Topic: GMG Members' Personal Essentials Lists

[knight66]

Ha. For me it was the Verdi Requiem.

That's a good one. The first live performance of music I was taken to was Rossini's William Tell. I have no idea how that did not put me off. I don't recall clamouring for more of the same, I was probably nine or 10; but it must have set something off.

Mike

[Monsieur Croche]

So what's Croche's list?

I do 'do' recommends to Q's of 'more like,' or 'if I like this/these then what else...' etc. In those I try to tailor the choice to the person who asks [may be music I don't care for, or even 'don't believe in,' but if it will suit the question so I think that party will continue and explore, then....] For the more 'tabula rasa' asker wanting recommends, I tend toward dropping in some modern/contemporary and chamber music -- you never know when it is such a blank slate what will take, and others predictably list standards from the Romantic, Classical and Baroque. [It seems a logical step if someone is coming from a listening habit of lead, rhythm, and bass guitar w percussion that a chamber ensemble is one kind of next step.]

The only list I ever wrote was after someone had asked me about a four-letter crossword slot, the answer to which was ''Lalo,'' and that triggered me to sit down and write off the top of my head 'composer names I knew.' After not many minutes, ten or eleven maybe, I stopped after there were a few over two hundred. Mental calisthenic, if you will. Useful, for one, for crossword puzzles 

[Jay F]

Over the years on here I have been very taken aback with the pieces that members have put forward as the one that prompted them into classical music. So often it was items I assumed would certainly put them off. I would not shove the St Matthew at anyone first thing; but at some point as they start to move along, suggest then listen to a bit and see what they think. I am happy to accept the opinion of musicologists that it is one of the cornerstones of music. That is how it has felt to me in my musical journey. Newbies deserve to be introduced to the best as well as the best of the easily assimilated.

Mike

The St. Matthew Passion happened to be one of the first pieces I listened to when I was starting to buy classical music back in the 1980s. I fell in love with it instantly, and it would be in the top 10 of any list of essentials I might make. It was this version, Herreweghe's first recording, one I have liked so much, I gave up trying to find one to better it after listening to three more recordings. I do not need to like anything more than I like this version.

This is the currently available version. $12.82 + 3.99 as I write this.:

[Jo498]

This is not the thread for this, but René Jacobs as Altus in the Herreweghe 1984 is an acquired taste, to put it mildly... It's been years that I heard it but Crook is also no way in the top evangelists to be had. So I would not recommend this one as a first St. Matthew (but do not ask me which one I'd recommend...)
But some recording of the St. Matthew would probably also be among my essentials shortlist.

[knight66]

Very encouraging guys. It has virtually been ever present in my life for so long that I cannot imagine any significant time without it.

Mike

[Monsieur Croche]

The St. Matthew Passion happened to be one of the first pieces I listened to when I was starting to buy classical music back in the 1980s. I fell in love with it instantly, and it would be in the top 10 of any list of essentials I might make.

There you have it, lol. There truly is no telling, whether a completely naive tabula rasa noob or some already decided fan who is branching out, just what will strike an individual's fancy.

Maybe I'll drop the curmudgeon act [well, it is only partially an act, at least] and make up a list...

[I don't suppose there is anything like a handy collated list of all the previous recommends here to which to refer so one does not have to read the entire thread in anticipation they might be making redundant duplications, eh....]

[Jay F]

My list of essentials. I know these are essential (to me), because I did a major cull in 2000, and these are among the ones I kept. Most are the versions I bought when I started collecting in 1987, which I read about in Gramophone or the 1986-1993 Penguin Guides to Classical Music. I also had four friends who knew a lot about classical, including a piano professor at a university and a music critic whose name most of you would recognize. They all loved taking me shopping. However, after a personal tragedy, by which time I'd gotten up to around 2500 CDs, I cut back to around 500. Here are my favorites from the 500.

N.B.: Most of my recommendations are from what was available in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I imagine many will have been superseded by later, better recordings, or at least better sounding recordings. So, I suggest you explore other versions in addition to the ones I am recommending. Some, I'm not recommending anyone's version. The pieces of music themselves are definite, unqualified recommendations, however.

Also, buying box sets seems to be the only way to get a lot of music these days, and it's available at such a better price than what I paid thirty years ago. So buy box sets when you can.

Mahler - The Symphonies - Bernstein, Sony
Mahler - Symphony No. 4 - Karajan
Mahler - Symphony No. 5 - Bernstein, DG
Beethoven - Symphonies - Harnoncourt, HvK's 1977 and 1963 recordings on DG
Beethoven String Quartets - Takacs or Emerson Quartet
Beethoven Piano Sonatas - Paul Lewis or Andras Schiff
Bach - St. Matthew Passion - Herreweghe 1984
Bach - Well Tempered Clavier I – Schiff
Bach - Well Tempered Clavier II – Schiff
Bach - Goldberg Variations – Schiff
Bach – Brandenburg Concertos – Pinnock, Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin
Brahms - Symphonies - Abbado or Honeck
Mozart Piano Concertos – Brendel, Perahia, Uchida: modern piano; Bilson, Levin: HIP
Mozart  - Symphonies 25-41
Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro
Mozart - Die Zauberflote
Puccini - La Boheme
Schubert - String Quartets and Quintet
Schubert - Piano Trios
Schubert - Piano Sonatas
Shostakovich - String Quartets
Sibelius - The symphonies - Ashkenazy
Verdi - La Traviata
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons – Pinnock
Vivaldi – Alla Rustica – Pinnock
Vivaldi – Lute and Mandolin Concerti – Paul O’Dette

Also, do check out the chamber music of Brahms, Beethoven, and Schubert that I have not specified on this list.

ETA: I checked out how much it would cost to buy all of this new on Amazon, and I got 22 items in my cart, costing between $500-600. When I started collecting classical, a single box set of, say, Mozart Piano Concertos cost between $160-200. I remember paying $212 for Inbal's Mahler box set. Good time to be buying classical.

[Spineur]

My list of essentials. I know these are essential (to me), because I did a major cull in 2000, and these are among the ones I kept. Most are the versions I bought when I started collecting in 1987, which I read about in Gramophone or the 1986-1993 Penguin Guides to Classical Music. I also had four friends who knew a lot about classical, including a piano professor at a university and a music critic whose name most of you would recognize. They all loved taking me shopping. However, after a personal tragedy, by which time I'd gotten up to around 2500 CDs, I cut back to around 500. Here are my favorites from the 500.

Very nice list.  Except for the Vivaldi which I like but do not consider essential, I can adhere to everything else !!!

[Jay F]

Very nice list.  Except for the Vivaldi which I like but do not consider essential, I can adhere to everything else !!!

If I had never heard Trevor Pinnock's Four Seasons, I might agree with you. But I cannot live without RV 425, the Mandolin Concerto in C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPIZbBH-FNY

[Irons]

Update

Bach - WTC - Samuel Feinberg - Russian Compact Disc - Talents of Russia
Bach - Cello Suites  -Wispelwey - Channel Classics
Bach - Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord - Carmignola/Marcon
Haydn - Piano Sonatas - Brendel/Philips, Richter/Decca
Haydn - String Quartets - Tatrai - Hungaroton
Mozart - Symphonies 21-41 - Krips/Concertgebouw - Decca
Mozart - Piano Concertos - Serkin, Casadesus, Haskil
Mozart - Violin Sonatas - Grumiaux/Haskil - Philips
Schubert - Symphonies - Harnoncourt/Concertgebouw - Teldec
Schubert - Piano Sonatas - Richter (various labels)
Schubert - Impromptus - Pires - DG
Beethoven - 9 Symphonies - Wand/RCA, Barenboim/Warner
Beethoven - Piano Concertos - Serkin/Kubelik - Orfeo
Beethoven - 32 Piano Sonatas - Annie Fischer/Hungaroton, Gulda (Amadeo/Brilliant)
Beethoven - String Quartets - Vegh stereo - Naive
Chopin - Nocturnes - Arrau - Philips
Chopin - Preludes - Sokolov/Naive, Moravec (Supraphon)
Chopin - Ballades - Tipo/live/Ermitage, Moravec/Supraphon
Brahms - Late solo works - Gould/Sony, Lupu/Decca
Brahms - Piano Concertos - Barenboim/Barbirolli - EMI
Rachmaninoff - PC 1 - Janis/Kondrashin - Mercury
Rachmaninoff - PC 2 - Richter/Wislocki - DG (original mastering, paired with Prokofiev PC 5)
Rachmaninoff - PC 3 - Janis/Dorati - Mercury
Rachmaninoff - PC 4 - Wild/Horenstein - Chesky
Rachmaninoff - Paganini Rhapsody - Rudy/Jansons - EMI
Rachmaninoff - Preludes - Ashkenazy - Decca
Scriabin - Sonatas - Ashkenazy - Decca
Debussy - Preludes - Michelangeli/DG or Arrau/Philips
Satie - Piano Works - Thibaudet/Decca
Poulenc - Piano Works - Tacchino/EMI
Poulenc - Chamber Works - Tharaud - Naxos
Faure - Piano Music - Collard - Brilliant
Sibelius - Symphonies - Ashkenazy - Decca
Bartok - Hungarian QT - DG
Bruckner - Celibidache EMI set
Prokofiev - Symphony 3 - Muti - Philips
Shostakovich - Symphonies - Kondrashin/Melodiya, Rohdestvensky/Melodiya, Mravinsky (various labels)
Shostakovich - String Quartets - Borodin Chandos
Schoenberg - String Quartets - Arditti - Sony
Shoenberg, Berg, Webern - Orchestral Works - Karajan - DG
Ligeti - String Quartets - Arditti -Sony

Josef Hofmann - The Complete Josef Hofmann Vol. 6, The Casimir Recital - Marston Records
Moritz Rosenthal - The Complete Recordings - APR
Cortot - The Anniversary Edition Box - EMI
Moiseiwitsch - Volumes 1-13 in Naxos Historical's Great Pianist series

Richter - Rachmaninoff Preludes and Etudes - Olympia/Regis
Natan Brand - Schumann and Chopin - Studio Recordings on BNL

Bruno Walter - The Edition -Sony

Looking through George's list there is so much that appeals. Most is available on LP which is an added attraction as vinyl is my sole music carrier. All are excellent choices but some stand out, for instance: Feinberg's two sets of WTC on Melodiya. The complete Haydn string quartets on Hungaroton/Qualiton are a mainstay on my shelves. If I was limited in only listening to one area of music it would be the Haydn string quartets and the Tatrai SQ playing them. For the Mozart violin sonatas I would probably not choose Grumiaux/Haskil. Superb playing but on vinyl the sound is poor. I love the piano music of Fauré and the Bartok set of string quartets by the Hungarian SQ is the first I reach for. The Russian recordings of Shostakovich symphonies cannot be ignored. I could go on and on, as this a list of music very much up my street. The only thing missing is English music, but you can't have everything!

[amw]

64 ~albums, which I guess—in an emergency—would form a repertoire "core" until I got a chance to rebuild my collection.

If I had to take it down to 25, I'd pick the starred ones.

*Bach Sonatas & Partitas BWV 1001-1006 - Mullova 2009
Bach St Matthew Passion BWV 244 - Harnoncourt 2001
*Barrett Dark Matter - ELISION/Cikada 2012
*Bartók String Quartets 1-6 - Juilliard Quartet 1963
Bartók Piano Concertos 1-3 - Kocsis 1995
*Beethoven String Quartets 1-16 - Artemis Quartet 2011 [provisionally]
*Beethoven Piano Sonatas 1-32 - Badura-Skoda 1990
Beethoven Cello Sonatas 1-5 - Maisky & Argerich 1994
Berlioz Roméo et Juliette op.17 - Ticciati 2014
*Brahms Sextets 1-2 - Hausmusik London 1999
Brahms Symphonies & Serenades - Kertész 1973
Brahms Violin Sonatas 1-3 - Frank & Serkin 1998
*Cage Complete Piano Music - Schleiermacher 2002
*Tchaikovsky Serenade Op.48 & Suite Op.55 - Kondrashin 1966
Chopin Sonatas 2 & 3 - Hamelin 2009
Debussy Preludes, Etudes, Images, etc - Rev 1980
Dvořák Slavonic Dances - Šejna 1960
*Dvořák Symphonies & Concertos - Bělohlávek 2014
*Fauré Horizons - Fouchenneret, Zaoui, Merlin & Lefort 2016
Ferneyhough Quartets & Trios - Arditti Quartet 2014
*Ferrari L'œuvre électronique 2009
Gombert Motets - Rice 2007
Grisey Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil - Dubosc 2001
*Haydn String Quartets (complete) - Festetics Quartet 2005
*Holliger String Quartet 1, Die Jahreszeiten, Chaconne - Berner Streichquartett etc 1979
*Hosokawa Deep Silence - Miyata & Hussong 2004
Hummel Piano Sonatas 3, 5 & 6 - Hough 2003
Janáček & Nielsen Piano Music - Andsnes 2006
*Janáček String Quartets 1-2 - Panocha Quartet 1996
Kirchner & Schumann Davidsbündlertänze - Maruko 1994
Kondo Gardenia - Ensemble Nomad 1998
Kurtág Kafka-Fragmente Op.24 - Banse 2006
Kurtág Works for Soprano - Csengery 1998
Lachenmann Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern - Zagrosek 2001
Lutosławski Symphonies 1-4 - Salonen 2013
*Machaut Motets - Ensemble Musica Nova 2002
*Martinů Symphonies 1-6 - Bělohlávek 2011
Medtner Piano Sonatas - Hamelin 1998
Mendelssohn Octet, String Quintets, Quartet 2 - Hausmusik 2000
Mendelssohn Songs without words, etc - Perianes 2014
*Mozart String Quintets 1-6 - Kuijken Quartet & Terakado 1999
Mozart Violin Sonatas K58, 304 & 481 - Kuijken & Leonhardt 1979
*Mozart Piano Concertos 5-27 - Bilson & Gardiner 1989
Nielsen Symphonies 1-6 - Schmidt 1974
Ockeghem Missa prolationum - Hillier 1989
Prokofiev Sonatas 6-8 - Giltburg 2012
Rădulescu String Quartet 4 - Arditti Quartet 2001
Ruders Symphony 2 & Piano Concerto - Stenz & Schønwandt 2002
Saunders Stirrings Still - musikFabrik 2008
Scarlatti 33 Keyboard Sonatas - Zacharias 2003
*Schubert Sonatas 17, 20, 21 - Schnabel 1939
*Schubert String Quintet - Taneyev Quartet & Rostropovich 1963
Schubert Die schöne Müllerin - Prégardien 2008
*Schubert Winterreise - Schäfer 2006
Schumann Humoreske, Gesänge der Fruhe - Anderszewski 2010
*Schumann Kreisleriana, Carnaval & Sinfonische Etüden - Anda 1955
*Schumann Dichterliebe & Liederkreis Op. 24 - Bostridge 1998
Schumann Liederkreis Op. 39 & Liederreihe Op. 35 - Goerne 1999
Sciarrino String Quartets 1-8 - Quartetto Prometeo 2013
*Sciarrino Orchestral Works - Ceccherini 2008
Shostakovich Piano Trios - Florestan Trio & Gritton 2011
Stockhausen Klavierstücke I-XI, Mikrophonie I & II - Kontarsky 1965
Ustvolskaya Piano Sonatas & Preludes - Liebner 2009
Xenakis Chamber Music 1955-1990 - Arditti Quartet & Helffer 1991