Classical Warhorse Recommendations

[VMAT4]

If you're looking for bombastic, how about some Respighi, Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome?

 

[watchnerd]

@watchnerd

Holst: The Planets, Op.32/H.125
~Sir Adrian Boult - LPO & Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
~Sir Simon Rattle - BPO & Berlin Radio Choir
~Vladimir Jurowski - LPO & LPC
~Zubin Mehta - LAPO & LA Master Chorale
~Mark Elder - Hallé Orchestra & Choir

I knew Sir Adrian's half a dozen recordings of The Planets had to make it in here somewhere....

FWIW, if you guys put any weight in these things, the Mehta was rated 10/10 by Classics Today.

 

[watchnerd]

If you're looking for bombastic, how about some Respighi, Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome?

Yes, but I already have both the Living Stereo and Everest recordings of that, so I think I have the two people usually call out as the must-haves.

Or am I missing an even better one?

 

[VMAT4]

Yes, but I already have both the Living Stereo and Everest recordings of that, so I think I have the two people usually call out as the must-haves.

Or am I missing an even better one?

Not that I know of.

 

[pwjazz]

I have and enjoy this DG recording of Dvorak's New World Symphony. Smetana's Moldau on here is great as well.

https://www.discogs.com/Dvořák-Smet...-Neuen-Welt-From-The-New-World-/master/896005

 

[jasonq997]

I have and enjoy this DG recording of Dvorak's New World Symphony. Smetana's Moldau on here is great as well.

View attachment 18090

https://www.discogs.com/Dvořák-Smetana-Liszt-Dirigent-Ferenc-Fricsay-Symphonie-Nr-9-Aus-Der-Neuen-Welt-From-The-New-World-/master/896005

Some good taste on this forum. Fricsay made some amazing recordings (check out his Beethoven's 9th). Too bad he passed away at age 48.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

I knew Sir Adrian's half a dozen recordings of The Planets had to make it in here somewhere....

FWIW, if you guys put any weight in these things, the Mehta was rated 10/10 by Classics Today.

Not surprised, Mehta has a very nice approach to the Planets... I particularly like his take on VII. Neptune, the Mystic; Andante... magical and otherworldly.

 

[Jmudrick]

I would throw in Greshwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Bernstein’s lush 1959 recording is a good one, there are many others. It’s very nicely recorded to my ears.

Love this one.

 

[watchnerd]

@watchnerd


Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
~Fritz Reiner - CSO; 1954 recording
~Herbert von Karajan - BPO; 1973 recording

Just listened to these back to back....

Big tempo differences! 31:59 (Reiner) vs 34:54 (Karajan)

I think the timpani are notably better on the Karajan, but not so sure about the strings...and both definitely sound 'vintage'.

 

[Old Listener]

Having a couple of terabytes of lossless music on Roon and access to Tidal, my classical library is both wide and deep.

But my wife wanted me to help her up her classical education, and I figured I'd start off with some more approachable pieces (I listen to a lot of fairly avant garde, minimalist, modern or Schoenberg school classical these days). She's already spent a lot of time in baroque chamber music and would like some bombastic, dramatic stuff. She just experience Beethoven's 5th in person 2 weeks ago.

What are your recommendations for best recorded performances / sound quality of:

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Holst: The Planets

Dvorak: Symphony 9, "New World"

Rimsky-Korsakoff: Scheherazade

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies

Orff: Carmina Burana

Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra

Ravel: Bolero

Puccini: Tosca

Bizet: Carmen

Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle

Your list seems like something an audiophile would play to show off his system to another audiophile. Others have suggested some music that might be better for an introduction to classical music.

What would I play for your wife?

I'd start your wife with Bizet: Carmen. Hard not to be seduced by this music. I'd also include the Bizet Symphony in C and the L'Arlesienne Suites. Beecham is often recommended but the sound is 50s. Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the Symphony in C is the one I listen to most often.

A Haydn symphony or two might be good to show the development of classical music after the baroque. No. 92 and 94 are perhaps the best illustrations of a classical period symphony. Szell/Cleveland Orchestra for both.

Follow that with a Mozart Piano Concerto. I think no. 20 is the most affecting but any of 21-27 are mighty fine. For 20 Serkin/Szell. For 21-27, I'd play Casadesus/Szell Cleveland Orchestra.

For me Beethoven's 3rd symphony has an even stronger impact than the 5th.

After Beethoven, I'd play the Schubert 8th and 9th symphonies. (Szell/Cleveland Orchestra). I'd also play the Trout Quintet. I think it i the most approachable of his work for a beginner.

The Mendelssohn Midsummer's Night Dream should be on your list. The Maag/LSO performance has been my favorite for decades.

For Tchaikovsky, I'd start with the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture (Monteux/LSO) rather than the Piano Concerto or Violin Concerto.

I would certainly play the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1. Fleisher/Szell is a classic performance.

Some recording recommendations for your list:

Dvorak: Symphony 9: Kertesz / VPO (NOT LSO) My favorite performance for decades. Szell/Cleveland Orchestra is another favorite.

I'd add Dvorak Symphony No. 8 to your list. Kertesz/LSO and Szell/Cleveland Orchestra are favorites.

Orff: Carmina Burana: Fruhbeck de Burgos_New Philharmonia. Frubeck de Burgos produced a number of really fine recordings in the mid-60s to early 70s. Others:

Falla: The Three Cornered hat
Falla: El Amor Brujo
Fruhbeck de Burgos's recordings capture the sensual character of this Spanish music.

Rimsky-Korsakoff: Scheherazade: The Reiner recording sounds great (but modern sound can be better.). Other classic performances include Beecham, Stokowski and Ansermet. For a more modern sound quality, Mackerras on Telarc is a favorite for many people.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Just listened to these back to back....

Big tempo differences! 31:59 (Reiner) vs 34:54 (Karajan)

I think the timpani are notably better on the Karajan, but not so sure about the strings...and both definitely sound 'vintage'.

If you are interested give the following two a listen as well... very different.

Andris Nelsons - CoBSO; 2012 recording
Giuseppe Sinopoli - NYPO; 1987 recording

 

[watchnerd]

Your list seems like something an audiophile would play to show off his system to another audiophile. Others have suggested some music that might be better for an introduction to classical music.

I should clarify. She doesn't need an introduction to classical music.

We've been to Vienna, where we saw Aida and numerous Strauss waltzes, and to Salzburg for Mozart festivals.

At the San Francisco opera, she's seen Madam Butterfly and Don Giovanni.

In London, Tokyo, Munich, San Francisco, Paris, Seattle, Madrid, Shanghai, and New York, we've heard Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Berlioz, Prokofiev, Haydn, Brahms, and Mahler.

It's "modern classical", but not not too modern (she doesn't like minimalism), or neo romantic she says she wants to learn more about.

 

[watchnerd]

Orff: Carmina Burana: Fruhbeck de Burgos_New Philharmonia. Frubeck de Burgos produced a number of really fine recordings in the mid-60s to early 70s. Others:

Falla: The Three Cornered hat
Falla: El Amor Brujo
Fruhbeck de Burgos's recordings capture the sensual character of this Spanish music.

Have you heard the Jorda versions of the Falla pieces?

For Carmina, I just got the Jochum piece yesterday; haven't listened to it yet.

 

[watchnerd]

Dvorak: Symphony 9: Kertesz / VPO (NOT LSO) My favorite performance for decades. Szell/Cleveland Orchestra is another favorite.

This one with the confusing labeling (opus 95, but it says No. 5)?

https://www.discogs.com/Dvořák-Vien...-E-Minor-Op-95-From-The-New-W/release/9266346

 

[watchnerd]

I have and enjoy this DG recording of Dvorak's New World Symphony. Smetana's Moldau on here is great as well.

View attachment 18090

https://www.discogs.com/Dvořák-Smetana-Liszt-Dirigent-Ferenc-Fricsay-Symphonie-Nr-9-Aus-Der-Neuen-Welt-From-The-New-World-/master/896005

Nice review:

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-7166/?search=1

10 for performance, 8 for sound quality

 

[watchnerd]

An amusingly bad review of a period instrument version of New World by La Chambre Philharmonique:

"Everything about this performance of Dvorák’s Ninth is bad: the concept, the conducting, and the playing. First, the concept: the very idea of Dvorák on “original instruments” is stupid. The “New World” Symphony was premiered by the (now) New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in 1893. There is no evidence that the sound of that orchestra was notably different from what we expect in a modern orchestra today, whether in terms of string vibrato, number of players, or any other substantive factor. Certainly we know that it was a full-size ensemble, not the half-size (or less) string forces that Emmanuel Krivine uses here."

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-14659/?search=1

Actually, now I'm sort of curious to hear it...

 

[SIY]

I have no particular expertise and depth in Western classical music, but I would still nominate the Horenstein/Royal Philharmonic as the best version of Dvorak's From the New World that I've ever heard.

 

[Old Listener]

This one with the confusing labeling (opus 95, but it says No. 5)?

https://www.discogs.com/Dvořák-Vienna-Philharmonic-Orchestra-István-Kertész-Symphony-No5-In-E-Minor-Op-95-From-The-New-W/release/9266346

That's the one!

Dvorak himself is responsible for the numbers. 1-4 were earlier compositions and 5-9 were the ones that got numbered 1-5.

 

[Old Listener]

Have you heard the Jorda versions of the Falla pieces?

For Carmina, I just got the Jochum piece yesterday; haven't listened to it yet.

I haven't heard the Jorda performance in decades if ever.

I have the Jochum recording of Carmina Burana. I like it but the Fruhbeck de Burgos recording is what I go back to.

 

[watchnerd]

That's the one!

Dvorak himself is responsible for the numbers. 1-4 were earlier compositions and 5-9 were the ones that got numbered 1-5.

Thanks, a bit of musicological trivia I had never run across before.

And a bit of audio history trivia, too:

Note the ffss designation in the upper left.