Classical Music Sampler: Must Haves

[bombarde32]

I've decided to (finally) address a serious shortcoming in my CD collection ... classical music. I like classical music, want to test my system, and I'd like my kids to be introduced to it.

So (please!) help me out b/c I'm looking for recommendations on well recorded CD's (no SA-CD) in these areas:

1.) Organ music. To me this is the ideal "system tester" if you only have one. The range (16 Hz to who knows), dynamics, nuance ... I'm looking for a CD that shows off the many faces of an organ.

2.) Strings/Piano: Any recommendations on discs with a good string section and/or piano? I especially love string quartets and a good violin solo.

3.) Full Orchestra: I'd like to stay away from Tchaikovsky as I already have a CD of him (1812, Nutcracker, yada yada, yada). I've always been a fan of the London Philharmonic's performances but wondered if there's more out there I'm missing.

4.) Kid Accessible: Not a "serious" performance. Something that is ... well ... a bit more accessible to the 5 and 6 year old crew.

5.) Pictures at an Exhibition: I love this piece. Anyone know of a "first rate" recording? Especially the ending: Great Gate of Kiev. Love it!

 

[MidnightSensi]

Check out Henryk Górecki No. 3: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs



Not really for the kids, though.

 

[XEagleDriver]

A Few Ideas:

. . .
I'm looking for recommendations on well recorded CD's (no SA-CD) in these areas:

1) Do not catagorically dismiss SACD, instead look for Hybrid SACDs--many are excellent recordings--due to extra effort by the label/recording engineer(s) to produce the SACD layer.

2) With a "sale" at ArkivMusic, or other SACD online retailer, the price is nearly the same as the RB only version.

3) Check out SA-CD.net and ArkivMusic.com for good recommendations, easy searches, etc.

1.) Organ music. To me this is the ideal "system tester" if you only have one. The range (16 Hz to who knows), dynamics, nuance ... I'm looking for a CD that shows off the many faces of an organ.

1) On SA-CD.net or ArkivMusic search for "organ".

2.) Strings/Piano: Any recommendations on discs with a good string section and/or piano? I especially love string quartets and a good violin solo.

1) Julia Fisher - most any release she has made
2) Anne-Sophie Mutter - Plays Mendelssohn (CD & DVD combo),
3) Janine Jansen - Vivaldi: Four Seasons

3.) Full Orchestra: I'd like to stay away from Tchaikovsky as I already have a CD of him (1812, Nutcracker, yada yada, yada). I've always been a fan of the London Philharmonic's performances but wondered if there's more out there I'm missing.

1) On SA-CD.net or ArkivMusic search for "London Philharmonic"
2) Don't dismiss Tchaikovsky until you have heard his "Violin Concerto in D major" recommend both the following from Pentatone;
. a) Julia Fisher's "Russian Violin Concertos"
. b) "Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto" with Bruch/Grumiaux, Krenz, Wallberg, New Philharmonia

4.) Kid Accessible: Not a "serious" performance. Something that is ... well ... a bit more accessible to the 5 and 6 year old crew.

1) Mozart, music from the WB classics cartoons, William Tell Overture, etc.
2) Take the child to a live concert that features movie themes familiar to them (Star Wars, 2001, etc.)
3) "Mega Movies" by TELARC conducted by Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

5.) Pictures at an Exhibition: I love this piece. Anyone know of a "first rate" recording? Especially the ending: Great Gate of Kiev. Love it!

1) Check out RCA's "Living Stereo" recording conducted by Reiner with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Note: most Living Stereo recordings are real good and not much $dinero$ !!

Good Luck,
XEagleDriver

 

[GO-NAD!]

If you want some well-recorded string quartet recordings, try www.isomike.com. Incredible recordings of the Fry Street Quartet playing works by various composers. They aren't cheap, but if you keep your eyes peeled on the AH website, you'll occasionally find an ad for a steep discount.

 

[jostenmeat]

1.) Organ music. To me this is the ideal "system tester" if you only have one. The range (16 Hz to who knows), dynamics, nuance ... I'm looking for a CD that shows off the many faces of an organ.

I ran a quick search on the posts of a scientist who is amateur organist and pro organ tuner, who helped me understand room acoustic basics.

He recommended this over a year ago for a system tester (or perhaps system killer), but with the way he puts it, I think that very few of us might have the capabilities of handling the bass on this album. So, be careful when you're bottoming out.

2.) Strings/Piano: Any recommendations on discs with a good string section and/or piano? I especially love string quartets and a good violin solo.

You just named a number of ensemble formats. Piano is an entire world of recordings by itself. If say you wanted string quartet WITH a piano, I think of Brahm's piano quintet. I've used that for auditions before. I personally find this composer at his best with chamber music, because I perceive a penchant of his to write with thick textures, which makes his chamber stuff sound more "full" than what I typically hear. He also seems to write with more of a "concerto grosso" style in his concerto works (rather than soloist = everything, and orchestra with much reduced role), and that also plays a part in why I like his chamber works.

For solo violin, there are the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin. You want either Szeryng or Perlman performing. Highly recommended for the violin lover. Check that, a must have for the violin lover.

I highly recommend the Shostakovich string quartet cycle by the Borodin quartet. It used to be less than $50 for a while, but now it's hundreds of dollars it looks like. Hm. This was a gift from fellow musicians. Not for kids.

I also recommend the Beethoven string quartet cycle by the Alban Berg quartet. This is much more reasonably priced at about $40 (there are 16 quartets). I borrowed this cycle for a while from a friend. Probably not for kids.

Another work I used for auditioning was Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht, an example of the composer's earlier romanticism before he went full blown dodecaphonic. Presently only $8. This was a gift from an English teacher. Not for kids, even if "programmatic".

3.) Full Orchestra: I'd like to stay away from Tchaikovsky as I already have a CD of him (1812, Nutcracker, yada yada, yada). I've always been a fan of the London Philharmonic's performances but wondered if there's more out there I'm missing.

I would search pzaur's posts here. I've bought a few on his recommendations, and I particularly remember Dvorak with Chicago, Berlioz with SF, and I think it was him (because there was someone else too) who convinved me to buy Mahler 7, also with SF.

For the Beethoven cycle, I own both the Zinman and Gardiner. I prefer the first. They are both FAST, and the Zinman is the faster of the two. But I think they are better represented with the faster tempi/tempos, JMO. Also, the secondary lines are the most transparent I've heard. Why wouldn't you get it for $20 . . .

4.) Kid Accessible: Not a "serious" performance. Something that is ... well ... a bit more accessible to the 5 and 6 year old crew.

5.) Pictures at an Exhibition: I love this piece. Anyone know of a "first rate" recording? Especially the ending: Great Gate of Kiev. Love it!

I bundled these two questions together, because something like Pictures is a great idea for kids, due to the "programmatic nature". When certain ideas, a story, etc, are involved, it's easier to "relate" to the music. From there, one can appreciate art/absolute music just on its own later. I admit the latter is not always easy, because music is the most abstract art form we've ever created.

Perhaps Holst's The Planets could be interesting to the kids.

Hm. Maybe Ravel's Daphne et Chloe. (btw, Ravel is the person who actually orchestrated Pictures at an Exhibition, as it was originally a piano work. Most likely the most famous example of supreme orchestration abilities.)

Oh yeah, I haven't heard XEagleDriver's recommendation of the Four Seasons, but for me, the one to get without question is by Il Giardino Armonico. Again, programmatic, to the seasons . . .

 

[jostenmeat]

Almost forgot

For kids:

They are DVDs. The only other time I've seen 100% 5 star ratings at Amazon for DVD is Band of Brothers. I've seen several of the Bernstein shows, definitely not at all, and I did enjoy some more than others.

If you like Bach as much as I do, perhaps you might be interested in the complete works boxset for $126. While it doesn't sound cheap, that's 155 cd's, or 81 cents a cd.

 

[griffinconst]

Got a great one for the kids and you. David Bowie Narrates Peter and the Wolf. A buddy bought this new in the 80's and I see it was remastered in
1992.
If you don't know, all the animals in the story are represented by different instruments with different theme songs. Big fun!
I'm ordering one now from Amazon for $6.38.

 

[Pat D]

I've decided to (finally) address a serious shortcoming in my CD collection ... classical music. I like classical music, want to test my system, and I'd like my kids to be introduced to it.

So (please!) help me out b/c I'm looking for recommendations on well recorded CD's (no SA-CD) in these areas:

1.) Organ music. To me this is the ideal "system tester" if you only have one. The range (16 Hz to who knows), dynamics, nuance ... I'm looking for a CD that shows off the many faces of an organ.

-Well, you won't get 16 Hz out of Studio 60s! A big subwoofer would do it. The best for deep bass I know is Michael Murray's Bach on Telarc, though it's rather short -- but it's cheapish now, too. He used the 32 foot pedals in the Passacaglia.

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Organ-Methuen-Bach-BWV/dp/B000003CSJ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1258642181&sr=1-3

His Bach Organ Blaster is more various but I think the lowest pedals are the 16 foot ones.

2.) Strings/Piano: Any recommendations on discs with a good string section and/or piano? I especially love string quartets and a good violin solo.

-String section, piano, violin. Concertos for piano and violin will do. Any number of good ones. Grumiaux doing the Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos are very good. Earl Wild doing Rachmaninoff piano concertos are fine--don't be misled by the age, they're very good.

-String quartets. Well, Dvorak quartets with the Vlach Quartet of Prague on Naxos are excellent. The Lindsay Quartet is always good--Beethoven Quartets.

3.) Full Orchestra: I'd like to stay away from Tchaikovsky as I already have a CD of him (1812, Nutcracker, yada yada, yada). I've always been a fan of the London Philharmonic's performances but wondered if there's more out there I'm missing.

-Well, there are any number of good orchestral CDs. One of my favorites is this one, with Leibowitz doing Mozart's Jupiter Symphony (no.41) and Krips doing the Haffner Symphony (no. 35) and Haydn's Symphony no. 104. (discontinued).

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Symphonies-Haydn-Symphony-No/dp/B000003GCV/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1258644705&sr=1-2

Leibowitz's Beethoven symphonies on Chesky are terrific but expensive. There's always the old Karajan 1963 set on DG.

-There are lots of collections of overtures on major labels such as Telarc, Philips, and Mercury. The Suppe and Auber overtures on Mercury with Paul Paray are wonderful.

http://www.amazon.com/Suppe-Overtures-Light-Cavalry-Auber/dp/B0000057LK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1258645715&sr=1-4

4.) Kid Accessible: Not a "serious" performance. Something that is ... well ... a bit more accessible to the 5 and 6 year old crew.

-Someone mentioned Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Many like the old Ralph Richardson version (kid's won't mind the sound), and I like Michael Flanders (oops, that's on vinyl). Pick one off Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_13?url=search-alias=popular&field-keywords=peter+and+the+wolf&sprefix=peter+and+the

-Dukas' The Sorceror's Apprentice is good--Bernstein is fine. Of course, it's on the original Fantasia on DVD with Stokowski--which is wonderful! Mickey Mouse plays the apprentice.

5.) Pictures at an Exhibition: I love this piece. Anyone know of a "first rate" recording? Especially the ending: Great Gate of Kiev. Love it!

-Someone mentioned old Reiner, which is good. I prefer the old Ansermet recording, which will sound great on Studio 60s. It also sounds great on Quad ESL-63s, Paradigm Signature S2 or S8, and PSB Synchrony Ones to my personal knowledge: it's a great recording from 1959 though the deep bass isn't as prominent as some like. In my opinion, it's the best characterized performance.

http://www.amazon.com/Mussorgsky-Pictures-at-Exhibition-Night/dp/B001CDLAXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1258645952&sr=1-1

-If you must have a resounding deep bass there is Maazel on Telarc, which is a very good performance with spectacular sound. So, if you want great sound, you can't go wrong with that one. I heard it on mtrycrafts' system some years ago and our public library has a copy so I've heard it several times.

 

[jostenmeat]

If say you wanted string quartet WITH a piano, I think of Brahm's piano quintet.

I highly recommend the Shostakovich string quartet cycle by the Borodin quartet. It used to be less than $50 for a while . . .

I totally forgot about the piano quintet on the Shostakovich cycle, with Richter.

The fugue is awesome, and the scherzo kicks serious butt. This would make for an excellent chamber recording for auditioning. It's easy to hear dramatic differences with speakers of differing quality with this work, IMO.

As for some other quartets, performed by the Borodin, here is an excellent deal, five of the quartets for $8.05.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1107301&style=classical

 

[Alex2507]

I just rec'd this. It's for my sister and her kids but I'm checking it out while I'm here. It's pretty impressive, like saying here is this mans life's work and the results of many lifetimes of study that the performers put into learning their instruments ... amazing.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[3db]

I've decided to (finally) address a serious shortcoming in my CD collection ... classical music. I like classical music, want to test my system, and I'd like my kids to be introduced to it.

So (please!) help me out b/c I'm looking for recommendations on well recorded CD's (no SA-CD) in these areas:

1.) Organ music. To me this is the ideal "system tester" if you only have one. The range (16 Hz to who knows), dynamics, nuance ... I'm looking for a CD that shows off the many faces of an organ.

2.) Strings/Piano: Any recommendations on discs with a good string section and/or piano? I especially love string quartets and a good violin solo.

3.) Full Orchestra: I'd like to stay away from Tchaikovsky as I already have a CD of him (1812, Nutcracker, yada yada, yada). I've always been a fan of the London Philharmonic's performances but wondered if there's more out there I'm missing.

4.) Kid Accessible: Not a "serious" performance. Something that is ... well ... a bit more accessible to the 5 and 6 year old crew.

5.) Pictures at an Exhibition: I love this piece. Anyone know of a "first rate" recording? Especially the ending: Great Gate of Kiev. Love it!

I love classical music and own alot of it. I was exposed to it as a kid growing up so I can relate to you wanting to introduce music to yuor kids. I found that composers who repeated their themes several tiems during a movement were easier to like at first then ones with complex movements. I also liked music that was light or fast moving. Please remember that I'm putting this into a persepctive of a 5 to 8 yr old growing up listening to classical. So based on that, I would recommend;

Beethoven's Fifth. Its immensely powerful (didn't realize how much so until I was older) but the repetition of theme made it easy for me to remember. His Piano Concereto #5 if you want to here piano is a good one as well (my personal facvourite of all his works) and its still holds with the repeition of theme.

Mozarts Clairenette,Flute, and Oboe Concertoes. Although the 2nd movement for all three of these pieces are slow, the 1st and 3 movements are fun, light and fast and musical. Its easy to like Mozart. And the other one I recommend from him is "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik" ..that's a Mozart staple.

Its been my experience that it was easier to like the full boil orchestral stuff over the chamber groups. Its not until I got older did the intricaies of chamber music become apparent.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[jostenmeat]

I just rec'd this. It's for my sister and her kids but I'm checking it out while I'm here. It's pretty impressive, like saying here is this mans life's work and the results of many lifetimes of study that the performers put into learning their instruments ... amazing.

Thanks for the tip.

Ah, you're welcome. My friend (cellist) who told me to buy it already listened to the whole box set!! You know what's crazy is that sooooo much of his output is lost forever. (I think we only have about 1/3 of the cantatas?). Well, I am chock full of musician anecdotes, and who knows how many of them are true, but this is the one I was told by one of the better theory teachers I had. Mendelssohn, the most precocious of all composers, having written his first masterpiece already by age 16 (Mozart didn't until his twenties), was perhaps the greatest champion in reviving Bach's music. So, he was once sitting outside, where people were having lunch. Back then, paper was super duper expensive, and so they used old music scores to wrap sandwiches with. He noticed a kid's sandwich paper (probably covered in mustard), and immediately recognized Bach's penmanship. He inquired where all the paper was coming from, and it was in some attic. There he discovered, I believe it was, the St. Matthews Passion, one of the great artisitic acheivements of mankind. LOL. Who knows how many Bach scores were thrown away with sandwich meat.

Then consider that Bach had 20 kids. A very prolific man! It's no wonder he believed that God listened to everything he wrote, because this kind of output without the slightest hitch in unwavering sustenance of inspiration is just not normal.

I love classical music and own alot of it. I was exposed to it as a kid growing up so I can relate to you wanting to introduce music to yuor kids. I found that composers who repeated their themes several tiems during a movement were easier to like at first then ones with complex movements. I also liked music that was light or fast moving. Please remember that I'm putting this into a persepctive of a 5 to 8 yr old growing up listening to classical. So based on that, I would recommend;

That is a GREAT point. Centuries ago when classical music became much more popularized, with a huge increase in amateur musicianship, having easily memorable melodies played a huge role in this popularization. It's why pop music is so simple. It's easy to remember.

 

[Alex2507]

Maybe Lady Gaga is our modern day Bach.
Have any of you sat down and really listened ... "ma ma ma ma ma poker face"?
There's genius at work here.

 

[jostenmeat]

Maybe Lady Gaga is our modern day Bach.
Have any of you sat down and really listened ... "ma ma ma ma ma poker face"?
There's genius at work here.

I only found out what that person looked like this very week, during an ad while watching some basketball. I am utterly clueless when it comes to the pop scene, and I have been for decades.

 

[3db]

Ah, you're welcome. My friend (cellist) who told me to buy it already listened to the whole box set!! You know what's crazy is that sooooo much of his output is lost forever. (I think we only have about 1/3 of the cantatas?). Well, I am chock full of musician anecdotes, and who knows how many of them are true, but this is the one I was told by one of the better theory teachers I had. Mendelssohn, the most precocious of all composers, having written his first masterpiece already by age 16 (Mozart didn't until his twenties), was perhaps the greatest champion in reviving Bach's music. So, he was once sitting outside, where people were having lunch. Back then, paper was super duper expensive, and so they used old music scores to wrap sandwiches with. He noticed a kid's sandwich paper (probably covered in mustard), and immediately recognized Bach's penmanship. He inquired where all the paper was coming from, and it was in some attic. There he discovered, I believe it was, the St. Matthews Passion, one of the great artisitic acheivements of mankind. LOL. Who knows how many Bach scores were thrown away with sandwich meat.

Then consider that Bach had 20 kids. A very prolific man! It's no wonder he believed that God listened to everything he wrote, because this kind of output without the slightest hitch in unwavering sustenance of inspiration is just not normal.



That is a GREAT point. Centuries ago when classical music became much more popularized, with a huge increase in amateur musicianship, having easily memorable melodies played a huge role in this popularization. It's why pop music is so simple. It's easy to remember.

Bach in German translates to "stream" as in a brook.
It was reported that Beethoven once said about Bach... "He shouldn't be called "Bach" but "Meer" so prodigous was he. Meer translate to sea or ocean

 

[jostenmeat]

For solo violin, there are the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin. You want either Szeryng or Perlman performing. Highly recommended for the violin lover. Check that, a must have for the violin lover.

I listened to some of the Perlman recordings a couple of nights ago. I have to reserve my recommendation for now, at least until I can hear more of it. There are a lot of things he does superbly, but I have an issue with the consistent vibrato of certain mvmts. Vibrato should be used like an ornament/embellishment I believe with this music, but if it's too commonplace, then it's like . . . oh it's hard to describe what I'm trying to say over a keyboard. It's like compression. There is no headroom left for vibrato to mean anything. That sounds harsh, but that's my interpretation on the matter for now. Gotta listen to more of it.

For now, I just recommend the Szeryng only. Just wanted to address this in case someone actually bought the Perlman on my account.

 

[3db]

I listened to some of the Perlman recordings a couple of nights ago. I have to reserve my recommendation for now, at least until I can hear more of it. There are a lot of things he does superbly, but I have an issue with the consistent vibrato of certain mvmts. Vibrato should be used like an ornament/embellishment I believe with this music, but if it's too commonplace, then it's like . . . oh it's hard to describe what I'm trying to say over a keyboard. It's like compression. There is no headroom left for vibrato to mean anything. That sounds harsh, but that's my interpretation on the matter for now. Gotta listen to more of it.

For now, I just recommend the Szeryng only. Just wanted to address this in case someone actually bought the Perlman on my account.

Umm overuse of a technique used to emphasize a particular piece becomes uneffective when its really needed?

 

[jfalk]

A few recommendations:
Organ: the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony #3. The Organ is really only featured in the last movement, but you ought to be able to move some sound on a good system, and it's a great piece of music
Orchestral: Berlioz Symphony Fantastique and the Schubert 9th Symphony ("The Great") ought to rock your system a bit, as will Beethoven's 9th, of course, particularly the last movement.

If you like those, PM me back and I can get you started on some more stuff...

 

[vap0rtranz]

1. Arias
A great soprano should sound clear and crisp on a great setup. Seems alot of folks overlook the high end frequencies so I 2nd the suggestion for Gorecki's Symphony #3; the Naxos label recorded Zofia Kilanowicz singing it.

2. local/direct Orchestral recordings
Check your local orchestra or the composer's themselves for high fidelity recordings. I contacted Jefferson Friedman and got samples of his symphonies; and our wonderful Chicago Orchestra sells hybrid SACD's via their own recording label (goto cso.org). This is "patriotic" and "fair" because your purchase isn't paying for a "megacorp" record label.

And just because ... the ole' Lucasfilm THX optimizer
Any recent DVD from Lucasfilm has a simple tone generator (200-20Hz IIRC) to make sure the frequency cutoffs are transparent. It generates spatial and phase testers too. Look for the "THX" logo on the disc menu. It's not classical but it's free