Thread: Your Desert Island Discs- but in a different perspective

Great idea for a thread, Air!
I think we can take this thread to another level if we participate in the spirit shown in this post:

Originally Posted by Polednice

So, being a Brahms fanatic, that's where I'll start:

What a resource this could become! Imagine if we could collate, in one place-

Elgarian- on Elgar
Tapkaara- on Sibelius
Artemis- on Schubert
Post Minimalist- on modern instrument Beethoven
Sorin- on period instrument Beethoven
haydnguy- on Haydn
Our Assistant Administrator- on Mendelssohn

apologies for all of the obvious omissions from this too brief list- but you get my drift--

So here follows my three-purchase recommendation for Wagner:


The best selling pure classical unit of all time!


At the time of this writing, this set is working its way out-of-print, and the price is going up.
Still, it's less than 4 dollars a disc, and it's STILL worth it.


Sir Georg's Chicago recording. Grammy-winner, Penguin Guide top-rated Meistersinger.

Yay, I get to be a Brahms-man!

At Air's request, I'm just reiterating the ones I said on the first page so that I can include album covers, and I've added an extra one for now as well:

Ein Deutsches Requiem:
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Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Also take a look at the 1955 edition of Rudolf Kempe with the BPO for an older but still moving recording.

Hungarian Dances:
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James & Kathryn March (all 21 dances for 4-hand piano - the original version).

Symphonies 1-4:
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Bernard Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Klavierstucke:
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Peter Rosel - 5 CDs of Brahms's music for piano solo (Sonatas 1-3, Scherzo Op. 4, Ballades Op. 10, Variations on an Original Theme/Theme by Schumann/Theme by Handel/Theme by Paganini, Rhapsodies Op. 79 and Klavierstucke Op. 76, 116 117, 118 & 119). While there are no doubt some better performances of some of these individual works that I might touch upon, this 5 CD set is unrivalled as a comprehensive modern set of Brahms's piano music.

That's all for now!

Should I assume I'll be nominated Mahler person (next to Handlebar, of course)? If so...


Symphony No. 2
Bernstein/New York PO (DG)


Symphony No. 3
Levine/Chicago


Symphony No. 6
Levine/Boston SO


Symphony No. 8
Ozawa/Boston SO


Das Lied von der Erde
Fritz Reiner/Chicago SO


Symphony No. 10
Levine/Philadelphia

These are my all-time favorite Mahler recordings.

Following CTP's suggestion, here are my Elgar recommendations, though I think they may seem a bit unadventurous and tame. I don't claim to be an Elgar expert - only to have enjoyed a long love affair with his music. I don't rush out and buy every available recording of the major works because by and large I'm happy with the selection I've accumulated over the years. I'm approaching this with the idea that, if I were to lose my entire Elgar collection and had to replace the essentials quickly, what would I do?

First, I'd buy this cheap box set:



Barbirolli is a fine Elgar interpreter and here is a collection of the major orchestral works that will last a lifetime of listening. You get the two symphonies, Enigma Variations, Falstaff, Serenade for Strings, Introduction and Allegro, Cockaigne, and two classic 'for all time' recordings: Janet Baker singing the Sea Pictures, and du Pre's playing the cello concerto. There are other good boxes - Andrew Davis's, for instance - but this is the one, if I can only have one.

To get the major choral works, I'd choose this companion box by that other great Elgarian, Boult:



This will give you notable recordings of Gerontius, The Kingdom, and The Apostles. It's true that by doing this you miss out on Janet Baker's famous portrayal of the angel (in Gerontius) by not choosing the recording she made with Barbirolli; but Boult's Gerontius is a very haunting, 'spiritual' version for all that. You also get the recording of Boult's delightful spoken 'introduction' to Elgar's choral works - invaluable for anyone approaching them for the first time.

You're well on track with these two boxes, but there are still some essentials missing. Half the problem can be solved at a stroke, with this wonderful 2CD set, which I couldn't possibly manage without:



You get all three major chamber works (string quartet, piano quintet, violin sonata) which contain the very essence of late Elgar; and a fine performance of the violin concerto by Hugh Bean. This recording of the violin concerto has been one of my most treasured and inexhaustible musical companions.

Just two more essential recommendations to go. First, this wonderful recording:



You're buying this, not for the Coronation Ode, which you can easily do without, but for The Spirit of England, which is Elgar's most inexplicably undervalued masterpiece. This half-hour recording, conducted by Alexander Gibson and sung with tremendous power and sensitivity by Teresa Cahill and chorus, carries with it all the anguish, strength and hope implicit in the human condition in the face of severest adversity. It's one of the two or three recordings (of music by any composer) that I simply couldn't manage without. Don't be tempted by other versions. This is the one to get.

Finally, to give the lie to the notion that Elgar was burnt out in later life, you really do need a recording of the magnificent third symphony (reconstructed by Anthony Payne):



And there you have it - the essential Elgar for under £50. Of course, instead of these, you could get even better value by buying this:



This 30 CD set includes some (not all) of the recordings I've mentioned and is incredible value for money; but it might be overfacing and, indeed, overkill, for anyone other than an Elgar devotee like myself.


[And here, now, having got this far and about to sign off, I find that I haven't included any of the great man's own recordings of his work! I'd recommend the recording he made with Beatrice Harrison, of the cello concerto. It pops up in various guises on various labels. Naxos currently offer one, for instance.]

Originally Posted by Elgarian

[And here, now, having got this far and about to sign off, I find that I haven't included any of the great man's own recordings of his work! I'd recommend the recording he made with Beatrice Harrison, of the cello concerto. It pops up in various guises on various labels. Naxos currently offer one, for instance.]

Or how about Yehudi Menuhin's glorious violin concerto? That remains my only recording of that work, and it's one of my favorite violin concerti. Though I figure I may well follow your recommendation at some point, when I start looking to Elgar again (I often find myself following Britten's point of view; Elgar can be a little too heart-on-sleeve for my taste).

Originally Posted by World Violist

Or how about Yehudi Menuhin's glorious violin concerto?

Well yes indeed - an acclaimed alternative. I've left out a lot of wonderful recordings of all kinds, simply to keep the thing manageable. But I do have a very, very soft spot for Beatrice. (I have a photo of her on my computer desktop, playing cello to some doves!)

Elgar: heart-on-sleeve? That makes him seem a bit 'obvious' and I don't find him so myself; but he is, inescapably, a late Romantic and a man of his time.

Originally Posted by Elgarian

Elgar: heart-on-sleeve? That makes him seem a bit 'obvious' and I don't find him so myself; but he is, inescapably, a late Romantic and a man of his time.

I agree that it's a bit of a straitjacket to put on any composer, but that's the first thing that comes to mind for me. In that late Romantic, complex sort of way.

Though I must say I adore many of his orchestral works that I've heard.

(In today´s mood):
1. Bruckner 8.Symphony / Haitink, Philips (his first digital recording though, not the others)
2. Pettersson: 2.Violin Cto /Haendel, Blomstedt; the Hoelscher/Daugsgaard is an incoherent disaster. If you don´t know this music, the very grim conflicts of the first half are softened later)
3. Messiaen: des Canyons ... /M.Constant, erato (slightly the best recording, I think ... perhaps ...)
4. Händel: Messiah /Karl Richter
5. Prokofieff: Piano Concerti 4+5 /Krainev,Kitayenko
6. Medtner: Piano Cto 3 /Ponti,Cao
7. Schnittke: Viola Cto /Bashmet
8. Mahler: 10.Symphony / Rattle, or Wigglesworth
9. Mozart: Die Entführung / Solti
10. Bach: Das Wohltemperierte I-II/ Feinberg

Originally Posted by Chi_townPhilly

Great idea for a thread, Air!
I think we can take this thread to another level if we participate in the spirit shown in this post:What a resource this could become! Imagine if we could collate, in one place-

[SIZE="1"]Tapkaara- on Sibelius
Artemis- on Schubert
Post Minimalist- on modern instrument Beethoven
Sorin- on period instrument Beethoven
haydnguy- on Haydn
Our Assistant Administrator- on Mendelssohn

Any of these members out there? (I know Tapkaara is)


I have two more as of late:

Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano - Hamelin (Hyperion/Music and Arts) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TBAo...eature=related

Whether Alkan deserves to be one of the greats or not, this is a great piece, and one cannot argue that! I think the orchestration by Klindworth destroys much of the excitement in the original solo piano version, especially when Hamelin is the performer. (His Symphony for Solo Piano gets my hearty approval too)




Pires's performance of Schubert's Impromptus, a recent purchase for me, blows away Lupu's (still excellent) performance. Pires takes you on a real voyage with her rocky, romantic, yet elegant style. It is magnifique indeed.

Some of my favourites:

1. Piazzolla - Songs, tangos, Maria de Buenos Aires Suite (Versus Ens., Maria Rey-Joly, Enrique Moratalla, Horacio Ferrer) Naxos

2. Varese - Arcana, Offrandes, Integrales, Deserts (Polish NRSO/Lyndon-Gee) Naxos

3. Carter - String Quartets Nos. 1 & 5 (Pacifica Q) Naxos

4. Lutoslawski & Dutilleux - Cello Concertos (Rostropovich/Orch. de Paris/Lutoslawski/Baudo) EMI

5. Liszt - Sonata in B Minor, Funerailles, & works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy (Horowitz) EMI

6. Janacek - Glagolitic Mass, Diary of the One who Disappeared (Haefliger/Lear/Crass/others/Bavarian RSO & Ch./Kubelik) DG

7. Bartok - Piano Concertos 1 - 3 (Anton Dikov, piano/Sofia PO/Manolov) Festival

8. Schnittke - Piano Quintet, Stille Musik, String Trio (Australian Festival of Chamber Music Ensemble) Naxos

9. Walton - Henry V arr. Palmer (Plummer/ASMF & Ch./Marriner) Chandos

10. Frank Martin - Petite Symphonie Concertante, 6 Monologues from Everyman, Mass for Double Choir, etc. (ASMF/Marriner/Stockholm Ch. Choir/Jose van Dam/others) EMI

11. Elena Kats-Chernin - Wild Swans concert suite, Piano Concerto No. 2, Mythic (Munro/Tasmanian SO/Rudner) ABC classics

12. Peter Sculthorpe - Sun Music I-IV, Irkanda IV, Piano Concerto, Small Town (Fogg/Melbourne SO/Hopkins/others) ABC classics

Bruckner's 7th/Karajan/Wiener Ph/DG

Mahler's 6th/Abaddo/Chicago Sy/DG

Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov/Melik-Pashaev/Petrov et al./Bolshoi Theater Orch/(old USSR label.. the 4 discs that contain this opera are the only vinyls I keep)...

Too many more to mention... these are some of the first ones in my mind but I could add a lot (certainly my favorite, Bach, probably I'd choose Karajan's Mass in B minor/DG)

Originally Posted by Andre

2. Varese - Arcana, Offrandes, Integrales, Deserts (Polish NRSO/Lyndon-Gee) Naxos

5. Liszt - Sonata in B Minor, Funerailles, & works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy (Horowitz) EMI

The Varese is one of my favorite discs too. The complete version of Deserts is mind-blowing. On the Horowitz disc, how do you like the performance of Schumann's 2nd Piano Sonata?

Originally Posted by joen.cph

5. Prokofieff: Piano Concerti 4+5 /Krainev,Kitayenko
6. Medtner: Piano Cto 3 /Ponti,Cao

These are on my wish-list definitely. I've been looking more at Kitajenko's set of symphonies, reputedly excellent, as are his set of piano concerti with Krainev. That is, after I acquire the Berman/Gutierrez set with Jarvi conducting.

Originally Posted by Polednice

Yay, I get to be a Brahms-man!

So since you skipped the piano concerti, can I assume you agree with me on my choice of Gilels?

Originally Posted by xuantu

Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle (István Kertész conducts London Symphony Orchestra, Christa Ludwig & Walter Berry -- soloists, DECCA)

Duparc: Mélodies (François Le Roux & Danielle Borst -- soloists, Jeff Cohen -- piano, REM).

I've been pondering Kertész's Bluebeard for awhile now. Duparc also sounds interesting, you wrote a very informative paragraph on his vocal works awhile ago.

Originally Posted by Taneyev

Tchaikovsky's piano trio op.50, Gilels, Kogan, Rostropovich live.

'What a trio of giants' to use an overused term! I assume you mean from this 5CD set? I'll definitely have to check this out as well.

Originally Posted by Air

The Varese is one of my favorite discs too. The complete version of Deserts is mind-blowing. On the Horowitz disc, how do you like the performance of Schumann's 2nd Piano Sonata?

I think Horowitz's performance of the Schumann is very flowing and unfussy, I like it alot. As for the Varese, Deserts is my favourite work by him, I love how he combines the sounds of the orchestra with those on tape. Amazing! If you like that disc, check out the other Varese Naxos disc, which includes a performance of the massively scored Ameriques, in it's original version for a huge orchestra well exceeding 100 players.

Lets just say I am a long way off from defining a desert island disc collection for myself and won't come anywhere close until I have amassed a sizeable collection of opera recordings. The trouble with me is that I find myself opting for the DVD a lot of time, despite the obvious benefits of having the audio recordings that I can rip and add to my MP3 playlists and whatnot.

I'll be back with some more Brahms in the near future, but I had to add this to my list so far:

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Verdi: Requiem (Georg Solti conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker, with Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti and Martti Talvela).

The reason I add this is because not only is it one of my favourite works, but Antonio Pappano's recording with the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia di Saint Cecilia has received a lot of good press in recent months. I have listened to the Pappano, and it is truly a great recording, but I then compared it to my Solti and realised just how flawless the Solti is. Not only that, but you would not believe that it is digitally remastered from 1968! The quality of the sound is simply superb, and I'm never much of a fan of obviously old recordings, so you can trust me on it! It's one of those all-time must-have recordings.