# 100 Favorites: # 37



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

Inspired by Vaneyes' recent posts listing his Top 100 recordings, I decided put together my own list. Here's how I approached it:


These are my 100 _favorite_ recordings, pure and simple. I've made no attempt to put together a "well-rounded" or "historically representative" list. 
It was difficult to trim my list to 100 recordings. Many that I really enjoy didn't make the cut. I was also surprised that many of my choices were relatively recent purchases. Others are old favorites, including the very first classical CD I ever purchased.
My self-imposed ground-rule is that all of my choices are single CDs/LPs or double CD/LP sets. Choosing big box sets makes the game too easy. However, in some cases, I selected single CDs that are included in bigger box sets.
I've typed up my list of favorites in a spreadsheet, ordered them alphabetically (by last name), and numbered each recording from 1 to 100. Rather than share the music in sets of four in logical groupings, I'm going to "jump around" my list. Plus, I'm hoping to write a bit about the factors that went into each of my choices.

*100 Favorites: # 37*

*Charles Ives: Holidays Symphony; The Unanswered Question; Central Park in the Dark	
Michael Tilson Thomas, Chicago SO & Chorus (Sony)*










Here's what I wrote about this CD on my Charles Ives website:

_This is a great disc. It's one of my very favorite recordings by anyone: real desert island music. Oddly enough, it took me a while to "hear" this music. This was the first recording of this work that I'd ever heard. It didn't have the immediate impact that "Three Places in New England" or the Fourth Symphony had on me. But, if you listen closely (and maybe give it a few hearings), you'll find that this is powerful, nearly overwhelming music. Throughout, Tilson Thomas generates a tremendous sense of mystery and atmosphere. The CSO plays wonderfully, sounding completely at home in Ives' (sometimes) unorthodox idiom. From start to finish, there are no weak spots. Last of all, Tilson Thomas' reading provides a superb argument for treating this work as a symphony, rather than a piecemeal collection of short works. Listen from start to finish. When the chorus enters near the end of the final movement, "Thanksgiving and Forefather's Day," it will send chills down your spine._

I wrote those words about ten years ago, but I still feel the same way.


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