Your Top 10 Favorite Classical Purchases Of All-Time

[ritter]

I'll list the 10 purchases that have had the strongest effect on my tastes and my appreciation of music:


My first Wagner, which ignited a passion that hasn't waned for some 40 years now.


My first Parsifal, a work that I love intensely and that I'm in awe of to this day, and my first contact with the work of Pierre Boulez.


Not my first purchase of Boulez's music, but the work bowled me over with its intense beauty and definitely converted me into a lifelong admirer of the composer.


The work and recording that unveiled the wonders of the 2nd Viennese schoool to me.


Wagner led to Boulez the conductor, and then Boulez led to Debussy, to Stravinsky, and so much more...


The recording that opened the treasure trove of Italian opera. (and introduced me to the marvels of Maria Callas's art).


The perfect Mozart opera recording, and the one that cemented my lifelong admiration for Karl Böhm.


A 3 LP set that gave me a relatively comprehensive overview of Falla's work. To this day, I love almost every one of his compositions.


The first recording that made me really love Mahler (even if my admiration for the composer has faded as of late). Still my favourite recording of any Mahler Symphony, and a fantastic performance by Abbado, a conductor who remains in my pantheon of all-time greats.

That makes 10. There's probably many more, but these are the 10 that first came to mind.

[Mirror Image]

Lovely post, Rafel! Some phenomenal recordings therein your list.

[ritter]

Lovely post, Rafel! Some phenomenal recordings therein your list.

Thanks, John. Have a great Sunday...

[Mirror Image]

Thanks, John. Have a great Sunday...

Thank you! You, too, Rafael.

[Madiel]

Hmm. I keep looking at this topic and thinking, can I develop a top 10? Not sure. I might do half and then come back if I figure out a second half. Of course I don't make nearly as many purchases as some people here, though it's still a decent enough collection...

1. Faure, Piano Quintets
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This is a dead easy one. Though I don't think this was the first Faure I ever bought, it was the first chamber music, and was a key element in consolidating both love of Faure and love of chamber music (EDIT: And complete devotion to Susan Tomes). Always the disc I nominate as the favourite single CD I have. Though it might finally have some competition...

2. Schoenberg/Schubert
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I really haven't had this that long or listened to it enough times to know whether it might displace the Faure in my affections. But oh my goodness it's wonderful.

3. Rachmaninov, Piano Concertos and piano works
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I like the whole box. I don't know if I love the whole box. What I do know, though, is that CD6 is so utterly brilliant that the box needs to be here. There's some pretty good stuff on other discs as well, but leave me with the op.39 Etudes-Tableaux and the 2-piano version of the Symphonic Dances and I'll be happy enough.

4. Holmboe, Symphonies
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Kind of obligatory for this to be here given that it successfully launched my oddest musical obsession. I didn't get it all immediately, but I wanted to. And that's what set up the journey.

5.Haydn, op.76 string quartets
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These have to be here because they were among the first classical things I ever bought, on cassette. Those cassettes got played a lot during study. And once my cassette player started dying, these were the top of the list of things that needed to be repurchased on CD. The Penguin Guide recommended these versions. Perhaps now I'd find some other version that was more... edgy? But I've been enjoying these for a long time.

[Madiel]

I did think of some more, with some more unusual reasons for a couple of them.

6. J.S. Bach, Cantatas (box set 5 from Suzuki's series)


This is a bizarre choice because I've still not, after 3 years and 4 months, listened to this at all except a check that all the discs were working. I should start listening to it within the next month or two, as I'm on the last disc of box set 4.

The reason it's a favourite purchase is the circumstance of purchasing. I didn't even know this box existed until I saw it in the shop in Melbourne, and it was a perfect moment during a 2-week holiday that was full of perfect moments. So every time I look at this box, I have memories of all these fabulous amazing things that happened in November 2014.

I expect, given the quality of the rest of the Suzuki series, that I'll be pretty happy with the music as well.

7. Holmboe, Holmboe på Holmen
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Also on here because of the circumstances of purchasing, which I wrote about last year. Buying a CD directly from the performer is inevitably a special moment, especially when it's unexpected. This just pips out receiving Holmboe's Faroese choral works from the person one of them was written for, because that was free and done in writing rather than face to face.

8. Sibelius, Symphonies
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These make the list because essentially they're the basis of my deep interest in Sibelius and my belief in him as perhaps the greatest orchestrator of all. Obviously I'd read something that made me interested in the first place, but in terms of actually hearing the music, this was basically it for a long time. There are some searingly good moments, especially when it comes to brass.

9. Debussy, piano works
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I thought about listing my set of Ravel's piano works, by Pascal Roge. But then I decided to list this instead. As far as I can remember, I already had a belief in Ravel as a great piano composer when I purchased my Ravel recordings. What Bavouzet did, though, is convince me of the quality of Debussy as a piano composer when I previously had my doubts. And that's an impressive achievement.

10. Shostakovich, String Quartets


And finally, I've decided this makes the list because it played such a big role in expanding my musical horizons. Essentially this was my entry into "modern" 20th century music. Of course, I now know that in fact my tastes still tend towards the more traditionalist composers, but at the time I bought this, falling in love with the 12th quartet was a significant chronological leap in my tastes. I still find this box satisfying.

[Mirror Image]

I suppose an update is much needed here for my 'Top 10 Favorite Classical Purchases' -

Nos. 1-3: Paul Jacobs' Debussy



These recordings have changed my view on Debussy's piano music, but they have also given me some of the most profound, spellbinding, and, ultimately, rewarding listening experiences of my life thus far. The way I feel about these recordings is in the form of a question: "Where has Jacobs' Debussy been all of my life?"

No. 4: Tharaud's Ravel



Before I discovered Tharaud's Ravel set, like Debussy, I hadn't paid much attention to the piano music. One of the first sets I bought was Bavouzet's set on the MD&G label. Thankfully, I decided to give this piano music another listen, because I still don't enjoy Bavouzet's set. After Bavouzet, I bought Osborne's set on Hyperion and thought it was pretty good, but not outstanding. Then several years went by before I decided to opt for Alexandre Tharaud's set on Harmonia Mundi. I'm not sure whether it was the passage of time or more musical experience on my end, but Tharaud really opened my ears to this music. The work that first blew me away in this set was Miroirs. After the second movement, Oiseaux Tristes ended, I paused the recording and just sat and stared off into space for minute before I snapped back into reality and proceeded to Une barque sur l'océan.

No. 5: Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues from Melnikov



Until this particular point in time, I had not been too familiar with Shostakovich's piano music. In fact, I purposely avoided his Preludes & Fugues because of my then negative view that it'll just be endless pieces that sound like doodling with zero musical substance. Of course, I couldn't have been more wrong. This is currently the only recording I own of the work, but I adore this music so much now that it's become a part of my regular listening. I need to explore other performances at some point, but I really am content with the exemplary playing of Melnikov.

No. 6: Boulez's first recording of Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle



There's not much to say here other than this recording blew me away the first time I heard and it remains my favorite recording of this opera. I preferred Boulez's performance to the rightfully acclaimed Kertész recording (w/ Berry/Ludwig) on Decca. For some reason, Boulez's recording just felt much more electric to me --- edgy, raw, but still, somehow, atmospheric.

No. 7: Debussy Complete Works set on Deutsche Grammophon



I think I've mentioned this set enough already. It's an essential acquisition much more so than the Warner Classics set, which doesn't really get to the heart of Debussy the way the DG set has done for me.

No. 8: Berg Violin Concerto with Mutter/Levine/CSO



One of those lightbulb moments for me. I was under the impression that the Second Viennese School were these scary, monster-like creatures that swam in lagoons and preyed on innocent bystanders until I heard Berg's Violin Concerto. Let me see if I can sum this up much more quickly: when I received this recording, I played this concerto eleven times in a row and still wanted to hear it again. To say it made a deep impression on me, would be an understatement. This was my gateway into Schoenberg and Webern.

No. 9: Firkušný's Janáček on Deutsche Grammophon



After hearing Schiff's performances of these works, I was left wondering what other kind of performances I could find and here enters Firkušný. To my mind, these piano works were much more effective played by Firkušný. I believe the intensity was better captured and the sudden changes in emotional temperature seemed better judged to these ears. This set is now a firm favorite and a set I'm continuously enthralled by.

No. 10: Stravinsky Complete Edition on Deutsche Grammophon



My enthusiasm for Stravinsky's music and this box set have already been plastered throughout the forum. No need for further elaboration.