Recommend some Classical music recordings for me

Since plenty of piano, chamber, baroque and orchestral works have been mentioned, here's my suggestion on the 'lessor' known musics.

Beethoven's Symphony No.7. IMO his best symphony and really marks the start of the romantic era.

Cannon in D by Pachebel. Loved by all females. Mendelssohn of the baroque area where the pieces are loved but not as technical and shows no progression.

Camille Saint-Saëns' Le Carnaval des animaux (carnival of animals) and Piano Concerto #2. Carnival of animals is a very very interesting piece where Saint Saen uses music to imitate movements of animals in an carnival.

Paganini's Violin Concerto #1, #2 and 24 caprices. The most talented violinist ever lived and the must have composer in any violin lover's collection. 3rd Movement of #2 was transcribed to piano by Schubert, known as la capenella(sp). The caprices are the standard repertoire for almost all serious violin competitions.

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2. His very famous debut piece after suffering from writer's block depression.

Rossini's overtures, in particular Gulielmo Tell (William Tell). Fritz Reiner has made some wonderful recordings (although pretty old).

Sarasate's Ziguenerweisen. Virtuoso violin piece. Heifetz's recording is the best although his coordination with orchestra is sub par.

Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. Beats any of his symphonies in musicality, IMO.

Some of the even lessor known violin pieces includes violin concerto by Henry Vieuxtemps (#5, #7), violin concerto by Henri Wieniawski (#2), Fritz Kreisler's Liebeslied and Leibesfreud, Saint-sean's Introduction and Rondo Capriciosso

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

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If Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFO are at it, then make it the entire cycle.

I am rather unimpressed by the SFO (not directing to their Mahler's cycle recordings). The apparent lack of energy and dynamics compare to the visiting orchestras really made me feel shamed.

It's like going to Golden State Warriors/San Francisco Giants/San Francisco 49ers games to see all the great visiting teams. Kinda sucked.

BTW, never liked Mahlers anyway. And SFO's 08-09 programming is filled with Prokofiev for some reason. Maybe its trying to establish its own niche; Prokofiev did reside in San Francisco for a while.

Originally Posted by vitaminc

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I am rather unimpressed by the SFO (not directing to their Mahler's cycle recordings). The apparent lack of energy and dynamics compare to the visiting orchestras really made me feel shamed.

It's like going to Golden State Warriors/San Francisco Giants/San Francisco 49ers games to see all the great visiting teams. Kinda sucked.

I far preferred Bloomstedt.

If it's Mahler, you have to listen to all of it in order. It's like reading an epic autobiographical novel.

Mahler 1: MTT/SFSO
Mahler 2: Bernstein/NYPO on Sony
Mahler 3: Salonen/LAPO
Mahler 4: MTT/SFSO
Mahler 5: Markus Stenz/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Mahler 6: Levi/ASO
Mahler 7: MTT/SFSO
Mahler 8: Nagano/DSO-Berlin
Mahler 9: MTT/SFSO
DLvdE: Bernstein/VPO/Fischer-Dieskau/King
Mahler 10: Wigglesworth/BBC Wales

Mahler songs: Thomas Hampson for the piano versions, Andreas Schmidt on Telarc for the orchestral version. There's also a very interesting recording from Sony with Bernstein playing piano accompanying Fischer-Dieskau. And there's a tremendous DVD with Hampson and Rieger doing Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

These are very personal selections. Other Mahler fans may have violent reactions, and very different choices.

--Andre

I am going to dig out my Horowitz Tchaikovsky and try again.

Originally Posted by Andre Yew

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If it's Mahler, you have to listen to all of it in order. It's like reading an epic autobiographical novel.

(...)

I hope not all at once!

Originally Posted by vitaminc

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I am rather unimpressed by the SFO (not directing to their Mahler's cycle recordings). The apparent lack of energy and dynamics compare to the visiting orchestras really made me feel shamed.

It's like going to Golden State Warriors/San Francisco Giants/San Francisco 49ers games to see all the great visiting teams. Kinda sucked.

BTW, never liked Mahlers anyway. And SFO's 08-09 programming is filled with Prokofiev for some reason. Maybe its trying to establish its own niche; Prokofiev did reside in San Francisco for a while.

Well a lot of critics have loved the SFO version...maybe the recordings are better than the concerts you attended. RCA Red Seal has a nice new $13.99 hybrid SACD/CD series on the Mahlers with the Tonhalle conducted by Zinman but the reviews are mixed.

I would strongly recommend members here look for the RCA Living Stereo SACDs and the Mercury Living Presence SACDs both which play in regular CD players. The mastering on both series is very good, reference in the RCA case and these are some of the best recordings done. The RCAs are priced at an affordable $11.99.

But what do I know, according to Fuuma I am uncultured.

Have a listen to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto 2 with the great Sviatoslav Richter at the piano.

Also, though it seems a tad over-done these days, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini is another recommendation. Recently, I listened to an intepretation of the piece by a pianist named Lang Lang; it was excellent!

And while youre at it, pick up the soundtrack for the Pianist (largely Chopin), and if you'd like, try Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique.

Originally Posted by Manton

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How can you hear the playing through all the static? I can't.

It's recorded on 18oz worsted.

You want Supertronic? Be my guest.

Originally Posted by Thomas

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I hope not all at once!

Only if I were a post-modernist or a Connecticut insurance salesman. There's some interesting stuff by Lukas Foss that has many pieces of music going on at the same time. Of course, there's Charles Ives who was the father of this technique, and Stravinsky did some convincing multiple village-band simulation. Mahler foreshadowed a lot of this kind of writing, too.

Originally Posted by ZengaGent

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Also, though it seems a tad over-done these days, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini is another recommendation.

Nothing to be embarassed about liking the Rhapsody. I could listen to the 18th variation over and over again.

Speaking of lovely tunes, Ravel's Mother Goose Suite is really beautiful stuff.

--Andre

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

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I would strongly recommend members here look for the RCA Living Stereo SACDs and the Mercury Living Presence SACDs both which play in regular CD players.

For those of you with a center channel, the RCA LS and Mercury LP SACDs are by far the finest demonstrations of its use for music out there.

Not all of them are 3-channels, as some are 2 or even just 1, so you have to check the notes carefully to find those that use the center channel.

--Andre

Originally Posted by Andre Yew

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Nothing to be embarassed about liking the Rhapsody. I could listen to the 18th variation over and over again.
--Andre

Oh Yeah... the 18th Variation. Just sublime...

I've got a piano-only score intepreted by someone called Larry Sitsky, but sometimes, when I do hammer on the keys, I wish I had my own personal orchestra in accompaniment.

C'est La Vie.

Originally Posted by Andre Yew

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For those of you with a center channel, the RCA LS and Mercury LP SACDs are by far the finest demonstrations of its use for music out there.

Not all of them are 3-channels, as some are 2 or even just 1, so you have to check the notes carefully to find those that use the center channel.

--Andre

Yes, Wilma Cozart Fine created the Mercury Living Presence with three channels.

But fear not you two channel guys like me. The stereo layer is sublime as well.

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

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Yes, Wilma Cozart Fine created the Mercury Living Presence with three channels.
American big budget recording studios used three track machines starting in the early to mid 1950's. The standard arrangement was to have two tracks for the orchestra and the third track for the vocalist. The vocal track was often overdubbed on pop recordings(yes, even in the mid 1950's). Three track recording was done for several years prior to stereo music being available to the consumer. Stereo tapes were offered to the consumer circa 1956. Stereo LP's were not released in quantity until 1958. Many 1950's three-track recordings were done on a machine similar to the one on the left:

In fact, here is a website detailing the techniques of Mercury: http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/mercury.html