GMG CDs, DVDs & Downloads of the Year 2007

[Todd]

I haven't heard of this pianist. Do you know if he's recorded any heavy romantic music (more or less all I'm interested in right now, which is why I ask)?

A few Schumann discs, but that's it as far as romantics go.  He's also recorded Ravel and Bax and a few other things.  His Schumann is very good, but it's not great, and Endres' style is introspective and delicate at times.  He's no barnstormer, that's for sure.  He's one of those pianists who sneak up on you, except in his Mozart which is immediately brilliant.

[Brian]

It's really nice to see Abbey Simon mentioned.

Abbey Simon teaches across town at the University of Houston, and recently at a visit to Half Price Books I met a gentleman friend of his who began to regale me with Abbey Simon stories. Evidently he was at one time one of the most frequently recorded pianists in music history - until the semi-juggernaut that is Jeno Jando came along and shattered those records. Mr Simon is now well into his eighties, but still teaching.

[sidoze]

A few Schumann discs, but that's it as far as romantics go.  He's also recorded Ravel and Bax and a few other things.  His Schumann is very good, but it's not great, and Endres' style is introspective and delicate at times.  He's no barnstormer, that's for sure.  He's one of those pianists who sneak up on you, except in his Mozart which is immediately brilliant.

Thanks Todd.

Evidently he was at one time one of the most frequently recorded pianists in music history -

Maybe, I don't know, I'm just basing it on what's available (which is probably the wrong way to go about things). And not much is available, on CD at least -- some excellent Chopin (a few double CD sets), the wonderful Ravel and some fairly good Rachmaninoff. I've just visited his website and evidently I am wrong, he has recorded more than I thought, probably more than Bolet actually (especially if you exclude that late flowering with Decca, which I'm somewhat inclined to do, as it hardly shows the full musician he was).

[Brian]

Maybe, I don't know, I'm just basing it on what's available (which is probably the wrong way to go about things). And not much is available, on CD at least -- some excellent Chopin (a few double CD sets), the wonderful Ravel and some fairly good Rachmaninoff. I've just visited his website and evidently I am wrong, he has recorded more than I thought, probably more than Bolet actually (especially if you exclude that late flowering with Decca, which I'm somewhat inclined to do, as it hardly shows the full musician he was).

I just looked him up on ArkivMusic too and was a tad disappointed to find so little (but will keep the Chopin and Ravel in mind for future browsing). At any rate Mr Simon will remain on my radar; the gentleman at Half Price had been quite insistent (he was busy putting the entire classical stock in alphabetical order by composer, although he was only a customer).

[sidoze]

(but will keep the Chopin and Ravel in mind for future browsing).

The Chopin is hit-and-miss with a few recordings standing out. But the Ravel--as Todd has already said--is best of the best.

[Brian]

Guys, it's not too late to add Beethoven's First and Sixth from Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra, to your "Best of 2007" list - or to your shopping carts. This one's phenomenal! (I listened to it three times yesterday.)

[Brian]

*Brian bursts with pride*

The new edition of our school newspaper just came out, complete with my column-review of the best classical CDs of 2007.    This means, among other things, that a full-color photo of the Pavel Haas String Quartet graces the front page of the Arts section of a university newspaper which ranks in the top 5 nationwide for popularity among the student body.    My only complaint is that the editor who drew up the accompanying box, containing all the CD details, managed to leave out the CD I said was "the best classical recording of 2007." ..........oops 

And here was the lineup:
Beethoven: Symphonies 1 and 6
- Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska
Janacek, Haas: String Quartets
- Pavel Haas String Quartet
Kalomiris: Triptych, Symphony No. 3
- Athens State Orchestra, Byron Fidetzis
Mozart: Don Giovanni
- Rene Jacobs, Johannes Weisser, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, etc.
Rachmaninov: Complete Preludes
- Eldar Nebolsin
Scriabin: Piano Works
- Yevgeny Sudbin
CD OF THE YEAR:
Tchaikovsky/Medtner: Piano Concertos
- Yevgeny Sudbin, John Neschling, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra

MUCH-REGRETTED RUNNER-UPS:
Brahms: Double Concerto, Clarinet Quintet (Reynaud and Gautier Capucon, etc.)
Glazunov: String Quintet, Novelettes (Fine Arts Quartet, Nathaniel Rosen)
Grieg: Orchestral Music (Bjarte Engeset; three CDs including two orchestras)
Weiss: Lute Sonatas, Vol. 8 (Robert Barto)
...and others

Methods used to arrive at final list:
- The list began as a bunch of CDs that I personally liked the most;
- I then filtered it down to music that could be easily recommended to the average student at our School of Music (ie, less obscure stuff, and less contemporary stuff, which our students actually resent);
- My opinions were corroborated with those of members of this forum, as well as Gramophone, MusicWeb, and Classicstoday, to make sure I don't have bad taste;
- I made my parents listen to some of the CDs;
- David Hurwitz recommended some great chamber music to me, since I don't know much;
- The list was narrowed down to six;
- The Beethoven was thrown in at the last second when it came out a week before Christmas;
- I regret the remaining High Romantic slant (Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Scriabin), but that really reflects my taste, and it also reflects the overwhelming impact of Yevgeny Sudbin, whose recordings receive no less than four paragraphs of praise.

[Grazioso]

Delightful works by Hummel, Dussek, and Onslow, played by a period-instruments group dedicated to unearthing works for the piano quintet-with-double bass format (a la Schubert's Trout quintet). Excellent sound, super-budget price from Brilliant.