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Challenge Question: Your 100 favorite classical ALBUMS.

17K views 114 replies 25 participants last post by  EddieRUKiddingVarese 
G
#1 · (Edited)
Of course this is a toughy - but you don't have to answer it all at once. You can just post ten or twenty favorites, then add more later over time. Once you hit 100 you can only add new favorites by removing others. No one gets to go over 100! No exceptions! :p

Artwork would be nice but is not required.

You should list your personal favorite albums at this point in time. Don't feel like you have to include all the greatest or most historically significant works. And don't feel like you have to list the best available reference recordings of your favorite works. Just list whatever album you have and you love. Remember - you can change your answer at any time.

Also, the idea is to list albums that you have, but for those sane people amongst us who have modest collections, feel free to list less than 100 albums, or feel free to include albums that you don't have but that have made a strong impression on you and would be one of your favorites if you did have them.

This question is really about ALBUMS not WORKS. Just list albums you most enjoy listening to. If you want to list 100 versions of Das Lied von der Erde that's your choice. Or if you want to list multi-album sets, that's okay too. List whatever you consider to be your favorites.

I think answering this question will be a lot of work, but I hope it is a fun challenge for everyone. And I certainly look forward to seeing other people's answers.

I'm gonna start working on my answer to this question and post it in pieces over the next few days.

Fire away! :tiphat:


Edit: As SLG has noted, your Top 100 do not need to be in order.
 
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#71 ·
CHAPTER THREE.

Beethoven. Piano Concert No.4. Elly Ney Frankischer Landsorchester. Cond. Willem van Hoogstratten. Colosseum 1962.
" Piano Concert No.5 "Emperor". Robert Casadesus Concertgebouw Orch. Amsterdam. cond. Hans Rosbaud.Phillips.
Brahms. Piano Concerto No.2 Gina Bachauer London Symphony cond. Stanislaw Skrowaczesky. Mercury.
Dohnanyi. Variations On a Nursery Theme. Kornel Zempleni, Piano.
Ruralia Hungarica. Hungarian State Orchestra. cond. Georgy Lehel. Westminster/HMV.
Gershwin. Rhapsody In Blue. Concerto In F. Andre Previn, piano. Cond. Andre Kostelanetz. CBS.
Liszt. Piano Concerto No. 1. Hungarian Fantasy. Earl Wild. Columbia S.O. cond. Andre Kostelanetz, CBS.
Mozart. The Piano Conceri. Lili Kraus. Vienna Festival Orch. cond. Stephen Simon. CBS.
Rachmaninoff. The Piano Concerti. Earl Wild. Royal Philharmonic. cond. Jascha Horrenstein. RCA/Chandos.
Saint-Saens. The Piano Concerti. Jeanne-Marie Darre. French Radio Orchestra. Cond.Louis Fourestier. EMI.
Tchaikovsky. Piano Concerto No.2 (Original uncut version) Peter Donahoe, Piano.Bournemouth Symphony. cond.Rudolf Barshai. with Nigel Kennedy and Steven Isserlis. EMI.
Beethoven. Violin Concerto. Alfredo Campoli. Royal Philharmonic. cond. John Pritchard. HMV.
" Triple Concerto. Serkin/Laredo/Parnas. Marlboro Festival Orch. cond. Alexander Schneider. CBS.
Tchaikosky. Violin Concerto. Mischa Elman, London Symphony. cond. John Barbirolli. Hmv 1929./Naxos.
Wieniawski. " "No.2. " Robin Hood Dell Orch(Philadelphia).cond. Alexander Hilsberg. RCA 1950/Naxos.
Operatic Paraphrases For Violin and Orchestra, Ruggiero Ricci. Radio Luxembourg Orch,cond. Louis de Froment. Vox.
Soler. Six Concerti For Two Organs. E.Power Biggs and Daniel Pinkham.. CBS.
 
#72 ·
CHAPTER FOUR.

Beethoven Sonata No.27. Sonata No.21 "Hammerklavier". Egon Petri.piano Dell'arte 1957.
Beethoven, Sonata No.7. Sonata in F Min. "Appassionata" Vladimir Horowitz, piano. RCA 1961.
Brahms. The Complete Piano Music. Julius Katchen. British Decca.
Gottschalk. Piano Music. Eugene List. Vanguard.
Granados. Douze Dances Espagnoles, Op. 37. Gonzalo Soriano, piano. hmv.
Liszt. Annees de Pelerinage cpte. Edith Farnadi, Piano. Westminster/HMV.
Liszt. 1. The Hexameron. 2. Reminiscences de Norma. Raymond Lewenthal, piano. RCA.
Rachmaninoff. Transcriptions. Ruth Laredo,pno. CBS.
Scarlatti. Sonatas. John Beckett, harpsichord. Saga.
Jorge Bolet. The 1974 Carnegie Hall Concert. RCA.
The Legendary Pianist Simon Barere. Remington
Dvorak. String Quintet In E Flat Maj, Op.97. The Cypresses For String Quartet. The Dvorak Quartet with Josef Kodovsik, viola.
Supraphon.
Dvorak. String Quartet "American",.
Smetana.String Quartet "From My Life". Panocha Quartet. Supraphon.
Schubert. "Trout" Quintet. Artur Schnabel, pno, The Pro Arte Quartet HMV.
Italian Woodwind Music. Vivaldi,Cambini,Rossini, Ponchielli. Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet with Anthony di Bonaventura. CBS.
 
#83 ·
Bartok-3 Piano Concertos by Gyorgy Sandor Sony
Bartok-Music For Strings, Percussion, Celesta Ozawa Philips
Charles Ives-Symphonies 1 & 4 Tilson Thomas Sony
Varese-Ionization; Ameriques Boulez Sony
Schnittke-Concerto Grosso No.6/Symphony No. 8 Chandos
William Schuman Symphonies 4 & 9/7 & 10 Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz Naxos
Beethoven-Symphony No. 6 Delos
Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol 1 by John O'Conor
Stravinsky-Petroushka/Le Sacre Boulez DG
Stravinsky-Firebird Complete LSO/Nagano
Barber/Hanson-Orchestral works Vox 2CD
Debussy-Piano Music/String Quartet 2CD on cheapo label I can't recall.
Ravel-Orchestral Works Martinon EMI
Lutoslawski-Symphonies 3 & 4 LA Philharmonic/Salonen Sony
Lutoslawski Orchestral Works Vol 8 on Naxos
Schoenberg- 5 Pieces For Orchestra/Chamber Symphony No.1 Rattle EMI
Penderecki-Orchestral Works 2CD EMI
Ligeti/Norgard Violin Concertos Chandos
 
#89 · (Edited)
With this next round of 20 albums, I've got a lot of BIS ...

41. Accord 200402: this first volume of orchestral works by Giacinto Scelsi includes Aion & Konx-Om-Pax.

42. BIS-CD-1050: Hafis plus more by Jon Leifs.

43. Carus 83.445: In my opinion, this CD is the most satisfying of discs to feature choral music by Andre Jolivet. Includes the hitherto unfamiliar Missa Uxor Tua as well as a more recent interpretation of Epithalame.



44. Accord 201092: Charles Koechlin's Sonata for Viola and Piano is partnered here with his chamber version of "Paysages et Marines" (originally pieces for solo piano).

45. Finlandia Records FACD 387: Aarre Merikanto's choral piece ("Genesis") is companion here to his Violin Concertos #s 2 & 4.

46. ebs 6070: a superbly recorded and performed pairing of Ernest Bloch's works for cello & orchestra - Schelomo & Voice In The Wilderness.

47. London 289 460 208-2: the complete works of Edgard Varese in a 2-CD set.

48. Supraphon 10 3393-2: Sir Charles Mackerras and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra offer listeners high octane performances of 2 of Bohuslav Martinu's most enduring works - Double Concerto & Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca.

49.BIS-CD-1212: Is this a superhero? ... or ... perhaps Count Dracula? Neither - it's composer Arne Nordheim and his 31-minute Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, a superhuman opus which'll chill your blood.



50. BIS-CD-573: Symphonies #s 6 & 7 by Vagn Holmboe.

51. Koch International Classics 3-7216-2 H1: Calling all druids - stop waving all those curved knives and mistletoe in the air for about 52 minutes so you can listen to what your American musical warlock Charles Tomlinson Griffies had conjured for thee - The Karin of Koridwen!



http://avaxhome.ws/music/classical/Griffes_Kairn_of_Koridwen_Ensemble_M.html

52. Kairos 0013152KAI: There is a revival of interest in Austrian modernist Friedrich Cerha's music thanks to labels like Kairos. This 2011 album features a number of Cerha's recent works from between 2006 & 2009 (of which Instants is, I've found, most impressive).

53. Valois V 4687: Florent Schmitt's mercurial Symphonie Concertante for piano and orchestra is the highlight for me; also includes Reves - another lovely work.



54. BIS-CD-1030: Excellent string writing from Jon Leifs ("Reminiscence du Nord" & "Elegy") bookends the main attraction of "Hekla", one of the key works by Leifs.

55. Conifer Classics 74321-15005-2: Malcolm Arnold's Symphonies #s 7 & 8.

56. mode 238: This 2011 CD is a significant album with respect to the music of Morton Feldman - 5 works for large orchestra (all world premieres!) representing 25% of all of Feldman's orchestral output within a 25-year period (1951 through 1976).



57. Skarbo SK 3913: one of my favorite independent French labels now enters onto my Top 100 with music by Aubert Lemeland. This album showcases L'Hiver Qui Vient… & L'Automne et ses Envols D'Etourneaux… plus more.

58. Chandos CHAN 9694: Roberto Gerhard's Concerto for Orchestra is paired along with his Symphony No.2.

59. NMC D156: Yet another excellent and essential CD program from 2011 is NMC's latest offering of music by Harrison Birtwistle. "Night's Black Bird", "The Shadow Of Time", plus "The Cry Of Anubis" for tuba & orchestra.

60. Arion ARN 68299: works by Andre Jolivet for solo organ includes Hymne a l'Univers, Mandala and more.

Whew! Over half finished at this point :)
 
#92 · (Edited)
Chapter Five.

Beethoven Symphony No.9 Peter Anders, etc Berlin Phil. cond Wilhelm Furtwaengler. Live 1942. Unicorn

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique New Philharmonia. cond. Leoplod Stokowski. British Decca.

Chavez Symphonia India. Symphonia di Antigone. Sinfonia Romantica. Stadium Symphony cond. Carlos Chavez. Everest

Dvorak New World Symphony. NBC Symphony. cond. Arturo Toscanini. RCA.

Schubert Symphony No.9. London Philharmonic . cond. Sir Adrian Boult . HMV

Sibelius Symphony No.2 Concertgebouw Orch . cond. George Szell. Phillips

Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony London Symphony . cond. Jascha Horenstein . EMI

R.Strauss Ein Heldenleben London Symphony . cond. Leopold Ludwig . Everest

Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Ballet--complete. London Symphony ' cond. Antal Dorati . Mercury

Suppe / Auber Overtures Detroit Symphony . cond. Paul Paray . Mercury

Mussorgsky Pictures At An Exhibition Cleveland Orchestra . cond. George Szell. CBS
Kodaly Hary Janos Suite
Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije Suite

H.Owen Reed La Fieste Mexicana Eastman Wind Ensemble . cond. Donald Hunsberger. American Decca
Carlos Surinach Paens and Dances of Heathen Iberia
Roger Nixon Fiesta del Pacifico

Gould Spirituals For Orchestra Chicago Symphony. cond. Morton Gould . RCA
Copland Dance Symphony

Stravinsky "Petrouchka" "The Firebird" Paris Conservatoire Orchestra . cond. Pierre Monteaux . RCA

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring. Minneapolis Symphony. cond. Antal Dorati. Mercury
 
#93 ·
... onwards onto rankings #s 61 through 80 ...

61. Nimbus Records NI 5357: The BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra renders superlative performances on 4 works by Alun Hoddinott, including Star Children & The Heaventree of Stars.

62. Donemus CV 33: This "Composer's Voice" CD features 4 works by Geert van Keulen, with 1990's Tympan being my favorite. Interestingly for a classical music album cover, its design displays a photo of female mannequins' legs sporting a variety of stockings.



63. Koch Schwann 3-1132-2: solo piano pieces by Andre Jolivet, including one of my all-time favorites Cinq Danses Rituelles.

64. EMI CDS 7 54011 2: George Enescu's opera Oedipe on a 2-CD set.

65. Hanssler Classic CD 93.106: This volume of Hanssler's superb CD survey of music by Charles Koechlin showcases 2 world premiere recordings of Vers la Voute etoilee and the I-never-thought-I'd-see-this-on-disc Le Docteur Fabricius!



66. Arabesque Recordings Z6618: the 2 Piano Quintets by Ernest Bloch.



67. Koch Schwann 3-1524-2H1: the complete works for flute by Goffredo Petrassi contains his Concerto for Flute and Orchestra along with all his other chamber pieces.

68. Finlandia Records FACD 106: Paavo Heininen's opera "The Damask Drum".

69. Denon CO-18073: Volume #4 of Denon's series of orchestral works by Toru Takemitsu includes several early 1960s pieces such as Coral Island & Corona II as well as The Dorian Horizon, into which Takemitsu incorporated small portions from his film score to Woman In The Dunes.



70. Philips 438 008-2: the Orchestre de Paris offers a compelling version of Timbres, Espace, Mouvement plus other works by Henri Dutilleux.

71. Delos DE 1017: One of the finest albums ever on music by Heitor Villa-Lobos, featuring 2 of his earlier and wild works ("Uirapuru" & "Choros No.8") along with the beguiling "Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra".

72. Calliope CAL 9876: Conductor Roland Hayrabedian and the vocal & instrumental ensemble "Musicatreize" prove themselves to be the definitive interpreters of the choral music by Maurice Ohana, music which is highly idiosyncratic and often-times avant-garde.

73. Aurora Contemporary ACD 4966: 2 sound sculptures by Arne Nordheim.



74. Hyperion CDA66420: Flos Campi highlights this edition of Hyperion's CD series on English choral music by Vaughan Williams.

75. ASV CD DCA 716: this well-conceptualized album gathers together all the pieces written for Horn and Piano by Charles Koechlin, of which the noble-sounding Sonata for Piano and Horn is the standout.

76. Supraphon 10 3640-2 031: Although this CD's runtime duration clocks-in at under 40 minutes, this is the most satisfying version, for me, of Josef Suk's symphonic poem The Ripening (my favorite work by Suk).

77. CPO 999 241-2: Symphonies #s 2 & 3 by Benjamin Frankel, with the bonus of the composer's own spoken introductions to both works.

78. Simax PSC 3115: orchestral songs and symphonic poems by Fartein Valen.

79. Piano 21 P21 027-A: a 2-CD album from 2006 which belatedly releases analogue recordings from 1982 on 3 concert works by Mikis Theodorakis for piano and orchestra. The early 1955 Suite No.1 is quite a revelation to behold.



80. Cybelia CY 842: Florent Schmitt's colorful "Antony and Cleopatra" is the centerpiece of interest here.
 
#94 ·
Arrival at the finish line...

81. EMI Classics CDC 7 54421 2: EMI has had multiple versions of "Job - A Masque for Dancing" by Vaughan Williams, but I like most this performance by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Hickox.

82. Accord 202292: Complete works for flute by Andre Jolivet. There've been a variety of record labels presenting Jolivet's chamber music with flute, but this 2-CD set is the most definitive I think.



83. CPO 999 147-2: Symphonies #s 2 & 4 by Isang Yun.

84. Olympia OCD 439: Piano Concertos #s 2, 3 & 6 by Alexander Tcherepnin (his 3rd piano concerto is my favorite).



85. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901417: Chamber works by Andre Caplet for string quartet, harp, and/or female vocalists ; contains the "Conte Fantastique" which is based upon Poe's Masque of the Red Death.

86. Kairos 0013242KAI: 2 orchestral works by Friedrich Cerha, one of which - "Concert for Percussion and Orchestra" - ushered in Cerha's 'comeback' ( ... so to speak).

87. New Albion Records NA039CD: Morton Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" is partnered with his "Why Patterns".

88. Chamade CHCD 5632: A contemporary Requiem, written in a post-modern idiom by Renaud Gagneux.

89. Stradivarius STR 33700: The complete 8 "Concerti per orchestra" by Goffredo Petrassi.




90. BIS-CD-930: Another volume from BIS's CD series on the music of Jon Leifs; his waterfall tone poem "Dettifoss" is the main draw here, but Leifs' early 1930 "Concerto for Organ" is amazingly audacious, too.

91. Opus 111 OPS 30-246: The 2 large-scale choral works by Maurice Ohana are the astrological/mythical "Office des Oracles" which co-habitats with the "Messe".

92. Ottavo OTR C59344: Volume 2 of George Enescu's symphonic music yields a most satisfying, for me, performance and recording of Enescu's magnum opus: the Symphonie No.3. The tempi are not too quick (as they were in Olympia's parallel CD series on this same material), and, while the Chandos rendition is also excellent, this Ottavo disc offers the real Romanian deal.



93. Simax PSC 3108: Geirr Tveitt's infectious water sprite "Nykken" takes the lead on the Tveitt discography, galloping quite ahead of the more plebian pieces that we typically hear from Tveitt. This early Simax CD also has an outstanding companion in Tveitt's "Harp Concerto No.2", too, but the BIS version of "Nykken" is also excellent and gets paired with the 2 Concertos for Hardanger Fiddle.

94. Soundspells Productions CD 120: The "Three Faces of Electra" and "Rhapsody for Guitar and Orchestra" by Meyer Kupferman.

95. Marco Polo 8.223379: An early CD of music by Alexandre Tansman; includes "Four Movements for Orchestra" and "Stele in Memoriam d'Igor Stravinsky". This Marco Polo disc served as my introduction to the musical sphere of Tansman, and it remains my favorite. I am glad, though, that over the past 20 years there has been an increase in the number of albums of Tansman music available, not least of which are the 4 volumes via Chandos.

96. Marco Polo 8.223448: This is the 1907 version of Florent Schmitt's "The Tragedy of Salome", for scaled-down instrumental forces. Nonetheless, this is the album of Schmitt's "Salome" which I listen to the most and like the best.

97. Adda 581166: This independent French label - Adda - is yet another one I admire for advocating the music of contemporary composers and helping, in a smaller fashion, to distribute lesser-known works beneath the klieg lights of the major players. I was concerned that no Adda album would enter my top 100 - but here it is! The captivating chamber music of Isang Yun is superbly recorded and performed within, and the highlight for me is Yun's hypnotic 1977 "Concerto pour flute et petit orchestre".

98. BIS-CD-1230 / 1231: "Baldr, Opus 34: A Choreographic Drama in Two Acts" (1943-1947) by Jon Leifs. This is a major effort by Leifs and "Baldr" is a pivotal work in Leifs' development, effectively dividing Leifs' oeuvre into either an early period (pre-"Baldr") or late-period maturity. "Baldr" features musical portraits of a hurricane and, later on, a volcanic eruption during its 90-minute duration. This serves as a template for the Leifs yet-to-come, foreshadowing Leifs' predilection towards depicting natural phenomena in music. Another idiosyncratic characteristic of Leifs surfaces in "Baldr" in which Leifs, for the first time, augments the percussion section of the orchestra with non-standard items such as anvils, pistols, cannons, rocks, & metal chains!

99. Arion ARN 68286: Chamber music for oboe, oboe d'amour, or cor anglais with or without piano by Charles Koechlin. The reverse side of this CD, shown below, details the program:



100. Stradivarius STR 33329: Chamber ensemble pieces by Luis de Pablo; includes "Segunda Lectura" with 2 other titles.
[this album would be the first to depart from this list if any CD release forthcoming during the remainder of 2012 happens to impress me enough to warrant its inclusion within.]
 
#96 ·
THE LAST CHAPTER.

Liszt orch. Tchaikovsky. Concerto In the Hungarian Style. (first recording).
Liszt. Hungarian Fantasia.
Schubert arr. Liszt. Wanderer Fantasia.
Cyprien Katsaris,pno. Philadelphia Orch. cond. Eugene Ormandy. HMV.

Liszt. Soirees Musicales (after Rossini). Vincenzo Balzani,pno. Peters International.

Moscheles. La Tennerezza, Gigue, Sonata Melancolique, La Petite Babillarde, Three Characteristic Etudes, La Leggerazza.
Phillip Challis, pno. Revolution.

Rodrigo's Piano Music. Played by Joaquin Rodrigo and Victoria Camhi Rodrigo Spanish HMV.

Messiaen. Reveil des Oiseaux. Oiseaux Exotiques. Le Bouscarle. Yvonne Loriod, pno (Mrs.Messiaen).
Czech Philharmonic cond. Vaclav Neumann. Supraphon.

Rossini. Quartets For Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn. M embers of the New York Woodwind Quintet. Saga.

Johann Strauss In St.Petersburg. Berlin Symphony cond. Robert Stolz. BASF (2 LP)

Offenbach Concert Rondo for Cello and Orchestra. Ofra Harnoy,cello.
Overture To a Grand Orchestra.
Souvenir d'Aix-Les Baines. Valse.
Schueler Polka. American Eagle Waltz.
Cincinatti Pops Orch. cond. Erich Kunzel. Vox.

Beethoven. Thirty Two Variations In C Minor.
Variations In F Major, Op.34.
"Eroica " Variations.
Denis Matthews, Pno. Vanguard/Top Rank

Beethoven. Symphony No.8.
Symphony No.9. (Mahler edition) Pittsburgh Symphony cond. William Steinberg. Command Classics/EMI.

Tchaikovsky. "The Seasons". 1. Piano version. Alexei Cherkassov,pno.
2. Orchestral Version. USSR Symphony. cond. Yevgeny Svetlanov. Melodiya/CBS.

Tchaikovsky. Suite No.4 "Mozartiana". Andante Cantabile from Op.11
Arensky. Variations On a Theme of Tchaikovsky, Op.35a.
Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia cond. Anshel Brushilow. RCA.

Turina. "Canto a Sevilla" Victoria de los Angeles, sop. London Symphony. cond. Anatole Fistoulari. EMI

Roberto Murolo. A Chronological Anthology of Neapolitan Song, 1600-1800. Durium.

Clare Croiza, Mezzo-Sop. (1882-1946). French Songs. Croiza Records.

Claudia Muzio,sop. Operatic Arias 1920-23. Re-recordings from Edison Diamond discs. CBS.

Tiana Lemnitz,sop. Arias from German and italian Operas 1930-40. Electrola.

Lotte Lehmann,sop. Songs inc. "Songs of Vienna". 1940's Rec. CBS.

Ivan Kozlovsky,tenor Rachmaninoff Songs. 1947-52 rec. Melodiya.
 
#97 ·
Messiaen. Reveil des Oiseaux. Oiseaux Exotiques. Le Bouscarle. Yvonne Loriod, pno (Mrs.Messiaen).
Czech Philharmonic cond. Vaclav Neumann. Supraphon.
Hi, moody.

I was not aware that an album of Messiaen music was performed by a Czech conductor & ensemble; I searched online and saw this LP of the program you describe:



This is being listed, though, as a Vox Candide LP - is your entry based on this vinyl record or did this program resurface on a Supraphon CD?
 
#99 ·
Ok, I'm going to start the easy way, just with the ones that I'm sure will make the list.

The remaining 50 or so are difficult because there must be at least four times that number that are basically tied. There are also a few where I'm not sure which recording I will choose. Some very good stuff is going to get left off.

Ok, here are six. I'll start with the most idiosyncratic, recordings that I wouldn't expect to find on other people's top 100.



Sorry about that image. I don't like the big ones like that, it comes across (to me) as pushy. But this is such a rare disk that I couldn't find a nice 300x300 image.

This is Savina Yannatou, sort of a folk-jazz-world-fusion artist, singing the music of Manos Hadjidakis, a 20th century Greek composer not very famous outside of Greece. Agnes Baltsa did a fairly popular album with a bit of his music (and other 20th c. Greek composers) called "Songs My Country Taught Me." That's easier to find and also very nice, but not going to get on my top 100.

As for this one, I bought it on a whim and I have no idea why. Then I listened to it about three times without it hitting me. About five years ago I was in the habit of "listening" to music as I slept. I was just curious about how it would affect my sleep, whether I'd remember the melodies, etc. Anyway, one night about three in the morning I woke up and there was this haunting, beautiful music and it just went on and on, and after about thirty minutes of it I had to get out of bed and see what it was. It was this. From then until now every time I hear this music (which is only once or twice, maybe three times a year) it just amazes me.

There's really nothing all that special about it - it's not Xenakis or Nono or Stravinsky or whatever. It's pretty traditional. But it's so beautiful. Couldn't leave it off my top 100.



This is here for "From Me Flows What You Call Time." I love this work - it's so well named, it really feels like a meditative communion with the mystery at the heart of the universe.

One thing that impresses me so much is the balance. Everything is balanced. Sound and silence are balanced. Rhythm and tone are balanced. Not in a symmetrical way, but in a more profound way. Like the cosmic mysteries, it seizes attention. Time seems to stop as you approach its source. This work, I suspect, could've been eight hours long and people would listen raptly, effortlessly focused.



Well, enough of that snobby stuff, let's get middle-brow. This is a pretty popular work and there are several recordings more popular than Rosand's. I haven't heard them all of course. Anyway, to me the essence of the works of Bruch included here is sweetness. Unapologetic over-the-top romantic sentimentality. And no recording that I've heard captures that better than Rosand's. I suspect this work would be more popular if it were played this way more often. Sometimes you've just got to let go and emote, unencumbered by self-awareness, let alone cynicism. This is music for those times.



More unapologetically romantic music. This one tends more toward the beautiful than the sweet. If you like Delius, Bax, and so on, this is for you.



These works deserve to be as well-known and loved as the second and third piano concertos, or at least as the second symphony. One thing I love about Rachmaninoff's music - it's becoming a theme here - is how unapologetic it is. He knew he wasn't supposed to write music like that. We know we're not supposed to like it. But it didn't stop him and it won't stop me!



A lot of other people will have this work on their list, but probably no one else will choose this recording, and I couldn't blame them. The sound has been surpassed by dozens of later recordings. It's in the old pre-HIP style. But I love this one the most. Of course it was the first one I owned, one of the first classical CDs I ever bought, so I'm biased beyond even the most remote respectability. But when I want to fear God and enjoy the drama of old-fashioned Christian death and judgment, nothing else will do.

Those are my most idiosyncratic choices; I'll be more conventional in future posts.
 
#100 · (Edited)


Filed under "there's no accounting for taste." This was given to me by a woman who received it as a gift and couldn't stand it. Lot of things I didn't understand about that woman, but in this case... trying to be charitable, I figure that perhaps her soul was defective somehow. This is the very sound of heaven - not the angels, this is the Trinity's own uncreated energies expressed musically. I think the theology there is orthodox Orthodox, but if not, so much the worse for orthodox Orthodox theology.

This recording is surprising popular here on TC. Good for us. We really are people of exquisite taste, utmost civility, and impeccable breeding.



You had to know something like this was coming because I am absolutely unable to restrain my irony. From the music that legitimized a millennium of predatory exploitation to variations on one of the great democratic protest songs of human history. (Dylan's "Masters of War" is better. Maybe "We Shall Overcome" is too. But maybe not.) While we are still free, listen to it and dream of trampling down fascist regimes everywhere. Hamelin masters it, and I'd choose his recording if the Rzewski were my sole concern, but Drury is good too and comes with the original song, which I wouldn't be without.



I have to be careful or there'll be half a dozen Kronos Quartet recordings in my top 100. I'll try to restrain myself. After these, two more, tops. But I can't leave these out. Lots of good stuff here. The Golijov is not too far from Klezmer music. Catchy, fascinating, and best of all it is a masterwork of timbre. The relationships between the various clarinet-ish sounds and the strings could not be explored more intensely or enjoyably.

*

The Crumb is one of the great works of the past half-century. Sorry, conservatives. It just is. (And while we're on it, you might try Ge Gan-Ru's "Fall of Baghdad" quartet.) And so, of course, is Shostakovich's 8th string quartet, also on the Black Angels disk

I've heard that better recordings of these works exist. Well, I've heard some of those, and I disagree. Kronos may well be unsurpassable.

(Also on the Black Angels disk is an fun arrangement of Tallis' Spem in Alium.)



Stockhausen's Stimmung, Riley's In C, and even Adams' Harmonielehre probably won't make my top 100, though I like them all. But Reich's Music for 18 can't be omitted. Like Golijov's music above, and perhaps the Byzantine chant too, there is something primal - spiritually and intellectually primal, but anyway primal - about it. I can't say my mind doesn't wander when I listen to it, but my gut certainly doesn't.



Sorry, this should've been up there with the more idiosyncratic selections. One of the things that makes me sad is that in all of the hate expressed for the music of Xenakis and Stockhausen and so on, people can't spare a breath to hate Nono too. Italian 20th century music has some gems - Berio, Sciarrino - but Nono is my favorite for now, and although Intolleranza 1960 is the one you'll want to look up first, this Pollini disk is my own favorite. (Recently I got Kancheli's Lament, dedicated to Nono. I liked it immediately, best thing I've ever heard of Kancheli. Not going to make my top 100, but wanted to mention it.)
 
#102 ·
With #19-24 I will continue with some of the fairly obvious choices.



The De Larrocha disk includes music she recorded a few times, and of the two I've heard this is the one I prefer. This is some of my favorite piano music.



That second choice might be cheating. The thing is, it has some real gems, including the Eroica Variations. Gilels would be a lot of people's first choice for sonatas 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, and 26. (If I were forced to take a minority position, I'd go with Jandó on Naxos.)



Back in the days when I was suckered into believing that comparing dozens of recordings was the essence of listening to classical music, I acquired three sets of Chopin's Nocturnes (this, and also Pollini and Arrau). I like all three, and I believe that this is my favorite for sentimental rather than musical reasons. Well, anyway, this is the one I would fight for when the classical music muggers ransack my house.

The hardest thing for me to make up my mind about through selections #1-24 was Kertész vs. Kubelik. Well, I'm going with Kubelik. I have no good reason for this, so, whatever. But Kubelik feels cleaner to me, purer, and Kertész feels thicker and richer. Others would probably feel differently. Anyway. I might recommend Kertész to others, but I'll take Kubelik.
 
#103 ·
It looks like the Gilels Beethoven image is broken. That's ok. I'm moving on anyway.

On #25-29, I'm going to be a touch more idiosyncratic. Though these are all fairly popular recordings of famous music, they probably wouldn't make most other people's top 100. I'll come back to the great classics later.



I'm counting that as a single recording; there was no excuse for releasing them separately rather than as a two-disk set. (There is a 3-disk set that comes with some other concertos.) Anyway, I love them. Hate to be iconoclastic, but these may be my two favorite hours of Bach ever recorded - excepting the Hotter recording of Cantata #82, which will get on this list at some point.



I also have Stryja and Rattle, but my favorite recording of the Stabat Mater is Shaw's. The coupling (Poulenc) is just ok, not a life-changing, world-shaking masterpiece like Szymanowski's. Rattle has the best coupling, IMO. But Shaw just gets everything right on this - the orchestra, the dynamics, everything.

Shaw also gets the Fauré and Duruflé right.



Speaking of Fauré, his piano quintets are my favorite of his chamber works. That's a bit unusual as well, it seems that for some reason most people prefer the quartets. I couldn't tell you why. But I am in love with this Domus disk of the quintets.

Zimerman's disk is my favorite hour of Liszt. He gets the Sonata just right (though I have a soft spot for Pogorelich), and the couplings are all great.
 
#104 · (Edited)
#30-35 are dedicated to the German hegemony, and the Titans of Early Stereo.



Ok, the TES dedication gets off to a bad start, but I can't help myself. Not one of Gardiner's biggest fans, but this is my favorite recordings of the Mass.

With Richter I get the TES theme on track properly. Richter used to be my favorite in everything Bach. His Matthew Passion is still my favorite.



If I'd tried to do it in order, Klemperer's Brahms' Requiem would've been in the top five.



Ok, just over 1/3 done!
 
#105 · (Edited)
Thanks, science, for your contributions thus far.

I have a few observations upon what you've written, and, if you'll permit me to offer some feedback, I hope you'll accept my thoughts in the spirit in which they're given...

... namely, you sound apologetic about some of your selections, such as 1) your preference for one composer's piano quintets over his string quartets, or 2) writing something like "enough of that snobby stuff" after stating the beauty of a Takemitsu piece.
No need for apologies ... just keep postin' about what you love most, right?

Another observation is that the bulk of your entries are albums from the "major player" labels: lots of Deutsche Grammophon, a number of EMI titles, a pair of Telarcs, here a Sony - there a Philips ... etc.
So far, what intrigues me the most from your postings is the Harmonia Mundi disc of Byzantin chant. :)
What are your feelings towards lesser-known talents and independent record labels?
As someone who loves democratic protest songs and dreams about trampling regimes, you nonetheless lend your support to the corporate giants in classical music recordings. ;)

Also, it might be preferable to include the label names on all your album selections (as I had done within my listings), because, if any given JPEG happens to be sucked into a black hole in cyberspace, TC members reading this thread may have no idea you are referring to Fischer-Dieskau's Schubert or Schubert's late string quartets. :tiphat:
 
#106 · (Edited)
Thanks, science, for your contributions thus far.

I have a few observations upon what you've written, and, if you'll permit me to offer some feedback, I hope you'll accept my thoughts in the spirit in which they're given...

... namely, you sound apologetic about some of your selections, such as 1) your preference for one composer's piano quintets over his string quartets, or 2) writing something like "enough of that snobby stuff" after stating the beauty of a Takemitsu piece.
No need for apologies ... just keep postin' about what you love most, right?
Of course I am apologetic - I realize that almost no matter what albums I choose, someone is going to find a way to criticize them. So my defense mechanism is to be critical first. I'm going to continue to do that. My experience of online classical music discussion is that it is one huge contest, everyone looking for a way to put each other (and their music) down. The presence of mods forces us to be subtle about it, but it's not much different.

One person says you don't listen to enough choral music, another that you don't listen to enough symphonies, or solo keyboard, or organ music, or opera, or Baroque opera, or HIP Baroque opera, or classical guitar, or classical lute... another says you don't listen to enough early music, another one says you don't listen to enough Baroque, others that you don't listen to enough Bach or Haydn or Mozart or Beethoven or Schubert or Schumann or Liszt or Wagner, another one says you don't know enough of the obscure romantics, another that you're too focused on romanticism, another says you don't listen to enough of the Second Vienna School, another says you don't listen to enough Scandinavians, or enough Russians, or enough Italians, or says you're stupid if Takemitsu is the only Japanese composer you know, another says you don't listen to enough music of the past 40 years, another says it's not enough of the past 10 years, another that you don't listen to enough of the really old recordings from the 1920s and 30s and 40s, another that you don't listen to enough new recordings, another that you don't listen to enough HIP recordings, another that you don't appreciate the Titans of Early Stereo, and if you please any of those people the others will double down in their criticisms, and of course it's got to be on vinyl, or at least lossless files, and through at four thousand dollar home stereo, and even then it's not enough unless you hear live music every night, following along with the score, critiquing the tempo selections and analyzing the harmonies, and others will criticize you if you don't know the biographies of the composers in detail and what they felt when they made the music, and others will criticize you if you take any of that into account, and I hate everyone, everyone, everyone. Really, I do. I'm not just saying that. Just thinking about this makes me want to get the nuclear suitcase and figure out how to put the universe out of our misery.

I really am apologetic about it all. If I could just humble myself enough not to be a target, and thereafter be allowed just to like what I like without facing unending criticism, I would eagerly do so. I'm sorry that my tastes and listening habits - no matter what they are - bother so many people, I'm sorry that I can't please everyone. I still hate everyone for having such ridiculous standards, but I'm genuinely sorry about my inevitable failure to live up to them.

Another observation is that the bulk of your entries are albums from the "major player" labels: lots of Deutsche Grammophon, a number of EMI titles, a pair of Telarcs, here a Sony - there a Philips ... etc.
So far, what intrigues me the most from your postings is the Harmonia Mundi disc of Byzantin chant. :)
What are your feelings towards lesser-known talents and independent record labels?
As someone who loves democratic protest songs and dreams about trampling regimes, you nonetheless lend your support to the corporate giants in classical music recordings. ;)
It turns out one thing I should've apologized for is the labels! I'd forgotten about that, but you've got to get your "Indie" labels in too.

But I don't think I have any feelings about particular labels, large or small. I do have a fondness for the "Titans of Early Stereo," so that puts a lot of my selections in the golden ages of DG, EMI, and so on. Those labels have made good impressions on me. Right now my favorite label is probably Hyperion/Helios, though. That just means that there's a lot of stuff by them on my wishlist. In terms of my favorite stuff that I already own, DG/EMI/Philips are going to continue to be represented really strongly in my list. I'm sorry about that, but that's how my top 100 is. One reason it's like that is that I've tried to learn about the most famous musicians of the mid-20th century. Somehow I really enjoy knowing my Karajan, Rostropovich, Oistrakh, Heifetz, Richter, Pollini....

I should explain that better. With something like, say, Beethoven's symphonies or string quartets, there are so many options out there, right? Now in the old days I was - I consider it "duped" but anyway, one way or another I had received the opinion that the essence of classical music listening was comparing recordings. So at that time I bought multiple recordings of the same works. I have five Brahms 1s, five Brahms 4s, seven Tchaikovsky PC 1s, five Tchaikovsky VCs, five Brahms VCs, five Beethoven 9s, five Mozart Requiems, and so on.

Later I decided that was meaningless to me because the differences were usually too small to matter much to me, and there was so much other music to get to (as you can see from that list, back then I'd barely even started to explore early music or modern music), and therefore (even worse) it was a waste of money and time for me to spend so much time comparing nearly identical recordings....

So then the issue became, if I am only going to have one or two sets of, say, Brahms' piano quartets, then which ones am I going to get? For awhile I just got whatever was cheap and convenient - often Naxos. So I have Naxos recordings of a lot of stuff.

But I found that, after reading people's comments online, I'd worry that I was missing something if I didn't have one of the famous, highly regarded recordings. And I'd wind up buying that. So I had Naxos' recording of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, but later I still got Gardiner's; Naxos' recording of Haydn's Creation, but later I still got Karajan's; Naxos' recording of Monteverdi's Vespers, but later I still got Parrott's, and so on.

So I decided the cheapest, most direct thing is just to start out with the most famous recording, and after that if I want another one for some reason, I can do it. But I always start with the most famous one. And my favorites tend to be those, in part because those are the main or only ones I've heard, and in part because I usually enjoy listening to the recordings that have been loved for decades. (I think that historical interest is really what draws me to classical music in general, not just to particular recordings.)

I'm surprised by your characterizations of Harmonia Mundi and Telarc. I would've thought Harmonia Mundi a bigger label than Telarc. Maybe it's just the places I shop, or perhaps the paragraph thing is confusing me.

Probably not very many lesser-known talents will get in my top 100. I've figured out about 70 of my selections, and I guess Apex or Gimell will be the smallest label.

I don't actually want to trample down most regimes, and I'm a friend of capitalism. I don't feel any animosity toward corporations in general; only the ones that really do nefarious things. I am grateful to "corporate giants" like DG for giving me so much of the music that I love.

Also, it might be preferable to include the label names on all your album selections (as I had done within my listings), because, if any given JPEG happens to be sucked into a black hole in cyberspace, TC members reading this thread may have no idea you are referring to Fischer-Dieskau's Schubert or Schubert's late string quartets. :tiphat:
I'll do that! Good idea. When I've figured out my top 100, I'll just make a list.
 
#107 ·
SCIENCE.
You have no need to justify anything regarding your choice of music. This thread was for people to list THEIR favourites, comment from other members was not called for and should not have been advanced.
I take no notice whatever of criticism unless it makes sense and not much of it here does. I'm sure that you know who talks sense and who does not!
 
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