New Member Intro + Request for Help

[Waitaminuet]

Hello

a classical music novice building-up a small collection of recordings of my favourite, at the moment, composers: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Rimsky-Korsakov.

I am aware that recommendations for recordings a purely subjective; but I would welcome recommendations for recordings of Beethoven's 3rd and 6th symphonies

Thanks

[Holden]

Welcome WaitaMinuet (love the handle) to GMG. Plenty of advice to sort through here so I'll go first.

My recommendations for the Eroica are

Rene Leibowitz/RPO on the Chesky label. Other posters will recommend a more mainstream performance I am sure. This one has slightly faster tempos and literally sparkles. It bears a lot of similarities to Toscanini's famous 1949 performance with the NBC SO.

The Pastoral has two candidates in two very similar performances.

a) Bruno Walter/Columbia SO on Sony
b) Andre Cluytens Berlin SO on EMI Angel or Seraphim

[bhodges]

Welcome, Waitaminuet (nice name there). You will get dozens of suggestions for these symphonies!

For the Third, this one with Christoph von Dohnányi and Cleveland is pretty fine:

[asin]B000003CT5[/asin]

And for the Sixth, this recording is very special, if you don't require a version in top-notch sound. This is the sole time Carlos Kleiber conducted this piece, and the recording was made from a cassette - yes, a cassette - supplied by the conductor's son who was in the audience.

[asin]B00022XOAO[/asin]

--Bruce

[Cato]

The Cleveland/Dohnanyi is a great choice!  Try this for a great interpretation and sound:

[asin]B0000027AD[/asin]

Certainly Holden's recommendations are fine also: the Toscanini Eroica has of course sound from 1949, but it is a barn-burner!

[xochitl]

yes, yes, and yes to the above.

i would add one more eroica and pastoral:

[Wanderer]

For Beethoven, I would very highly recommend Harnoncourt's boxset: [asin]B000JR0DVK[/asin]

And, also, welcome!

[prémont]

For Beethoven, I would very highly recommend Harnoncourt's boxset: [asin]B000JR0DVK[/asin]

And, also, welcome!

Harnoncourt´s LvB box is certainly great value for money - but IMO not as to the Pastoral symphony, which I find too stodgy.
My favorite Pastoral is Klemperer´s recording with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Vox), well mono, but mandatory.

[mc ukrneal]

Harnoncourt´s LvB box is certainly great value for money - but IMO not as to the Pastoral symphony, which I find too stodgy.
My favorite Pastoral is Klemperer´s recording with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Vox), well mono, but mandatory.

I'm not a fan of that box in the end (I have it), but I always felt the Pastoral was probably the best from it! Amazing.

ON #3, the Bernstein on Sony is good and also gives you a track of him discussing it. Could be of interest...

[Fafner]

Welcome, Waitaminuet.

Someone recently mentioned this recording of No. 3, and it was a real revelation to me:


Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard

[Waitaminuet]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions

In the end I purchased Von Dohnanyi and the Cleveland No. 3 and
Walter and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra no. 4 and no.6

I am enjoying them very much.

As a novice I had difficulty locating some of the recommended recordings; particularly the Chesky suggested by Holden.

Thank you once again