# 3 CDs on Desert Island



## confuoco

Try to imagine: You will travel to the desert island and you can take only *3 CDs* with...What would be your choice?

Please really *ONLY* 3 discs and not your own mp3 CDs, but really released CD.


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## confuoco

It is very difficult, but this is my current choice:



















And the 2nd disc from this dual:


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## BuddhaBandit

First disc from this "double decker":




























Here was my rationale:

One solo keyboard recording, one orchestral recording, one chamber recording.
No repeated eras
One of the three had to be from outside the standard European art music countries (hence the Albéniz)


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## World Violist

Mehta's recording of Mahler's second (it's on one disc).

The Emerson Quartet's Art of Fugue recording.

Rachmaninoff's Ampico piano rolls (of other composers).

That was a hard choice...


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## confuoco

World Violist said:


> Rachmaninoff's Ampico piano rolls (of other composers).


? I've never heard it before...


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## World Violist

Yeah, Rachmaninoff made a bunch of piano rolls from 1919 to 1929 or so, 19 of his own compositions and a bunch of other composers' stuff. They're really amazing CD's.


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## Rachovsky

Going along with W.V., I would take the same recording of:








How did he get all of that onto one CD? When I burn the disc I have to split up the first movement from the rest. 

Next I would take:









Then, seeing as I'm on a desert island, It would be necessary to bring a work about me :









-- Now all I need is a CD Player.


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## Badinerie

Horowitz in Moscow

Eleanor Steber singing Berlioz's Les nuits d'ete

Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges Not sure which version though.


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## Chi_townPhilly

My recent acquisition of the Carlos Kleiber/Vienna Phil. *Beethoven Symphonies 5 & 7* has forced a re-think on my part. Do these two transcendent performances trump the even more transcendent performance of *Beethoven Symphony #9* by the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler?

I think it's more than just the first flushes of listening excitement that leads me to conclude that yes, the Kleiber disc gets the edge. #7 is my favorite symphony- and 2 symphonies > 1 symphony.

The other two would be: Dresden/Sinopoli *Bruckner Symphony #5*, and Martha's *Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3 & Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1*.

So... surprisingly, no Wagner on the desert island. I just can't think of an "instrumentals/bleeding chunks" collection that would induce me to abandon one the the _complete works_ above (not even Fritz Reiner's _Reiner conducts Wagner_ selections).


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## MatthewSchwartz

How long would I be on this hypothetical desert island? Because if I'd be there for the rest of my life, I'd make sure not to bring any depressing music. >_<

I'd pick some happy Haydn. \m/

Seriously though, I'd pick something upbeat to keep my spirits up. Maybe some Strauss waltzes. ^^


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## Lisztfreak

It's really a terribly difficult thing, but I'd go for this choice:




























Here. But all the other CDs... I'd miss them a lot. Some Liszt, Beethoven, Shostakovich...


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## opus67

Now, isn't that a familiar name! Great to have you back, Lizstfreak.  

And it's surprising that there's no Liszt, or Alkan,... in your list.


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## Chi_townPhilly

What a great month is shaping up here! First, *Maestro K* posts for the first time in nearly eight weeks, then we welcome back *Lisztfreak*! Good to see ya here.

I guess I should say something on-topic, now.


opus67 said:


> ... it's surprising that there's no Liszt, or Alkan,... in your list.


Perhaps no more surprising than Wagner's absence from _my_ list.


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## opus67

Chi_town/Philly said:


> I guess I should say something on-topic, now.Perhaps no more surprising than Wagner's absence from _my_ list.


At least you have Bruckner. Wagnerian influences here and there.  But chamber works by Schubert, Elgar, Britten...where would you fit Liszt in there?


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## World Violist

I'd revise my previous list with:

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor, Bernstein/NYPO (1960's) - the only Mahler 6 I've ever heard, probably the only one I'll want to hear (until I get the 1980's recording, but that's on two discs!). I'm really debating between this and Mahler's second, it's ridiculously hard...

I'm still keeping Rachmaninoff's recordings of other composers on here (from reconstructed piano rolls).

Something of Wanda Landowska playing Bach...


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## confuoco

World Violist said:


> I'd revise my previous list with:
> 
> Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor, Bernstein/NYPO (1960's) - the only Mahler 6 I've ever heard, probably the only one I'll want to hear (until I get the 1980's recording, but that's on two discs!). I'm really debating between this and Mahler's second, it's ridiculously hard...
> 
> I'm still keeping Rachmaninoff's recordings of other composers on here (from reconstructed piano rolls).
> 
> Something of Wanda Landowska playing Bach...


Unfortunately, it is too late. You are baking on the desert island by now...there was only one fatal choice


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## World Violist

AH!!! NO! How's about I throw my Mehta case out to sea with a message encoded by tearing apart the liner notes and arranging the individual letters as a call for help???

If not, that's okay; I'm satisfied with my previous choice. Maybe we get some classicist version of Netflix there!!!


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## Rachovsky

Nope. Solti's Tragic Symphony is better than Bernstein's as well.


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## Lisztfreak

opus67 said:


> Now, isn't that a familiar name! Great to have you back, Lizstfreak.
> 
> And it's surprising that there's no Liszt, or Alkan,... in your list.


Thanks a lot!  I must say it was hard to decide whether to appear again, but now I'm quite glad I'm back. I missed this. And good old chaps like you and Chi_town/Philly...

And for the other part... I don't know. I don't think my name suits me any more. Of course I LOVE Liszt, but I'm currently quite far from his music. Moved a bit more backwards and a lot more forwards in musical history, in the meantime. 

Anyways, glad to be back!


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## Edward Elgar

Avro Part - Tabula Rasa
Phillip Glass - Violin Concerto
John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes

These would be good to play on a desert island - I'd go madder quicker!
(Phillip Glass is worse than Chinese drip torture!)


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## Artemis

Only 3 CDs? The question is daft because however much one liked the 3 CDs selected you would probably become sick to death of them after a week or so on the desert island. The question becomes sensible only when you consider selecting at least 10 or more favourite CDs, as variety is the spice of life.

If, however, I was really pushed to select only 3 CDs, and if I thought I might be stuck on the island for ever, without rescue, I’d probably choose some late Schubert works. Compared with most other composers, Schubert’s is the only material that I would probably find fitting for that situation. 

I’d leave out Bach, Mozart, Handel. Much as I like these composers, and I accept that it's great stuff for listening to at home or in concerts, for me it is too familiar and formal for a desert island setting. Beethoven, of course, is great but I’m afraid I’m rather OTT with his works, having heard them ad nauseam. Later composers like Schumann, Brahms, Wagner, Tchaikovsky have many works which are great to listen to - again as part of a normal, wider listening experience - but I’m not sure I’d particularly find them of much comfort in the postulated circumstances. I'd not consider any Mendelssohn, Liszt, Bruckner, Dvorak or Mahler, or anything from the 20th C. Again, it's not that I don't like any of their works but I doubt that I'd find any inspiration or solace from them.

Schubert would be the biz for providing me with a little comfort on a marooned desert island. I’d select the Mass 6 in E Flat (D 950), the String Quintet (D 956) and the penultimate Piano Sonata, D 959. I think these works are in a class of their own, and I say this having formerly preferred comparable works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms. I guess that ideally I’d choose versions of these works by Wolfgang Sawallisch, Melos Quartet, Imogen Cooper respectively, but there are other versions I wouldn’t argue about.


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## Lisztfreak

Artemis said:


> I'd not consider any Mendelssohn, Liszt, Bruckner, Dvorak or Mahler, or anything from the 20th C. Again, it's not that I don't like any of their works but I doubt that I'd find any inspiration or solace from them.


Why not LISZT!?   Or Bruckner, for that part...


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## Moldyoldie

Only three, eh?  

Being alone on a deserted island, they would have to be both uplifting to help ward off melancholy; and deep, evocative, or inspirational enough in which to lose oneself for an extended period. Also, the music must exude timelessness and not be trendy nor dated.









*Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Beecham Choral Society
Inge Borkh, soprano; Ruth Siewert, contralto; Richard Lewis, tenor; Ludwig Weber, bass
René Leibowitz, cond.
CHESKY*
This performance is nothing if not an Ode to JOY! This has to be one of the most exciting and exhilirating renditions of Beethoven's _Ninth_ I've ever heard...anywhere! No storming the heavens here, no "historical accuracy" nor original instruments, no cosmic truths nor combing the depths of human experience -- just pure, unadulterated joy in performing this greatest of great musical art. Ensemble playing and orchestral balances may not be note perfect, but you can just see the smiles on the faces of everyone involved.









*Dreamtime Return
-Steve Roach
FORTUNA*
I've previously had this lengthy 2-CD set on "repeat" all day, so it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine it becoming the soundtrack to one's desert island existence. Often hypnotic, but never overtly superficial -- satiated with Aboriginal rhythms, drones, dumbeks and didgeridoos combining to evoke a keen sense of place (the Australian outback) with a spirit of timelessness. A classic of ambient electronic music.









*Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen
-Das Rheingold
-Die Walküre
-Siegfried
-Götterdämmerung
George London, bass; Kirsten Flagstad, mezzo-soprano; Claire Watson, soprano; Eberhard Wachter, bass; James King, tenor; Regine Crespin, soprano; Gottlob Frick, bass; Hans Hotter, baritone; Birgit Nilsson, soprano; Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano; et al.
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, cond.
LONDON*
Okay, I'm gonna have to cheat on my own self-imposed rules of not including boxsets and compilations. Being stranded on a deserted island would afford the perfect opportunity to finally get into the entirety of Wagner's _Ring Cycle_, often considered the greatest aggregated work of art in the history of western civilization -- as long as I don't lose the libretto translation!


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## BuddhaBandit

First off, Moldy, a Ring Cycle is CLEARLY cheating. If ring cycles are allowed, then here are my top three "Desert Island" albums:




























Second, I happen to really like Dreamtime Return as well. There's something so mesmerizing about Roach's swirling electronics and bellowing didgeridoos. He, next to Brian Eno, is my favorite ambient musician.


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## Moldyoldie

BuddhaBandit said:


> First off, Moldy, a Ring Cycle is CLEARLY cheating. If ring cycles are allowed, then here are my top three "Desert Island" albums:


Ah, the ol' slippery slope.



BuddhaBandit said:


> Second, I happen to really like Dreamtime Return as well. There's something so mesmerizing about Roach's swirling electronics and bellowing didgeridoos. He, next to Brian Eno, is my favorite ambient musician.


It's gratifying to know. As prodigious as Roach has been, he's never topped that one!


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## confuoco

confuoco said:


> Please really *ONLY* 3 discs .


Oh, I see that my appeal was completely bootless


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## Moldyoldie

confuoco said:


> Oh, I see that my appeal was completely bootless


Okay, okay, my apologies -- only three individual, physical, tangible, pre-recorded and commercially marketed self-contained discs...gotcha. I'll also keep it in the realm of so-called "classical music", but in the broadest sense.

Here they are:









*Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Beecham Choral Society
Inge Borkh, soprano; Ruth Siewert, contralto; Richard Lewis, tenor; Ludwig Weber, bass
René Leibowitz, cond.
CHESKY*
(Copied from above) This performance is nothing if not an Ode to JOY! This has to be one of the most exciting and exhilarating renditions of Beethoven's Ninth I've ever heard...anywhere! No storming the heavens here, no "historical accuracy" nor original instruments, no cosmic truths nor combing the depths of human experience -- just pure, unadulterated joy in performing this greatest of great musical art. Ensemble playing and orchestral balances may not be note perfect, but you can just see the smiles on the faces of everyone involved.









*Stockhausen: Stimmung
Singcircle
HYPERION*
On a deserted island, one supposes that the sounds of other human voices will be dreamt about out of sheer isolation and loneliness, and in the "real" world, the thought of hearing other voices might also be consciously eschewed as something that's hopelessly unattainable. Hearing this fascinating extended work (on a single disc) including both male and female _a cappella_ voices in multiple languages singing and speaking nothing particularly salient, but doing so invitingly and without imperative declaration, might alleviate such tendencies. It also can be beautiful and abstract enough so as to engage one's right-brain faculties - a must on a deserted island.









*Copland: Symphony No. 3; Quiet City
New York Philharmonic
Leonard Bernstein, cond.
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON*
Being "placed" on a deserted island probably means I'm conscious of the fact that I'm an American. This music is so intrinsically American, composed and performed by musically iconic Americans, that it would serve as a constant reminder of what used to be called "home". In fact, I would have chosen the original Columbia recording if these two works were coupled on it, but they're not. Besides, it would say Sony on the label.  This is not an expression of chauvinism, just national pride. I think it would help me get through the passing days. (FWIW, I was considering a disc chock full of Sousa marches.)


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## Drowning_by_numbers

Britten - A ceremony of carols, also including missa brevis in D and hymn to the virgin, among others.

Music of the renaissance, including Byrd mass for four voices, and Tallis Spem in Allium.

Quartet for the end of time, Messiaen. 

This is such a hard question though! Ligeti's Lux Aeterna, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky,Berio, many more Messiaen and Britten pieces just missed the cut...


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## shsherm

A satellite radio and sufficient batteries would be a lot better than CDs. Perhaps an IPOD with a nice selection of recordings and again sufficient batteries. A rechargable hand crank operated short wave radio with at least one hour of play time before needing reharging. would be nice. Remember you need a way to play the CDs. I have too many favorites to name just three.


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## SalieriIsInnocent

yeah im just pretending with this. i usually dont leave home without my big cd binder of my favorites


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## World Violist

And besides, we still have music we already know, so... I think 3 CD's may well be enough. I would just select those pieces that are really complicated and not too easily memorized, or that are just better listening to. Just my thought.


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## opus67

World Violist said:


> I would just select those pieces that are really complicated and not too easily memorized, or that are just better listening to. Just my thought.


Quite. I think it would probably be the only circumstance with my current preferences in which I would choose to listen to music from the Second Viennese School.


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## Drowning_by_numbers

Argh can't believe I didn't even mention Vaughan Williams on my list of potentials... shame on me.

Regardless of how easy or hard to memorise they are I would still purely pick my favourites, because music is never as satasifying to remember what it sounds like to as listen to. I absolutely couldn't live for a minute longer if I found out I could not ever listen to the three CD's I listed. I also feel 5 would be a better amount! But given that I have over 3000 tracks on my IPOD (and have just completely cut down on every song I probably do not need due to space on my IPOD) this is still an almost impossible choice..


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## Brahmsianhorn

Man, tough category but here goes...


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## SixFootScowl

confuoco said:


> Try to imagine: You will travel to the desert island and you can take only *3 CDs* with...What would be your choice?
> 
> Please really *ONLY* 3 discs and not your own mp3 CDs, but really released CD.


That is cruel! Three disks would comprise a single opera in some cases such as a complete performance of Donizetti's Anna Bolena. At least if you said three musical works, then I could include three operas (does Wagner's 14-disk complete Ring qualify as a single opera?).


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## mbhaub

1) Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade. Eugene Goosens and the London Symphony on Everest.
2) Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde. Paul Kletzki on EMI.
3) Elgar: Symphony no. 2. Boult on Lyrita.


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## haziz

Du Pre playing the Elgar Cello concerto with Barbirolli, plus Fournier playing the Dvorak Cello concero with the BPO under Szell - presumably on a home burnt CD-R.

















Kleiber conductng the VPO - Beethoven's 5th and 7th symphonies









Lisa Batiashvili - Tchaikovsky ad Sibelius Violin Concertos.


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## Pugg

​
This three will do, for today that is.


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> This three will do, for today that is.


Any day, pick three so long as one is Fleming.


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## Strange Magic

I guess I'd bring concertos. There's my old CD (was vinyl) with Byron Janis doing the Rach 2 and Rach 3; an old RCA (also was vinyl) with Cliburn performing the Prokofiev 3 and the Schumann, and an ancient Richter recording of the Brahms 2 and the Appassionata. But wait: How about the classic with Samson François and the two Ravels plus Gaspard? And there's the CD with Bernstein et al doing the two Shostakovich plus the Poulenc for two pianos. What about György Sándor and the three Bartóks? I can't decide so I'll stay home!


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## jegreenwood

Although Szell's recording of the same two pieces would be OK.

















I don't actually own this disc, but I do own the two discs from which these recordings are drawn. There is no instrument that I find more pleasing to listen to at any time than the acoustic guitar, and no composer who can so consistently engage me as Bach.


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## jegreenwood

Fritz Kobus said:


> That is cruel! Three disks would comprise a single opera in some cases such as a complete performance of Donizetti's Anna Bolena. At least if you said three musical works, then I could include three operas (does Wagner's 14-disk complete Ring qualify as a single opera?).


Take the Solti version on one Blu-Ray disc.


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## silentio

1) *Gould *playing 10 of his favorite Brahms' Intermezzi
2) *Claudia Muzio*'s finest recordings for Columbia 1934-1935
3) *Herreweghe* and La Chapelle Royale in Josquin's best motets.


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## SixFootScowl

Today this is my 3 disks for the desert island:


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## Pugg

/ / 

These three will do today.


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## jegreenwood

silentio said:


> View attachment 98634
> 
> 
> View attachment 98635
> 
> 
> View attachment 98636
> 
> 
> 1) *Gould *playing 10 of his favorite Brahms' Intermezzi
> 2) *Claudia Muzio*'s finest recordings for Columbia 1934-1935
> 3) *Herreweghe* and La Chapelle Royale in Josquin's best motets.


Love that Josquin disc.


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## Robert Gamble

I assume of course we're talking about Classical CDs. 

So.. this is really hard for a newbie at Classical music. I'd be tempted to do something like one of Bach's Cello Suites probably 1-3 because there's enough variety in them. But they're also very ear wormy, so I might be able to remember them without the CD...

Same with a Beethoven's 9th. But both of those are pieces I would be extremely sad to never hear again.

I think in the case of Beethoven's 9th though, I might become sick of it too easily (one of my favorite all time pieces, but because of that I listen to it too much).

So.. my old choice for Beethoven would have been Carlos Kleiber's 5th and 7th, BUT after hearing his dad's (Erich's) 5th which I actually like better, paired with a very good Eroica, I think my Beethoven would be that CD.

And for the final... Wow, that one's really tough. I think it would have to be something I don't know particularly well and yet would be something that could be a bit of a challenge for me. That eliminates such favorites of mine as Dvorak's New World, and Sibelius's 5th and 7th. I think I would have to pick a Symphonie Fantastique. I have two. The RPO with Beecham conducting and the classic Colin Davis. The problem in picking between the two is that the Beecham ALSO has Le Corsaire -Overture and some extracts from Les Troyens, both of which are highly praised even though the main course is widely (universally?) recognized as being owned by Colin Davis. Variety being the spice of life on a desert island, I think I would have to go with the Beecham (unless, I cheated by burning my own CD with the Davis SF and adding the extras from the Beecham.

So.. my three desert island CDs...

1) Bach Cello Suites 1-3: Pierre Fournier
2) Beethoven's 3rd and 5th: Erich Kleiber
3) Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique + Le Corsaire (Overture) + extracts from Les Troyens: Sir Thomas Beecham


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## Totenfeier

I had two right away, but the third eluded me until today.

1. Beethoven, 6th Symphony, Bruno Walter/Columbia
2. Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde, Otto Klemperer/Philharmonia
3. Bruckner, 8th Symphony, Karajan/Berlin


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## Pugg

This three will do for now.


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## Holden4th

BTW your system for uploading images is a convoluted and messy process.


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## Merl

At the moment it would be a trio of unbelievably superb Honeck discs.


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## Templeton

What could be more romantic than a desert island and the (late) Romantics.


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## Enthusiast

What a nightmare! Marooned with only three CDs. They would need to be things that I would never tire of, that are endlessly fascinating. So, I would go with Bach's 48 but I am not sure which recording (Sheppard? Aimard for Book 1?). And can I have The Ring? I would go for Solti. And if I can have those two them a set of Beethoven symphonies (possibly Harnoncourt's is the most reliably wonderful) ought to be allowed, too. But then a set of the piano sonatas (I guess Kempff's) might be a better choice.


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## jegreenwood

Bear in mind - the OP said (many years ago ) three discs.


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## Joe B

My first pick is orchestral music that I could live with over and over and over again.
My second pick is choral music that, since first hearing it, I've not tired of it, not one bit.
The third pick is a nightmare! Chamber music? Art song? Keyboard? The decision was not "What would I want" but "What could I not live without."


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## Nocture In Blue

Right now my choices would be:

























Yes, I cheated a little, this is six CDs, but I had to.


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## Malx

So tough, and boy am I glad this is a hypothetical situation but here is my best attempt at the task:

Firstly so I can get a favourite work in "Four Last Songs" whilst shoehorning a little bit of Wagner in at the same time.

View attachment 98709


Secondly a Symphony I couldn't be without by a conductor I have a lot of time for - I chose this particular live recording as it allowed me to get the wonderful Janet Baker's voice on the island, albeit in a small way.

View attachment 98710


Finally I'd have to have some Bach and currently I love this disc:

View attachment 98711


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## Pugg

jegreenwood said:


> Bear in mind - the OP said (many years ago ) three discs.


Bear in mind that it is highly unlikely one of us is stranding on dessert island.


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## jegreenwood

Wondering if I could get by with just the WTC squeezed onto three discs. I have several versions that would fit: Gould (first CD version was on three discs), Blandine Verlet (which I have as a flac download but the timing indicates it would fit on 3 CDs) and Schiff ECM (which would just fit). Of those, I think the Schiff would keep me the most engaged until I was rescued. I like th Verlet, but I’m not sure I’d want to listen to harpsichord 24/7.

Edit - the Feinberg would make it onto three discs, but while I enjoy that as an alternative reading, I'm not sure I'd like it as my only reading.


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## ArgumentativeOldGit

First, two of Mozart's greatest piano concertos, performed quite gloriously by Clifford Curzon, and the ECO conducted by Benjamin Britten:









Next, Otto Klemperer's majestic recording of Beethoven's mighty Missa Solemnis:









And finally, a recent recording coupling two of my favourite pieces of chamber music:









Not sure about the cover, mind you. Maybe the Tetzlaff Quartet were singing Bohemian Rhapsody. With their eyes closed, for whatever reason. No matter - the performances are superb.

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert ... yep, they're all covered!


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> Bear in mind that it is highly unlikely one of us is stranding on dessert island.


and if we are, we need at least one CD (or better a mirror) to signal passing airplanes!


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## Pesaro

Schubert: String Quintet in C major, Alban Berg Quartet

https://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Str...ds=schubert+string+quintet+alban+berg+quartet

Bach: Orchestral Suites, Yehudi Menuhin

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Orchest...ums-bar-strip-0&keywords=Bach+Suites,+menuhin

Brahms: Serenades Nos. 1 and 2, Istvan Kertesz and the London Symphony

https://www.amazon.com/Brahms-Seren...d=1509285625&sr=1-5&keywords=Brahms+Serenades


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## Botschaft

It must not be too cheerful:


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## Pugg

​
These will do for today.


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## Barelytenor

Wow. That really hurts, only three CDs. OK, here goes:

Beethoven 7th Symphony, conducted by Karajan
Verdi Requiem, the one with Bjoerling and Leontyne Price, Elias and Tozzi
Birgit Nilsson singing German opera (including Weber, Wagner, and Strauss)

I hate to leave out Dame Joan but she is in my head and ears.

Kind regards, :tiphat:

George


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## hpowders

Ridiculous premise. Who wouldn't get bored very quickly having only three CDs and nothing else. I would ask for a gun to put myself out of my misery after listening to the same 3 CDs for a week or two.

Let's do this thing the common sense way:

Three sets:








Haydn's Complete Piano Sonatas and Mozart's Complete Piano Sonatas, both sets played on fortepiano by Ronald Brautigam.

Also, Mozart's complete Piano Concertos played on fortepiano by Jos van Immerseel.

That's the only way I'm goin'. Three CD SETS!! Otherwise, limited to only 3 CDs, I'm staying home.


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## SixFootScowl

confuoco said:


> Try to imagine: You will travel to the desert island and you can take only *3 CDs* with...What would be your choice?
> 
> Please really *ONLY* 3 discs and not your own mp3 CDs, but really released CD.


Wagner fans are going to hate this thread. It takes 4 disks, one over your limit, just for Meistersinger!


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## Captainnumber36

Mahler Symphonies - Rattle.
Beethoven SQs - Tokyo SQ
Chopin Nocturnes - Ian Morevac


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## Guest




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## Captainnumber36

jegreenwood said:


> View attachment 98607
> 
> 
> Although Szell's recording of the same two pieces would be OK.
> 
> View attachment 98608
> 
> 
> View attachment 98609
> 
> 
> I don't actually own this disc, but I do own the two discs from which these recordings are drawn. There is no instrument that I find more pleasing to listen to at any time than the acoustic guitar, and no composer who can so consistently engage me as Bach.


I was playing some solo guitar works by Bach in the car the other day and my dad, who isn't musical, tried and failed to tap alomg to it. It made me think this music really is more complex!


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## Tallisman




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## Überstürzter Neumann




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## hpowders

Mahler Symphony 8 with Pierre Boulez (if it could be condensed on one CD)

Copland Appalachian Spring Suite Leonard Bernstein

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Van Cliburn


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## alan davis

Karl Bohm's live 1966 recording of "Tristan and Isolde" from the Bayreuth Festival fits on 3 CD's...That would do me.


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## Over the Rainbow

The first thing, what kind of music suit me, in that very special condition?

Orchestral music: no Vocal music: no Opera: no

Solo and chamber music: yes and witch one, for me: piano

*For my spirit*: BACH WTC








*For my moral*: RICHTER Salzburg 77 orfeo








And to finish *FOR my DAILY THERAPY*, the most important, a cd French's songs (magnificent) which gives you the impression that finally a desert island is really not that bad .














I think I have respected the specifications of this tread


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## Dimace

*Thalbergs piano paraphrases from Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini operas. * From Marco Polo label (three different Cds) with my beloved* Francesco Nicolosi*, President of the Naples Thalberg Institut, founder and President of the International Thalberg Piano Competition in Naples, Professor of Naples National Conservatorium and (for me at least) the best Italian piano virtuoso of our time.


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## AfterHours

The 3 "discs" idea (instead of 3 "music works") is a bit silly because it tends to ban several incredible classical works or makes it impossible to include more than 1 in many cases.

That said, I would have to side with my two favorite music works, which hold seemingly all emotional expressions,
all of humanity within them, and could conceivably be a reservoir and wellspring to any condition or predicament I happened to be in. I could probably never truly tire of them for long.

1. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor "Choral" - Ludwig van Beethoven (1824)

CD - Karajan/BPO (1962): https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/imgs/s300x300/4474012.jpg

(For CD recordings, I shift between this and Wand/NDR as my top choice)

If DVDs count (please!?!?) then this Karajan/BPO (1968) rendition is even better and there is no competition as it is undoubtedly the greatest performance of the 9th ever recorded: 




2. Symphony No. 9 in D Major - Gustav Mahler (1910)

CD - Karajan/BPO (LIVE - 1982): https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51hh8swzgSL._SS500.jpg


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## Larkenfield

Dimace said:


> *Thalbergs piano paraphrases from Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini operas. * From Marco Polo label (three different Cds) with my beloved* Francesco Nicolosi*, President of the Naples Thalberg Institut, founder and President of the International Thalberg Piano Competition in Naples, Professor of Naples National Conservatorium and (for me at least) the best Italian piano virtuoso of our time.


These sound like interesting if not fascinating selections. Will go on my wish list.


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## billeames

A seemingly impossible task, as I must have other performances of the same work. 

3 disc limit:

Beethoven Missa Solemnis Bernstein DG
Brahms Symphony 1 Ozawa BSO DG Japan
Bruckner 8 Bohm VPO (because it fits on one CD; other single CD choice: Karajan VPO 2nd choice)

3 Album limit (taking advantage of the more-music-per-album thing):

Beethoven Die 9 Symphonien Jochum Concertgebouw Tower Japan PROC 2013/7 (close call, many great choices)
Brahms Four Symphonies Abbado Tower Japan PROC 1119/21 (close call, many great choices)
Mahler Symphonies Bernstein DG (close call, many great choices)

Thanks

Bill


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## Hermastersvoice

Klemperer, I couldn’t go to the Desert Ireland without Klemperer. Why ? Because he speaks the truth, from Bach, via Mozart and Beethoven to Brahms. Walter, Karajan, Wand? Yes, but Klemperer speaks truth, rhythm and unfailing vision.He breathes with the planet. If I had further luck, I’d complement him withrecordings by Ancerl. Again, because he speaks rhythm.


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## Agamenon

Hermastersvoice said:


> Klemperer, I couldn't go to the Desert Ireland without Klemperer. Why ? Because he speaks the truth, from Bach, via Mozart and Beethoven to Brahms. Walter, Karajan, Wand? Yes, but Klemperer speaks truth, rhythm and unfailing vision.He breathes with the planet. If I had further luck, I'd complement him withrecordings by Ancerl. Again, because he speaks rhythm.


AMEN. Klemperer is a hidden miracle.


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## Coach G

Three CD's on a desert island:

*Beethoven*: _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_ (Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra) Columbia/Sony

*Wagner*: _Tannhauser Overture_; _Siegfried Idyll_, Isolde's Leibestod (Herbert Von Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra w/Jessye Norman on Isolde's Leibestod DG

*Barber*: _Knoxville: Summer of 1915_ (Elenor Stebber); _Dover Beach_ (Dietrich Fischer-Diskau); _Hermit Songs_ (Leontyne Price); _Andromache's Farewell_ CBS Masterworks

Now all I need is an outlet somewhere on the desert island where I can plug in the CD player. Unless you're anything like the Professor on _Gilligan's Island_ and you know how to make a generator out of coconuts.


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## ORigel

Beethoven String Quartet no. 14 by Alban Berg Quartet

Schubert String Quartet no. 15

Klemperer Bach Mass in B Minor Kyrie and Credo


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## SixFootScowl

Bellini's La sonnambula

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

But 3 disks is way to few. What if I leave off taking a couple cans of sardines to the desert island. The space saved can hold about 10-12 more CDs!


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## Rogerx

For crying out loud, why should anyone have to choose only 3 CD'S ??????


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## SixFootScowl

Rogerx said:


> For crying out loud, why should anyone have to choose only 3 CD'S ??????


It is horrible to think of only three CDs for ever. You would likely get sick of them after so long. But the good part of this thread is that posters are forced to really think of their very favorite works and recordings thererof, which gives us a lot of selections to consider adding to our collections.


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## Azol

Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 Giulini/VPO
Puccini - Turandot (Molinari-Pradelli) CD1 only out of 2-CD set
And for the last one either Keith Jarrett - Paris Concert or Steve Roach - Origins
Hard to decide. Probably Jarrett.


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## SixFootScowl

Azol said:


> Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 Giulini/VPO
> Puccini - Turandot (Molinari-Pradelli) CD1 only
> And for the last one either Keith Jarrett - Paris Concert or Steve Roach - Origins
> Hard to decide. Probably Jarrett.


Horrors! We are forced into opera highlights disks! 

Actually maybe I should have thought of that, then I could add Ormandy's Missa Solemnis to *my list.*


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## Azol

SixFootScowl said:


> Horrors! We are forced into opera highlights disks!


No sir, just the CD1 from the 2CD box of the full opera.
I mean, who cares for the remainder of Turandot past ACT II? 

I envision myself spending more time on the desert island listening to Ping/Pang/Pong scene or "Signore, ascolta"/"Non piangere, Liu" than "Nessun dorma".


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## MatthewWeflen

The thing about this exercise is that it involves an unusual emotional scenario, which might alter one's choices. You're alone and stranded, without an indication of when you might rejoin humanity (or at least your music collection). And you're limited to the choices of record companies as far as pieces on a disc. So your selections may tend towards ones that reward multiple listens and ones that are emotionally palliative.

So I think I would go with: 
Sibelius 6&7 (HVK/BPO, DG)
Holst The Planets/Strauss Don Juan (HVK/VPO, Decca)
Beethoven 5&6 (HVK/BPO, DG)

This is a baleful choice, to be sure. But this mix of discs gives me a few different emotional moods and 6 very deep works to dig in to.

If I wanted to "cheat," I'd choose the Adam Fischer Haydn MP3 CD collection, the last three discs of the set, which would contain upwards of 40 symphonies. It follows the rules because it is commercially released, but violates the spirit of the exercise. 

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Symphonies-MP3-JOSEPH-HAYDN/dp/B001RCLAFY/


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## joen_cph

Three works representing challenge and variation, beauty and complexity, old and new.

An idea could be

- Bach: WTC /Feinberg /3CD
- Liszt: Christus Oratorio /Dorati 3CD
- Nørgård: Symphony 3 + Piano Concerto /chandos 1CD


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## Guest002

When you old fuddy-duddies are quite finished, I've got 3x14TB hard disks of music you can have...

:devil:


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## eljr

Rachovsky said:


> Then, seeing as I'm on a desert island, It would be necessary to bring a work about me :


Very cool. I thought sure I would be the only person to drag this to an island.


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## SixFootScowl

MatthewWeflen said:


> Beethoven 5&6 (HVK/BPO, DG)


That is smart. Two excellent symphonies that are very different. The Ninth takes the whole disk, so perhaps you are right. I wonder if I can get Beethoven symphonies 3 and 6 on the same disk?


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## MatthewWeflen

SixFootScowl said:


> That is smart. Two excellent symphonies that are very different. The Ninth takes the whole disk, so perhaps you are right. I wonder if I can get Beethoven symphonies 3 and 6 on the same disk?


The length of the 3rd usually means it's on one disc alone. I did find this one:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8049085--beethoven-symphonies-nos-3-eroica-6-pastoral

The (crazy fast) Chailly cycle has 3-4 and 5-6 each on their own discs. But not 3-6.


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## annaw

So, I cannot even take a full 1962 Knappertsbusch _Parsifal_  ?


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## Guest002

annaw said:


> So, I cannot even take a full 1962 Knappertsbusch _Parsifal_  ?


See post #92. You can take _all_ Parsifals ever recorded...


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## gvn

Only 3 CDs... not mp3s... and they must be commercially released ones? More of a nightmare than the desert island itself. All the works that would be likely to keep me most absorbed on such an island are multi-disc (Handel's _Messiah, Zauberflöte, Fidelio, Parsifal_). What could I do?

*OPTION 1*

*R. Strauss, Die Frau ohne Schatten (3 CDs).*

That might keep me occupied. If I listened to it every week for 20 years, (a) I'd still probably understand only about 40% of it, and (b) I'd still keep changing my mind about how successful it was. I'd better choose a set with text & English translation... hence Böhm 1977 (otherwise I'd pick Böhm 1966 or 1974). Solti would be tempting because of its completeness, but I think over an extended time its slightly sterile, studiobound atmosphere might become a little wearying.

But maybe I shouldn't put all my eggs in one basket....

*OPTION 2*

*Reger, String Quartets Opp. 109 & 121,* Berner Streichquartett.

I've always suspected that Reger really writes very good music indeed if only one could hear it AS music; and that, if only I listened to it often enough, I would eventually come away humming the tunes. This would be my chance, no?

*Hindemith, Das Marienleben,* maybe Juliane Banse (with text & translation).

Ditto. And besides, I like Rilke's poetry (when I can understand it).

*T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets,* read by the author.

I doubt whether I'd come away humming the tunes, but I do think it might keep me occupied.

But maybe neither Option 1 nor Option 2 would be good for my mental health (NO COMMENTS FROM OTHER FORUM MEMBERS, THANK YOU). Therefore....

*OPTION 3*

*Palestrina, Missa Tu es Petrus, & Victoria, Missa O quam gloriosum,* Kings College/Cleobury.

Which would be best for one's sanity on a desert island: Palestrina's serenity or Victoria's warmheartedness? Can't decide, so I've chosen a disc that contains both.

*Beethoven, Ninth Symphony.*

... under the most equable, level-headed, even-tempered conductor possible: either Walter (live in Vienna with Güden, Frick, etc., 1955) or Monteux (live in Paris with Stader, Greindl, etc., 1958).



MatthewWeflen said:


> Beethoven 5&6 (HVK/BPO, DG)





SixFootScowl said:


> That is smart. Two excellent symphonies that are very different. The Ninth takes the whole disk, so perhaps you are right.


This tempted me too, but to my surprise, on reflection I felt there would be richer & more diverse material in 9 than in 5 & 6 put together. Never knew I felt like that about it!

*Brahms, 2 Viola Songs (Op. 91) & 4 Serious Songs (Op. 121).*

The only option that gives me both of those on a single disc seems to be Ferrier. Hasn't DG ever issued a single disc of Norman-plus-DFD highlights from their box set?


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## Rogerx

I am not going to a dessert island anytime soon, problem solved .


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## Guest002

Rogerx said:


> I am not going to a dessert island anytime soon, problem solved .


But it would be so tasty!


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## SanAntone

A desert island doesn't sound so bad these days, so I will take three of my favorite recordings, each different from the other offering some variety.

*Duruflé *- _Requiem_









*Bernstein* - _Mass_









*Miles Davis* - _Kind of Blue_









The real question is will I have electricity?


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## bavlf

.


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## Judith

Well, it would be (groan groan)
Beethoven 4/7. Joshua Bell ASMF
Bach Cello Suites. Steven Isserlis
For the Love of Brahms CD Joshua Bell/Steven Isserlis/Jeremy Denk/ASMF

I don't want to be alone on this island so will take Joshua and Steven with me for company lol


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## realdealblues

For today I'll just think back on 3 specific recordings that are really important to me and that I played to death:


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