Audiophile Classical Music Recommendations - Basic Library (Links included)

Tyson · « **Reply #20 on:** 22 Jul 2008, 04:21 am »

Quote from: ArthurDent on 22 Jul 2008, 04:17 am

Tyson -

Thanks for the list, am long overdue to expand the classical portion of my library. No small task compiling all that, as others have noted it will take a while to assimilate.

A love for classical music, fine scotch, & really good 'toons, you are obviously a man of refinement & taste.

I tip my glass of Cask Strength Laphroaig to you, sir!

tanchiro58 · « **Reply #21 on:** 22 Jul 2008, 05:09 am »

Hi Tyson,

Thank you very much to your effort putting up the lists of all well known Symphonic Orchestra and popular conductors. For now on I will follow your lists what I am interested in listening to since some I have known and some I have not.

I appreciate your times.
Tan

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #22 on:** 12 Jun 2009, 04:10 pm »

I have a recommendation and I'm guessing that this topic is the place. Howard Hanson Symphony no.3/Elegy/Lament for Beowolf (Mercury Living Presence). Deep feeling, somber but beautiful music. The large male and female chorus on Beowolf is one of the best sounding known to me. Mercury used a three microphone technique and it works wonderfully. I'd say this is a must have work of art.

Trumpets and flutes could sound a little shrill on climaxes until I changed IC's recently. Now it sounds softer but more detailed and extended. And beautiful.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #23 on:** 18 Jul 2009, 06:57 am »

Quote from: tanchiro58 on 22 Jul 2008, 05:09 am

Hi Tyson,

Thank you very much to your effort putting up the lists of all well known Symphonic Orchestra and popular conductors. For now on I will follow your lists what I am interested in listening to since some I have known and some I have not.

I appreciate your times.
Tan

Tan- Your avatar just keeps on giving. Tickles me everytime I see it. Dude, that's some kind of gallery you got!

Mortsnets · « **Reply #24 on:** 25 Jul 2009, 09:15 pm »

Thanks for the recommendations! Are they available on CD and LP?

95Dyna · « **Reply #25 on:** 3 Nov 2009, 08:41 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 27 Jun 2008, 05:02 pm

No one likes classical?

Hi Tyson,

Great list. I have many of the Classical, Romantic, Baroque listings by other performers. I very much agree that Beethoven is in a category by himself. His quartets, especially the late quartets 12-16 are otherworldly. I just bought an Esoteric X-05 and am looking forward to replacing some 80's era CD's with SACD's or well engineered CD's and will start with some of my Beethoven favorites.

Bill

Scottdazzle · « **Reply #26 on:** 3 Nov 2009, 10:33 pm »

If you're inclined to more modern and contemporary sounding classical music I recommend theses:

Fratres by Arvo Part
Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
Harmonielehre by John Adams
Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber
Symphony 5 by Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony 5 and 7 by Dmitri SHostakovich
Symphony 5 by Carl Nielsen

I think they are all available on budget label recordings if you don't want to risk much $$$.

Happy listening!

Browntrout · « **Reply #27 on:** 9 Nov 2009, 09:59 am »

Hello Tyson. I ahve a recomendation for you, it is modern, and was commsioned by Classic FM (a national radio station here) from a composer called Joby Talbot and he was tasked with producing a peice each month for twelve months with strict deadlines.
It is called 'Once Around the Sun' and is lovely, my favorite is November which is a soaring sad sweet violin piece (I used to play).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Around_the_Sun

Here you can listen to it by clicking on the little 'play' icons down the left side....
http://www.last.fm/music/Joby+Talbot/Once+Around+The+Sun

Hope you enjoy (even though all the feeling is missing due to it being computer based

)

Tyson · « **Reply #28 on:** 3 Jan 2010, 05:02 am »

I've re-updated this list to move it away from "bargain" recommendations and have a greater focus on sound quality, since this is an audiophile forum

TRM · « **Reply #29 on:** 3 Jan 2010, 10:16 pm »

thanks, really great thread that I come back to regularly

etcarroll · « **Reply #30 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 03:10 am »

Great thread, as a classical noob just used it to begin my collection. Grabbed about 15 titles, mostly from EMI Classics label.

Got a few disks of Beethoven Symphonies with O. Klemperer as conductor.

Then saw today that Philly Orchestra is presenting Beethoven's Fifth in 2 weeks, so bought a ticket to get a feel for how classical should sound when 'live'.

Tyson · « **Reply #31 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 05:55 am »

Classical music is amazing when you hear it live! Sit close, if you can, the passion, intensity, dynamics, and tone comes through like nothing you've ever heard.

etcarroll · « **Reply #32 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 05:07 pm »

Oh - didn't think it would be wise to get to close, I grabbed a seat in first balcony, first row of it, middle section, so looking directly at the stage.

scp2 · « **Reply #33 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 06:50 pm »

etcarrol

I would be inclined to sit back a little myself...but I am a newbie as well. I recently attended a chamber orchestra and sat in the second row and as underwelmed by the harmonics. I noticed when I bought the tickets most of the tics in the center of the hall sold first. I know chamber is different...so I will be interested to hear your experince, we are going to the symphony next.

Tyson · « **Reply #34 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 07:54 pm »

Well, there's 2 schools of though on listening to an orchestra - the dominant school of thought says to set a bit back because you can hear the "hall acoustics" better, and you'll hear a more blended sound. Most classical music listeners would say that's best. I however prefer the greater separation and spatial information you get by sitting closer. Sitting back is more beautiful, sitting closer is more exciting. Just depends on what you like best...

rajacat · « **Reply #35 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 08:37 pm »

Tyson,

Do you have a favorite Respighi recording in particular The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome? I've been listening to the Dutoit version and I find the sound quality to be quite good.

In addition, what are your favorite Mussorgsky performances?

-Roy

Tyson · « **Reply #36 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 09:08 pm »

I don't listen to Pines of Rome much, but the Mussorgsky by Reiner is spectacular. The latest Paavo Jarvi recording has amazing sound quality, but the performance is not as good as Reiner. On piano, I like Kissin's recent recording.

rajacat · « **Reply #37 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 09:24 pm »

Thanks.

I prefer Pictures at an Exhibition performed on piano to the orchestral versions I've heard.

One version of Pictures at an Exhibition performed and arranged by Kazuhito Yamashita for classical guitar may upset the purists but it's a very entertaining and heroic effort.

-Roy

geezer · « **Reply #38 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 09:40 pm »

I have only one quibble with your list: I'm not familiar with Kirshbaum, but I think the recording of the Bach solo suites for cello done by Janos Starker beats the others you listed.

And why did you not have anything by Glass? Is it because you hate his stuff as much as I do?

Tyson · « **Reply #39 on:** 18 Jan 2010, 11:42 pm »

Starker is very good, but his best recording of the suites is pretty old and I'm trying to keep it to more recent, very high quality recorded sound. If we include historical performances, then I'd place Starker second, after Fournier, but ahead of Casals, Rostropovich, Schiff, Whispelwey, and Ma.