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The ONLY recording that will do

11K views 80 replies 46 participants last post by  Animal the Drummer 
#1 ·
Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?

For me, I find this is most often true when I come to a piece for the first time. I will latch on to the recording that causes me to fall in love with a piece, and for a period my love of the piece will be associated almost exclusively with that recording. This was especially true in my early years of listening to Bruckner. Later on, I'll branch out.

There are still a couple of works, though, for which one recording surpasses all others by a long shot in my mind. Beethoven 9 - Karajan's 1963 BPO recording; Mahler 6 - Bernstein with VPO.
 
#40 ·
Not really. I am more interested in the music instead of the performance. Unless a recording has some problem, audio quality, or something glaring about the performance (especially with opera), almost any decent recording will satisfy my interest in hearing the music.

That said, for my most favorite works I will usually have a go-to recording. My go-to recording of the Duruflé Requiem is this one:

Philip Ledger, Dame Janet Baker, Stephen Roberts, John Butt, Choir of King's College, Cambridge

 
#41 ·
  • Glazunov: Symphony no. II (Fedoseyev and the USSR Radio & Large SO, - Melodiya/Brilliant)
  • Glazunov: The Sea (Jarvi and the Royal Scottish Symphony - Chandos)
  • Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini (Svetlanov and the Russian Federation - Canyon
  • Scriabin: Symphony no. I (Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra - EMI/Warner)
  • Rachmaninoff: Symphony no. I (Ashkenazy and the Royal Concertgebouw - London Decca)
  • Atterberg: Symphonies II & III (Rasilainen with the NDR and Frankfurt Radio - CPO)
  • Sibelius: Symphony no. II (Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic (VPO) - DG)
  • Ives: Symphony no. II (Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic - DG)
  • Myaskovsky: Symphony no. XXVII (Svetlanov and the Russian Federation - Melodiya/Alto)
  • Bruckner: Symphony no. VII (Karajan and the VPO - DG)
  • Bruckner: Symphony no. VIII (Wand and the Berlin Philharmonic - RCA)
  • Bruckner: Symphony no. IX (Giulini and the VPO - DG)
  • Bax: Symphonies II, III, and VII (Thomson and the London Philharmonic - Chandos)

And so forth......
 
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#46 ·
The first recording of the "1812" I heard (and it was one of the first ca. 10 classical works I encountered and loved as a teenager) was a Soviet era recording on an Eurodisc LP that had changed the hymn at the end to a different one that was not considered as "tsarist" as the original. I hardly ever listen to this piece anymore but it took me a long time to get somewhat used to the original version and I still prefer the other hymn... So if it was a favorite piece, I'd probably have to stick with that recording (Konstantin Ivanov).
 
#47 ·
There are a host of works that I first encountered as a teenager that I developed an attachment to my initial recording so strong that I disliked others. Eventually that withered away as one becomes more exposed to alternatives. Back then there was no streaming and I had less disposable income for multiple recordings of the same work, so that was definitely a factor. However I think the main reason was the enthusiasms of youth tend to be stronger than those we acquire at later stages of life
 
#50 ·
Furtwangler's Tristan, Eroica, Beethoven's violin concerto and piano concerto nr. 4.

Brucker's 3-9 symphonies & Mass nr. 3 by Celibidache with MPO.

Missa Solemnis, Das Lied von der Erde, Fidelio by Klemperer and New Philharmonia Orchestra.

Rachmaniniv's Vespers under Polyanky

Schubert's sonata nr. 21 by S. Richter

Mozart's Coronation Mass by Markevich (Lamoureux)

Lohengrin under Abaddo with WPO

Shostakovich's violin concerti by Oistrakh & cello concerti by Rostrapovich

Brahms piano concerto nr. 1 with Gilels under Jochum with BPO
 
#54 ·
I'm not one to "imprint" on the first good recording I hear. However, this one continues to stand above the many others that have been released since, even ones by Danish performers that reviewers say have a better way with Nielsen's idiom, and even though those reviewers may have a point. The musical and technical level here is just sky high.

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#55 ·
I'm not one to "imprint" on the first good recording I hear. However, this one continues to stand above the many others that have been released since, even ones by Danish performers that reviewers say have a better way with Nielsen's idiom, and even though those reviewers may have a point. The musical and technical level here is just sky high.

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The story has it that Drucker recorded the Clarinet Concerto on one take.....Bernstein asked him if he wanted to retake any parts, redo anything...Drucker replied something like <<I'm fine, the orchestra has a few places to clean up, but I'm all set>>:cool:
 
#57 ·
Isn't the feeling that only one account will do a rather restricting one? Doesn't it close our ears to other ways and leave us stuck with a single idea of what the music does? I have had lots of recordings that were for some time the way I wanted the music played (the only one that would do) but after a while I wanted to experience other angles of the pieces. Sometimes, the recordings I fixated on remained among my favourites but sometimes I even came to see them as lacking something important.
 
#58 ·
I'm not going to claim to have heard them all, but alternative versions of the slow movement in Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto [Emperor] never seem to cut it for me.

Once the Fleisher/Szell/CO outing was imprinted on me, no other version sounds quite right.

(I have tried...)

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Actually, I could say the same for the slow movement in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, under the gentle touch of Michelangeli/Gracis/PO.

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(Again, I have tried...)

I would very much welcome alternative recommendations.
 
#59 · (Edited)
No matter how much I have tried to find alternative versions, I haven't been able to find better of these 2. Which I consider perfect versions, so the problem at hand is not all that big!

Sibelius: The Oceanides, Neeme Järvi/Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6, Pathétique, Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker


BTW, only recently have I come to fully realize and appreciate the great work by Neeme Järvi. What a musician! He makes everything WORK.
 
#60 ·
While it's not purely orchestral, the 1st act of Valkyrie with Bruno Walter, Lotte Lehmann, Emanuel List and the incomparable Melchior is way out in a class of its own. I'll happily listen to other recordings but I always, always, come back to this one
And another, from the world of Schubert lieder, is Peter Anders singing D943 Auf dem Strom. Yes, I can listen to other singers (and horn players I suppose) but the benchmark is set by Anders. It was that performance opened my ears to this lied. I'd heard others beforehand, but it took that one to do it. There's not been its equal since.
 
#61 ·
I have three:

Bruckner's 7th symphony - Rattle & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Not that other recordings are bad, but out of all the ones I've heard this one is it. I think I've heard (or at least sampled) all recordings available on Idagio, and no one comes even close.

Sibelius's Karelia Suite - Järvi & Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
This is a special case, I don't even like this particular recording that much. I love the piece, but when I heard it the first time (live) it was fast, loud and nasty, which are three qualities I haven't heard in any recordings of this work. Järvi's performance is somewhat loud, but I will keep looking for recordings that are more to my taste. I would love any recommendations (but I've heard all recordings on Idagio, and no-one did the trick).

Beethoven's 9th - Szell & Cleveland Symphony Orchestra
Not a work I listen to a lot, but this recording is something special. Perfect balance between choir and orchestra.
 
#62 · (Edited)


Don't know if this can be classed with Orchestral Music, with the orchestra reduced to eight cellos. Nevertheless, this for me rates as the Only recording of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. It was written for Bidu Sayao at her insistence and she persuaded the composer Heitor Villa Lobos to score it for soprano and cellos instead of violin and cellos. She told him that she could "sound like a violin," and she does in the reprise of the melody, singing a la bouche fermée . She's the only one to sing the last note in one breath, making a portamento from the previous note. Sayao said it was a difficult piece, since it required great breath control.

The other movement beyond the Aria - Cantilena did not exist when Sayao and the composer recorded it for Columbia (now Sony). The second "movement" Dança - Martelo was composed later that year (1945).
 
#64 ·
Are there any orchestral works for which, to you the devoted listener, there is only one recording worth your time?
Absolutely not. If it's a piece I love and respect, it will always be apparent that no one performer or conductor can possibly have all of the answers. Even when I retain a "favorite," I'm keenly aware of and remain interested in alternate ways to perform it.

Having said that, there are indeed a few recordings that I have found so satisfying that I have never felt compelled to seek out another version. For example, the Brahms Piano Trios on Decca with Suk/Starker/Katchen.

But under no circumstances would I conclude there are no other recordings of interest, or ignore that there might be one to even displace that set as my favorite!
 
#74 ·
1. Beethoven: Symphony #6 "Pastorale" (Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra) very smooth
2. Mahler: Symphony #4 (Judith Raskin/George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra) again, smooth, well balanced; and I'm not even THAT much of a Szell fan!
3. Nielsen: Symphony #3 (Leonard Bernstein/Royal Danish Orchestra); very robust; never felt the need to purchase another recording
4. Prokofiev: Symphony #1 "Classical Symphony" and Symphony #5 (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic Orchestra); again, robust
5. Haydn: "Paris" and "London" Symphonies (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic Orchestra); very enthusiastic, elastic, and joyful; the ONLY way to listen to Haydn unlike you want it HIP
6. Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy the Kid; Symphony #3; etc (Leonard Bernstein) Bernstein OWNS the music of his friend Aaron Copland, the rapport, affection, and musical telepathy is ever present.
7. Brahms: Double Concerto (Zino FRancescatti/Pierre Founier/Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra or...Isaac Stern/Leonard Rose/Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra) two smooth recordings from the Golden era; those on a budget needn't buy both.
8. Rachmaninoff: Vespers/All-Night Vigil (Paul Hilliard/Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir or...Sigvards Klava/Latvian Radio Choir) It's those big Baltic basses that do it; again, those on a budget needn't buy both.
9. Britten: Everything (Ben Britten's own recordings with his little band of friends: Peter Pears, Mstislav Rostropovich, Stanislav Richter, Mark Lubotsky, Dietrich Fischer-Diskau, etc) Britten always said that he wrote for people not the instrument they played, so the original recordings with Britten and friends is always the gold standard.
10. Mahler: Symphony #3 (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic Orchestra, 1960s Columbia recording) Bernstein's earliest recording that he dedicated to his friend and mentor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, is for me, the most intense and energized. Along with Bruno Walter, Mitropoulos championed Mahler long before Bernstein made it fashionable, but Mitropoulos' cycle of Mahler symphonies is incomplete and it suffers from antiquated sound technology. I like to think that Bernstein's famous Mahler cycle is the one that Mitropoulos would have recorded had he lived a bit longer.
 
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