GMG Members' Personal Essentials Lists

Started by DavidRoss, September 07, 2010, 08:06:33 AM

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Daverz

I tried making a list, but I can't even get it under 50.   

Brahmsian

To take Octave's suggestion, and in light of the BBC Top 50 recordings, perhaps GMG members would like to list their Top 50 favourite recordings in their own collection?  Just a thought, and I will put some thought into coming up with mine.  ;D

Pat B

Quote from: ChamberNut on September 24, 2013, 10:31:44 AM
To take Octave's suggestion, and in light of the BBC Top 50 recordings, perhaps GMG members would like to list their Top 50 favourite recordings in their own collection?  Just a thought, and I will put some thought into coming up with mine.  ;D
I'm starting to think about mine.

Octave

#143
Is it bad form to allow for excess of 50 items?  I realize a limit like that means making tough choices, which can be useful; but since any number will be arbitrary, I don't see why more leeway might not be granted.  I'd just hate to see someone pitch in the towel because 50 is too low a number and cannot be worked with.  Even ~150 is barely a "Noah's Ark" allowance, even for conservative "core"/canon type repertoire.

I still think the value of said lists includes 1.) antidote/riposte to Official Organs and their Lists (a constructive retort to authority, with pluralism the upshot); 2.) super useful to novices like me with limited time and coin; 3.) an opportunity for stocktaking and maybe even re-evaluation on the part of listmakers.  #2 is the most important, the others are bonus.

A little rule-bending might not be such a bad thing here; I have really benefited from these lists, not least because I can hunt down the recordings in question---just on GMG---and usually find spirited debates about their value compared to other performances.  It almost doesn't matter which recordings I end up getting, because I learn so much about the pieces in question.  Some I *gasp* even end up looking at scores.  Pretty, pretty dots...
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North Star

Quote from: Octave on September 24, 2013, 10:55:06 PM
Is it bad form to allow for excess of 50 items?  I realize a limit like that means making tough choices, which can be useful; but since any number will be arbitrary, I don't see why more leeway might not be granted.  I'd just hate to see someone pitch in the towel because 50 is too low a number and cannot be worked with.  Even ~150 is barely a "Noah's Ark" allowance, even for conservative "core"/canon type repertoire.

I still think the value of said lists includes 1.) antidote/riposte to Official Organs and their Lists (a constructive retort to authority, with pluralism the upshot); 2.) super useful to novices like me with limited time and coin; 3.) an opportunity for stocktaking and maybe even re-evaluation on the part of listmakers.  #2 is the most important, the others are bonus.

A little rule-bending might not be such a bad thing here; I have really benefited from these lists, not least because I can hunt down the recordings in question---just on GMG---and usually find spirited debates about their value compared to other performances.  It almost doesn't matter which recordings I end up getting, because I learn so much about the pieces in question.  Some I *gasp* even end up looking at scores.  Pretty, pretty dots...
It was originally 25 items, so I think 50 is more than reasonable. The no box sets rule I sort of understand - nobody is going to listen to Berglund & Haendel's recording of the Britten VC just because I list the 37 CD EMI Collector's Edition here - but since a great deal of my favourites are in these boxes, I really don't like making a list that leaves those out.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Karl Henning

Quote from: Octave on September 24, 2013, 10:55:06 PM
Is it bad form to allow for excess of 50 items?

Heck, this thread started out with a limit of 25; some will point out that 50 is already excess  8)

Quote from: North Star on September 24, 2013, 11:33:12 PM
It was originally 25 items, so I think 50 is more than reasonable.

I should have counted on you to hit this first, Karlo:)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

North Star

Quote from: karlhenning on September 25, 2013, 03:52:17 AM
Heck, this thread started out with a limit of 25; some will point out that 50 is already excess  8)

I should have counted on you to hit this first, Karlo:)
And of course I can't manage to trim it down to 50 now :D
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

aquablob

#147
My list ended up being less about my favorites and more about a wide variety of selections that might get a beginner off to a good start. Some are my favorites, some are "essentials," some I chose largely for pairings, some I chose for accessibility (good for toe-dipping).

Nothing's older than Baroque—oh well.

I tried to represent several different broad genres (symphonic, chamber, piano, vocal) with strategic picks. Also, there are almost no box sets here. The Bach is 3 CDs, the Brahms is 4 CDs, the Ravel is 3. [Edit: Obviously the Ring Cycle is a box set.] I'm feeling pretty good about this overall.



1. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos & Orchestral Suites (Pinnock: English Concert)
2. Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra & Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta (Karajan: Berlin Philharmonic)
3. Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 7 (Kleiber: Vienna Philharmonic)
4. Beethoven: "Waldstein," "Les Adieux," & "Appassionata" Piano Sonatas (Gilels)
5. Berlioz: Harold en Italie & Les Nuits d'Été (Tamestit, von Otter, Minkowski: Les Musiciens du Louvre - Grenoble)

6. Brahms: Piano Concertos, Ballades Op. 10, Waltzes Op. 39, Piano Pieces Opp. 116-119 (Kovacevich; Davis: London Symphony Orchestra)
7. Bruckner/Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 "Romantic"; Ritt und Sonnenaufgang (Jochum: Berlin Philharmonic)
8. Chopin: Nocturnes (Moravec)
9. Debussy: Préludes (Michelangeli)
10. Dvořák/Franck: Piano Quintets (Curzon, Vienna Philharmonic Quartet)

11. Glass: Glassworks
12. Handel: Messiah (Butt: Dunedin Consort & Players)
13. Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76 (Kodály Quartet)
14. Mahler: Symphony No. 1 & Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Kubelik: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Fischer-Dieskau)
15. Mendelssohn/Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos (Stern; Ormandy: Philadelphia Orchestra)

16. Mozart: Don Giovanni (Giulini: Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra)
17. Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works (Abbado: London Symphony Orchestra)
18. Saint-Saëns/Dukas: "Organ" Symphony, Sorcerer's Apprentice (Levine: Berlin Philharmonic)
19. Schubert: Winterreise (Fischer-Dieskau, Demus)
20. Schumann: Carnaval, Fantasiestücke, etc. (Artur Rubinstein: Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 51)

21. Shostakovich/Tchaikovsky: Piano Trios (Argerich/Kremer/Maisky)
22. Stravinsky/Prokofiev/Webern/Boulez: Piano Works (Pollini)
23. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves, The Lark Ascending, Tallis Fantasia, etc. (Marriner, Boult, Wordsworth)
24. Verdi: Requiem, 4 Sacred Pieces (Gardiner: ORR & Monteverdi Choir)
25. Wagner: Ring Cycle (Solti: Vienna Philharmonic)

Daverz

Quote from: aquariuswb on September 25, 2013, 01:18:35 PM
My list ended up being less about my favorites and more about a wide variety of selections that might get a beginner off to a good start.

In that spirit, here's an old listmania list of mine:

http://www.amazon.com/Classical-Entry-Points/lm/R30BGC6G3KITN2/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full

I need to update that to reflect more available recordings.

George

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
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

RebLem

Here's a partial list and some background on my reasons:

My neice and her husband announced last Christmas that they had become interested in classical music and were now regularly attending concerts of the Buffalo Philharmonic (they live in suburban Amherst).  I immediately gave them a sizable number of duplicates I already had, including my complete Toscanini collection, since I had just purchased the RCA complete Toscanini box.  This Christmas, I decided that they are getting a good education in orchestral music from those and from the concerts, so I decided to give them only chamber music, to help them round out a little.  Here's what I gave them:

Haydn:Complete String Quartets--Angeles Quartet
Dvorak: Complete String Quartets--Panocha Quartet
Shostokovich: Complete String Quartets, Piano Trio, and Piano Quintet--St. Petersburg String Quartet

Another thing I would suggest is that early on in one's collecting experience, one should learn that different conductors interpret things in different ways.  To help drive this point home, I suggest five complete sets of the Beethoven symphonies.  In order of original release, my five favorites are Furtwangler, Toscanini, Szell, Solti, and Gardiner.
"Don't drink and drive; you might spill it."--J. Eugene Baker, aka my late father.

Brahmsian

Quote from: RebLem on December 16, 2013, 11:08:59 PM
Dvorak: Complete String Quartets--Panocha Quartet

That would be on mine also.  A great set.

aquablob

Quote from: RebLem on December 16, 2013, 11:08:59 PM
Another thing I would suggest is that early on in one's collecting experience, one should learn that different conductors interpret things in different ways.  To help drive this point home, I suggest five complete sets of the Beethoven symphonies.  In order of original release, my five favorites are Furtwangler, Toscanini, Szell, Solti, and Gardiner.

Which Solti set—'70s or '90s?

North Star

Quote from: ChamberNut on September 24, 2013, 10:31:44 AM
To take Octave's suggestion, and in light of the BBC Top 50 recordings, perhaps GMG members would like to list their Top 50 favourite recordings in their own collection?  Just a thought, and I will put some thought into coming up with mine.  ;D

With 50 items, this list could obviously look somewhat different tomorrow, but I'd be happy with these - as happy as I could be with such a measly number of discs, anyway.

Alkan - Etudes in the minor keys (Gibbons)
Argerich & Pletnev - Ravel Ma mère l'oye & Prokofiev Cinderella suite
Bach - Bach: Famous Cantatas Vol. 1 (Herreweghe & Collegium Vocale Gent, HM)
Bartók - complete solo piano music (Kocsis)
Bartók - Boulez DGG box

Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 (Herreweghe, HM)
Beethoven - Late Sonatas (Penelope Crawford, Musica Omnia)
Berg Collection (DGG)
Berlioz - Colin Davis (LSO Live)
Brahms - Symphonies (Rattle & BPO)

Britten - Serenade, Nocturne, Les Illuminations - Bostridge & Rattle
Bruckner - Symphonies no. 7 (Chailly & Berlin RSO)
Chopin - Mazurkas (Luisada, RCA)
Debussy - Solo Piano Works (Crossley)
Debussy - Orchestral works - Martinon (EMI/Brilliant)

Dowland - Lachrimae (The Parley of Instruments, Hyperion)
Elgar - Symphonies nos. 1 & 2, Falstaff, The Music Makers, etc (Andrew Davis & BBCSO)
Hartmann  - Symphonies (Wergo)
Haydn - String Quartets, Op. 76 - Quatuor Mosaïques
Ives - New England Holidays (MTT & CSO)

Ives - An American Journey (MTT)
Janacek - Cunning Little Vixen (Neumann, Supraphon)
Janacek - Sinfonietta, Violin Concerto, Taras Bulba
Mahler Symphony No. 2, Kurtág Stele, Schönberg Kol Nidre (Gielen & SWR)
Mahler Symphony No. 5 - Chailly & RCO

Mahler DLvdE - Ludwig, Wunderlich & Klemperer (EMI)
Martinu - Chamber Music (Dartington Ensemble)
Monteverdi - Vespro della Beata Vergine (Concerto Italiano)
Mompou - Musica Callada (Perianes, HM)
Mozart - The Last Concertos (Freiburger Barockorchester, HM)

Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro (Jacobs, HM)
Mussorgsky-Ravel Pictures / Tchaikovsky 4th (Sokhiev & Toulouse, naïve)
Nielsen - Symphonies & Orchestral Music (Schønwandt, Dausgaard, Dacapo)
Pärt - Tabula Rasa (ECM)
Prokofiev - Solo piano works (Raekallio, Ondine)

Prokofiev - Piano Concertos (Béroff, Masur)   
Rakhmaninov - All-Night Vigil (Hillier, HM)
Ravel - Decca Complete Edition
Satie - Socrate, melodies (Music Projects/London)
Schnittke - Choir Concerto, Requiem (Hymnia Chamber Choir)

Schubert - String Quintet, String Quartets nos. 14 & 15 (Belcea SQ, EMI)
Schubert - Late Piano Works (Pollini)
Schumann - Complete Solo Piano Music (Le Sage, alpha)
Shostakovich - Symphonies (Jansons, EMI)
Shostakovich - String Quartets (Emerson)

Sibelius - Symphonies & Tone Poems (Järvi & Gothenburg)
Stravinsky - Boulez DGG box
Szymanowski - Rattle EMI box
Varèse - Boulez (Sony)
Villa-Lobos - Choros, Bachianas & Solo guitar (BIS)§
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Ken B

We're talking recordings here not pieces, so ... None. There's always a better recording yet to be made or found.

But the last 2 to go would Karajan Sibelius 7 on DG and Virgil Thomson's 1947 Four Saints in Three Acts.

Karl Henning

Quote from: Ken B on February 27, 2014, 08:21:05 AM
We're talking recordings here not pieces, so ... None.

Oh . . . I think it took it largely as pieces, but you may well be right.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Philo

Lin - Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues
Lortie - Chopin and Mozart
Enescu - Bach's Violin Sonatas
Berezovsky - Liszt's Transcendental Etudes
Gould - Berg and Beethoven/Liszt
Kuerti - Scriabin
Maazel/WP - Mahler Symphony No. 1
Khittuk - Saint Lubin
Cortot - Can't go wrong
Kocsis - Bach's The Art of Fugue
Jarrett - Handel's Keyboard Sonatas
Chausson - Can't go wrong
Dalberto - Schumann

Etc.

Ken B

Quote from: Philo on February 27, 2014, 10:11:29 AM
Lin - Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues
Lortie - Chopin and Mozart
Enescu - Bach's Violin Sonatas
Berezovsky - Liszt's Transcendental Etudes
Gould - Berg and Beethoven/Liszt
Kuerti - Scriabin
Maazel/WP - Mahler Symphony No. 1
Khittuk - Saint Lubin
Cortot - Can't go wrong
Kocsis - Bach's The Art of Fugue
Jarrett - Handel's Keyboard Sonatas
Chausson - Can't go wrong
Dalberto - Schumann

Etc.
3 Canuck pianists

George

"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

coffee

25 titles
5 box sets

Let me take a stab at the official list - I do not claim to have appreciated any these recordings, let alone all of them - these are just my first-draft sense is of the approximately official (democratically averaging out the opinions of the cognoscenti) top 25: 


- Bach: Brandenburg Concertos - Richter
- Bach: Goldberg Variations - Gould 1981
- Bach: Mass in B minor - Richter 1962
- Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, etc. - Reiner 1955, 1958
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas - Kempff (stereo)

- Beethoven: String Quartets - Alban Berg Quartet 
- Beethoven: Symphonies - Karajan '63
- Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 7 - Kleiber
- Brahms: A German Requiem - Klemperer
- Britten: War Requiem - Britten

- Elgar: Cello Concerto, Sea Pictures - Du Pre, Baker, Barbirolli
- Handel: Messiah - Beecham
- Haydn: String Quartets - Quatuor Mosaiques
- Mahler: Symphony #1 - Kubelik 1967
- Mozart: Don Giovanni - Giulini

- Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro - Solti
- Mozart: Piano Concertos - Brendel, Marriner
- Puccini: Tosca - Callas, Sabata 1953 
- Puccini: Turandot - Sutherland, Mehta
- Schubert: Trout Quintet, String Quartet #13 - Gilels & Amadeus Quartet

- Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos - Van Cliburn
- Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4-6 - Mravinsky
- Verdi: La Traviata - Callas, Giulini 1955
- Wagner: The Ring of the Nibelungs - Solti
- Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Bohm

Liberty for the wolf is death for the lamb.