# Favourite recordings game



## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I wonder if this game will work or if it has been done before.....

Basically it goes a little something like this:

Member A posts the title a well known piece and its composer (which has been recorded a lot.)
Member B replies with a CD cover (or DVD or LP or even a YouTube link) of their favourite recording of the work and _why_ it is their favourite recording. Underneath that, member B posts the title of another well known piece and its composer and the game continues in this format.

Example:



Member A said:


> Beethoven's 5th symphony





Member B said:


> (posts a picture of say, Carlos Kleiber's recording) Because it emphasises the dramatic nature of the music and heroism of the finale
> 
> Bach's Brandenburg Concertos





Member C said:


> (posts picture of Goebel's recording perhaps) Because it's the most exciting HIP performance of Brandenburgs built for _speed_
> 
> Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire


And so on.

So, let's start with.....

*Beethoven's 6th symphony*


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I find Bohm's recording to be the most beautiful and lyrical interpretation of the 6th.

Schubert's _Winterreise_.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Dietrich Henschel, Irwin Gage

I like Henschel's voice and he sounds like he's not just a singer in a recital, but has gone on a journey of soul-searching.

Oops! I forgot to add another piece 

Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Honestly I haven't heard this recording (heard only on YouTube). However, I recommend it because it is...

On the famed yellow label
and
It has Gil Shaham
and
There are two Asian dudes on the recording...

Okay, probably not good reasons but it's on my iTunes wishlist.

Schoenberg's Guerrelieder next...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Of my two recordings that is by far the better. ^ 

(Sneaking out now because I don't know the Gorillalieder or whatever . . .)


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Boulez is always my go-to guy for anything Wagner and after.

Haydn London symphonies, any or all of them.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I have at least three complete sets of the Haydn symphonies and several more sets of the "London Symphonies" ... as Haydn remains (maybe) my favorite composer (at least in many ways).

But if I had to live with only one set of Haydn, I would go with the Antal Dorati/Philharmonia Hungarica recordings. They remain authentic sounding ... elemental. It's almost as if Dorati himself studied with "Papa Haydn" and knew what the composer expected. I'm sure the old Austrian master would cherish these Dorati readings as much as I do.









Ravel's String Quartet?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Emerson String Quartet's version of course.










Now a challenge.

Bruckner's Symphony No. 2... I want recordings for the earliest and latest versions.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I don't know if this is the earliest, but its the 1872 one and I adore Young in this repertoire!










Here's another one I like, kind of a shame that Celibidache never recorded it as he truly is my favourite Brucknerian. Wand is the next best for Bruckner imo.










and I believe the latter is of a later version 

Next piece.......Debussy's La Mer


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

That would probably be this well known Boulez version. I've never understood why people find Boulez dry.










Next Samuel Barber - Violin Concerto (I have three versions somehow!)


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

It was my first listening of this concerto and my first encounter with Hilary Hahn's art as well. I loved both the concerto and the playing, and I never was curious to search other performances.









Next, Mahler's 9th Symphony


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

The Mahler 9th is not my favourite of the canon although at one time or another I have picked up 3 versions of which my preferred is Sir John Barbirolli and the Berlin Philharmonic. What I most like about all of Barbirolli's recordings is the sense of passion in them, but a passion that doesn't go overboard. I should also note that I have fond memories of attending a Barbirolli/Los Angeles Philharmonic concert where he did the Mahler 9th.









Next ... Nielsen's 5th Symphony.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

San Francisco Symphony - Blomstedt

Admittedly, I have only listened to a couple recordings of these works. After I bought the Blomstedt recording, I liked it so much that I didn't feel the need to listen to other recordings, at least for the time being. He seems to strike the right balance between the Classic restraint and rugged majesty of Nielsen's unique art.









Next: Schubert's _Death and the Maiden_ String Quartet


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Quartetto Italiano









Because I'm a sucker for their sloooow tempo in the title movement, and because they bring out the music's hushed, otherworldly quality.

Next: Bach's B minor mass


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Completely flawless as always from John Eliot Gardiner. Flawless and very expressive, as one would expect from a conductor so passionate about the music! You can hear it in the playing. 

Next: Mozart's The Magic Flute


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Another Gardiner, in my opinion the finest Missa recorded in our era.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

^I agree, that Missa blows all the others I've heard away.

For the Bach I prefer Herreweghe's 1998 recording by a hair, but I have and listen to both.

Magic Flute anyone?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Dessay in The Magic Flute.










Next piece: Brahms' German Requiem.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Missa Solemnis? Nobody beats the Otto Klemperer recording.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Next piece: Brahms' German Requiem.


An easy choice for me! Klemperer with Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau. It may be undertaker music, but it's great undertaker music!










*Next up: Schubert's Piano Quintet "Trout"*


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Schubert's Trout:

The very genial recording from Martin Helmchen et al. on Pentatone









Next work: Chopin's Etudes op.10.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Duplicated post


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

This 1977 recording is really exquisite. I must say that I never enjoyed this Scubert´s composition until I heard this joyful and refined performance that, in my opinion, truly captures the work´s atmosphere. Brendel´s piano dances here.









Oops, overlapped post. I retire my next´s proposal


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Helene Grimaud's DG version 










next: webern's Im sommerwind


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

IMO Chailly is the man for all transitional last romantic-stream works. 
Here paired with Brahms 2.

Next Schubert's Symphony No.8 (Unfinished Symphony)


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Pablo Casals, Marlboro Festival Orchestra for Schubert's 8th "Unfinished". There is a weightiness to Casals' interpretation that is missing from some other recordings, the dramatic aspects of this work at the forefront and this is a very dramatic work. One downside is he doesn't take the first movement repeat, but it's still my top choice.










*Next up: Beethoven's "Appassionata" piano sonata, op. 57.*


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