Thread: Please recommend some CDs!

Lately I feel I haven't connected with music as passionately as I used to. I suppose that could be because I haven't heard alot of new music lately, or listened to it in the right setting. So I decided I should buy some new CDs, and am going to spend around 60 dollars.

Here is a rough list of works that I'd like to really experience for the first time, even if I have half listened to them on youtube before.

Schumann - Piano Concerto (Oddly enough I have never listened to this )
Ravel - Daphins Et Chloe
Beethoven - Symphony no. 5 (I don't know why i'm putting this here, i'm going to buy the kleiber pairing with my favorite symphony, the 7th.)
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto no. 1
Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1
Schumann - Piano Quintet
Franck - Piano Quintet
Bruckner - Any Symphony (I'm very curious about this composer. I listened to the Adagio from his 8th symphony and got tears in my eyes towards the end when the development of that chord/ harp section)
Mahler - Symphony no. 2 (As an introduction to this composer, though I have heard the 5th)
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5
Schubert - Misc. Piano Sonatas

I know the list is really long, so if you consider one composer your speciality like i've noticed in some forum members (Air - schumann, Trout/Polednice - Brahms ) just recommend what you would like to.

Keep in mind that I'd like to have as many new works as possible, so if it's a toss up between a 10/10 performance at 20 dollars and a 9/10 at 8 dollars, I will take the second

Originally Posted by Sofronitsky

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5

Either the recording with Haitink and LSO, or the one with Maxim Shostakovich and LPO. Or both. They both have their qualities, but I prefer Shostakovich and LPO.

Originally Posted by Aksel

Either the recording with Haitink and LSO, or the one with Maxim Shostakovich and LPO. Or both. They both have their qualities, but I prefer Shostakovich and LPO.

Thanks Aksel, checking out the Maxim recording now. I also thought Petrenko might be good for the Tenth Symphony. If it came to being able to buy only one, should I get Petrenko/10 or M.S./5?

Originally Posted by Sofronitsky

Thanks Aksel, checking out the Maxim recording now. I also thought Petrenko might be good for the Tenth Symphony. If it came to being able to buy only one, should I get Petrenko/10 or M.S./5?

I actually haven't heard the Petrenko recording of number 10, but I think I recall hearing some nice things about it. I probably should familiarise myself more with Petrenko as he's headed to Norway to conduct the Oslo Philharmonic.

RE Schumann's Piano Concerto - I would recommend pianist Dinu Lipatti's recording, with the Philharmonia under von Karajan. Done sometime in the post-WW2 years, about 1950(?). I'm not sure if it's available on CD, or available at a good price, but if you can get past the mono sound (which is fairly clear but of course no match for more modern recordings), then you are in for a treat & what has been truly considered a "reference" recording by many pianists since. In any case, it has been highly regarded by both listeners & pundits alike over the decades...

If you want to try these works out for a test drive, I recommend browsing Public Domain Classic
http://public-domain-archive.com/classic/?lang=eng
where you will find many of these works.
Some favourites on CD:
Schumann - Piano Concerto - Radu Lupu and LSO
Ravel - Daphins Et Chloe - Dutoit and Montreal Symphony
Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1 - Gould and NY Philharmonic (the infamous "Don't be afraid, Mr. Gould is here" recording)
Mahler - Symphony no. 2 - Klemperer - Philharmonia Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony no. 5 - so many... Try Carlos Kleiber / Wiener Philharmoniker
Bruckner - Any Symphony - the later symphonies by Yannick Nezet Seguin and l'Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montreal. Also, the complete set by Georg Tintner on NAXOS
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5 - Mariss Jansons and the Concertgebouw
Schubert piano sonatas - a few good ones can be found on line at
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/home/
(Go to "Music" and browse the Schibert works).
Good Luck!

I'm not a very experienced listener but your list included several of my favourite works, so I'll list some CD recordings that I've liked:

Schumann/Piano Concerto: Sviatoslav Richter with Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte Carlo, conducted by Lovro von Matacic. EMI Classics recording also includes the wonderful Grieg Piano Concerto by the same performers.

Ravel/Daphnis et Chloe: Ernest Ansermet with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande! A truly magnificient version.

Brahms/Piano Concerto 1: Nelson Freire, Gewandshausorchester with Riccardo Chailly. Decca has a double CD version with the superb Piano Concerto 2 as well.

Bruckner is one of the best symphonists of all times, if you like his style - so why not buy a whole symphonic cycle? I have one with Barenboim/Berliner Philharmoniker. The sound quality is excellent and the spirit of the records is very "Brucknerian"!

As an introduction to Mahler 2, you might try Gilbert Kaplan on Deutsche Grammophon first? I don't know if that's a controversial choice, but it's a very clear version, you can hear everything that's going on. Indeed, the clarity of that recording helped me a lot in my quest to appreciate Mahler. For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!

Beethoven - Symphony no. 5 (I don't know why i'm putting this here, i'm going to buy the kleiber pairing with my favorite symphony, the 7th.)

Karajan from 1963 cycle

Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1

Zimerman/Bernstein or Freire/Chailly

Mahler - Symphony no. 2 (As an introduction to this composer, though I have heard the 5th)

Solti/Chicago or Antoni Wit

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5

Rostropovich cycle on Teldec

Originally Posted by Xaltotun

As an introduction to Mahler 2, you might try Gilbert Kaplan on Deutsche Grammophon first? I don't know if that's a controversial choice, but it's a very clear version, you can hear everything that's going on. Indeed, the clarity of that recording helped me a lot in my quest to appreciate Mahler. For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!

This is an intriguing choice, as Mr. Kaplan is a (wealthy) amateur who ONLY records Mahler's second, and he has done so at least twice as I recall. I myself have never heard the man conduct, but if Mahler 2 is all he does, maybe he's got something to say...

I still stand behind my recommendation (Klemperer), with Kubelik and the Bavarian RSO close second.

Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 1 - Clifford Curzon / George Szell (if you don't mind a little audible breathing in the second movement). This is an electric performance in every way.

Schumann - Piano Concerto - Fleisher / Szell used to be my favorite, but though I have never gotten a copy of the Radu Lupu / Previn / LSO recording recommended above, I did hear the first movement on the radio years ago, and I have to say the interpretive single-mindedness between pianist and orchesta was outstanding - so that could be the way to go.

By the way, I have a Bruckner 8th on vinyl with Otto Klemperer conducting that is outstanding. The CD version of this is really pricey, however, so there have to be some less expensive modern alternatives.

I'll reply with some of my favorites.

Originally Posted by Sofronitsky

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10

Petrenko on Naxos

Schumann - Piano Quintet

Rubinstein/Guarneri Quartet

Mahler - Symphony no. 2

Mehta/Vienna PO

Schubert - Misc. Piano Sonatas

Radu Lupu box set

Originally Posted by Vesteralen

Schumann - Piano Concerto - Fleisher / Szell used to be my favorite, but though I have never gotten a copy of the Radu Lupu / Previn / LSO recording recommended above, I did hear the first movement on the radio years ago, and I have to say the interpretive single-mindedness between pianist and orchesta was outstanding - so that could be the way to go.

The Schumann/Lupu recording I own is a vinyl coupling of the Schumann and Grieg A minor concerti. I recently found a copy of the high bit rate remaster on "Decca Legends" of that same recording as a torrent (Before you judge my unscrupulous ways, remember that I own the vinyl, so I have no problem in that case). Here's a link to a bing search you could start from if you wanted a taste:
http://www.bing.com/search?q=grieg+s...c=IE-SearchBox

Originally Posted by Xaltotun

For a full symphonic cycle, I heartily recommend Bernstein/Sony!

Or, at a budget price, the Chailly/Concertgebouw cycle, which includes the Deryk Cooke concert version of Mahler's 10th, which Bernstein steadfastly refused to record.

Schumann - Piano Concerto- Sviatoslav Richter, Fleischer w/ Cleveland/Szell, Cliburn/Reiner or the already mentioned Lupu.

Ravel - Daphins Et Chloe- Pierre Boulez, Charles Munch, Charles Dutoit, Pierre Monteux

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10- Karajan/Berlin! There is no other.

Shostakovich - Violin Concerto no. 1- Vengerov/Rostropovich, Eugene Ormandy, Hillary Hahn

Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1- Gilels/Berlin or Fleischer/Cleveland with Szell

Bruckner - Any Symphony- Gunter Wand (any), no. 7- Karajan/Berlin (not Vienna) and no. 8- Karajan, no. 9- Carlo Maria Giulini

Mahler - Symphony no. 2- Rattle with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus or either Solti or Klemperer

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5- Yuri Temirkanov, Vasily Petrenko, Bernstein, Gergiev

Schubert - Misc. Piano Sonatas- Wilhelm Kempff really owns these, but Uchida and Brendel are also good... and Brendel truly owns the Impromptus

Originally Posted by Sofronitsky

Thanks Aksel, checking out the Maxim recording now. I also thought Petrenko might be good for the Tenth Symphony. If it came to being able to buy only one, should I get Petrenko/10 or M.S./5?

@Sofronitsky, I would highly recommend the Petrenko version with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. I also have him conducting this same orchestra for Shostakovich's 8th Symphony as well. They are both standout performances, IMHO, of course.
In fact, I am seriously considering getting the complete Shostakovich symphony cycle conducted by Petrenko, once it has been released. Right now, though, I have been giving some thought to purchasing the Rostropovich box set of this cycle, should the Petrenko be unavailable for awhile or if it is too steeply priced.
p.s. You can get the 5th and 9th symphonies on one cd conducted by Bernard Haitnik leading the Concertgebouw and LPO performing these works respectively. It is on Decca and available thru Amazon.
Hope this helps!