Classical music

[fenderbender4]

I guess I'm going to use classical music in its general form and not refer to its chronological interpretation.

Anyway, I really like listening to solo piano music, string quartet, and solo cello music.

I was wondering if anyone could point me to good recordings of works by Chopin, Beethoven, Schubert, and Bach.

I'm looking through Itunes right now and for schubert alone there are 68 albums.

Thanks in advance for the pointers.

[akihiro]

Get stuff by Glenn Gould. He is known best for recording music by Bach. And being one of the best.

[re-animator]

you've gotta check out some Liszt and Rachmaninoff while you're at it.


Van Cliburn, Rachmaninoff, and of course Vladimir Horowitz all have great recorded interpretations of the great classical solo piano stuff.

Shlomo Mintz is a great recent violinist as well. You tube is a gold mine!

[pfflam]

Try the Lieder of Shubert . . . good stuff

The Etudes and Preludes of Chopin are always crowd pleasers

Gould on Bach . . . the best, though sometimes a little metronomic
Bach's solo cello works are fantastic . . . at first I like the Rostapovic versions, but I like the Casals a bit more
Here's 9 minutes of Casals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhcjeZ3o5us

Everything solo by Beethoven especially the Sonatas . . .and there are so many great players . . .I like Brendel though he sometimes gets shiit for being sloppy . . . oh well there are othersas well,
Also really great are his Sonatas for piano and violin!

Don't forget the guitar:

Here are some of my favorite tunes on guitar . . these are all the immediate satisfaction kind, tending towards sentimentality but they are still absolutely great . . . certainly not modern like Lutoslowskis' fantastic Streichquartet

anyway:
The Master, I saw him .. . personally I like Williams' version better but its not on Youtube and this one does have real depth and understanding of the rythm . . .but what do you expect?! . . I mean this is the kind of rendition that gets deeper over listenings, also, it seems to be shorter . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwIgs8WiINs

This is fantastic version of Albinez's Serenata, such passion, definitley a little rough but IMO exactly the way it should be . . . give ya teers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxEwax_MUj8

This is a good one, because Julian Bream is the best . . I love his tone and attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awHlAHsA_8M
His sound is so rich, a bit processed here but still great:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6HVejc_uCI

ANd of course he playing with Williams (also an amazing player, absolutely crisp and exact) this is a classic classical tune ultra beautiful . . .and again a crowd pleaser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1i_2HYmJkA

My absloute favorite piece of classical music: the last movement of Mahler's
Song Of the Earth
Das Lied von Der Erde
And amazingly enough youtube has the exact version that is my favorite,

it is 26 minutes long so they have to break it up, which RUINS it!!
. . . this is a trippy mash of ultra Romantic sweeping grandiosity and tragic Drama . . . a strange blend of music eras and styles clashing in one piece modern/Romantic/lyrical/epics - fantastic
the whole thing needs to be listened to at one straight listening with a good glass of wine/beer/whisky and a warm dark place to sit. (the recording quality is not so good on the tube) go out and get a copy.

If you listen to only two Youtube sections then listen to the last TWO part, it has this long dirge-like tragic instrumental section then ends with such a beautiful finale-!!! . . the whole movement is called Der Abschied (the Goodbye) about two friends saying their final goodbye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LE48mLGBdI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnTPint9LJY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92jYr_8f-vU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwzCtlfZbKU&feature=related

[bwc3000]

Murray Perahia's solo piano recording of Bach's English Suites (Nos. 2, 4, and 5) is excellent. Just about any of Perahia's recordings are worth checking out.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Haydn. If you're looking for more piano music, you might enjoy Emanuel Ax's Haydn Piano Sonatas.
My favorite CD right now is Mstislav Rostropovich's recording of Haydn's Cello Concertos 1 and 2...beautiful recordings and performances...!

[jimmyj]

I'm just going to stick to what you asked.

My only recommendations from your list is any of Beethoven's middle or late string quartets. The middle period would be the 3 Razumovsky quartets opus 59, the 3 from opus 74, 95 and 127, and then the final brilliant quartets opus 130-135. Some call this series the greatest achievement of western civilization. My favorite series is the one recorded by the Cleveland quartet on telarc. I'm sure you can't go wrong with most performances by all the top level quartets but the recording quality on the set by the Cleveland quartet is fabulous, IMO.

I also like his string trios and Schubert's string trios. They aren't nearly as challenging but extremely pleasant. We use them as dinner music.

[Neill]

don't be afraid to look at john cage's works for piano/prepared piano. beautiful in its way. might be a stretch if you're looking at chopin, beethoven and the more "classical" or romantic classical artists, but it is a liberating listen.

[JLaps]

you've gotta check out some Liszt and Rachmaninoff while you're at it.


Van Cliburn, Rachmaninoff, and of course Vladimir Horowitz all have great recorded interpretations of the great classical solo piano stuff.

Shlomo Mintz is a great recent violinist as well. You tube is a gold mine!
:agree
Also, for something different, check out Jacques Loussier and his trio. He puts a jazzy spin on some great classics.

[arthur rotfeld]

I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to Bach, so I like guys such as Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Gilbert, etc. Though I do really like Andras Schiff's piano version of the WTC.

If you can find the Melos Quartet performance of the late Beethoven Quartets (on DG). Wow, just the best.

[fenderbender4]

Wow, thanks for all the tips, I'll have to check them out. Any other composers to recommend while you're at it? Thanks.

[arthur rotfeld]

For Bach on the cello, you want to hear Anner Bylsma.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anner_Bylsma


Other composers...Haydn. Get his Seven Last Words of Christ.

[AaeCee]

Two more contemporary favorites of mine are Stravinsky and Bartok. Even if you're more into the 3 Bs, Mozart, etc., give them a try. Brilliant composers.

[henry_the_horse]

Having spent 5 years as a member of an early music ensemble I would recommend you to listen to Bach performed by early music and period instruments ensembles, like John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir and English Barroque Soloists, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe and Gustav Leonhardt. There are lots of BWV catalog recorded performances which are too romantized and bombastic, which obviously sell more. The performances with period instruments are also period correct in what it relates to pitch diapason, temperament and performance.

The Bach New Catalog done in 2000 has excellent performances.

Also worth checking is Naxos label catalog. This catalog was built mainly with recordings from east European countries which were behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, and were "fred" after the Perestroika. Musicians from these countries have a long tradition for excellence of study at european serious music, but were starving during the 1990s a thus recordings productions came out very cheap, both because the virtuosity of the musicians spared studio hours and also because of their post-socialist fees and wages.

Lastly, relating to Beethoven's late quartets are Bartok's quartets, which continued Beethoven's tradition and are recounted among the best quartets of XXth century.

Regards

[lhallam]

When it comes to classical recordings I typically find recordings that have won grammies.

So if I want The Bartok String quartets as Mr Horse mentioned, I'll look for a grammy winning recording IE - The Emerson String Quartet. This method hasn't failed me yet.

[Pietro]

Having spent 5 years as a member of an early music ensemble I would recommend you to listen to Bach performed by early music and period instruments ensembles, like John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir and English Barroque Soloists, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe and Gustav Leonhardt.

+1 on authentic instrument performances.

Anything by the Academy of Ancient Music (especially when with Christopher Hogwood--only "rock star" autograph I have, btw) is fantastic. ANYTHING. Also Roger Norrington (although his Mozart Requiem is awful imho...)