The CDs of Your Classical Music Collection CD Guide
The CDs of Your Classical Music Collection CD Guide
The CDs of Your Classical Music Collection CD Guide
Classical Music CD Buying Guide -- Where to buy CDs, and how to choose recordings. Recommended Classical CDs
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Top 10 CDs -- Essential CDs to start your classical music collection. Top 20 CDs -- Expanding your collection. Top 10 by Composer
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750) Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) Brahms, Johannes (1833-1897) Debussy, Claude (1862-1918) and Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937) -- Coming Soon! Haydn, Franz Joseph (1732-1809) Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791) Schubert, Franz (1797-1828) Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich (1840-1893) Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901) -- New!
Top 10 by Era
Renaissance (1400-1600) Baroque (1600-1750) Classical (1750-1810) Romantic (1810-1880) Early Modern (1880-1920) Twentieth Century (1920-2000)
Top 10 by Genre
Symphony Concerto Orchestral String Quartet Chamber Music Piano Song Choral Music Opera
Top 10 Books
Books and Web Sites may tell you a great deal about the music and its composers, but no amount of words can evoke the feelings aroused by a stormy Beethoven symphony or a tender Schubert string quartet. However, you can (and should!) read books to supplement your increasing knowledge of music as you build your collection. Here are our recommendations. Attending Concerts is very expensive. For the price of a ticket to the symphony, you can buy half the CDs on our Top-10 Classical CDs list. In addition, going to a concert hall is inconvenient, you have no control over the program, and the quality of the performance may be unpredictable. This is not to say that concerts should have no place in your life -- indeed, once you know a little about what music you like and what makes a good performance, classical concerts may be among your most sublime, moving, and memorable experiences. Radio can expose you to music you haven't heard before -- up to a point. Most of today's classical music radio stations are tailored to the "Classics for Relaxation" market, which usually means boring pieces by obscure composers chosen to be unobtrusive as you wait for your dentist appointment. Our lists give you the most memorable pieces by the most important composers -- you'd have to listen to an awful lot of radio to hear all of them.
How to Use This Site If you're starting from scratch, first take a look at the Top 10 Classical CDs. All of these CDs are sure-fire winners even for the beginner. Once you've enjoyed this list, you can extend your collection to the Top 20 Classical CDs. Once you have the beginnings of a collection and know a little more about what you like or don't like, use our categorized lists to find classical music similar to your favorites -- or jump into a new area entirely. For example, if you enjoy Franz Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" String Quartet, you might check out our Romantic, String Quartets, or Schubert lists; you might hear Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 and thereby discover a deep passion for twentieth-century music. Or you may listen to Schubert's Winterreise and fall in love with German lieder. The possibilities are endless. About our Top-10 Classical Music Lists One of the best aspects of classical music is its enormous variety. The pieces on our Top 10 lists are carefully chosen so that everyone will be able to find something enjoyable. The lists contain the best works from every genre (symphony, string quartet, piano sonata, etc.), from all of the most famous composers, and from various time periods and national styles. But our lists do more than just recommend pieces to buy -- we also describe which of the dozens or hundreds of available recordings we think are the finest. We have spent hundreds of hours comparing recordings, and for each piece we recommend a specific recording based both on quality of performance and on price. When you're starting out, there's no need to buy the best Unfinished Symphony recording ever at $18 if the second-best one is only $6.99. (Eventually you will want the $18 CD as well, but that time is far off.) Our reviews and recommendations are entirely independent, and are not influenced by any of our sponsors or affiliates. With all our expertise at your fingertips, you're bound to find classical music you love at a price you can afford. Happy listening!
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= best in group Factors to Consider When Buying Classical Music CDs Most classical works have dozens or hundreds of recordings; your choice of CD will be influenced by a variety of factors, including price, quality of the performance, and what other works are on the CD. We attempt to demystify the classical CD-buying process, sending you well on your way to building your own collection. Your first impulse may be to buy the cheapest available recording of the work you want. This will be adequate for a little while, but as you gain experience you will realize that the cheap CD isn't very good; you will long for something better, and the money you originally spent will be wasted. With shrewd shopping, you can get recordings that offer high quality and low price. Here are some factors to consider:
Performers and Conductor: There are thousands of different performers and everyone has his or her own taste, so we wouldn't dream of recommending specific performers or conductors in general. However, if you find an artist or ensemble that particularly moves you, chances are that you'll enjoy other recordings featuring the same artist. Record Label: Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, London/Decca, Philips, RCA, and Sony/CBS are the major classical music labels today. These six labels maintain a consistently high standard across the board, and it's unlikely you'll go wrong choosing a recording from one of these companies. Other high-quality labels with more limited catalogues include Bis, Chandos, Harmonia Mundi, Hyperion, and Virgin Classics. Naxos is a popular label with an enormous catalogue that often has very good recordings at very low prices. However, some Naxos CDs are only mediocre, and it's hard to know which is which. Avoid $2 to $4 CDs on labels such as Excelsior, Laserlight, Point Classics, and Vienna Masters -- these labels use no-name performers and their engineers are not as technically proficient as those of the major recording companies. Coupling: Most classical music CDs contain more than 60 minutes of music, which means that if the
piece you're looking for is only a half hour, there will be one or more "filler" pieces on the CD. Make sure that you consider the CD as a whole, since you will probably listen to the filler pieces as often as the main work. Choose filler works that could stand on their own; the best choice is another important work by the same composer or a similar work by another major composer. Avoid obscure filler pieces that claim some tangential relation to the principal work.
Reviews: If possible, seek out reviews of various recordings before you buy. Our site makes the decision easy by recommending a single recording for each piece. If you want to strike out on your own, our Books page offers four different guidebooks that compile classical CD reviews. Amazon.comcustomer reviews can also be useful, but the writers' level of expertise tends to vary widely. Price: Classical CDs can be grouped into three categories based on price: Full-price ($16-$20), Mid-price ($11-15), and Bargain ($10 and under, including "two-for-one" sets). The major labels have released many of their greatest recordings at mid-price, so building your CD collection doesn't have to be a budget-breaking proposition. You should only have to pay full price for a particularly special performance or a more obscure piece. Box sets can be particularly good deals. Avoid CDs on no-name labels for under $5 -- these generally feature poor performances and bad sound quality.
Price is obviously an important aspect of your decision, but it's not the only factor. With a little thought and research, you can get a recording you'll be happy with for years to come.
Buying Classical Music CDs Online Amazon.com -- The popular bookseller also has thousands of classical CD titles. ArkivMusic.com -- The largest selection of classical music CDs online. Classical Music Reference Sites Andante -- Classical music magazine and record company whose site features an extensive reference section. Cadenza -- Resources for contemporary and classical musicians. Classical Music Pages -- Comprehensive reference Web site containing historical and biographical information and a dictionary of musical terms. Classical.net -- The Web's foremost information resource on all aspects of classical music. ClassicalNotes.net -- Classical music reviews, articles, and commentary by a deeply devoted fan. ClassicalUSA.com -- Selected resources for arts, music, and entertainment. Mfiles -- Site specializing in downloadable music (both audio files and sheet music) with good notes on the major composers. Music & Vision Magazine -- The world's first daily classical music magazine. Naxos -- Record label producing bargain-priced CDs of music in every style and genre. Yahoo! Classical Music Directory -- Hundreds of web sites, organized by subcategory. Partner Sites SpainAdventure.com: How to find and choose a study-abroad program in Spain, and have the time of your life! SailingCourseGuide.com: How to find and choose a great sailing school
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 -- Carlos Kleiber The most famous piece of classical music ever written. Review... Mozart: Piano Concertos 20, 21 -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Symphonic brilliance and pianistic virtuosity. Review... Beethoven: "Pathtique" and "Moonlight" Piano Sonatas -- Alfred Brendel Beethoven's more intimate medium of expression. Review... Bach: Brandenburg Concertos -- Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Baroque bravura. Review... Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 -- Eroica Trio A chamber masterpiece 25 years in the making. Review... Stravinsky: Rite of Spring -- Igor Stravinsky A scandalous ballet. Review... Schubert: "Death and the Maiden" String Quartet -- Amadeus String Quartet A dying man's outpouring of grief. Review... Tchaikovsky: "Pathtique" Symphony -- Mariss Jansons So tragic it must have been written by a Russian. Review... Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass -- David Willcocks A joyous celebration of life. Review... Bizet: Carmen -- Teresa Berganza, Plcido Domingo, Claudio Abbado The world's most popular opera. Review...
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber, conductor Beethoven's Fifth is perhaps the most famous piece of classical music ever written, and deservedly so. The famous opening four note motif serves as the thematic material for the whole first movement, and it reappears in the third and fourth movements to make the symphony into a unified whole rather than a collection of four individual movements. This unity is apparent in other respects as well: the stormy opening movement is in a dark minor key, and the mood gradually shifts through the middle two movements and culminates in a glorious brass fanfare that opens the finale. Carlos Kleiber's recording with the Vienna Philharmonic still stands as one of the all-time greats. Similar works: Top 10 Beethoven, Top 10 Classical, Top 10 Symphonies
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"
Amadeus String Quartet In the last few years before he died of syphilis at the age of 31, Franz Schubert experienced one of the most prolific periods of creative genius humankind has ever seen. This quartet is one of the fruits of that period. In the first movement, Schubert develops a simple descending-scale motif into an intense outpouring of grief. The quartet takes its name from the theme of the second movement, a song which Schubert wrote when he was twenty. In its quartet incarnation, Schubert takes the simple melody through a whole range of moods, building to an impassioned frenzy and then relaxing. The Amadeus Quartet offer a convincing performance at a reasonable price. Similar works: Top 10 Schubert, Top 10 Romantic, Top 10 String Quartets
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, "Choral" -- Herbert von Karajan An inspiring journey, culminating in the "Ode to Joy." Review... Schubert: Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" -- Carlos Kleiber The torso of a symphonic giant. Review... Beethoven: "Razumovsky" String Quartets -- Takcs String Quartet Revolutionary chamber works. Review... Bach: Goldberg Variations -- Glenn Gould From a simple song to complex counterpoint. Review... Handel: Messiah -- Trevor Pinnock Far more than a Christmas carol. Review... Mozart: Symphonies 35-41 -- Karl Bhm The Classical style achieves perfection. Review... Vivaldi: The Four Seasons -- Anne-Sophie Mutter, Trondheim Soloists The musical score to the film of Time. Review... Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 -- Gidon Kremer, Misha Maisky, Martha Argerich Memorializing a dear friend. Review... Dvork: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" -- Fritz Reiner The Czech master takes on a new continent. Review... Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets -- Belcea String Quartet Ethereal harmony. Review...
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 59, Nos. 1-3, "Razumovsky"
Takcs String Quartet If Beethoven's symphonies revolutionized the realm of orchestral music, his string quartets did no less to change the nature of chamber music. The string quartets of Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven's immediate predecessors, grew out of tradition of the divertimento, music intended for diversion or amusement and often played in the background. On the other hand, these three quartets, from Beethoven's so-called "middle period," are very serious affairs that command the listener's full attention. They have often been said to be symphonies in miniature, for Beethoven is able to coax as much emotion and sonority from four players as he is from a full orchestra. This recording demonstrates why Takcs Quartet have emerged as today's leading interpreters of the Beethoven quartets. The playing is profound and technically impeccable, and the Takcs make these quartets still sound fresh even after dozens of listenings. Similar works: Top 10 Beethoven, Top 10 Classical, Top 10 String Quartets
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concertos Op. 8, Nos. 1-4, "The Four Seasons"
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Trondheim Soloists This set of four concertos for violin and orchestra is a fine example of program music -- music designed to conjure specific images or tell a particular story. Each concerto is accompanied by a sonnet describing events of the given season, and Vivaldi's music presents musical depictions of the same events. The "Four Seasons" have been recorded and performed so often that they are in danger of being clichd, but Anne-Sophie Mutter lays that danger to rest with her exciting performance.
Antonn Dvork: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World"
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Friz Reiner, conductor Antonn Dvork (pronounced "DVOR-zhak") began his last symphony while he was directing the National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1892, and finished it while on vacation in the Czech community of Spillville, Iowa in 1893. Its first performance, in Carnegie Hall in 1893, was met with great critical acclaim, and it has been a staple of the repertoire ever since. Though the symphony does not quote directly any Native American or AfricanAmerican themes, Dvork was profoundly influenced by these two types of music, and this influence distinguishes "From the New World" from Dvork's previous works. The symphony is most notable for its slow movement, whose simple but enchanting melody conveys a mood of great peacefulness. Nearly 50 years after its first release, Fritz Reiner's recording with the Chicago Symphony orchestra is still the best interpretation available. Similar works: Top 10 Romantic, Top 10 Symphonies
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G major; Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F major
Belcea String Quartet While Arnold Schoenberg and his followers in Germany were getting all the attention for breaking the conventional rules of composition, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel in France were quietly experimenting with their own revolutionary style, which has since come to be called Impressionism. The hallmark of Impressionism is new combinations of sounds that exist purely for their own sake, and don't need to lead to or follow from any other sounds. These two quartets exemplify the style; Debussy's quartet makes the listener feel she is floating on air, and Ravel's, while remaining firmly on the ground, takes some surprising turns. The Belcea Quartet give exquisite -- and very French -- performances of these two masterpieces, and at super-bargain price this is a recording not to be missed. Similar works: Top 10 Early Modern, Top 10 String Quartets
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Brandenburg Concertos -- Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Baroque bravura. Review... Goldberg Variations -- Glenn Gould From a simple song to complex counterpoint. Review... B Minor Mass -- John Eliot Gardiner A summary of everything Bach knew about choral writing. Review... The Well-Tempered Clavier -- Rosalyn Tureck A cornucopia of counterpoint. Review... Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin -- Henryk Szeryng Making a single instrument sound like four. Review... Cello Suites -- Mstislav Rostropovich A rite of passage for any cellist. Review... Saint Matthew Passion -- John Eliot Gardiner A moving portrait of Jesus's last days. Review... Cantatas -- Joshua Rifkin A sacred sampler. Review... Toccata and Fugue, Passacaglia and Fugue -- E. Power Biggs Gems of improvisation on the organ. Review... Orchestral Suites -- Sir Neville Marriner Instrumental interludes. Review...
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Violin Concertos -- Arthur Grumiaux, Herman Krebbers, Heinz Holliger Bach emulates Vivaldi. Review... The Art of Fugue -- Emerson String Quartet The master of fugue at his most inspired. Review...
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565; Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
E. Power Biggs, organ In addition to composing choral works, Bach was responsible for the organ music at the various churches where he was employed. Usually his music would be improvised based on a chorale tune, and the organ works he wrote down retain this improvisatory character. The most famous such piece is the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, with its famous opening call and a fugue subject that is now a popular cell phone ring. The Passacaglia in C minor, a set of variations on a repeated harmonic pattern, comes in a close second. This bargain CD features the legendary E. Power Biggs playing these two masterpieces as well as five others. Similar works: Top 10 Piano
Violin Concertos Nos. 1-2, BWV 1041-1042; Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043
Arthur Grumiaux, Herman Krebbers, violin; Les Solistes Romands, Arpd Gerecz, conductor Bach was an ardent admirer of the italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, author of more than five hundred concertos, so it was only natural that he should write a few of his own. Bach's concertos closely follow the style of Vivaldi's. The first movement features a recurring passage called aritornello that is moved about and traded off between soloist and orchestra. The middle movement is slow and expressive, and the finale is usually in a popular dance style. Unlike later concertos, which emphasize the virtuosity of the soloist, Bach's concertos treat the soloist and orchestra equally. Similar works: Top 10 Concertos
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Symphony No. 5 -- Carlos Kleiber The most famous piece of classical music ever written. Review... "Pathtique" and "Moonlight" Piano Sonatas -- Alfred Brendel Beethoven's more intimate medium of expression. Review... "Razumovsky" String Quartets -- Takcs String Quartet Revolutionary chamber works. Review... Symphony No. 9, "Choral" -- Herbert von Karajan An inspiring journey, culminating in the "Ode to Joy." Review... Violin Concerto -- Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Eugen Jochum Inaugurating the era of the Romantic concerto. Review... Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" -- Stephen Kovacevich, Sir Colin Davis The king of piano concertos. Review... Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" -- George Szell A revolutionary symphony. Review... "Spring" and "Kreutzer" Violin Sonatas -- Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy The young composer at his most jubilant. Review... Late String Quartets -- Takcs String Quartet Quartets that break all the rules. Review... Late Piano Sonatas -- Maurizio Pollini Complex works that set a new standard. Review...
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Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral" -- Karl Bhm A musical painting of the countryside. Review... "Archduke" Piano Trio -- Alexander Schneider, Pablo Casals, Eugene Istomin A royal piece of chamber music. Review... Cello Sonatas -- Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter A summary of Beethoven's musical development. Review... Missa Solemnis -- John Eliot Gardner Sublime sacred music. Review...
Violin Sonatas No. 5, Op. 24, "Spring"; No. 9, Op. 47, "Kreutzer"
Itzhak Perlman, violin; Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano The "Spring" sonata was not given that name by Beethoven, but its sweetly melodious nature justifies the title. The "Kreutzer" sonata was dedicated to the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer but was actually premiered by the English violinist George Bridgetower. Beethoven barely completed the sonata in time for the first performance, Bridgetower had to play the difficult piece virtually at sight. Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy had a bit more rehearsal than Bridgetower, but their playing has the spontaneity of that first performance.
Cello Sonatas Nos. 1-2, Op. 5; No. 3, Op. 69; Nos. 4-5, Op. 102
Mstislav Rostropovich, cello; Sviatoslav Richter, piano Beethoven's works for cello and piano provide a microcosm of his development as a composer. The first two are early works, exhibiting Beethoven's absorption of the Viennese style of Haydn and Mozart. The third is a middle-period work in which Beethoven experiments with musical structures, while the last two are grandly conceived works composed as Beethoven was moving towards his later style. This bargain CD featuring Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter contains some of the finest performances ever to emerge from behind the Iron Curtain. Similar works: Top 10 Chamber Music
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Piano Trio No. 1 -- Eroica Trio A chamber masterpiece 25 years in the making. Review... Violin Concerto -- Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner The most Romantic of violin concertos. Review... Clarinet Quintet -- David Shifrin, Emerson String Quartet We only wish Brahms had discovered the clarinet earlier. Review... Symphony No. 2 -- Bruno Walter Brahms's most tuneful symphony. Review... Piano Quartets -- Beaux Arts Trio Chamber music that Brahms himself thought was his best. Review... A German Requiem -- John Eliot Gardiner Had enough of those Latin Masses? Review... String Sextets -- Stern, Ma, etc. Demonstrating the endless possibilities of six instruments. Review... Piano Concertos -- Leon Fleisher, George Szell Grand symphonic works with piano virtuosity too. Review... Symphony No. 1 -- Otto Klemperer Also known as "Beethoven's Tenth." Review... Piano Works -- Radu Lupu A sampling of Brahms's best. Review...
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Violin Sonatas -- Henryk Szeryng, Artur Rubinstein Lyricism and fire. Review... String Quartets Nos. 1-2 -- Alban Berg Quartet "Progressive" works in the tradition of Beethoven. Review... Brahms: Four Serious Songs -- Hans Hotter A dying man asks, 'What happens next?' Review...
Piano Quartets: No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25; No. 2 in A major, Op. 26; No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60
Beaux Arts Trio; Walter Trampler, viola Brahms' Piano Quartets are among his most popular compositions, and the composer himself regarded them as noteworthy: Brahms selected the Quartet No. 1 for his Vienna debut in 1862, and the Viennese public were deeply impressed. The quartet's first movement is based upon a simple four-note theme that is spun out with ever-increasing elaboration. The second movement is cloaked in a romantic aura of mystery, while the finale is an exciting "Hungarian Rondo." The Third Quartet was composed at the same time as the first two but only published in 1875 after extensive revision. The composition is tragic on a grand scale, most notably in the lyrical slow movement. The Beaux Arts Trio (joined by Walter Trampler on viola) give invigorating performances of the three quartets, and this two-for-one set also includes Brahms's second Piano Trio.. Similar works: Top 10 Chamber Music
Piano Concertos: No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15; No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
Leon Fleisher, piano; Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, conductor Brahms's two piano concertos were written more than twenty-five years apart and demonstrate his development as a composer. The first concerto was conceived as a symphony, but the twenty-something Brahms could not bring himself to write a symphony and invoke the inevitable comparisons with Beethoven, so he converted it to a concerto. The second concerto was written after Brahms had two symphonies under his belt, and is much more relaxed. Goerge Szell was a masterful interpreter of Brahms's orchestral music, and he shines on this recording featuring the great Leon Fleisher. Similar works: Top 10 Concertos
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Symphonies Nos. 103, 104 -- Richard Hickox Stunning successes in London. Review... Lord Nelson Mass -- David Willcocks A joyous celebration of life. Review... String Quartets Op. 76 -- Lindsay String Quartet The pinnacle of Haydn's chamber music. Review... Symphony No. 45, "Farewell" -- Roy Goodman A stormy symphony with an interesting twist at the end. Review... The Creation -- Fritz Wunderlich, Herbert von Karajan A musical illustration of the first seven days. Review... "London" Symphonies -- Sir Colin Davis A selection of Haydn's final masterpieces. Review... String Quartets Op. 33 -- Lindsay String Quartet Quartets composed in a "new and special way." Review... Piano Sonatas -- Andrs Schiff Neglected works comparable to Mozart's best. Review... Trumpet Concerto -- Wynton Marsalis, Raymond Leppard A jazz all-star takes on the Classical world. Review... "Paris" Symphonies -- Antl Dorati Works that made Haydn beloved to French audiences -- even the queen. Review...
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Piano Trios -- Beths, Bylsma, Levin Chamber music that bridges the gap from Baroque to Beethoven. Review...
Symphony No. 103 in E-flat major, "Drumroll"; Symphony No. 104 in D major, "London"
Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox, conductor When Haydn traveled to England in 1791, he was hailed there as "the greatest composer in the world." He had been invited to compose and conduct a set of six symphonies for public performance, and he was determined that these works should live up to the advance billing. Indeed they did, and the British public were so grateful that he was asked to come back a few years later and write another set of six symphonies. The final two, Nos. 103 and 104, are Haydn's crowning achievements in the genre. They summarize everything Haydn had learned about the craft of composition, and they include some of the composer's most memorable melodies. The "Drumroll" symphony gets its name from the percussionist's part at the beginning, and is also notable for incorporating Croatian melodies remembered from Haydn's youth. The "London" symphony begins with a stately fanfare and then bursts into a sunny Allegro, and its final movement features a catchy folklike melody. Richard Hickox gives a sparkling performance on the CD which also includes the Symphony No. 95. Similar works: Top 10 Symphonies
The Creation
Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Christa Ludwig, mezzo soprano; Fritz Wunderlich, tenor; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Walter Berry, bass baritone; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Singverein, Herbert von Karajan, conductor This oratorio (a dramatic work that is not staged) tells the story of the creation, based on the Book of Genesis and John Milton's Paradise Lost. Throughout, Haydn uses instrumental effects to illustrate the story, such as a murky and dissonant texture illustrating chaos that transforms into a brilliant choral outburst at the words "Let there be light!" Herbert von Karajan's performance -- featuring the great tenor Fritz Wunderlich -- is one of the finest ever set down on record.
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Piano Concertos 20, 21 -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Symphonic brilliance and pianistic virtuosity. Review... Symphonies 35-41 -- Karl Bhm The Classical style achieves perfection. Review... Requiem -- John Eliot Gardiner Exploring the depths of grief. Review... "Haydn" String Quartets -- Alban Berg Quartet Viennese one-upmanship? Review... Don Giovanni -- Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Carlo Maria Giulini Mozart casting himself as a Don Juan? Review... Clarinet Concerto -- Jack Brymer, Sir Thomas Beecham Inspiration from a clarinettist friend. Review... "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" -- Bruno Walter The famous serenade hides a mystery. Review... The Magic Flute -- Fritz Wunderlich, Karl Bhm Fantasy and fairytale in ancient Egypt. Review... Clarinet Quintet -- Antony Pay, ASMF Chamber Ensemble Chamber music with a kick. Review... Sinfonia Concertante -- Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Zubin Mehta Violin and viola vying for virtuosity. Review...
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Piano Sonatas -- Mitsuko Uchida A chronicle of Mozart's development. Review... Piano Concertos 23, 24 -- Richard Goode, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Darkness and light. Review... Lieder -- Elly Ameling Sparkling little gems from a jack of all trades. Review...
Symphonies: No. 35, "Haffner"; No. 36, "Linz"; No. 38, "Prague"; Nos. 39-40, No. 41, "Jupiter"
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Bhm, conductor These six symphonies are the last that Mozart wrote before his death at the tender age of 36, and they represent the pinnacle of the Viennese Classical style. The works demonstrate all the expressive possibilities of Mozart's music: the 35th is brimming with exuberance, while the 40th is dark and brooding, and the stately nature of the 41st led to its nickname of "Jupiter." In the final movement of the 41st, one hears different instruments entering right after each other with the same theme -- a technique Mozart had only recently acquired by studying the works of Bach. Karl Bhm was one of the great Mozart interpreters, and his Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra gives these works the gravity that they deserve. Similar works: Top 10 Symphonies
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364
Itzhak Perlman, violin; Pinchas Zuckerman, viola; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, conductor The sinfonia concertante was a popular form in the late eighteenth century, as it allowed two or more soloists to share center stage and attempt to outdo each other in terms of virtuosity. Mozart's most famous essay in the genre was written in 1779 and contains two unusual features. First, the viola section is divided in two, giving the orchestra a richer sonority. Second, the solo viola player is instructed to tune his instrument up a half step, making the sound brighter and more similar to the violin. Pinchas Zuckerman, whose primary instrument is the violin, takes up the challenge of the viola and creates a perfect blend with Itzhak Perlman--at their first entrance the listener can hardly tell that both instruments are playing. Similar works: Top 10 Concertos
Lieder
Elly Ameling, soprano; Dalton Baldwin, piano The Lied is usually not a genre associated with Mozart, but these little gems demostrate that Mozart was indeed master of every musical form known to his time. Soprano Elly Ameling sparkles in her renditions of thirty-five Mozart songs, and this two-disc set also includes six notturni for voices and woodwind.
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"Death and the Maiden" String Quartet -- Amadeus String Quartet A dying man's outpouring of grief. Review... Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" -- Carlos Kleiber The torso of a symphonic giant. Review... String Quintet -- Emerson String Quartet, Mstislav Rostropovich Chamber music on a symphonic scale. Review... Impromptus for Piano -- Murray Perahia Exquisite piano miniatures. Review... Winterreise -- Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten A bleak song cycle reminiscing of lost love. Review... Symphony No. 9, "The Great" -- Sir Georg Solti A symphony with "life in every fiber." Review... String Quartet No. 15 -- Italian Quartet Schubert's last quartet, brimming with intensity. Review... Piano Trios -- Beaux Arts Trio Bridging the gap from Beethoven to Brahms. Review... Piano Sonata D. 960 -- Alfred Brendel Continuing the Viennese piano tradition. Review... Trout Quintet -- Clifford Curzon, Amadeus Quartet A popular favorite written at the age of 22. Review...
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Songs -- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore A collection of Schubert's best. Review... Octet for Winds and Strings -- Vienna Octet Viennese exuberance. Review...
Winterreise, D. 911
Peter Pears, tenor; Benjamin Britten, piano This cycle, whose title translates as "Winter's Journey," consists of twenty-four songs for solo voice with piano accompaniment. During the journey, which begins and ends in winter, the singer sings nostalgically of a failed summer romance. Written just months before the composer's death, the cycle expresses an irreparably bleak outlook on life. The mood is captured perfectly by the great British tenor Peter Pears, who is accompanied on the piano by his lifelong partner, composer Benjamin Britten.
Piano Trios: No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 99; No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 100
Beaux Arts Trio These two gems are among the multitude of great chamber works that Schubert produced in the last few years of his life. While both are expansive pieces that demand a great deal of the players, their characters differ considerably. The first trio is sunny and exuberant, while the second takes a more solemn and stately approach. The trios represent a bridge between Classical and Romantic styles of chamber music, and the Beaux Arts Trio, who have recorded numerous trios from all eras, are perfectly equipped to help us hear this historical context. Similar works: Top 10 Chamber Music
Lieder
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Gerald Moore, piano Schubert composed nearly a thousand works during his thirty-one years, and nearly six hundred of them were songs. This bargain-priced CD presents a sampling of the most famous, sung by the legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Highlights include "Der Erlknig" ("The Elven King") which protrays a father riding furiously on horseback to save his sick child from the Elven King, a symbol of death, and "Der Tod und das Mdchen" ("Death and the Maiden") which is more famous as the theme of the second movement of Schubert's fourteenth string quartet. Similar works: Top 10 Song
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"Pathtique" Symphony -- Mariss Jansons So tragic, it must have been written by a Russian. Review... Piano Concerto No. 1 -- Van Cliburn, Kiril Kondrashin The incarnation of Romantic excess. Review... Nutcracker Suite -- Mstislav Rostropovich The Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies, and much more. Review... Symphony No. 5 -- Valery Gergiev A wholly unified symphony. Review... Violin Concerto -- Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta Music that inspires "continuous bliss." Review... Souvenir de Florence -- Raphael Ensemble Six musicians on an Italian journey. Review... Symphony No. 4 -- Mariss Jansons There's no escaping Fate. Review... 1812 Overture -- Antl Dorati The famous orchestral battle piece -- complete with real cannon. Review... String Quartet No. 1 -- Emerson String Quartet The captivating Andante cantabile -- and a whole lot more. Review... Romeo and Juliet Overture -- Leonard Bernstein A musical portrayal of Shakespeare's drama -- in 15 minutes. Review...
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Symphony No. 1, "Winter Daydreams" -- Mariss Jansons Sparkling snow and ice. Review...
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La Traviata -- Angela Gheorghiu, Sir Georg Solti The most heart-wrenching tragic ending in opera history. Review... Aida -- Leontyne Price, Plcido Domingo, Erich Leinsdorf An Egyptian princess has to make the ultimate choice. Review... Rigoletto -- Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Richard Bonynge A hunchback powerless against the whims of Fate. Review... Requiem -- Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Carlo Maria Giulini The most dramatic of Requeims. Review... Il Trovatore -- Plcido Domingo, Leontyne Price, Zubin Mehta Who will have the last revenge? Review... Falstaff -- Bryn Terfel, Claudio Abbado Verdi's greatest comedy. Review... Othello -- Plcido Domingo, Cheryl Studer, Myung-Whun Chung Jealousy, the green-eyed monster. Review... The Force of Destiny -- Leontyne Price, Plcido Domingo, James Levine Love and death in Spain. Review... Don Carlos -- Plcido Domingo, Ruggiero Raimondi, Claudio Abbado Grand opera and drama in sixteenth-century France. Review... A Masked Ball -- Luciano Pavarotti, Margaret Price, Christa Ludwig, Sir Georg Solti Based on a true story. Review...
La Traviata
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano (Violetta); Frank Lopardo, tenor (Alfredo); Leo Nucci, baritone (Germont); Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Georg Solti, conductor Featuring the most heart-wrenching tragic ending in operatic history, La Traviata is a love story between the courtesan Violetta Valery and her young admirer Alfredo Germont. Following the script of many age-old tales of true love, Violetta and Alfredo try desperately to protect their love in the face of circumstances that threaten to tear them apart. Full of misunderstandings, emotional turmoil, and outlandish drama, Verdi's masterpiece has been performed thousands of times by the best artists of each era, including Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, and Maria Callas. As one of the most famous operas in the world, La Traviata is sure to give many newcomers to opera a shock: many musical motifs popularized in modern-day entertainment originated in this opera. Angela Gheorghiu has made the part of Violetta entirely her own, and Sir Georg Solti never lets the intensity falter. This performance is also available on DVD. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Aida
Leontyne Price, soprano (Aida); Plcido Domingo, tenor (Radams); Grace Bumbry, mezzo soprano (Amneris); London Symphony Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Erich Leinsdorf, conductor Verdi's Aida is at once opera at both its most grand and its most personal. The opera tells the story of an Ethiopian princess caught between the two men in her life: her lover Radams, prince of Egypt, and her father Amonasro, king of Ethiopia. Amonasro commands the Ethiopian armies in their battle against Radams and the Egyptians, and Aida and Radams must both make the ultimate choice of whether to betray their love for their respective countries. The lovers' decision -- and the tragedy that ensues -- makes for a supremely gripping story. Verdi's music ranges from the delicate (Radams's aria "Celeste Aida") to the bombastic (the Grand March, which accompanies the entrance of the Egyptian army and, in some productions, their elephants). Leontyne Price and Plcido Domingo are two of the greatest Verdi interpreters on record, and they come together in this stellar recording led by Erich Leinsdorf. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Rigoletto
Dame Joan Sutherland, soprano (Gilda); Luciano Pavarotti, tenor (Duke of Mantua); Sherrill Milnes, baritone (Rigoletto); London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Richard Bonynge, conductor The story of Rigoletto shows how even the most well-laid plans can go hopelessly awry. The lecherous Duke of Mantua has his eyes on Gilda, who unbeknownst to him is the daughter of the Duke's hunchbacked court jester Rigoletto. When Rigoletto gets wind of the Duke's intentions he does all in his power to stop the Duke and exact revenge, but betrayal, miscommunication, and even a curse combine to turn the tables on Rigoletto. The final scene, which depicts the worst fear of every father, is a masterpiece of operatic tragedy. Musically, the opera is best known for the Duke's aria, "La donna mobile," which is perhaps Verdi's most popular tune, instantly recognized throught the world. Luciano Pavarotti's name can hardly be dissociated from the aria and the role of the Duke; Richard Bonynge's recording, made when Pavarotti was in his prime, features the great tenor as well as a tremendous supporting cast, and has been the gold standard for Rigoletto for more than 35 years. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Requiem
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano; Christa Ludwig, mezzo soprano; Nicolai Gedda, tenor; Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass; Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus, Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor Verdi's Requiem takes its inspiration from two of Italy's foremost artists: the composer Gioacchino Rossini and the poet Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi composed one movement of the Requiem in 1869 for a compilation Mass in honor of Rossini's death, but this Mass was never performed. Four years later, the death of Manzoni (a personal hero of Verdi's) inspired the composer to expand his single movement into a full Requiem Mass. With more than twenty operas already under his belt, Verdi had vast experience writing dramatic music for chorus, and this expertise is evident throughout the Requiem; indeed, the Requiem has been described as "a magnificent opera disguised as a sacred work." Carlo Maria Giulini's recording, featuring the great soprano Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, has been the classic interpretation of this work for more than forty years. Similar works: Top 10 Choral
Il Trovatore
Plcido Domingo, tenor (Manrico); Leontyne Price, soprano (Leonora), Fiorenza Cossotto, mezzo soprano (Azucena); Sherrill Milnes, baritone (Il Conte di Luna); New Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Zubin Mehta, conductor Il Trovatore is a story of revenge: the Count di Luna wants to get even with the troubadour Manrico for stealing the heart of his beloved Leonora, and the gypsy Azucena seeks to pay back the Count for the death of her mother. These stories play out through a tableau of duels, battles, marriages, and even a conversion to nunnery. But all is not as it seems, and the final determination of who is avenged has shocked audiences for 150 years. The great Verdi singers Plcido Domingo and Leontyne Price as well as a stellar supporting cast come together under Zubin Mehta to produce what is commonly regarded as the greatest Trovatore on record. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Falstaff
Bryn Terfel, bass baritone (Falstaff); Thomas Hampson, baritone (Ford); Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Radio Chorus, Claudio Abbado, conductor Falstaff is the last opera Verdi wrote and is the only one of his major works that is not a tragedy. The story, adapted from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV, features wife switching, double crossing, costume changing, and even the title character jumping headfirst into a laundry basket. When the dust settles, Falstaff's arrogance has been turned down a notch, and he leads a great fugue that proclaims, "All the world's a joke. We are all born fools." Bryn Terfel does an admirable job filling the shoes of the larger-than-life Falstaff, and Claudio Abbado conducts with thrilling precision. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Otello
Plcido Domingo, tenor (Otello); Cheryl Studer, soprano (Desdemona); Sergei Leiferkus, baritone (Iago); Bastille Opera Orchestra, Paris Opera Children's Chorus, Bastille Opera Chorus, Myung-Whun Chung, conductor Verdi's Otello, composed in 1887, shows the composer's reaction to musical devopments in the sixteen years since his previous opera, Aida. During this time many important works made their premieres, including Bizet's Carmen, Wagner's Ring cycle, and all of Brahms' symphonies. Verdi's response was to unify his music by repeating orchestral motives throughout the work and by keeping each act as a continuous whole rather than breaking it into separate arias, duets, and choruses. The story, adapted faithfully from Shakespeare's play Othello, demonstrates the terrible consequences of unchecked jealousy. Plcido Domingo turns in a remarkable performance as the Moor of Venice, and Sergei Leiferkus makes a convincingly evil Iago. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Don Carlos
Plcido Domingo, tenor (Don Carlos); Ruggero Raimondi, bass (King Philippe II); Katia Ricciarelli, soprano (Queen Elisabeth of Valois); Lucia Valentini-Terrani, mezzo soprano (Princess Eboli); Leo Nucci, baritone (Rodrigue); Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan, Claudio Abbado, conductor Don Carlos is Verdi's grandest opera, and his only major work that is in French. Premiered in Paris in 1867, the opera in its full version consists of more than four hours of music. The story is based on the life of the Carlos of Asturias, a sixteenth-century Spanish prince. Don Carlos is betrothed to Elisabeth of Valois, but because of a complicated political deal Elisabeth marries Don Carlos's father, Prince Phillip II of Spain. Claudio Abbado leads the first complete recording of the opera in French; for those preferring the Italian version, Carlo Maria Giulini's recording-- also featuring Plcido Domingo and Ruggero Raimondi -- is not to be missed. Similar works: Top 10 Opera
Un Ballo in Maschera
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor (Riccardo/Gustavo); Margaret Price, soprano (Amelia); Renato Bruson, baritone (Renato/Count Anckarstrm); Christa Ludwig, mezzo soprano (Ulrica) Kathleen Battle, soprano (Oscar); National Philharmonic Orchestra London, London Opera Chorus, Royal College of Music Choir, Sir Georg Solti, conductor Un Ballo in Maschera is based -- very loosely -- on the1792 assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, who was shot while attending a masked ball. Verdi adapted Eugne Scribe's fictionalized account of the assassination, but Italian censors forced him to move the setting from Sweden to colonial America. King Gustavo then became the colonial governor, Riccardo, Earl of Warwick. Though this recording was made in 1983, Luciano Pavarotti somehow takes twenty years off of his voice.
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Josquin: "Pange Lingua" Mass -- Tallis Scholars Quiz: Name the greatest Renaissance composer. Review... Monteverdi: Madrigals, Book VIII -- Consort of Musicke Madrigals of War and Love. Review... Palestrina: "Pope Marcellus" Mass -- Westminster Abbey Choir The Mass that saved Roman church music. Review... Tallis: Spem in alium -- Tallis Scholars Forty melodic threads creating a tapestry of sound. Review... Monteverdi: Orfeo -- Emma Kirkby, Nigel Rogers, Charles Medlam The first great opera. Review... Praetorius: Terpsichore -- David Munrow Dance music from the French court. Review... Victoria: Motet and Mass, "O quam gloriosum" -- Westminster Cathedral Choir The pinnacle of music during the Spanish Renaissance. Review... Gabrieli: Canzoni e Sonate -- Eric Crees Joyous works for brass. Review... Lassus: Motets -- Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir Motets from the mouth of the master. Review... Byrd: Keyboard Music -- Davitt Moroney Elegant works from Elizabethan England. Review...
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Bach: Brandenburg Concertos -- Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Baroque bravura. Review... Handel: Messiah -- Trevor Pinnock Far more than a Christmas carol. Review... Vivaldi: The Four Seasons -- Anne-Sophie Mutter, Trondheim Soloists The musical score to the film of Time. Review... Bach: Goldberg Variations -- Glenn Gould From a simple song to complex counterpoint. Review... Handel: Water Music -- Orpheus Chamber Orchestra How to get in the good graces of a king. Review... Bach: B Minor Mass -- John Eliot Gardiner The Baroque master's greatest choral work. Review... Corelli: Concerti Grossi -- Nicholas McGegan Before there was Vivaldi, there was Corelli. Review... Handel: Coronation Anthems -- Sir David Willcocks A naturalized subject celebrates his new king. Review... Purcell: Dido and Aeneas -- Dame Janet Baker, Anthony Lewis The undisputed masterpiece of Baroque opera. Review... Vivaldi: Gloria -- Sir Neville Marriner A stellar choral work from the master of the concerto. Review...
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Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas -- Mikhail Pletnev The third fruit of a great vintage year. Review... Rameau: Pices de clavecin en concerts -- Terakado, Uemura, Rousset Chamber music from a late bloomer. Review... Telemann: Tafelmusik -- Richard Edlinger The most prolific composer ever. Review...
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concertos Op. 8, Nos. 1-4, "The Four Seasons"
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Trondheim Soloists This set of four concertos for violin and orchestra is a fine example of program music -- music designed to conjure specific images or tell a particular story. Each concerto is accompanied by a sonnet describing events of the given season, and Vivaldi's music presents musical depictions of the same events. The "Four Seasons" have been recorded and performed so often that they are in danger of being clichd, but Anne-Sophie Mutter lays that danger to rest with her exciting performance.
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 -- Carlos Kleiber The most famous piece of classical music ever written. Review... Mozart: Piano Concertos 20, 21 -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Symphonic brilliance and pianistic virtuosity. Review... Beethoven: "Pathtique" and "Moonlight" Piano Sonatas -- Alfred Brendel Beethoven's more intimate medium of expression. Review... Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass -- David Willcocks A joyous celebration of life. Review... Mozart: Symphonies 35-41 -- Karl Bhm The Classical style achieves perfection. Review... Beethoven: "Razumovsky" String Quartets -- Takcs String Quartet Revolutionary chamber works. Review... Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 103, 104 -- Richard Hickox Stunning successes in London. Review... Rossini: The Barber of Seville -- Hermann Prey, Claudio Abbado Figaro Figaro Figaro Fiiiiiiiiiiiigaro! Review... Weber: Clarinet Concertos -- Sabine Meyer, Herbert Blomstedt Runners-up only to Mozart. Review... Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76 -- Lindsay String Quartet Late masterpieces from the "Father of the string quartet." Review...
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Mozart: Requiem -- John Eliot Gardiner Exploring the depths of grief. Review... Boccherini: Cello Concertos -- Raphael Wallfisch, Nicholas Ward Charming concertos from a cosmopolitan master. Review... Mozart: Don Giovanni -- Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Carlo Maria Giulini Mozart casting himself as a Don Juan? Review... Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" -- George Szell A revolutionary symphony. Review... Mozart: "Haydn" String Quartets -- Alban Berg Quartet Viennese one-upmanship? Review...
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 59, Nos. 1-3, "Razumovsky"
Takcs String Quartet If Beethoven's symphonies revolutionized the realm of orchestral music, his string quartets did no less to change the nature of chamber music. The string quartets of Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven's immediate predecessors, grew out of tradition of the divertimento, music intended for diversion or amusement and often played in the background. On the other hand, these three quartets, from Beethoven's so-called "middle period," are very serious affairs that command the listener's full attention. They have often been said to be symphonies in miniature, for Beethoven is able to coax as much emotion and sonority from four players as he is from a full orchestra. This recording demonstrates why Takcs Quartet have emerged as today's leading interpreters of the Beethoven quartets. The playing is profound and technically impeccable, and the Takcs make these quartets still sound fresh even after dozens of listenings. Similar works: Top 10 Beethoven, Top 10 String Quartets
Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 103, "Drumroll"; No. 104, "London"
Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox, conductor When Haydn traveled to England in 1791, he was hailed there as "the greatest composer in the world." He had been invited to compose and conduct a set of six symphonies for public performance, and he was determined that these works should live up to the advance billing. Indeed they did, and the British public were so grateful that he was asked to come back a few years later and write another set of six symphonies. The final two, Nos. 103 and 104, are Haydn's crowning achievements in the genre. They summarize everything Haydn had learned about the craft of composition, and they include some of the composer's most memorable melodies. The "Drumroll" symphony gets its name from the percussionist's part at the beginning, and is also notable for incorporating Croatian melodies remembered from Haydn's youth. The "London" symphony begins with a stately fanfare and then bursts into a sunny Allegro, and its final movement features a catchy folklike melody. Richard Hickox gives a sparkling performance on the CD which also includes the Symphony No. 95. Similar works: Top 10 Haydn, Top 10 Symphonies
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1-2, Op. 73-74
Sabine Meyer, clarinet; Dresden Staatskapelle, Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Carl Maria von Weber lived at the crossroads of the Classical and Romantic eras. His opera Der Freischtz was the first great German Romantic opera, but the style of his clarinet concertos harkens back to an earlier era. The concertos require virtuosity but are not merely showpieces; indeed, had Mozart not written his masterpiece for clarinet, they would undoubtedly be the greatest works ever composed in the genre.
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 (Nos. 1-3, Nos. 4-6)
Lindsay String Quartet These quartets represent the pinnacle of Haydn's chamber writing, and demonstrate why Haydn deserves to be the "Father of the String Quartet" just as much as he is "Father of the Symphony." One of the most exciting is the second quartet, nicknamed "Fifths" from the musical interval that makes up the first movement's theme. The slow movement of the third quartet is a set of variations on the song "God Save Emperor Franz," which has since become the Austrian national anthem and also gives the quartet its nickname, "Emperor." The fourth quartet is nicknamed "Sunrise" after its introduction, which features a rising violin line. Though it has no nickname, the sixth is perhaps most inventive of them all, with a "Fantasia" slow movement that contains numerous harmonic surprises. The Lindsay Quartet are today's foremost Haydn interpreters, and their performances of these quartets demonstrate why this is so. Similar works: Top 10 Haydn, Top 10 String Quartets
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica"
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, conductor Beethoven's "Heroic" third symphony was originally dedicated to a contemporary revolutionary in a different field -- Napoleon Bonaparte. However, after Napoleon crowned himself emperor Beethoven stratched out the dedication and instead gave the symphony the title by which we know it today. Indeed, the symphony is one of heroic proportions. The first movement alone is nearly as long as most Mozart symphonies. The second movement is a tragic funeral march and is followed by a sprightly minuet. The finale is a set of variations that takes a simple theme and develops it in ever grander gestures. George Szell's performance is still electrifying more than forty years after it was recorded. Similar works: Top 10 Beethoven, Top 10 Symphonies
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Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 -- Eroica Trio A chamber masterpiece 25 years in the making. Review... Schubert: "Death and the Maiden" String Quartet -- Amadeus String Quartet A dying man's outpouring of grief. Review... Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 -- Van Cliburn, Kiril Kondrashin Electrifying, over-the-top Romanticism. Review... Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique -- John Eliot Gardiner A musical depiction of love's passions. Review... Chopin: Piano Works -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Sparkling piano miniatures with a Polish touch. Review... Bizet: Carmen -- Teresa Berganza, Plcido Domingo, Claudio Abbado The world's most popular opera. Review... Dvork: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" -- Fritz Reiner The Czech master takes on a new continent. Review... Verdi: La Traviata -- Angela Gheorghiu, Sir Georg Solti The most heart-wrenching tragic ending in opera history. Review... Schumann: Symphonies -- George Szell Orchestral masterpieces by the most romantic of Romantics. Review... Wagner: Tristan and Isolde -- Kirsten Flagstad, Wilhelm Furtwngler Legendary music drama. Review...
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Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathtique" -- Mariss Jansons So tragic it must have been written by a Russian. Review... Mendelssohn: Octet -- Hausmusik The greatest work ever written by a teenager. Review... Brahms: Violin Concerto -- Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner The greatest of Romantic violin concertos. Review... Schubert: Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" -- Carlos Kleiber The torso of a symphonic giant. Review... Dvork: Piano Quintet -- Andreas Haefliger, Takcs String Quartet Czech nationalism embedded in a Viennese masterpiece. Review...
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"
Amadeus String Quartet In the last few years before he died of syphilis at the age of 31, Franz Schubert experienced one of the most prolific periods of creative genius humankind has ever seen. This quartet is one of the fruits of that period. In the first movement, Schubert develops a simple descending-scale motif into an intense outpouring of grief. The quartet takes its name from the theme of the second movement, a song which Schubert wrote when he was twenty. In its quartet incarnation, Schubert takes the simple melody through a whole range of moods, building to an impassioned frenzy and then relaxing. The Amadeus Quartet offer a convincing performance at a reasonable price. Similar works: Top 10 Schubert, Top 10 String Quartets
Antonn Dvork: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World"
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Friz Reiner, conductor Antonn Dvork (pronounced "DVOR-zhak") began his last symphony while he was directing the National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1892, and finished it while on vacation in the Czech community of Spillville, Iowa in 1893. Its first performance, in Carnegie Hall in 1893, was met with great critical acclaim, and it has been a staple of the repertoire ever since. Though the symphony does not quote directly any Native American or AfricanAmerican themes, Dvork was profoundly influenced by these two types of music, and this influence distinguishes "From the New World" from Dvork's previous works. The symphony is most notable for its slow movement, whose simple but enchanting melody conveys a mood of great peacefulness. Nearly 50 years after its first release, Fritz Reiner's recording with the Chicago Symphony orchestra is still the best interpretation available. Similar works: Top 10 Symphonies
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Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 -- Eroica Trio A chamber masterpiece 25 years in the making. Review... Schubert: "Death and the Maiden" String Quartet -- Amadeus String Quartet A dying man's outpouring of grief. Review... Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 -- Van Cliburn, Kiril Kondrashin Electrifying, over-the-top Romanticism. Review... Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique -- John Eliot Gardiner A musical depiction of love's passions. Review... Chopin: Piano Works -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Sparkling piano miniatures with a Polish touch. Review... Bizet: Carmen -- Teresa Berganza, Plcido Domingo, Claudio Abbado The world's most popular opera. Review... Dvork: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" -- Fritz Reiner The Czech master takes on a new continent. Review... Verdi: La Traviata -- Angela Gheorghiu, Sir Georg Solti The most heart-wrenching tragic ending in opera history. Review... Schumann: Symphonies -- George Szell Orchestral masterpieces by the most romantic of Romantics. Review... Wagner: Tristan and Isolde -- Kirsten Flagstad, Wilhelm Furtwngler Legendary music drama. Review...
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Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathtique" -- Mariss Jansons So tragic it must have been written by a Russian. Review... Mendelssohn: Octet -- Hausmusik The greatest work ever written by a teenager. Review... Brahms: Violin Concerto -- Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner The greatest of Romantic violin concertos. Review... Schubert: Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" -- Carlos Kleiber The torso of a symphonic giant. Review... Dvork: Piano Quintet -- Andreas Haefliger, Takcs String Quartet Czech nationalism embedded in a Viennese masterpiece. Review...
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"
Amadeus String Quartet In the last few years before he died of syphilis at the age of 31, Franz Schubert experienced one of the most prolific periods of creative genius humankind has ever seen. This quartet is one of the fruits of that period. In the first movement, Schubert develops a simple descending-scale motif into an intense outpouring of grief. The quartet takes its name from the theme of the second movement, a song which Schubert wrote when he was twenty. In its quartet incarnation, Schubert takes the simple melody through a whole range of moods, building to an impassioned frenzy and then relaxing. The Amadeus Quartet offer a convincing performance at a reasonable price. Similar works: Top 10 Schubert, Top 10 String Quartets
Antonn Dvork: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World"
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Friz Reiner, conductor Antonn Dvork (pronounced "DVOR-zhak") began his last symphony while he was directing the National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1892, and finished it while on vacation in the Czech community of Spillville, Iowa in 1893. Its first performance, in Carnegie Hall in 1893, was met with great critical acclaim, and it has been a staple of the repertoire ever since. Though the symphony does not quote directly any Native American or AfricanAmerican themes, Dvork was profoundly influenced by these two types of music, and this influence distinguishes "From the New World" from Dvork's previous works. The symphony is most notable for its slow movement, whose simple but enchanting melody conveys a mood of great peacefulness. Nearly 50 years after its first release, Fritz Reiner's recording with the Chicago Symphony orchestra is still the best interpretation available. Similar works: Top 10 Symphonies
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Mahler: Symphony No. 1, "Titan" -- Leonard Bernstein The last of the great symphonists. Review... Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets -- Belcea String Quartet Ethereal harmony. Review... Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 3 -- Vladimir Ashkenazy The most difficult piano concerto ever? Review... Sibelius: Violin Concerto -- Anne-Sophie Mutter, Andr Previn Jewel of the North. Review... Puccini: La Bohme -- Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Herbert von Karajan The timeless classic of true love that inspired a Broadway sensation. Review... Debussy: Prludes -- Jean-Yves Thibaudet Painting pictures with the piano. Review... Elgar: "Enigma" Variations -- Sir Adrian Boult A musical mystery from an enigmatic Englishman. Review... Jancek: String Quartets -- Lindsay String Quartet Chamber music with a Czech flavor. Review... Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde -- Kathleen Ferrier, Julius Patzak, Bruno Walter A celebration of tragedy. Review... Ravel: Bolero; Debussy: La Mer -- Herbert von Karajan Illustrating an orchestral landscape. Review...
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Scriabin: Piano Works -- Vladimir Horowitz Masterful miniatures from a Romantic Russian. Review... Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks -- George Szell That trickster is always at it. Review... Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 -- Sir Colin Davis An emotional crescendo. Review... Schoenberg: Verklrte Nacht -- Hollywood String Quartet The founder of Modernism looks back to Brahms. Review...
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G major; Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F major
Belcea String Quartet While Arnold Schoenberg and his followers in Germany were getting all the attention for breaking the conventional rules of composition, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel in France were quietly experimenting with their own revolutionary style, which has since come to be called Impressionism. The hallmark of Impressionism is new combinations of sounds that exist purely for their own sake, and don't need to lead to or follow from any other sounds. These two quartets exemplify the style; Debussy's quartet makes the listener feel she is floating on air, and Ravel's, while remaining firmly on the ground, takes some surprising turns. The Belcea Quartet give exquisite -- and very French -- performances of these two masterpieces, and at super-bargain price this is a recording not to be missed. Similar works: Top 10 String Quartets
Leos Jancek: String Quartets No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"; No. 2, "Intimate Letters"
Lindsay String Quartet Leos Janacek, the greatest Czech composer after Dvork, made a point of including Czech influences in his works; his mature style grew out of the rhythms and inflections of Moravian peasant speech and song. He enjoyed his greatest burst of creativity near the age of seventy, after he had fallen in love with a woman half his age, and these two chamber masterpieces are from that era. Until Supraphon reissues the Jancek Quartet's famous recording, the Lindsay Quartet comes the closest to capturing the true Czech flavor of these two works. Similar works: Top 10 String Quartets
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Stravinsky: Rite of Spring -- Igor Stravinsky A scandalous ballet. Review... Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 -- Gidon Kremer, Misha Maisky, Martha Argerich Memorializing a dear friend. Review... Bartk: Concerto for Orchestra -- Fritz Reiner Swan song for a man of many talents. Review... Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1, "Classical" -- Sir Georg Solti A twentieth-century take on Haydn. Review... Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 -- Leonard Bernstein A Soviet artist redeems himself. Review... Copland: Appalachian Spring -- Leonard Bernstein The American master's Simple Gift to posterity. Review... Berg: Violin Concerto -- Anne-Sophie Mutter, James Levine Twelve-tone music as moving as Mozart. Review... Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, American in Paris -- Leonard Bernstein The fusion of Jazz and Classical. Review... Stravinsky: Violin Concerto -- Hilary Hahn, Sir Neville Marriner Modern music that looks back to the Baroque. Review... Glass: String Quartets -- Kronos Quartet A compelling introduction to Minimalism. Review...
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Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time -- Gil Shaham An outburst of concentrated despair. Review... Adams: Orchestral Works -- Edo de Waart Minimalist masterpieces. Review... Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings -- Peter Pears, Sir Eugene Goossens The fruit of a lifelong partnership. Review...
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 -- Carlos Kleiber The most famous piece of classical music ever written. Review...
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathtique" -- Mariss Jansons So tragic it must have been written by a Russian. Review...
Mozart: Symphonies 35-41 -- Karl Bhm The Classical style achieves perfection. Review...
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, "Choral" -- Herbert von Karajan An inspiring journey, culminating in the "Ode to Joy." Review...
Dvork: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" -- Fritz Reiner The Czech master takes on a new continent. Review...
Mahler: Symphony No. 1, "Titan" -- Leonard Bernstein The last of the great symphonists. Review...
Schubert: Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" -- Carlos Kleiber The torso of a symphonic giant. Review...
Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 103, 104 -- Richard Hickox Successes in London from the "father of the symphony." Review...
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 -- Leonard Bernstein A Soviet artist redeems himself. Review...
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Brahms: Symphony No. 2 -- Bruno Walter Brahms's most tuneful symphony. Review...
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Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, "Italian" -- Claudio Abbado Musical images of the southern lands. Review...
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Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique -- John Eliot Gardiner A musical depiction of love's passions. Review...
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Beethoven's Fifth is perhaps the most famous piece of classical music ever written, and deservedly so. The famous opening four note motif serves as the thematic material for the whole first movement, and it reappears in the third and fourth movements to make the symphony into a unified whole rather than a collection of four individual movements. This unity is apparent in other respects as well: the stormy opening movement is in a dark minor key, and the mood gradually shifts through the middle two pieces and culminates in a glorious brass fanfare that opens the finale. Carlos Kleiber's recording with the Vienna Philharmonic still stands as one of the all-time greats.
Tchaikovsky's sixth and final symphony is aptly named, for it is filled with pathos from beginning to end. The slow introduction lasts more than two minutes, and the tension slowly mounts until the orchestra bursts forth with a jarring brass fanfare. The turbulence rises and falls and eventually subsides; as the first movement draws to close one hears the sun coming out and a rainbow appearing. The second movement is a gentle waltz that is subtly disfigured by the fact that it is counted off in five rather than the traditional three beats. The finale, instead of being the usual rousing conclusion, is slow and quiet, trailing off so gradually into nothing that one almost can't tell when the music stops. Mariss Jansons's set of Tchaikovsky symphonies with the Oslo Philharmonic is widely regarded as the best available on record, and this recording of thePathtique shows the ensemble at its finest.
These six symphonies are the last that Mozart wrote before his death at the tender age of 36, and they represent the pinnacle of the Viennese Classical style. The works demonstrate all the expressive possibilities of Mozart's music: the 35th is brimming with exuberance, while the 40th is dark and brooding, and the stately nature of the 41st led to its nickname of "Jupiter." In the final movement of the 41st, one hears different instruments entering right after each other with the same theme -- a technique Mozart had only recently acquired by studying the works of Bach. Karl Bhm was one of the great Mozart interpreters, and his Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra gives these works the gravity that they deserve.
Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Hilde Rssl-Majdan, mezzo soprano; Waldemar Kmentt, tenor; Walter Berry, bass; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Singverein, Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Beethoven's Ninth is justly famous for its setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy" in its final movement, but what many people don't realize is that there are forty minutes of glorious music before the final movement even begins. The first movement begins in the musical equivalent of a mist, which gradually lifts to reveal the full splendor of the orchestra. The astute listener can even hear a preview of the "Ode to Joy" melody in the second theme. The second movement features a catchy melody that is passed back and forth between the different instruments, while the third movement contains some of Beethoven's most exquisite slow music. As the fourth movement begins, the orchestra plays brief reprises of the first three movements, only to reject them in favor of the famous "Ode to Joy" theme. Beethoven was a master of conveying emotion in his music; by the end of the Ode, you will truly believe that "All creatures drink of joy." For a first taste of Beethoven's Ninth, we recommend either Herbert von Karajan's 1962 recording (with Janowitz, Rssl-Majdan, Kmentt, Berry, pictured above), in which the orchestra conveys a rare intensity and depth of feeling, or his 1977 version (with Tomina-Sintow, Baltsa, Schreier, van Dam), in which the singing is noticeably better but the orchestra doesn't quite reach the same level. Another fine choice is Wilhelm Furtwngler's 1951 recording at the Bayreuth Festival (with Schwarzkopf, Hngen, Hopf, Edelmann), which is arguably the finest performance on record, but is limited somewhat by the recording technology of fifty years ago. Finally, for those who wish to hear the Ninth as (we think) the composer intended, John Eliot Gardiner conducts a compelling performance (with Orgonasova, von Otter, Rolfe Johnson, Cachemaille) using instruments and performance techniques of Beethoven's time. Similar works: Top 10 Beethoven, Top 10 Classical, Top 10 Choral
Antonn Dvork: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World"
Antonn Dvork (pronounced "DVOR-zhak") began his last symphony while he was directing the National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1892, and finished it while on vacation in the Czech community of Spillville, Iowa in 1893. Its first performance, in Carnegie Hall in 1893, was met with great critical acclaim, and it has been a staple of the repertoire ever since. Though the symphony does not quote directly any Native American or AfricanAmerican themes, Dvork was profoundly influenced by these two types of music, and this influence distinguishes "From the New World" from Dvork's previous works. The symphony is most notable for its slow movement, whose simple but enchanting melody conveys a mood of great peacefulness. Nearly 50 years after its first release, Fritz Reiner's recording with the Chicago Symphony orchestra is still the best interpretation available. Similar works: Top 10 Romantic
Whereas Beethoven's nine symphonies paved the way for the Romantic era, Gustav Mahler's nine symphonies brought the era to a close. Mahler's symphonies are very long (several do not fit on a single CD) and complex. Mahler's great innovation was in his orchestration: he combined the various instrumental colors in daring and imaginative ways. Song was also important to Mahler, and the First Symphony contains themes from a set of songs he had composed a few years earlier.
Franz Schubert completed only the first two movements of his eighth symphony, but what a pair of movements they are! The first packs in more tragedy and pathos than most composers could work into a full symphony, while the second, in a sunny major key, provides a welcome catharsis. Carlos Keliber coaxes the utmost lyricism from the Vienna Philharmonic in this emotionally charged recording. For those performing a more leisurely approach, Leonard Bernstein's recording with the New York Philharmonic is just as recommendable.
Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 103, "Drumroll"; No. 104, "London"
When Haydn traveled to England in 1791, he was hailed there as "the greatest composer in the world." He had been invited to compose and conduct a set of six symphonies for public performance, and he was determined that these works should live up to the advance billing. Indeed they did, and the British public were so grateful that he was asked to come back a few years later and write another set of six symphonies. The final two, Nos. 103 and 104, are Haydn's crowning achievements in the genre. They summarize everything Haydn had learned about the craft of composition, and demonstrate admirably why Haydn earned the title "father of the symphony." Richard Hickox gives a sparkling performance on the CD which also includes the Symphony No. 95.
Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the true giants of twentieth-century music. His fifteen symphonies and fifteen string quartets rank with Beethoven's among the greatest contributions to those two genres. The Fifth Symphony was written in 1937 and is subtitled "a Soviet artist's response to just criticism." The Soviet leader Josef Stalin had denounced Shostakovich's popular opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in 1936, and this symphony was Shostakovich's attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of the establishment. And redeem himself he did, by creating his greatest symphony. Especially notable is the triamphant finale with its blaring brass theme. Leonard Bernstein gives the definitive performance on a CD that also includes Shostakovich's equally memorable Cello Concerto.
It took Brahms more than forty years to write a symphony, but once he achieved his first the second followed within a matter of months. The symphony contains many of the composer's most catchy melodies; astute listeners will hear references to Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony and to Brahms's own lullaby in the first movement. The finale begins with a lyrical introduction that showcases the composer's ability to create what seems like a never-ending phrase, and then bursts into a jubilant orchestral fanfare. Bruno Walter was one of the greatest of Brahms interpreters, and this pairing with the Third Symphony is highly recommendable.
Felix Mendelssohn, born into a wealthy German family, was one of history's great child prodigies; his Octet remains the greatest work ever composed by a teenager. Mendelssohn's thorough education in the works of Bach, Handel, and Mozart made his works the least overtly Romantic of the great nineteenth-century composers. Unlike Schumann, Brahms, and others, he did not see himself as toiling in the shadow of Beethoven, and was thus able to compose five symphonies with relative ease. His most famous is his fourth, subtitled "Italian" because it captures aural images of the composer's trips to Italy. Unlike Berlioz's Fantastique, the symphony has no explicit program, but rather conveys abstractly impressions of southern Europe. This fine performance is coupled with Mendelssohn's other "travel" symphony, the "Scottish."
Berlioz had a specific set of images in mind as he composed this symphony, and at the first performance the audience received a program with the details written out. Subtitled, "Episodes in the life of an Artist," the symphony's subject is the passions aroused in a woman whose love the artist hopes to win. The woman is represented by a melody called an ide fixe, or "fixed idea"; this melody recurs often in the piece but the accompaniment each time creates a different mood, from desparate longing to a pastoral tranquility to a fiery witches' sabbath. John Eliot Gardiner's acclaimed performance sets a new standard for both expressiveness and authenticity.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica"
Beethoven's "Heroic" third symphony was originally dedicated to a contemporary revolutionary in a different field -- Napoleon Bonaparte. However, after Napoleon crowned himself emperor Beethoven stratched out the dedication and instead gave the symphony the title by which we know it today. Indeed, the symphony is one of heroic proportions. The first movement alone is nearly as long as most Mozart symphonies. The second movement is a tragic funeral march and is followed by a sprightly minuet. The finale is a set of variations that takes a simple theme and develops it in ever grander gestures. George Szell's performance is still electrifying more than forty years after it was recorded.
The great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius composed his second symphony while on vacation in Italy in the summer of 1901. The premiere in Helsinki was an overwhelming success, and it today it is still the most popular of Sibelius's seven symphonies. The symphony features warm orchestral scoring and memorable themes, and the emotional crescendo throughout the piece comes to a climax at the very end. Sir Colin Davis conducts an uplifting performance of the Second, and it comes on a two-for-one set with three other Sibelius symphonies. If you don't mind a scratchy recording, Thomas Beecham's famous 1954 performance -- recorded on Sibelius's 89th birthday with the composer in the audience - remains the most impassioned and energetic account of the piece ever commited to record.
Tchaikovsky's Fifth is the most unified of the composer's symphonies: the brooding melody announced in the introduction reappears in each successive movement. More upbeat than the depressing Sixth, the Fifth also demostrates Tchaikovsky's mastery of orchestration, particularly in the sweeping effects he achieves by setting different sections of the orchestra against each other. This recording shows why Valery Gergiev is today's premier interpreter of Russian orchestral music.
Mozart: Piano Concertos 20, 21 -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Symphonic brilliance and pianistic virtuosity. Review...
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos -- Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Baroque bravura. Review...
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 3 -- Vladimir Ashkenazy The most difficult piano concerto ever? Review...
Dvork: Cello Concerto -- Mstislav Rostropovich, Herbert von Karajan An American work by a homesick Bohemian. Review...
Brahms: Violin Concerto -- Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner The greatest of Romantic violin concertos. Review...
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 -- Van Cliburn, Kiril Kondrashin The incarnation of Romantic excess. Review...
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto -- Jack Brymer, Sir Thomas Beecham Inspiration from a clarinettist friend. Review...
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" -- Stephen Kovacevich, Sir Colin Davis The king of piano concertos. Review...
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons -- Anne-Sophie Mutter, Trondheim Soloists The musical score to the film of Time. Review...
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Stravinsky: Violin Concerto -- Hilary Hahn, Sir Neville Marriner Modern music that looks back to the Baroque. Review...
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Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto -- Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan A favorite of child prodigies. Review...
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Grieg: Piano Concerto -- Murray Perahia, Sir Colin Davis A Nordic giant. Review...
These two piano concertos combine orchestral brilliance with virtuosic solo work, making a splendid introduction to Mozart. The 20th, in a tragic minor key, moves from a dark and brooding beginning to an uplifting conclusion, and contains a memorable stormy outburst during an otherwise tranquil second movement. The beautiful middle movement of the 21st was used in the 1967 film Elvira Madigan and is one of Mozart's most famous pieces of music, while the finale brings the work to an exciting conclusion on a grand symphonic scale. Vladimir Ashkenazy is one of today's most versatile pianists and conductors, and he shows off both talents in this recording as he conducts from the keyboard. Ashkenazy makes the flurry of fast piano passages seem effortless while shaping the orchestra's sound perfectly. Best of all, these two concertos come with three more of Mozart's greatest concertos, all on two CDs for the price of one.
There is no better introduction to the Baroque style than these six orchestral masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. The works are in the style of the concerto grosso, which is an orchestral genre that features a dialogue between small groups of soloists and the full orchestra. Taken as a whole, the six concertos explore the diverse tonal possibilities of both solo instruments and orchestra. The first two concertos are festive, featuring horns and oboes, while the third is written for strings only and is more meditative. The fourth and fifth concertos feature virtuoso playing of the violin and harpsichord respectively, while the concluding sixth -- probably the most famous of the set -- has a jaunty atmosphere and emphasizes ensemble playing over solo work. The conductorless Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment gives a delightful performance on authentic Baroque instruments, and at less than $12 for two CDs this set is clearly a first choice.
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano; Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kiril Kondrashin, conductor (No. 2); London Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistuolari, conductor (No. 3)
Though he lived most of his life in the twentieth century, Sergei Rachmaninoff's style was firmly rooted in nineteenth-century Romanticism. His music is grandiose, passionate, melodious, and virtuosic. The Second Piano Concerto is his most popular work, and the Third (made famous in the film Shine) is said to be the most difficult piano concerto ever written. Vladimir Ashkenazy, one of the world's greatest Rachmaninoff performers, has no trouble with the two concertos in these legendary recordings.
Mstislav Rostropovich, cello; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, conductor
When the celebrated Czech composer Antonn Dvork -- who had spent his entire life in Austria and his native Bohemia -- was invited to New York in 1891, little did he suspect that his few years in America would produce the three works by which he is best known to posterity: The "New World" symphony, the "American" string quartet, and this cello concerto, considered to be the greatest ever written. Dvork wrote his concerto after hearing the New York Philharmonic play a cello concerto and realizing the expressive potential of solo cello combined with orchestra. The first movement is symphonic in scale and contains several memorable themes. The middle movement is lyrical and nostalgic, evoking the composer's homesickness for his native land, while the finale is a serious march that concludes with a rousing fanfare. Mstislav Rostropovich's 1968 recording has been the definitive version of this concerto ever since it was released.
Brahms composed his Violin Concerto in 1878 for his friend Joseph Joachim, who was the greatest violinist of his day. Having just completed his second symphony, Brahms conceived the concerto in grand symphonic proportions; the opening movement alone takes about twenty minutes to play. The finale evokes "Hungarian" or "Gypsy" themes, paying homage to Joachim's Concerto in the Hungarian Manner, which the violinist had composed in 1861 and dedicated to Brahms. This 1955 recording featuring Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Reiner has lost none of its appeal with age.
Van Cliburn, piano; RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Kiril Kondrashin, conductor
Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto is the incarnation of Romantic excess: a blockbuster orchestral work dripping with lyricism and requiring extreme virtuosity of both the orchestra and the soloist. The concerto features a majestic first movement, an intensely passionate second movement, and a fiery finale. This famous recording features the lanky Texan Van Cliburn, who in 1958 traveled to hostile Moscow at the height of the Cold War and came back an international hero as the Grand Prize winner of the First International Tchaikovsky Competition. Cliburn made this recording at Carnegie Hall in New York just a few months later, and it captures all of the drama and power that blew the socks off the Soviet judges.
Jack Brymer, clarinet; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor
Mozart wrote this concerto near the end of his life for his friend Anton Stadler, whom he had met in 1781. Stadler was an excellent clarinettist, and Mozart took advantage of both his performer's skill and new technical developments in the clarinet to create a rich, powerful work that to this day remains foremost among all clarinet concertos in the hearts of both musicians and audiences. Jack Brymer's lush tone suits the piece perfectly, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provide just the right level of excitement.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, "Emperor"
Stephen Kovacevich, piano; London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, conductor
Beethoven's fifth and last piano concerto was given the nickname "Emperor" not by the composer but by early listeners who deemed it worthy of ruling over all other concertos. This is a middle-period work, and throughout the work Beethoven breaks the molds set by his predecessors. We see this trend from the very beginning, when the soloist has long trills and runs in the first few minutes; earlier composers, and even Beethoven himself a few years before, would have introduced the piano only after the orchestra had stated the movement's main themes. This two-for-one set features Stephen Kovacevich in the "Emperor" as well as an all-star cast of soloists in Beethoven's remarkable Triple Concerto.
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concertos Op. 8, Nos. 1-4, "The Four Seasons"
This set of four concertos for violin and orchestra is a fine example of program music -- music designed to conjure specific images or tell a particular story. Each concerto is accompanied by a sonnet describing events of the given season, and Vivaldi's music presents musical depictions of the same events. The "Four Seasons" have been recorded and performed so often that they are in danger of being clichd, but Anne-Sophie Mutter lays that danger to rest with her exciting performance.
Hilary Hahn, violin; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Sir Neville Marriner, conductor
Stravinsky composed this concerto in 1931 to be played by his violinist friend Samuel Dushkin. Each of the four movements begins with the same three-note chord for the violin, and when he first saw the score Dushkin told Stravinsky that this chord couldn't be played. Stravinsky asked Dushkin to reconsider, the violinist learned new fingerings, and the concerto became a smashing success. While it is in Stravinsky's "Neoclassical" style, its structure is inspired by the Baroque concerto grosso; the movements are entitled Tocatta, Arias I and II, and Capriccio. Hilary Hahn, one of today's best young violinists, gives an inspired performance of this notoriously difficult piece.
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Mendelssohn wrote his famous violin concerto in 1838 for his violinist friend Ferdinand David, who, like Mendelssohn, had been a child prodigy. A few months after its premiere, a 14-yearold named Joseph Joachim was asked to play the concerto on extremely short notice, and he performed masterfully, launching a career that would place him as the undisputed king of nineteenth-century violinists. The concerto has remained a favorite of violinsts and audiences ever since, and it is easy to see why: Mendelssohn, like Mozart, had a gift for melody, and the concerto's themes are moving and memorable. The slow movement is as difficult as the fast ones, as the violin plays its own accompaniment, while the finale features upbeat melodies at such blazing speeds it's hard to believe only one instrument is playing them. Anne-Sophie Mutter's youthful recording simply dazzles.
Murray Perahia, piano; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, conductor
At age 25, the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg was eager to make an impact on the musical world, so he decided to write a piano concerto modeled after that of his idol, Robert Schumann. The concerto grabs the listener's attention right from the start, as it begins with a massive crescendo and then demonstrates the piano's entire seven-octave range. The middle movement takes after Beethoven more than Schumann, while the finale showcases the pianist's virtuosity on a grand scale. This mid-priced CD contains memorable performances of both the Grieg and the Schumann concertos.
Handel: Water Music -- Orpheus Chamber Orchestra How to get in the good graces of a king. Review...
Ravel: Bolero; Debussy: La Mer -- Herbert von Karajan Orchestral landscapes and seascapes. Review...
Tchaikovsky: "Nutcracker" Suite -- Mstislav Rostropovich The Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies, and much more. Review...
Mozart: "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" -- Bruno Walter The famous serenade hides a mystery. Review...
Holst: The Planets -- Charles Dutoit Music that's out of this world. Review...
Copland: Applachian Spring -- Leonard Bernstein The American master's Simple Gift to posterity. Review...
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade -- Valery Gergiev Musical storytelling from the Arabian Nights. Review...
Bartk: Concerto for Orchestra -- Fritz Reiner Swan song for a man of many talents. Review...
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Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, American in Paris -- Leonard Bernstein The fusion of Jazz and Classical. Review...
In 1913 Igor Stravinsky was an up-and-coming composer on the Paris ballet scene, with two successful works already under his belt. Rite of Spring, his third ballet, takes as its subject an ancient Russian sacrificial ritual. When the "primitive" music and unusual choreography first met with a Parisian audience, it caused a riot and sealed Stravinsky's reputation as a revolutionary composer. Stravinsky's inventive use of rhythm and colorful combinations of orchestral sounds express perfectly the primitive aspects of the sacrifice. The recording with the Columbia Symphony allows us to hear exactly what the composer intended -- for it is Stravinsky himself conducting.
At the precocious age of 25 Handel was appointed music director at the electoral court in Hanover, but he immediately took a long leave of absence in London. When his master was crowned King George I of England in 1712, Handel felt he had to save face with his boss. Legend has it that Handel regained King George's favor by writing this set of three instrumental suites to be played as a surprise for the king during a boating party on the Thames. The pieces were a success, and Handel enjoyed royal patronage for the rest of his long and prosperous career in London. The conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra give a sparkling performance of the Water Music as well as another work written for a king, the Royal Fireworks Music.
A description of Ravel's Bolero would make it sound like the most boring piece of music ever written: a simple melody is repeated more than twenty times. But the interest is not in the melody but in the instruments that play it: with each repetition Ravel introduces new instruments in the orchestra, so that no two repetitions sound alike. The result is a masterpiece of sound painting that is Ravel's most popular work. Claude Debussy's most popular work, La Mer, was inspired by a Japanese painting entitled "The Wave" and uses novel orchestration to illustrate three scenes from the sea. Herbert von Karajan gives compelling performances of these two French classics on this mid-priced CD.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky's ballets contain some of his most popular music; his Nutcracker in partucular is a staple around the Christmas season. This CD features highlights from the composer's three greatest ballets. Particularly notable are the haunting oboe melody from the introduction of Swan Lake, which recurs throughout the work, and the "characteristic dances" (including the famous "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies" and Trpak) from the Nutcracker. Mstislav Rostropovich shows in this recording that he is just as skilled with the conductor's baton as with the cellist's bow.
While most of Mozart's serenades were written on commission for occasions such as weddings, the occasion for his final serenade, entitled "A Little Night Music," remains a mystery. Nevertheless it has become one of the most famous pieces of music ever written, due in large part to its irresistible opening melody. Bruno Walter leads a memorable performance of the serenade as well as overtures to four of Mozart's greatest operas.
Gustav Holst's suite The Planets is a collection of seven orchestral movements that give each planet a distinct individual character. (Holst did not incldue Earth and Pluto had not yet been discovered.) The music for Mars, "bringer of war," is a fierce march; Mercury, the "winged messenger" is bursting with energy; and Jupiter, "bringer of jollity" is a lighthearted romp. The suite has been a popular favorite ever since its premiere in 1918, and Charles Dutoit gives a memorable performance.
Aaron Copland's early works were reserved and harmonically complex, but in the 1930s he turned to a simpler style, the apex of which is reached in his 1945 ballet Appalachian Spring. The work incorporates variations on the Shaker hymn "Tis a Gift to be Simple," which is transfigured and absorbed in the music. The ballet's arrangement in an orchestral suite is probably the most popular piece of American music today. Leonard Bernstein's recording is the definitive interpretation of the Appalachian Spring suite -- better even than the recordings made by Copland himself. The CD also includes the popular Fanfare for the Common Man and music from Copland's two other famous ballets, Billy the Kid and Rodeo.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the "mighty handful" of Russian musicians who sought to bring a uniquely Russian flavor to music at the end of the nineteenth century. Though Scheherazade is based on Arabian stories, the mood and sonority of the piece are distinctly Russian. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that the work is not intended to be an exact depiction of the tales, but rather to "direct but slightly the hearer's fancy on the path my own fancy traveled." Each movement depicts a different scene from the Arabian Nights, and weaving through them all are a violin melody representing Scheherazade and a solemn tune representing her husband the sultan. Robert Spano's debut recording with the Atlanta Symphony has immediately taken a place among the best.
Bla Bartk was important not only as a composer but also as a musical ethnologist, performer, and educator. He traveled Eastern Europe collecting folk tunes; he published the tunes in collections and fused them with Western European traditions to create a highly individual style. He created a set of graded piano lessons called Mikrokosmos that are still in use today. Bartk wrote the Concerto for Orchestra near the end of his life, and it has come to be regarded as his masterpiece. This CD features the great Fritz Reiner performing the Concerto as well as Bartk's other popular orchestral work, the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta.
Leonard Bernstein, piano and conductor; Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra
George Gershwin's music blurs the boundary between the "classical" and "popular" styles. Heavily influenced by jazz, Gershwin wrote primarily for the theater. His Porgy and Bess has been produced both as a musical an an opera. "Rhapsody in Blue" plays a similar role with concert music, combining the styles of American jazz and nineteenth-century German Romanticism. "An American in Paris" is a dizzying whirl of sound that depicts a foreigner's experiences in the artistic capital of the Roaring Twenties. Leonard Bernstein's late-1950s recordings (featuring himself at the piano) have yet to be surpassed.
Beethoven: "Razumovsky" String Quartets -- Takcs String Quartet Revolutionary chamber works. Review...
Schubert: "Death and the Maiden" String Quartet -- Amadeus String Quartet A dying man's outpouring of grief. Review...
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 -- Borodin String Quartet A haunting musical autobiography. Review...
Mozart: "Haydn" String Quartets -- Alban Berg Quartet Viennese one-upmanship? Review...
Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets -- Belcea String Quartet Ethereal harmony. Review...
Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76 -- Lindsay String Quartet Late masterpieces from the "Father of the string quartet." Review...
Beethoven: Late String Quartets -- Takcs String Quartet Quartets that break all the rules. Review...
Brahms: String Quartets Nos. 1-2 -- Alban Berg Quartet "Progressive" works in the tradition of Beethoven. Review...
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 -- Emerson String Quartet The captivating Andante cantabile -- and a whole lot more. Review...
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Jancek: String Quartets -- Lindsay String Quartet Chamber music with a Czech flavor. Review...
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Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 -- Italian Quartet Schubert's last quartet, brimming with intensity. Review...
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Schumann: String Quartets -- Eroica String Quartet Establishing chamber music mastery. Review...
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 59, Nos. 1-3, "Razumovsky"
If Beethoven's symphonies revolutionized the realm of orchestral music, his string quartets did no less to change the nature of chamber music. The string quartets of Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven's immediate predecessors, grew out of tradition of the divertimento, music intended for diversion or amusement and often played in the background. On the other hand, these three quartets, from Beethoven's so-called "middle period," are very serious affairs that command the listener's full attention. They have often been said to be symphonies in miniature, for Beethoven is able to coax as much emotion and sonority from four players as he is from a full orchestra. This recording demonstrates why Takcs Quartet have emerged as today's leading interpreters of the Beethoven quartets. The playing is profound and technically impeccable, and the Takcs make these quartets still sound fresh even after dozens of listenings.
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"
In the last few years before he died of syphilis at the age of 31, Franz Schubert experienced one of the most prolific periods of creative genius humankind has ever seen. This quartet is one of the fruits of that period. In the first movement, Schubert develops a simple descending-scale motif into an intense outpouring of grief. The quartet takes its name from the theme of the second movement, a song which Schubert wrote when he was twenty. In its quartet incarnation, Schubert takes the simple melody through a whole range of moods, building to an impassioned frenzy and then relaxing. The Amadeus Quartet offer a convincing performance at a reasonable price.
Dmitri Shostakovich's eighth string quartet is an intimate and haunting musical autobiography of a composer who was forever struggling to remain in the good graces of the Soviet regime. The quartet is structured around a four-note motif which spells out the composer's initials, DS-C-H (these are the German names of the notes D, E-flat, C, and B). The beginning listener may not recognize the numerous quotations from Shostakovich's previous works, but he or she cannot fail to be impressed by the haunting and tragic nature of this work. The Borodin String Quartet have always been the premier interpreters of Shostakovich's chamber music, and this super-bargain two-disc set features the eighth along with four other quartets spanning a period of 25 years of the composer's life.
In 1782 Franz Joseph Haydn published his set of six string quartets, Op. 33, and they quickly became the rage of Vienna. At this time Haydn's mastery of the quartet genre was widely acknowledged, and Mozart set out to write a set of quartets emulating the style of the master. After a "long and laborious endeavor," Mozart completed this set of six string quartets in 1785 and dedicated them to Haydn. Together with Haydn's quartets of the period, they form the pinnacle of the Viennese quartet style. The Alban Berg Quartet's unsurpassed recording includes these six as well as Mozart's four last quartets.
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G major; Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F major
While Arnold Schoenberg and his followers in Germany were getting all the attention for breaking the conventional rules of composition, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel in France were quietly experimenting with their own revolutionary style, which has since come to be called Impressionism. The hallmark of Impressionism is new combinations of sounds that exist purely for their own sake, and don't need to lead to or follow from any other sounds. These two quartets exemplify the style; Debussy's quartet makes the listener feel she is floating on air, and Ravel's, while remaining firmly on the ground, takes some surprising turns. The Belcea Quartet give exquisite -- and very French -- performances of these two masterpieces, and at super-bargain price this is a recording not to be missed.
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 (Nos. 1-3, Nos. 4-6)
These quartets represent the pinnacle of Haydn's chamber writing, and demonstrate why Haydn deserves to be the "Father of the String Quartet" just as much as he is "Father of the Symphony." One of the most exciting is the second quartet, nicknamed "Fifths" from the musical interval that makes up the first movement's theme. The slow movement of the third quartet is a set of variations on the song "God Save Emperor Franz," which has since become the Austrian national anthem and also gives the quartet its nickname, "Emperor." The fourth quartet is nicknamed "Sunrise" after its introduction, which features a rising violin line. Though it has no nickname, the sixth is perhaps most inventive of them all, with a "Fantasia" slow movement that contains numerous harmonic surprises. The Lindsay Quartet are today's foremost Haydn interpreters, and their performances of these quartets demonstrate why this is so.
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets, Opp. 127, 130, 131, 132, 135
Beethoven's last five quartets were among the last works he completed before his death, and all are masterpieces containing some of Beethoven's most powerful music. The music is very dense and personal, and Beethoven breaks free of nearly all contemporary conventions of harmony and form. The influence of the contrapuntal style of Bach is noticeable throughout these works, especially in the opening movement of Op. 131 and in the "Grosse Fuge" finale to Op. 130 (which was deemed so difficult that it had to be published separately as Op. 133). The Takcs Quartet give deeply moving performances of these masterpieces; for a less expensive alternative, it's hard to go wrong with the Emerson Quartet, who display tremendous virtuosity if not quite the same depth of feeling.
Just as Brahms's first symphony was dubbed "Beethoven's Tenth," these two works continue the tradition of Beethoven's string quartets. The First Quartet is in the same key and style as Brahms's first symphony, and its four movements are linked thematically to give the piece a "breathless unity." In his famous article "Brahms the Progressive," Arnold Schoenberg showed how the Second Quartet's slow movement is generated from a motif consisting of just two notes, making it a miracle of musical compactness. The Alban Berg Quartet prove their reputation as admirable Brahms interpreters in this two-disc set that also contains Brahms's Third Quartet and a quartet by Antonin Dvork.
Tchaikovsky wrote his first string quartet while he was still a student, and it was not published until 1940. The lyrical second movement is particularly appealing, and today it is often played in concert as the Andante cantabile for Cello and Strings. The other movements are equally appealing; the scherzo blazes with intensity, and the finale brings the work to a rousing conclusion. This fine performance comes paired with another Russian favorite, the Borodin Second Quartet, as well as Dvork's popular "American" quartet.
Leos Jancek: String Quartets No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"; No. 2, "Intimate Letters"
Leos Janacek, the greatest Czech composer after Dvork, made a point of including Czech influences in his works; his mature style grew out of the rhythms and inflections of Moravian peasant speech and song. He enjoyed his greatest burst of creativity near the age of seventy, after he had fallen in love with a woman half his age, and these two chamber masterpieces are from that era. Until Supraphon reissues the Jancek Quartet's famous recording, the Lindsay Quartet comes the closest to capturing the true Czech flavor of these two works.
Kronos Quartet
Philip Glass is one of the most successful composers in the school of Minimalism, and one of the most popular living composers today. Brought up with a traditional musical training at Juilliard and in Paris, Glass withdrew all of his works and turned to Minimalism after working with the Indian musician Ravi Shankar. His works feature a simple, pleasing harmonic language that develops gradually throughout the piece. These four string quartets are perfect examples of Glass's style and make an ideal introduction to Minimalist music. The Kronos Quartet are today's leading performers of contemporary chamber music, and they give these quartets a splendid reading.
Quartetto Italiano
Though he only has four instruments to work with instead of a whole orchestra, Schubert's last quartet is just as long and intense as his last symphony. The crescendo at the beginning is a microcosm of the piece as a whole; the intensity builds throughout the piece and comes to a climax after nearly fifty minutes of music. The Quartetto Italiano's classic recording comes with splendid performances of Schubert's other three late quartets, including the great unfinished "Quartettsatz."
All of Robert Schumann's publications up to 1840 were for solo piano, and he was in danger of being labeled a "miniaturist" not up to the tasks of composing a symphony or string quartet. That changed in 1842, which has come to be known as Schumann's "chamber music year": in addition to these three string quartets, he also composed his Piano Quartet and the famous Piano Quintet, all of which established Schumann as one of the all-time greats of chamber music. The quartets take after the style of Beethoven, with some characteristics particular to Schumann. Schumann's tendency to "struggle against the bar line" -- that is, to place the emphasis in his phrases in unexpected places -- is most apparent in the third quartet, while the second quartet's slow movement evokes the feeling of Beethoven's Op. 127. The young Eroica Quartet have established themselves as one of today's premier interpreters of Romantic string quartets with this award-winning recording.
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 -- Eroica Trio A chamber masterpiece 25 years in the making. Review...
Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 -- Gidon Kremer, Misha Maisky, Martha Argerich Memorializing a dear friend. Review...
Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin -- Henryk Szeryng Making a single instrument sound like four. Review...
Dvork: Piano Quintet -- Takcs String Quartet, Andreas Haefliger Czech nationalism embedded in a Viennese masterpiece. Review...
Schubert: String Quintet -- Emerson String Quartet, Mstislav Rostropovich Chamber music on a symphonic scale. Review...
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet -- Antony Pay, ASMF Chamber Ensemble Chamber music with a kick. Review...
Schoenberg: Verklrte Nacht -- Hollywood String Quartet The founder of Modernism looks back to Brahms. Review...
Mendelssohn: Octet -- Hausmusik The greatest work ever written by a teenager. Review...
Monteverdi: Madrigals, Book VIII -- Consort of Musicke Madrigals of War and Love. Review...
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Franck: Violin Sonata -- Kyung-Wha Chung, Radu Lupu Romantic music with a French flair. Review...
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Brahms: Piano Quartets -- Beaux Arts Trio Chamber music that Brahms himself thought was his best. Review...
Eroica Trio
This trio is a perfect example of Johannes Brahms's intense perfectionist streak -- he spent more than 35 years writing and revising it! When he finally finished, the result was one of the all-time masterpieces of chamber music. Brahms excels at taking a simple thread of melody and weaving it into an ever-larger tapestry of sound. A perfect example is the opening theme of the first movement, which starts simply enough in the piano, is joined by the cello and then the violin, and builds to an impassioned climax. The Eroica Trio, a young ensemble comprised of three extremely talented (and in our opinion extremely attractive) women, perfectly capture Brahms's passion, giving a performance that is the equal of classic recordings such as Isaac Stern's or Artur Rubinstein's.
Shostakovich wrote his second piano trio in 1944 as a memorial to his close friend Ivan Sollertinsky, who had died the previous winter. The trio begins with the cello playing eerily high notes, then the piano and violin join in below. Working together, the three create a picture of abject mourning. The second movement is a lively scherzo, while the third returns to the mournful attitude with a set of variations over a repeated bass line. The final movement brings the work to a close with several restatements of its own themes in different forms, as well as recollections of the earlier movements. This recording brings together three of today's superstar musicians in an exciting live performance, and also includes an excellent rendition of Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006
The essence of the Baroque style is counterpoint, two or more melodies sounding simultaneously. This is feasible in a multi-instrument ensemble, much more difficult on the keyboard, and next to impossible on the violin, which is usually only asked to play a single melody. Yet in these six amazing works, Bach asks the violin to sound like up to four different instruments playing at the same time, and does it in a way that sounds completely natural to the instrument. The chaconne from the Partita No. 2 and the fugue from the Sonata No. 3 are particularly noteworthy. Henryk Szeryng makes these extremely difficult pieces sound easy, untangling even the densest contrapuntal lines.
Though his native Bohemia was under the Austrian crown for his entire life, Antonn Dvork managed to express nationalistic sentiment through his music. The slow movement of this Piano Quintet is a dumka, a melancholy Czech ballad, while the third movement is a furiant, a fast native dance. The outer movements are firmly in the Viennese tradition and show Dvork at his best. The Takcs Quartet's CD includes a fresh performance of the Dvork quintet as well as another work written in a similar vein, the Quartet No. 10 in E-flat.
Unlike his late string quartets, which depict a uniformly bleak landscape, Schubert's great string quintet celebrates life to the fullest. The addition of the extra cello to the usual string quartet allows Schubert to give the cello some of the most exquisite melodic lines ever written. The quintet is full of captivating melodies and surprising harmonic twists, and even though it is nearly an hour long it still feels too short. Mstislav Rostropovich and the Emerson String Quartet give an intensely passionate performance.
In addition to his Clarinet Concerto, Mozart wrote a much more intimate Clarinet Quintet for his friend Anton Stadler. Whereas in the concerto the clarinet is the focus of attention, in the quintet the woodwind takes on a role equivalent to that of the strings, and the piece plays out as a discourse among five equals. Antony Pay and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble give a convincing peformance, and this mid-priced CD includes the quintet as well as two other charming chamber works for wind and strings.
Though he became famous as a revolutionary composer who broke all the accepted rules of harmony, Arnold Schoenberg saw himself as the next composer in a line extending from Mozart to Beethoven to Brahms. This string sextet, one of Schoenberg's early works, takes its inspiration from Brahms and is written in a lush late Romantic style. Entitled "Transfigured Night" after a poem by Richard Dehmel, the music depicts a discussion between two lovers in which the woman confesses she is pregnant with another man's child. The music is powerful and ultimately comes to a happy conclusion, though there are moments in the middle that foreshadow Schonberg's dissonant later works. The Hollywood Quartet so impressed Schoenberg with their performance that he offered to write the liner notes for the recording. With an equally legendary performance of Schubert's String Quintet, this is a must-have CD for any chamber music fan.
Hausmusik
Though Mozart is the most famous child prodigy composer, Mendelssohn's Octet is the greatest work ever composed by a teenager -- the precocious youth wrote it when he was just sixteen years old. . Mendelssohn was one of the major proponents of the "Bach revival" of the early nineteenth century, and his admiration for Bach's counterpoint manifests itself in the octet's finale, an eight-part fugue that spins along at breakneck speed. But the most celebrated movement is the third, a quiet fantasy of which the scholar Donald Tovey said, "eight string players might easily practise it for a lifetime without coming to an end of their delight in producing its marvels of tone-colour." The British ensemble Hausmusik produce marvels of their own on this super-bargain set that also includes Mendelssohn's two charming string quintets and a string quartet.
At the time they were written, Claudio Monteverdi's nine books of madrigals set a new standard for expressiveness in music. Mondeverdi's madrigal music brings to life the poetry it underlies, and none does so better than the eighth book, published in 1638. The book, entitled "Madrigals of War and Love," is split into two halves. The first half contains fierce war poetry, highlighted by "Il Combattimento de Tancredi et Clorinda," the story of two warriors in love with each other; Monteverdi's dramatic music depicts horses galloping and armies clashing. The second half consists of love poems, the most famous of which is the "Lamento della ninfa." The collection illustrates Monteverdi's innovative style in instrumental as well as vocal writing. This super-bargain set (2 CDs for less than one full-priced CD) is another must-have for anyone's collection.
Although he was overshadowed in Germany and Austria by Brahms and Wagner, the Belgian-born Csar Franck was the dominant force in French music in the middle of the nineteenth century. Franck's sonorities are worlds away from those of Brahms, and his influence can be felt strongly in the music of Debussy and Ravel. Franck wrote this sonata in 1886 for the great violinist Eugne Ysae. The premiere took place in an art gallery that was so dark that Ysae had to play the sonata mostly from memory! The sonata features what Franck called his "cyclical method," in which themes recur identically or become transformed throughout the whole piece. Kyung-Wha Chung and Radu Lupu's superb performance comes on a mid-priced CD packed with great French chamber music.
Brahms' Piano Quartets are among his most popular compositions, and the composer himself regarded them as noteworthy: Brahms selected the Quartet No. 1 for his Vienna debut in 1862, and the Viennese public were deeply impressed. The quartet's first movement is based upon a simple four-note theme that is spun out with ever-increasing elaboration. The second movement is cloaked in a romantic aura of mystery, while the finale is an exciting "Hungarian Rondo." The Third Quartet was composed at the same time as the first two but only published in 1875 after extensive revision. The composition is tragic on a grand scale, most notably in the lyrical slow movement. The Beaux Arts Trio (joined by Walter Trampler on viola) give invigorating performances of the three quartets, and this two-for-one set also includes Brahms's second Piano Trio..
Beethoven: "Pathtique" and "Moonlight" Piano Sonatas -- Alfred Brendel Beethoven's more intimate medium of expression. Review...
Chopin: Piano Works -- Vladimir Ashkenazy Sparkling piano miniatures with a Polish touch. Review...
Bach: Goldberg Variations -- Glenn Gould From a simple song to complex counterpoint. Review...
Debussy: Prludes -- Jean-Yves Thibaudet Painting pictures with the piano. Review...
Beethoven: Late Piano Sonatas -- Maurizio Pollini Complex works that set a new standard. Review...
Liszt: Piano Sonata -- Jorge Bolet A masterful sonata by the greatest pianist ever. Review...
Mozart: Piano Sonatas -- Mitsuko Uchida An encyclopedia of the Classical sonata. Review...
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Scriabin: Piano Works -- Vladimir Horowitz Masterful miniatures from a Romantic Russian. Review...
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Haydn: Piano Sonatas -- Andrs Schiff Neglected works comparable to Mozart's best. Review...
While Beethoven's symphonies show outward storm and fire, the piano sonatas give us a more personal view of the composer. Beethoven composed his two most famous sonatas early in his career, when he was just making a name for himself in Vinna. The first movement of the "Moonlight" and the middle one of the "Pathtique" are so tender as to move the listener to tears. But the storm is not altogether missing; the "Pathtique" opening movement and the "Moonlight" finale contain some of Beethoven's most exciting music. Alfred Brendel gives a gripping performance on this two-disc set containing five other wonderful sonatas.
Though Frederic Chopin spent most of his career in Paris, he never stopped loving his native Poland, and his music reflects this love. In addition to writing polonaises, or Polish dances, he infused much of his best music with Polish rhythm and harmony. Chopin specialized in the short piano piece, writing numerous tudes, scherzos, ballades, preludes, nocturnes, waltzes, and mazurkas as well as polonaises. This two-for-one CD features a sampling of Chopin's best works, including the "Raindrop" prelude, the "Military" polonaise, and the Fantasie-Impromptu.
Schubert's Impromptus are among the greatest short piano pieces ever written. Each explores a different mood, from the march-like first impropmptu to the subdued and lyrical third to the jaunty final piece, and together they form an encyclopedia of nineteenth-century piano style. Murray Perahia gives the definitive performance of these eight pieces, combining both Classical clarity and Romantic passion.
Legend has it that Bach wrote this set of variations for his student Goldberg to play for an insomniac Count. Scholarly research has shown that the legend is probably not true, and listening to the piece will affirm that conculsion -- it would be nearly impossible to fall asleep to it. Bach takes a simple aria and constructs a set of thirty variations on this theme, employing all of the keyboard styles of his time and ranging widely in mood before coming back to a restatement of the theme at the end. Glenn Gould, perhaps the most famous of all Bach interpreters, recorded the Goldbergs twice. The first recording, from 1955, is a virtuosic performance that revolutionized Bach keyboard playing, while the second, from 1981, is a far more introspective interpretation by an artist nearing the end of his life. This three-disc collection offers both recordings of the Goldbergs as well as a revealing inteview in which Gould discusses his performances, all for the cost of one fullpriced CD.
Claude Debussy was the premier composer in the style that has come to be called "Impressionism." Unlike earlier composers, Debussy did not seek to express a deep emotion or tell a story, but rather to evoke a mood or an atmosphere. He does this admirably in his two books of preludes for piano. Each is a short work with a brief descriptive title which is perfectly illustrated by the music. It is a wonder that the same instrument that can play Beethoven's most fiery sonata can also play this ethereal music. Jean-Yves Thibaudet gives a splendid performance of the preludes as well as several other popular Debussy piano works.
Brahms's primary contribution to the piano literature is the short works that he composed throughout his life. The pieces are typically Romantic, exploring a single mood or emotion. This collection features the two great Rhapsodies, Op. 79, as well as three collections of works Brahms wrote just before his death. The pieces are fiendishly difficult, requiring a wide range of technique; one of Brahms's trademarks was to ask the player to play groups of three notes in one hand and groups of four in the other. Radu Lupu seems to have no trouble with these pieces, making them flow effortlessly from his fingertips.
Beethoven's final piano sonatas test the expressive limits of the piano and the pianist. As with his late string quartets, these are highly charged personal works, containing violent outbursts and moments of exquisite tenderness, and the influence of Bach is again visible. Maurizio Pollini's performance is truly remarkable.
Franz Liszt was probably the greatest pianist the world has ever known. Born in Hungary, Liszt began dazzling audiences with his virtuosity at age eleven. He spent most of his first forty years in Paris, where he was at the center of the city's musical life. He arranged for piano Beethoven's symphonies, Schubert's songs, and Wagner's operas, which, in an age before recordings, brought this great music into ordinary people's living rooms. As a composer he invented the genre of the tone poem and created ferociously difficult piano pieces with which he (and generations of later pianists) could dazzle audiences. The B minor sonata is his greatest large-scale piano work. It consists of one extended movement in which themes are transformed and combined seemingly at whim. This two-for-one set contains the Sonata as well as fifteen other Liszt favorites.
Mozart's piano sonatas chronicle his development as a composer and pianist from a precocious teenager in Salzburg to a celebrated master in Vienna. While none of these sonatas have the fiery storm of Beethoven's works in the genre, each is charming and delightful in its own way. Particularly notable are the Sonata No. 11, with its famous "Rondo alla turca" finale, and the Sonata No. 18, whose opening motif resembles a hunter's horn-call. Mitsuko Uchida gives the definitive interpretation of all the sonatas, exhibiting an elegant and very Mozartean touch. If you don't want to shell out $50-plus for all five CDs, Maria Joo Pires gives fine performances that are available individually; we recommend starting with CD that includes the last four sonatas and the D minor Fantasia. Similar works: Top 10 Mozart, Top 10 Classical
Alexander Scriabin was a mystic who sought to unite music, poetry, drama, and dance unto a new art form he called the "Mystery." Though he did not succeed at creating this fusion, he did continue the Romantic piano tradition in the manner of Chopin, writing preludes, nocturnes, tudes, and mazurkas as well as full sonatas. His harmonic idiom, on the other hand, points toward twentieth-century developments, and his late works are nearly atonal. This collection features some of Scriabin's most popular works, played by one of the best Scriabin interpreters ever, Vladimir Horowitz.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I & II, BWV 846-893
The Well-Tempered Clavier sums up Bach's mastery of the keyboard in the same way as the B minor Mass sums up his mastery of singing. Each book contains twenty-four preludes and fugues, one in each major and minor key. In the early eighteenth century keyboard instruments would be tuned so that certain keys sounded better or worse than others; the innovation of "well-tempered" tuning allowed the keyboard to sound equally well in all keys, which these collections are intended to demonstrate. They also serve as manuals for keyboard technique, both in the preludes, which usually offer a specific technical challenge, and in the fugues, which test the players ability to untangle dense contrapuntal lines. Rosalyn Tureck, one of the great Bach performers, handily achieves these tasks and provides a compelling performance. Though he does not have the intensity or attention to detail of Turek, Jeno Jando provides adequate performances (Book I, Book II) at half the price.
Haydn's piano sonatas are unjustly neglected in the Classical repertory. This collection of performances by Andrs Schiff makes a forceful argument for their elevation to equal status with Mozart's sonatas. The sonatas are elegantly crafted and completely idiomatic to the piano, and they exhibit a wide range of moods, from the storminess of No. 33 in C minor, to the relaxed, improvisatory attitude of No. 58 in C major, to the grandeur of No. 62 in E-flat major.
Schubert: Winterreise -- Peter Pears A bleak song cycle reminiscing of lost love. Review...
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde -- Kathleen Ferrier, Julius Patzak, Bruno Walter A celebration of tragedy. Review...
Wolf: Spanisches Liederbuch -- Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Sublime Spanish songs sacred and secular. Review...
Brahms: Four Serious Songs -- Hans Hotter A dying man asks, "What happens next?" Review...
Strauss: Four Last Songs -- Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Swan song of an octagenarian. Review...
Mozart: Lieder -- Elly Ameling Sparkling little gems from a jack of all trades. Review...
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Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings -- Peter Pears The fruit of a lifelong partnership. Review...
This cycle, whose title translates as "Winter's Journey," consists of twenty-four songs for solo voice with piano accompaniment. During the journey, which begins and ends in winter, the singer sings nostalgically of a failed summer romance. Written just months before the composer's death, the cycle expresses an irreparably bleak outlook on life. The mood is captured perfectly by the great British tenor Peter Pears, who is accompanied on the piano by his lifelong partner, composer Benjamin Britten.
Kathleen Ferrier, contralto; Julius Patzak, tenor; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Walter, conductor
In 1907 Gustav Mahler was struck by three successive tragedies: his daughter died, he was forced to leave his beloved Vienna Opera, and he was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition. His tragedy and sorrow at this time found expression in his greatest song cycle, Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), which he composed in the usmmer of 1908. The text consists of six melancholy songs adapted from The Chinese Flute, a German collection of Chinese poems. Though he was to compose one more symphony, this cycle, and especially its final poem, "Der Abscheid" (The Farewell) was Mahler's farewell to this world. The greatest performance ever committed to record is the 1952 recording conducted by Bruno Walter, who conducted the work's premiere, and featuring contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Not only does Ferrier have a beautiful voice, but she communicates the work's essence in a way no other singer has before or since -- for she herself was dying of cancer at the time.
In the year 1840, Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck fought a protracted legal battle to obtain permission to marry without the consent of Clara's father. In the same year, by no coincidence, Schumann composed some of the greatest German song cycles ever, establishing himself as the true successor to Schubert in this medium. The cycle Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love) consists of sixteen songs set to texts by Heinrich Heine, a poet to whom Schumann would return many times throughout his career. The cycle does not tell a narrative story, but the songs' pervasive theme is one of unrequited love. Fritz Wunderlich, who possessed one of the most beautiful voices of the twentieth century, gives an incredibly moving performance.
Debussy's songs transfer to the medium of voice the impressionistic style he cultivated at the piano while adding the lyricism of French poetry. In these works, singer and pianist work together seamlessly to illustrate the poetic text. Debussy's favorite poets included Stphane Mallarm, Paul Verlaine, and the fifteenth-century poet Franois Villon. Veronique Gens is an outstanding interpreter of the French art song, and she sings eleven of Debussy's greatest "Mlodies" as well as songs by the composer's contemporaries Gabriel Faur and Francis Poulenc.
Hugo Wolf was, along with Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, one of the great composers of German Lieder, but unlike those other three, he composed little else besides songs. Wolf was extremely sensitive to the poetry he set, and all of his compositional choices were made in order to achieve a consummate marriage of voice and text. The "Spanish Songbook," consisting of twelve sacred poems and thirty-four secular ones, is one of his masterpieces. The sacred texts are set with extreme devotion, while the music of the secular pieces perfectly reflects the emotions of the poetry. This legendary recording features two of the greatest voices -- and artists -- of the twentieth century: soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and tenor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
These songs, based on texts from the Old Testament, were the last songs Johannes Brahms composed, and have been described as the composer's "musical last will and testament." Seeing death approaching, Brahms posed some of the central questions about the human spirit and man's relationship with death. The result is a profoundly moving work that still resonates powerfully today. Hans Hotter's 1951 recording of the four songs has for more than fifty years remained unsurpassed in intensity and emotional power.
Though he is best known for the popular Adagio for Strings, Samuel Barber was one of the great song composers of the twentieth century. "Knoxville, Summer of 1915" is a setting for piano and orchestra of a prose text by James Agee. The song describes the images and sounds of a warm summer evening in the south long ago, and Barber's music perfectly suits the nostalgic feeling of the text. Dawn Upshaw, one of today's leading sopranos, gives a heartwarming rendition of this lovely work.
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano; Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, George Szell, conductor.
Like Brahms's Four Serious Songs, Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs is the work of a man who saw death approaching. The cycle, written when the composer was in his eighties, was inspired by Strauss's discovery of the poem Im Abendrot (Evening's Glow) by Joseph Eichendorff. Strauss planned to round out the cycle with four songs to texts by Heinrich Heine, but he only completed three: Frhling (Spring), September, and Beim Schlafengehen (Going to Sleep). Interestingly, Strauss did not specify an order of performance for the four songs; most performances conclude with Im Abendrot, the song that was actually composed first. The poem is a fitting swan song to an illustrious career, concluding, "How exhausted we are with our wanderings -- can this then be death?" Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was one of the finest Strauss interpreters, and her expressive performance with George Szell has achieved legendary status.
The Lied is usually not a genre associated with Mozart, but these little gems demostrate that Mozart was indeed master of every musical form known to his time. Soprano Elly Ameling sparkles in her renditions of thirty-five Mozart songs, and this two-disc set also includes six notturni for voices and woodwind.
Schubert composed nearly a thousand works during his thirty-one years, and nearly six hundred of them were songs. This bargain-priced CD presents a sampling of the most famous, sung by the legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Highlights include "Der Erlknig" ("The Elven King") which protrays a father riding furiously on horseback to save his sick child from the Elven King, a symbol of death, and "Der Tod und das Mdchen" ("Death and the Maiden") which is more famous as the theme of the second movement of Schubert's fourteenth string quartet.
Peter Pears, tenor; Dennis Brain, horn; New Symphony Orchestra, Sir Eugene Goossens, conductor
Britten wrote this serenade in 1943 during the darkest days of World War II, and its text consists of six poems by British authors on the subject of death. He wrote it as a vehicle for the great horn player Dennis Brain, who commissioned the work, and for the legendary tenor Peter Pears (pronounced "Peers"), who was Britten's lifelong partner. This recording, made in 1953, features both Pears and Brain in a moving performance.
Handel: Messiah -- Trevor Pinnock Far more than a Christmas carol. Review...
Mozart: Requiem -- John Eliot Gardiner Exploring the depths of grief. Review...
Brahms: A German Requiem -- John Eliot Gardiner Had enough of those Latin Masses? Review...
Bach: B Minor Mass -- John Eliot Gardiner The Baroque master's greatest choral work. Review...
Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass -- David Willcocks A joyous celebration of life. Review...
Josquin: Missa "Pange Lingua" -- Tallis Scholars Quiz: Name the greatest Renaissance composer. Review...
Orff: Carmina Burana -- Eugene Ormandy Celebrating the ancient themes of Beer and Love. Review...
Verdi: Requiem -- Carlo Maria Giulini The most dramatic of Requeims. Review...
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Tallis: Spem in alium -- Tallis Scholars Forty melodic threads creating a tapestry of sound. Review...
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Vivaldi: Gloria -- Sir Neville Marriner A stellar choral work from the master of the concerto. Review...
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Haydn: The Creation -- Fritz Wunderlich, Herbert von Karajan A musical illustration of the first seven days. Review...
Arleen Auger, soprano; Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo soprano; Howard Crook, tenor; Michael Chance, countertenor; John Tomlinson, bass baritone; English Concert Choir, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock, conductor
Messiah is by far the most popular choral work ever written in English, and the "Hallelujah" chorus has become part of our cultural lexicon. The work is an oratorio, which is a dramatic work that is meant to be sung in concert rather than acted on stage. The texts are taken from both the Old and New Testaments, and are divided into three parts. The first part, especially popular around Christmas time, depicts the birth of Christ. The mood becomes more somber for the second part, which depicts the crucifixion, but as Christ rises from the cross the chorus comes together to sing "Hallelujah." The third part, depicting the resurrection, recalls the joy of the beginning, and the oratiorio concludes with a great choral "Amen." The English Concert's authentic Baroque instruments help give the ensemble a feeling of lightness during the outer parts and a piercing intensity in the middle.
Barbara Bonney, soprano; Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo soprano; HansPeter Blochwitz, tenor; Willard White, bass; English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
As anyone who has seen the film Amadeus knows, Mozart was unable to complete his Requiem Mass before his death. (It is untrue, however, that he was poisoned by the rival composer Salieri.) The task of filling out the parts that Mozart had sketched and composing the entirety of the final four movements fell to his pupil Franz Xaver Sssmayr. Sssmayr did an admirable job, and the mass feels entirely like Mozart's work. If you think that all Mozart's music is light and fluffy, you should listen to this work -- it is one of the most grief-filled pieces ever written. The English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir attempt to recreate the performance conditions of Mozart's lifetime, and the result is a spectacular performance.
Charlotte Margiono, soprano; Rodney Gilfry, baritone; Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Rvolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Brahms's German Requiem shows that the composer could compose on the grandest of scales; this work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra ranks among the most powerful sacred works ever written. Brahms turned away from the traditional Latin text of the Requiem Mass and instead wrote a German text of his own consisting of Old Testament passages of meditation and solace. This recording demonstrates period-performance expert John Eliot Gardiner's mastery of the Romatic repertoire; the musicians move effortlessly from intimacy to grandeur.
Bach assembled the B minor Mass near the end of his life from various pieces he had composed earlier in his career, adding new music when necessary. The result is a tour de force that sums up all of the composer's extensive knowledge of sacred choral music. Bach demonstrates his versatility by writing movements for one to four soloists as well as choruses in four, five, six, and even eight parts. Some of the move famous movements are the Crucifixus, which consists of a set of variations over a repeated bass line, and the final Dona nobis pacem, which starts quietly and builds into a grand fugue. John Eliot Gardiner's gripping performance on period instruments is widely hailed as the best interpretation available on record.
Sylvia Stahlman, soprano; Helen Watts, alto; Wilfred Brown, tenor; Tom Krause, baritone; London Symphony Orchestra, Cambridge King's College Choir, David Willcocks, conductor
Franz Joseph Haydn is often cited as the "father of the symphony" and the "father of the string quartet," but his great sacred choral works are at least the equal of anything he wrote in a purely instrumental genre. Haydn wrote this mass in 1798 and gave it the title "Missa in Angustiis," or "Mass in Fear," which probably reflected the feelings of Haydn's fellow Austrians as Napoleon's armies were beginning their conquest of Europe. The mass acquired its more popular name after if was played for Lord Nelson, the hero of the Battle of the Nile, in 1800. Despite Haydn's ominous title, the mass expresses joy throughout, as it gloriously reaffirms Haydn's relationship with God. David Willcocks leads a superb cast of soloists in this recording that revolutionized the performance of Haydn's choral works. For an even more "authentic" feel, Trevor Pinnock's recording -- featuring instruments of Haydn's time -- is not to be missed.
Caroline Ashton, soprano; Stephen Varcoe, baritone; Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter, conductor
Gabriel Faur's music embodies the classic French traits of order, restraint, and sensibilit. Faur is revered in France, but the Requiem is one of only a few of his pieces that have become popular abroad. We do not know what inspired Faur to undertake its composition in 1887, but we do know that the composer came back to the work in 1890, added two movements, and revised the orchestration. Most performances today use an arrangement for full orchestra from around 1900 that Faur neither wrote nor approved. Through painstaking research, John Rutter has reconstructed Faur's original orchestration for chamber ensemble, and his recording is a revelation.
Josquin des Prez was the greatest composer of the High Renaissance. Contemporaries hailed him as "the best of the composers of our time" and the "father of musicians." Martin Luther, who made his name in other fields was no musical slouch (he was a singer and wrote dozens of chorales) declared of Josquin, "He is the master of the notes. They must do as he wills; as for the other composers, they have to do as the notes will." Josquin's most famous work is the "Pange lingua" mass. Each movement starts with the different voices intoning the melody of the church chant "Pange lingua"; from this common beginning each proceeds with its own individual example of contrapuntal mastery. The Tallis Scholars are today's premier ensemble specializing in Renaissance vocal music, and they give a memorable performance of this Mass. The two-for-one set includes more than two hours of beautiful music by the greatest Renaissance composers, including Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Lassus and others.
Janice Harsanyi, soprano; Rudolf Petrak, tenor; Harve Presnell, baritone; Philadelphia Orchestra, Rutgers University Chorus, Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Carl Orff's famous 1937 choral work sets to music texts from a thirteenth-century manuscript entitled Carmina Burana (Songs of the Beuren). Orff selected texts based on three themes, which make up the three parts of the work: spring, tavern life, and love. The texts, in a mixture of Latin and Middle German, are sensuous and often sexually explicit. (Many recordings do not include a translation, but one can be found here.) Unlike his contemporaries who were creating ever more complex music, Orff strove to evoke a medieval atmosphere by simplifying his musical style. As a result, Carmina Burana is one of the most accessible of all twentieth-century works. The Philadelphia Orchestra's performance is bursting with raw energy.
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano; Christa Ludwig, mezzo soprano; Nicolai Gedda, tenor; Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass; Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus, Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem takes its inspiration from two of Italy's foremost artists: the composer Gioacchino Rossini and the poet Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi composed one movement of the Requiem in 1869 for a compilation Mass in honor of Rossini's death, but this Mass was never performed. Four years later, the death of Manzoni (a personal hero of Verdi's) inspired the composer to expand his single movement into a full Requiem Mass. With more than twenty operas already under his belt, Verdi had vast experience writing dramatic music for chorus, and this expertise is evident throughout the Requiem; indeed, the Requiem has been described as "a magnificent opera disguised as a sacred work." Carlo Maria Giulini's recording, featuring the great soprano Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, has been the classic interpretation of this work for more than forty years.
Bach's four-part conterpoint is certainly complex, but it pales in comparison with this motet, which consists of no less than forty separate melodies, all sung at the same time. The result is a great wash of sound that is one of the all-time highlights of choral music. Queen Elizabeth, for whose fortieth birthday the piece was written, was certainly impressed. The Tallis Scholars give a magnificent interpretation of their namesake's music.
Jean Rigby, soprano; Barbara Hendricks, soprano; Ann Murray, alto; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Sier Neville Marriner, conductor
Antonio Vivladi composed more than five hundred concertos during his lifetime, but this choral gem ranks with any instrumental piece he wrote. Since Vivaldi chose to set only one movement of the Mass, he can afford to take his time with each stanza of the text. The music of each verse underscores the mood, from the jubilant "Gloria in excelsis deo" to the sorrowful "et in terra pax" to the stately concluding "cum sancto spiritu." This recording features the Gloria as well as another staple of the Baorque choral literature, Bach's Magnificat.
Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Christa Ludwig, mezzo soprano; Fritz Wunderlich, tenor; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Walter Berry, bass baritone; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Singverein, Herbert von Karajan, conductor
This oratorio (a dramatic work that is not staged) tells the story of the creation, based on the Book of Genesis and John Milton's Paradise Lost. Throughout, Haydn uses instrumental effects to illustrate the story, such as a murky and dissonant texture illustrating chaos that transforms into a brilliant choral outburst at the words "Let there be light!" Herbert von Karajan's performance -- featuring the great tenor Fritz Wunderlich -- is one of the finest ever set down on record.
Bizet: Carmen -- Teresa Berganza, Plcido Domingo, Claudio Abbado The world's most popular opera. Review...
Mozart: Don Giovanni -- Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Carlo Maria Giulini Mozart casting himself as a Don Juan? Review...
Verdi: La Traviata -- Angela Gheorghiu, Sir Georg Solti The most heart-wrenching tragic ending in opera history. Review...
Wagner: Tristan and Isolde -- Kirsten Flagstad, Wilhelm Furtwngler Legendary music drama. Review...
Puccini: La Bohme -- Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Herbert von Karajan The timeless classic of true love that inspired a Broadway sensation. Review...
Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk -- Galina Vishnevskaya, Mstislav Rostropovich A dark psychological portrait of a tortured woman. Review...
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas -- Dame Janet Baker, Anthony Lewis The undisputed masterpiece of Baroque opera. Review...
Mozart: The Magic Flute -- Fritz Wunderlich, Karl Bhm Fantasy and fairytale in ancient Egypt. Review...
Bellini: Norma -- Maria Callas, Tullio Serafin The opera that made Maria Callas. Review...
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Rossini: The Barber of Seville -- Hermann Prey, Claudio Abbado Figaro Figaro Figaro Fiiiiiiiiiiiigaro! Review...
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Verdi: Aida -- Leontyne Price, Plcido Domingo, Erich Leinsdorf An Egyptian princess has to make the ultimate choice. Review...
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Gounod: Faust -- Dame Joan Sutherland, Richard Bonynge Making a pact with the Devil is always bad news. Review...
Teresa Berganza, soprano (Carmen); Plcido Domingo, tenor (Don Jos); Ileana Cotrubas, soprano (Mecala); Sherrill Milnes, baritone (Escamillo); Claudio Abbado, London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers Victoria de los Angeles, soprano (Carmen); Nicolai Gedda, tenor (Don Jos); Janine Micheau, soprano (Micala); Ernest Blanc (Escamillo), Sir Thomas Beecham, French Radio Chorus and Orchestra ->
Carmen has everything one could possibly want in an opera -- catchy tunes, lush orchestration, and a tragic love triangle -- so it is no wonder that it is the world's most popular opera. The operas soap opera plot confronts the three great topics of scandalous drama: passionate love, unforgivable betrayal, and violent revenge. At the center of the story is Carmen, a gorgeous but manipulative gypsy girl whose strong will and passion lead her to trouble and scandal. This title role is the most coveted of mezzo-sopranos worldwide and demands intense strength and skill to perform. With famous arias like the Toreador song Votre toast and Carmens Lamour est un oiseau rebelle, Carmen is the perfect introduction to opera, for even a novice will recognize many of the melodies. Until Sir Thomas Beecham's classic recording is rereleased, our top recommendation is Claudio Abbado's 1977 version, featuring Teresa Berganza as an attractive and haunting Carmen and Plcido Domingo in his prime as Don Jos.
Eberhard Wchter, baritone (Don Giovanni); Giuseppe Taddei, baritone (Leporello); Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano (Elvira); Dame Joan Sutherland, soprano (Anna); Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Few operas are as closely tied with the life of the composer as Mozart's Don Giovanni. Written in the year of Mozart's father's death, Don Giovanni tells the story of a playboy hero-villain who must come to terms with himself and the ghost of a father figure, the Commendatore. Many scholars have speculated that Mozart represented his relationship with his father through Don Giovanni and the Commendatore. In the opera, Don Giovanni is a likable villain who woos innocent women only to break their hearts. His lowly servant Leporello is the unrewarded accomplice on all his conquests. The three main women, Donna
Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina, represent honor and goodness, and in the end they urge Don Giovanni to repent his sins. While the Commendatore's ghost is a threat to Don Giovanni, we soon discover that the biggest threat to the title character is himself. The opera's highlights include the duet "La ci darem la mano," and Leporello's aria cataloguing Don Giovanni's conquests. Carlo Maria Giulini's classic performance featuring superstars Elisabeth Schwartzkopf and Dame Joan Sutherland is the standard by which all subsequent recordings have been judged.
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano (Violetta); Frank Lopardo, tenor (Alfredo); Leo Nucci, baritone (Germont); Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Featuring the most heart-wrenching tragic ending in operatic history, La Traviata is a love story between the courtesan Violetta Valery and her young admirer Alfredo Germont. Following the script of many age-old tales of true love, Violetta and Alfredo try desperately to protect their love in the face of circumstances that threaten to tear them apart. Full of misunderstandings, emotional turmoil, and outlandish drama, Verdi's masterpiece has been performed thousands of times by the best artists of each era, including Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, and Maria Callas. As one of the most famous operas in the world, La Traviata is sure to give many newcomers to opera a shock: many musical motifs popularized in modern-day entertainment originated in this opera. Angela Gheorghiu has made the part of Violetta entirely her own, and Sir Georg Solti never lets the intensity falter. This performance is also available on DVD.
Kirsten Flagstad, soprano (Isolde); Ludwig Sathaus, tenor (Tristan); Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone (Kurwenal); Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwngler, conductor
Richard Wagner's "music dramas" combine poetry, scenic design, action, and music to form what Wagner called a "total artwork." To enchance the dramatic effect, Wagner wrote his own stories and took his characters from Germanic mythology. Tristan, Wagner's greatest opera, is set in medieval Britain. The knight Tristan has been sent to fetch the Irish princess Isolde, who will marry Tristan's uncle, the King of Cornwall. Tristan had killed Isolde's lover, and when they meet again Isolde attempts to kill both Tristan and herself. However, her servant Brangne has replaced the death potion with a love potion, and the two fall helplessly in love. As the drama develops, Tristan and Isolde come to realize the futility of their love, leading to the opera's tragic ending. Though filled with memorable singing, the opera is most famous for its orchestration. T he orchestral Prelude and Isolde's Liebestod (Death Song) are routinely played in concert halls, and Wagner's innovative scoring throughout the work foreshadows musical developments fifty years before they became widespread. Wilhelm Furtwngler's 1951 performance featuring the commanding Kirsten Flagstad as Isolde is the most electrifying four hours of opera ever committed to record. If you want to see the action as well as hear it, Karl Bhm's historic 1973 performance with Jon Vickers and Birgit Nilsson in the title roles has now been released on DVD.
Mirella Freni, soprano (Mimi); Luciano Pavarotti, tenor (Rodolfo); Elisabeth Harwood, (Musetta); Rolando Panerai, baritone (Marcello); Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass (Colline); Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Schneberg Boys Choir, Berlin Deutsche Oper Chorus, Herbert von Karajan, conductor
The music, plot, characters, and environment of La Bohme represent the Romantic Era in complete and full flavor. As starving artists in Paris around 1830, the roommates Rodolfo and Marcello and their friends Colline and Schaunard yearn to find love in their art and lives while trying to survive under impoverished circumstances. Daunted by their lovers, the endearing Mimi and fickle Musetta, Rodolfo and Marcello undergo a series of woes in their romantic affairs. The story follows the group of friends through several months, as they band together to fight the enemies of loneliness and depression. However, they soon discover the real enemy is something they cannot overcome even with love, which leads to one of the most tragic endings of all time. In recent years, La Bohme has enjoyed a surge of revivals: in 1996, Rent, a Broadway musical adaptation of La Bohme, emerged as a phenomenon, and in 2001, Baz Luhrmann, the director of Moulin Rouge, revived La Bohme as a "pop opera" on Broadway. Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti give a passonate performance as Mimi and Rodolfo, and Herbert von Karajan conducts the Berlin Philharmonic wonderfully.
Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano (Katarina); Nikolai Gedda, tenor (Sergei), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor
Many operas focus on a central female character, her choices, and the undeniable consequences of those choices, but Lady Macbeth does all this but to an unsettling degree. Following in the steps of remarkably few operas, Shostakovich's most famous opera is a dark psychological thriller that reaches deep into the mind of one woman and her quest for acceptance and love. The opera is so powerful that when Josef Stalin saw it for the first time in 1936, he declared it dangerous and banned it from the Soviet stage. At the center of the story is Katerina Ismailova, an unsatisfied, abused wife of the impotent businessman Zinovy. When her father-in-law Boris discovers her affair with the hired hand Sergei, Katerina is driven to kill both Boris and Zinovy. At the end of the opera, Katerina is sent to Siberia, only to find that Sergei's love was a faade. Shostakovich's music is spectacular, exposing raw emotions of passion, pain, frustration and regret. A unique addition to the world of opera in Lady Macbeth is an in-your-face brass ensemble that takes the stage at key moments of unbridled, vivid passion. Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya -probably the greatest Katarina ever -- sings her heart out in this legendary recording led by her husband Mstislav Rostropovich.
Janet Baker, alto (Dido); Raymond Herincx, bass (Aeneas); St. Anthony Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis, conductor
The first great opera written in English, Dido and Aeneas is also one of the shortest full operas ever written, running less than an hour. A period piece of Greek mythology composed in the Baroque age, Purcell's minimal libretto leaves much interpretation to each specific production, and performances can range from simple to grand. Adapted from part of Vergil's story Aeneid, the opera follows the main character, Dido, the sullen queen of Carthage, through her love affair with Aeneas, a Trojan prince. Witches and spirits present complications for the lovers, and the antagonists ultimately lead Dido and Aeneas to destruction and despair, a tragic ending unusual for seventeenth-century opera. Particularly notable is Dido's moving lament, "When I am laid in earth." Under the direction of Anthony Lewis, Dame Janet Baker sings the most beautiful Dido on record and Raymond Herincx brings the thinly drawn Aeneas to life. For a more authentic Baroque recording, it's hard to go wrong with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants.
Fritz Wunderlich, tenor (Tamino); Evelyn Lear, soprano (Pamina); Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone (Papageno); Roberta Peters, soprano (Queen of the Night); Franz Crass, bass (Sarasto); RIAS Chamber Choir, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Bhm, conductor
The last opera Mozart completed before his death, The Magic Flute is a comical ensemble piece that presents allegory and irony beyond its fairytale plot. Enjoyable on both a level of entertainment and a level of social commentary, the opera explores timeless topics of religion, love, racism, revenge, and good versus evil. The Egyptian prince Tamino, and his half-bird, half-man friend Papageno are sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue the princess Pamina from the seemingly evil ruler Sarastro. However, things are not always what they seem, and the plot twists as the protagonists face challenge after challenge. Mozart's wit and humor shine throughout the story line, as musical instruments become tools of magic, wooing foes to sleep and taming wild animals. Highlights of the opera include the Queen's two stunning arias, Pamina's famous tragic aria, "Ach, ich fuhl's," and gorgeous duet interplay between the lovers. One could not ask for a better Tamino-Papageno pair than Fritz Wunderlich and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in Karl Bhm's recording. For a cast in which the women outshine the men, Otto Klemperer's version is the first choice: Gandula Janowitz is a radiant Pamina, and Lucia Popp effortlessly reaches the stratospheric heights of the Queen of the Night's arias.
Maria Callas, soprano (Norma); Franco Corelli, tenor (Sever); Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano (Adalgisa); La Scala Chorus and Orchestra, Tullio Serafin, conductor
The opera and role that made a legend out of Maria Callas, Norma was also the masterpiece of Vincenzo Bellini's career. The title role is considered the most difficult role in the soprano repertoire, and very few singers have risen to the challenge with success. Set in the mystical age of Druid magic, before the rule of the Romans, Norma tells a tale of forbidden love between the astrologer Norma and the Roman proconsul Sever. When Adalgisa, a priestess, turns their affair into a dangerous love triangle, all reason runs awry. The opera is the foremost example of Bellini's bel canto style that so enchanted Liszt and Chopin that they based their piano style on Bellini's long melodic lines. Highlights include Norma's aria "Casta diva" and the gorgeous lyrical duets between Norma and Adalgisa. While Maria Callas's 1954 mono recording features the star's voice at its best, we recommend the 1960 stereo version for its better sound, superior acting, and stellar supporting cast.
Teresa Berganza, mezzo soprano (Rosina); Luigi Alva, tenor (Almaviva); Hermann Prey, bass (Figaro); London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, conductor
This innocent, playful, and charming opera is based on the first part of Beaumarchais's Figaro trilogy. Newcomers will delight in the fact that the common childhood chant "Figaro Figaro Figaro" is in fact referring to this Figaro, the self-absorbed barber and servant to Count Almaviva. The opera tells the story of the wealthy Count, who has fallen in love with a commoner, Rosina, and chased her from Madrid to Seville. Disguised as the poor student Lindoro, the Count woos Rosina away from her ridiculously dim-witted guardian Doctor Bartolo and his accomplice Don Basilio. Through schemes and escapades of the Count proving his love for Rosina, the characters get in a mess of disguises, mistaken identities, and emotional entanglements. The lighthearted and youthful nature of the characters shines through the music, especially in Rosina's aria "Una voce poco fa" and Figaro's "Largo al factotum." Teresa Berganza gives a good portrayal of Rosina's part as Rossini wrote it, and the others in the cast sing well under Abbado's attentive direction. For many years Rosina was sung by a soprano who could ornament the written part with higher notes, and Roberta Peters in this role brings a fine sparkle to Erich Leinsdorf's recording.
Leontyne Price, soprano (Aida); Plcido Domingo, tenor (Radams); Grace Bumbry, mezzo soprano (Amneris); London Symphony Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Erich Leinsdorf, conductor
Verdi's Aida is at once opera at both its most grand and its most personal. The opera tells the story of an Ethiopian princess caught between the two men in her life: her lover Radams, prince of Egypt, and her father Amonasro, king of Ethiopia. Amonasro commands the Ethiopian armies in their battle against Radams and the Egyptians, and Aida and Radams must both make the ultimate choice of whether to betray their love for their respective countries. The lovers' decision -- and the tragedy that ensues -- makes for a supremely gripping story. Verdi's music ranges from the delicate (Radams's aria "Celeste Aida") to the bombastic (the Grand March, which accompanies the entrance of the Egyptian army and, in some productions, their elephants). Leontyne Price and Plcido Domingo are two of the greatest Verdi interpreters on record, and they come together in this stellar recording led by Erich Leinsdorf.
Dame Joan Sutherland, soprano (Marguerite); Franco Corelli, tenor (Faust); Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass (Mephistophls); Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, conductor
Many operas have been composed to the legendary story of Goethe's Faust, but none has enjoyed the success of Charles Gounod's adaptation. Written in 1859, Faust roused Parisian audiences from opening night and had been performed more than one thousand times by the time of the composer's death in 1893. Incorporating scenes from both parts of Goethe's story, the opera tells the tale of Dr. Faustus, who makes a pact with the Devil (Mephistopheles) in exchange for youth and power. The innocent maiden Marguerite plays the Devil's bait, and Faust falls deeply in love with her at first sight. Against the backdrop of a war in France, Mephistopheles wreaks havoc on the lovers and ensures Faust's demise. The luscious music of the Romantic age is exemplified by the famous arias "Le veau d'or," Marguerite's "Ah! Je ris," and Faust's "Salut! demeure." Richard Bonynge is skilled at making grand opera in the traditional French style, and this recording's stellar cast throw themselves into the performance.
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by Ivan March, Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton, and Paul Czajkowski, Penguin Books, 2009
The Penguin Guide is the granddaddy of classical music CD guides. It contains hundreds of composers, both major and minor, and thousands of reviews of recordings. The Guide has dozens of reviews for all of the major works, which is a boon for the connoisseur but may make it difficult for the beginner to choose only one. To make things a little easier, the latest edition features not only the Guide's trademark "Rosettes," which indicate particularly special recordings, but also a list of "Key Recordings" that novices can use to start a collection. The Guide is essential for anyone looking to expand his or her collection beyond the basic repertiore.
Harold Schonberg's Lives of the Great Composers is a great introduction to the forty or so men who have had the greatest influence on classical music. All of the major figures get a chapter on their lives and works. Taken as a whole, the book presents four hundred years of classical music history. Schonberg's style is vivid and compelling, and no musical expertise is required.
This guidebook is aimed at the person who knows something about classical music and wants to expand his or her collection. It contains brief biographies of all the major composers, and detailed descriptions of the 350 most important works, with recommended recordings for each. The guide is indispensable for someone looking to move beyond the works featured on Classical CD Guide.com.
by J. Peter Burkholder, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca; 8th Edition, W. W. Norton & Co., 2009
This classic reference work is the standard university textbook for courses on the history of Western music. Beginning with Greek, Roman, and medieval music and continuing through the most recent developments in Europe and America, the book describes in detail each era of music history, including in-depth examinations of the most important composers' lives and works, explanations of developments in musical style, and summaries of external conditions such as wars and religious movements that influenced music. Novices most familiar with the Classical andRomantic eras may be disappointed that nearly half the book covers the period before 1750, but those who read it will discover that the early years were just as interesting as more recent times. The book does contain some musical examples and technical terminology, but the untrained reader won't miss much. In the newest edition, J. Peter Burkholder has updated Grout and Palisca's classic text, placing more emphasis on social and historical trends that have affected music history.
Beethoven
Maynard Solomon's biography on Beethoven is the best recent biography of the composer and a first choice for anyone who doesn't feel like wading through Thayer's immense classic. In an elegant, readable style, Solomon takes many different angles on the composer -historical, psychological, sociological, and musicological -- as he traces Beethoven's life and music. Reading this book will help both the trained scholar and the musical novice understand the great composer and his music.
Similar works: Top 10 Beethoven CDs, The Lives of the Great Composers
Jim Svejda's classical recording guide is subtitled "A highly opinionated, irreverent, and selective guide to what's good and what's not," and indeed the book lives up to this billing. Svejda has been broadcasting classical music on the radio for more than 25 years, and he has built up an impressive knowledge of recordings. While he never claims to be objective (e.g. "I have always had a blind spot when it comes to Vivaldi"), his reviews are hilarious and informative at the same time. Even if you don't agree with Svejda's recommendations, just reading the reviews gives the classical music lover a wealth of knowledge about composers, performers, and conductors. Sadly, the sixth edition has gone out of print, but there are plenty of used copies available to hold you over until the next edition arrives. (Note: if the sixth edition is available only at unreasonably high prices, the fifth edition might be a better bet.)
Fred Plotkin's Opera 101 is the best beginner's guide to opera on the market today. The first three chapters offer an introduction to opera, including its history, terminology, and what you need to know to be an informed listener. In the remainder of the book, Plotkin takes the reader through eleven famous operas in detail, describing what to listen for in each. Though it helps to have a recording of each opera playing as you read the book, there is much to be gained even if you read in silence. Plotkin's style is both engaging and accessible.
The Gramophone guide falls somewhere between the Penguin Guide and the NPR Guide in the continuum of classical CD guides. It includes nearly as many composers as the Penguin Guide, but reviews fewer works for each composer and fewer recordings for each work. The reviews are helpful and clearly indicate which is the recommended recording for each work.
Concerto Conversations
Originally given as the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University in 1997-98, Joseph Kerman's six "conversations" range freely over the whole concerto repertoire, treating both the general and the particular. According to Kerman, concertos model human relationships, and his description of the stages of the concerto brings this metaphor to life. The best part of the book, however, is Kerman's detailed analyses of particular concertos (including Mozart's 20th Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto), which offer fresh insights into these memorable warhorses. The book also comes with a 69-minute CD of musical examples, especially appropriate from a man who believes that music appreciation should be "less talk and more music."
Winner of the 1972 National Book Award, Charles Rosen's The Classical Style discusses the music of the three great composers of the Viennese Classical School: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Written in an eminently readable style and filled with insight after insight, Rosen's book offers an excellent argument for why the music of these three composers has become the standard by which all subsequent music is judged. The one caveat for the beginner is that the book contains many musical examples, so the book hold far more meaning for those who can read musical notation.
Similar works: Top 10 Classical, Top 10 Haydn, Top 10 Mozart, Top 10 Beethoven