really old recordings from the 1920s and 30s and 40s, another that you don't listen to enough new recordings, another that you don't listen to enough HIP recordings, another that you don't appreciate the Titans of Early Stereo, and if you please any of those people the others will double down in their criticisms, and of course it's got to be on vinyl, or at least lossless files, and through at four thousand dollar home stereo, and even then it's not enough unless you hear live music every night, following along with the score, critiquing the tempo selections and analyzing the harmonies, and others will criticize you if you don't know the biographies of the composers in detail and what they felt when they made the music, and others will criticize you if you take any of that into account, and I hate everyone, everyone, everyone. Really, I do. I'm not just saying that. Just thinking about this makes me want to get the nuclear suitcase and figure out how to put the universe out of our misery.

I really am apologetic about it all. If I could just humble myself enough not to be a target, and thereafter be allowed just to like what I like without facing unending criticism, I would eagerly do so. I'm sorry that my tastes and listening habits - no matter what they are - bother so many people, I'm sorry that I can't please everyone. I still hate everyone for having such ridiculous standards, but I'm genuinely sorry about my inevitable failure to live up to them.



Prodromides said:


> Another observation is that the bulk of your entries are albums from the "major player" labels: lots of Deutsche Grammophon, a number of EMI titles, a pair of Telarcs, here a Sony - there a Philips ... etc.
> So far, what intrigues me the most from your postings is the Harmonia Mundi disc of Byzantin chant.
> What are your feelings towards lesser-known talents and independent record labels?
> As someone who loves democratic protest songs and dreams about trampling regimes, you nonetheless lend your support to the corporate giants in classical music recordings.


It turns out one thing I should've apologized for is the labels! I'd forgotten about that, but you've got to get your "Indie" labels in too.

But I don't think I have any feelings about particular labels, large or small. I do have a fondness for the "Titans of Early Stereo," so that puts a lot of my selections in the golden ages of DG, EMI, and so on. Those labels have made good impressions on me. Right now my favorite label is probably Hyperion/Helios, though. That just means that there's a lot of stuff by them on my wishlist. In terms of my favorite stuff that I already own, DG/EMI/Philips are going to continue to be represented really strongly in my list. I'm sorry about that, but that's how my top 100 is. One reason it's like that is that I've tried to learn about the most famous musicians of the mid-20th century. Somehow I really enjoy knowing my Karajan, Rostropovich, Oistrakh, Heifetz, Richter, Pollini....

I should explain that better. With something like, say, Beethoven's symphonies or string quartets, there are so many options out there, right? Now in the old days I was - I consider it "duped" but anyway, one way or another I had received the opinion that the essence of classical music listening was comparing recordings. So at that time I bought multiple recordings of the same works. I have five Brahms 1s, five Brahms 4s, seven Tchaikovsky PC 1s, five Tchaikovsky VCs, five Brahms VCs, five Beethoven 9s, five Mozart Requiems, and so on.

Later I decided that was meaningless to me because the differences were usually too small to matter much to me, and there was so much other music to get to (as you can see from that list, back then I'd barely even started to explore early music or modern music), and therefore (even worse) it was a waste of money and time for me to spend so much time comparing nearly identical recordings....

So then the issue became, if I am only going to have one or two sets of, say, Brahms' piano quartets, then which ones am I going to get? For awhile I just got whatever was cheap and convenient - often Naxos. So I have Naxos recordings of a lot of stuff.

But I found that, after reading people's comments online, I'd worry that I was missing something if I didn't have one of the famous, highly regarded recordings. And I'd wind up buying that. So I had Naxos' recording of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, but later I still got Gardiner's; Naxos' recording of Haydn's Creation, but later I still got Karajan's; Naxos' recording of Monteverdi's Vespers, but later I still got Parrott's, and so on.

So I decided the cheapest, most direct thing is just to start out with the most famous recording, and after that if I want another one for some reason, I can do it. But I always start with the most famous one. And my favorites tend to be those, in part because those are the main or only ones I've heard, and in part because I usually enjoy listening to the recordings that have been loved for decades. (I think that historical interest is really what draws me to classical music in general, not just to particular recordings.)

I'm surprised by your characterizations of Harmonia Mundi and Telarc. I would've thought Harmonia Mundi a bigger label than Telarc. Maybe it's just the places I shop, or perhaps the paragraph thing is confusing me.

Probably not very many lesser-known talents will get in my top 100. I've figured out about 70 of my selections, and I guess Apex or Gimell will be the smallest label.

I don't actually want to trample down most regimes, and I'm a friend of capitalism. I don't feel any animosity toward corporations in general; only the ones that really do nefarious things. I am grateful to "corporate giants" like DG for giving me so much of the music that I love.



Prodromides said:


> Also, it might be preferable to include the label names on all your album selections (as I had done within my listings), because, if any given JPEG happens to be sucked into a black hole in cyberspace, TC members reading this thread may have no idea you are referring to Fischer-Dieskau's Schubert or Schubert's late string quartets. :tiphat:


I'll do that! Good idea. When I've figured out my top 100, I'll just make a list.


----------



## moody

SCIENCE.
You have no need to justify anything regarding your choice of music. This thread was for people to list THEIR favourites, comment from other members was not called for and should not have been advanced.
I take no notice whatever of criticism unless it makes sense and not much of it here does. I'm sure that you know who talks sense and who does not!


----------



## science

Thank you moody. I don't think Prodromides meant to be critical. But he did make some observations that I couldn't reply to easily!


----------



## science

Prodromides helped me see that I've been settling into the easy choices for awhile. I've only picked about 70 of the albums that I will list here, but I've got enough for a post that are at least a little off the beaten path, or at least ones that most people wouldn't have put in their top three or four hundred albums, let alone their top one hundred. So here we go:










That is a Supraphon album. I don't know that I'll be able to get away from the major labels in a top 100 list. As I explained, that's not particularly important to me. As it happens, though Supraphon is a pretty big label, I don't have many of their recordings. I will probably get a few more as my collection grows.

This one is "Sacred Music of Rudolfine Prague" by a set of musicians I've never heard of: Duodena Cantitans, Capella Rudolphina, and Petr Danek. I have no idea why they're not more famous, or how good they are, or anything. There be actually be some problem with it, some reason it's not more famous. But I love this disk. It's one of those that, who knows why, I picked up in a store back in college. (It was Cutler's in New Haven, another of those wonderful record stores now lost to us; even if it's still open, the last time I went there was a disappointing experience, as they'd cut back on staff, and cut the floorspace in half to make room for yet another shop selling Yale teddy bears and coffee mugs; the real Cutler's was dead.)

I knew almost nothing about music back then. A few years after I bought this, Hilary Hahn came to my house, flirted with me; I didn't know who she was. Those were my naive days, the same time that I got that Karajan Mozart Requiem I included in my first post.

But I loved this music. It was one of the first disks that people complimented me on, asking what it was, and seeming to admire me for knowing about such stuff. And they were right to do so, as far as I can tell, because the music is heavenly. It's on period instruments, lovingly crafted by the musicians themselves if I remember correctly - perhaps it was an innocent time for the HIPPI music industry in Prague! Beautiful harmonies. Even if this disk has some kind of flaws from a scholarly point of view, it advocates very effectively for the music of its era, and perhaps especially for Charles Luython and Jacobus Regnart.

"Rudolfine Prague" refers to Prague at the time of Emperor Rudolf, perhaps known to most people only for being portrayed as "Vertumnus" in a painting by Giuseppe Arcimboldo:










(Well, would you look at that? SLGO's not the only guy that can post a painting on talkclassical!)

Rudolf II was an interesting guy; I think I'd have liked him. Patron of Brahe and Kepler, also of Nostradamus and John Dee. If I find myself back in 1610 or so, and can't get together with Shakespeare or Monteverdi, those are four of the guys I'd like to spend my time with. Anyway, if this disk is any indication he listened to good music when he went to church.

The group Cinquecento on Hyperion is exploring the music of this period, and achieving better sales than the unfortunate Duodena Cantitans. I have their Schoendorff disk (featuring that Vertumnus painting on its cover) but I haven't come to love it as I have the old, almost unknown one from my youth.

Well folks, that's about as sentimental and off-the-beaten-path as you're gonna see me get.










That's Andrew Manze doing Biber's Missa Christi Resurgentis, and a few other things. I picked this up on my honeymoon in France, and it was another one of those "I have no idea what I'm doing" purchases, just good cover art and perhaps something interesting on the back cover and well I suppose I've got $20 to gamble.

Biber is now one of my favorite Baroque composers, and I'm glad I started with this disk, even though it's less popular than some others. It opens with bright, unforgettable fanfare. When I'm king of the world, that is how I will enter my court. The rest of the disk is good too, but I was hooked from that first moment, one of those moments in music that I'll never forget and never want to be without.










I suppose this isn't for purists, as it's transpositions. I put De Larrocha's Albeniz piano music up there earlier, and I really do love it, but I first heard it on this disk.

I can't remember when I got this or what I was thinking. I always liked it, I think, but I really fell in love with it when my wife was watching some movie that used it, perhaps Vicky Cristina Barcelona (which I just googled and it turns out that's a Woody Allen movie so I should've watched it with her). The "Granada" track (transcribed by Miguel Llobert) was used over and over and over and over and over in that movie, and I'd put money down that it was the very recording on this disk. Anyway, by the end of that movie and ever since, this has been my favorite disk of classical guitar.

I've heard that some people really don't like classical guitar, and I cannot understand that. I don't think another classical guitar disk is going to make my top 100, but it is a wonderful genre.

(Fun little note: Googling this, I got to the image via a blog post by our own Sid James.)










That's Glass's Aguas da Amazonia, with Uakti.

It appears to be enormously popular, but probably not (I'd guess) primarily with the typical classical music crowds. You know who you are: if you like Glass a bit, you might really like this. I doubt many classical music fans would have this in their top hundred, unless they're just big fans of minimalism, so I'll include it in this post.

I can't do better than Amazon.com's Paige La Grone: "Uakti's Aguas de Amazona is a splendid suite of liquid light manifesting itself in nine riverlike tunes that splash, wend, trickle, and gush toward the fantastical changeling closer, 'Metamorphosis.' A Brazilian ensemble, Uakti (pronounced wah-keh-chee) weave a chordal interplay of strings, woodwinds, and homemade percussion pieces that create complex and exotic contrapuntal melodies evoking both wind chimes and dancing water."










I'll end this edition with Zelenka's Missa Votiva, which turns out to be from a label that probably counts as small: Zig Zag Territories. Ever heard of them? I hadn't. I went to their webpage, and it turns out I have at least one other disk of theirs, of Enescu's recently rediscovered trios.

Anyway, didn't mean to do that, it just happened. A nice thematic thing. I originally just thought it'd be nice to come back to the Bohemians, see what Rudolf II's great-great-grandchildren might've been listening to.

As for the music, well, it's great. Zelenka's most famous (I guess) for his trio sonatas, recorded most famously for ECM by Holliger. I recently read (this is gossip to me at this point, but it's interesting) that he was rediscovered by none other than Smetata. So there you go.

We live in the golden age of the rediscovery of early music, and one consequence is that Zelenka's choral music appears to be gaining fairly widespread recognition, and there are several good recordings out there. I have a fair number of them, and plan to get more. My favorite at this time has to be Missa Votiva, recorded here by Luks and Collegium 1704.

Don't take my word for it, I'm nobody and don't have any kind of expertise. But check out Michael Carter's review for Fanfare: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=204865

This is one to listen to closely. Lots of interesting wrinkles in there.

That brings me to #40.

This post has been a bit self-indulgent, but I hope you'll forgive me; I'm advocating/apologizing for music that I know is not as well-known as the selections I've put in recent posts.


----------



## science

Here are #41-46.

The theme here is late romantic warhorses, and the problem has been choosing recordings.

















Karajan recorded 3 of Brahms' symphonies in early digital sound, but I like the older analog recordings better. I have a lot of options here. I would actually recommend the Abbado set to most people because is very good and it comes with a lot of wonderful extras - choral masterpieces that you're not going to get in many other places. Klemperer has a good set too, with some of those extras. But what I really care about are the symphonies, and I prefer Karajan's analog. I've heard 2-3 other recordings of most of these symphonies, including Kleiber's Brahms 4. Of course that's the best Brahms 4... but Karajan gives him a run for his money.

The Mravinsky Tchaikovsky recordings may be better known with a plain green cover; I'm pretty sure they're the same, but this cover is the one that I have and anyway I like it better. Once again I would recommend a different set to most people - the Pletnev box, because it comes with a lot of good stuff. If Gergiev ever gets together a complete set it could compete with the Mravinsky in my affections....

















Gilels/Jochum is the best set of Brahms concertos that I've heard, but there are several that I haven't heard of course.

Heifetz ties with Milstein as my favorite recording of the Tchaikovsky concerto, and with Perlman in the Brahms. So it's a good set.

















In both cases we are here for the Rachmaninoffs, but Tchaikovsky's 1st never hurts. For #2 the main competition in my mind is Van Cliburn, and for #3 it is Horowitz. But the winners are Richter and Argerich.

Nearly half done.


----------



## Andreas

science said:


> Karajan recorded 3 of Brahms' symphonies in early digital sound, but I like the older analog recordings better.


Actually, Karajan digitally recorded the complete Brahms symphonies in 1986-1988 for DG. They have recently been re-issued as a 2-CD set. I can only recommend it.


----------



## science

Andreas said:


> Actually, Karajan digitally recorded the complete Brahms symphonies in 1986-1988 for DG. They have recently been re-issued as a 2-CD set. I can only recommend it.


As far as I know, the 1986-8 recordings didn't include #4. Or if it did, something might've been wrong with it. The set I have (http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=72504) uses the same 1978 recording that the analog set does. I checked Arkivmusic, but I didn't find a #4 from the 1980s.


----------



## brianwalker

science said:


> One person says you don't listen to enough choral music, another that you don't listen to enough symphonies, or solo keyboard, or organ music, or opera, or Baroque opera, or HIP Baroque opera, or classical guitar, or classical lute... another says you don't listen to enough early music, another one says you don't listen to enough Baroque, others that you don't listen to enough Bach or Haydn or Mozart or Beethoven or Schubert or Schumann or Liszt or Wagner, another one says you don't know enough of the obscure romantics, another that you're too focused on romanticism, another says you don't listen to enough of the Second Vienna School, another says you don't listen to enough Scandinavians, or enough Russians, or enough Italians, or says you're stupid if Takemitsu is the only Japanese composer you know, another says you don't listen to enough music of the past 40 years, another says it's not enough of the past 10 years, another that you don't listen to enough of the really old recordings from the 1920s and 30s and 40s, another that you don't listen to enough new recordings, another that you don't listen to enough HIP recordings, another that you don't appreciate the Titans of Early Stereo, and if you please any of those people the others will double down in their criticisms, and of course it's got to be on vinyl, or at least lossless files, and through at four thousand dollar home stereo, and even then it's not enough unless you hear live music every night, following along with the score, critiquing the tempo selections and analyzing the harmonies, and others will criticize you if you don't know the biographies of the composers in detail and what they felt when they made the music, and others will criticize you if you take any of that into account, and I hate everyone, everyone, everyone. Really, I do. I'm not just saying that. Just thinking about this makes me want to get the nuclear suitcase and figure out how to put the universe out of our misery. .


This is why I think that ranking is incredibly important. Without a few lists to keep people grounded in a selected, finite canon listening obligations become infinite, causing fatigue and more people to listen to fewer rather than more music since it encourages people to give up. A musical universe without lists is intimidating. If people don't know where to start and where to satisfactorily "end" some, if not most, will not bother to start at all.


----------



## musicican

I can also add many more... The list is endless.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Favorite classical Albums... mmmm let me think, guess I could say there in unlikely to be much "variety" in my list......















The Varese Album 2007

Edgard Varèse The View From The Edge 2009

Edgard Varèse Early Works

Jan DeGaetani + Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
Varèse: Offrandes / Intégrales / Octandre / Ecuatoria

GLASS Of Beauty and Light

PÄRT The Silence of Being

ALFVEN / VARESE / LARSSON GOTHE: Wind Music

Discover Music of the Twentieth Century

Flute Recital: Zukerman, Eugenia - DRATTELL, D. / DEBUSSY, C. / HOOVER, K. / LARSEN, L. / ESCHER, R. / BENNETT, R.R. / BOZZA, E. / HONEGGER, A.

LEAVING HOME: Orchestral Music in the 20th Century

LEAVING HOME: Orchestral Music in the 20th Century, Vol. 2: Rhythm

REVOLUTION DER KLANGE (DIE): Musik im 20. Jahrhundert

REVOLUTION DER KLANGE (DIE): Musik im 20. Jahrhundert, Vol. 2: Rhythmus

SONIC REBELLION - Alternative Classical Collection

VARESE: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 - Arcana / Integrales / Deserts

VARESE: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 - Ameriques / Equatorial / Nocturnal / Ionisation

WIESLER, Manuela: Small is beautiful - Short Pieces for Solo Flute

Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger 1984

Frank Zappa: Wazoo 2007

200 Motels

Orchestral Favorites

London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. I

London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II

The Yellow Shark

Civilization, Phaze III

Everything Is Healing Nicely

Strictly Genteel


----------

