Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Recommendations for ten Classical CD’s?

I’d like to delve into Classical music a bit more than I do (which isn’t much). It’s nice to have it on during quiet get together’s with friends. The problem I have with buying any though is I love some that I hear and absolutely hate others. I just don’t know what to get. I’m not sure what to call what I like, but if it’s any help, my favorite piece is Giovanni Sollima - Sogno ad Occhi Aperti (Daydream) PART 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldPf3yqq3-8

Another favorite of mine is pretty much the entire soundtrack for the movie; The Last Mohican. A friend of mine told me that I like “New Classical”, whatever that means.

If I could get a list of ten CD’s to order from Amazon, I’ll get them coming and report back. I’m sure there will be some I like more / less than the others, but that might a good place to start for buying additional CD’s. I prefer Amazon because they don’t screw me with shipping fees.

Know what I'd do? Pandora. Sign up for a free Pandora account and start creating channels of the music/composers/film scores that you like. Let it play, and make notes of what you like. I bet it would find some new stuff for you, and you could then use that to find other CD's.

I know what you mean about the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. That's one of my favorites as well. A very haunting album. If you like that, check out the albums by Clint Mansell, specifically, the soundtracks for Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. They're a little more 'upbeat' than LOTM, but I think they're similarly beautiful.

But as far as straight-up classical goes...
I'm simply in love with Janine Jansen's Four Season's album. I also like Nigel Kennedy's albums as well.

The Planets by Holst is a more modern piece and one of my favorites. I have this album , which I like quite a bit. That's a fun album, with Star Wars and Also Sprach Zarathustra. That's great as an opening piece when demoing your system to others. It sets the mood well.

Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin is also a great piece to have in your music library. Heck, a lot of Gershwin is nice because so much of it is recognizable by a general audience - it works well as 'background' music during a dinner party.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll get many, many more far better suggestions.

Pandora is a great idea Peter. That's definitely a good way to save money buying full albums you might not like. Does Pandora have a good classical library? I admit I've never even tried it with classical music.

Okay Mike, here're ten from Amazon, although some of the items are available at a bit better price elsewhere: Holst, Planets ; Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake ; Dvorak, Cello Concerto ; Respighi, Symphonic Poems ; Rachmaninoff, Symphonic Dances ; Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe ; Brahms, Hungarian Dances ; Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue ; Smetana, Ma Vlast ; Khachaturian, Spartacus .

Not ten, but some of my favorites...

Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5
Beethoven Symphony #7 (as a bonus you get #5 as well!)
Holst - The Planets (The Dutoit recording is far and away my favorite)

Thanks guys!

I've been keeping a spreadsheet with a bunch of audio recommendations posted here that I am interested in. I don't claim to have gotten them all as I often forget to do it but here is the classical Tab I started recording since the first time I asked the same question.

It doesn't copy very well and I don't have time to fix it up but you will notice it starts with who recommended it. That way, if you don't like it, you know who to blame instead of me!!


Submitter Composer Conductor Title
Efalardeau Bach Goebel or Dantone Bach's Brandenburg concertos (with Goebel or Dantone
Efalardeau Bach Harnoncourt Bach's solo cello suites (Harnoncourt, Casal)
Efalardeau Bach Harnoncourt or Leonhardt Bach's cantata (from Teldec with Harnoncourt or Leonhardt)
Mojo Bach Bach and Canadian Brass: Sacred Brass
Efalardeau Bach French suites by Bach (played on cemballo, ideally with Gustav Leonhardt or Tom Koopman)
JohnK Beethoven Gunter Wand Beethoven Symphony No. 9(Wand)
JohnK Beethoven Harnoncourt Beethoven - Nine Symphonies
Spiffnme Beethoven Klieber Beethoven Symphonis 5 & 7
Spiffnme Beethoven Perahai / Haitink Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5
Efalardeau Beethoven Beethoven's string quartet from the middle period (7-11) (Italiano)
Efalardeau Beethoven Middle or late period string quartets by Beethoven (ideally played by Quartetto Italiano)
JohnK Berlioz Munch Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique(Munch)
Efalardeau Borodin Barenboim Borodin's Symphonies 2&3 (Barenboim)
JohnK Brahms Bogar Brahms Hungarian Dances(Bogar)
Efalardeau Brahms Brahms quintet for piano (Grumiaux)
Efalardeau Debussy La Mer and other orchestral work by Debussy
Efalardeau Dukas La Peri Dukas's Symphony (La Peri and L'apprenti sorcier)
JohnK Dvorak Kubelik Dvorak Slavonic Dances(Kubelik)
JohnK Dvorak Pierre Fournier Dvorak: Cello Concerto: (Pierre Fournier )
PeterChenoweth Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin
JohnK Holst Mehta Holst Planets(Mehta)
JohnK Khachaturian Temirkanov Gayaneh & Spartacus Suites
PeterChenoweth Mansel Clint Mansel, soundtracks for "Requiem for a Dream" and "The Fountain."
Efalardeau Mozart Harmoncourt Mozart's Requiem (Harnoncourt)
PeterChenoweth Mozart Sharon Bezaly Mozart Flute Concertos; Rondo; Andante - (Sharon Bezaly)
JohnK Orff Muti Orff Carmina Burana(Muti)
JohnK Prokofiev Ashkenazy Prokofiev Cinderella(Ashkenazy)
JohnK Rachmaninoff Ashkenazy Rachmaninoff Symphonies, etc. (Ashkenazy)
JohnK Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
JohnK Ravel Dutoit Ravel Daphnis et Chloe(Dutoit)
JohnK Ravel Martinon Ravel: Orchestral Works (Martinon)
JohnK Respighi Batiz Respighi Roman Festivals(Batiz)
JohnK Rimsky-Korsakov Batiz Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (Batiz)
Efalardeau Schumman Harmoncourt Schumman's Symphonies no 3&4 (Harnoncourt)
Efalardeau Shostakovitch Shostakovitch symphonies
Efalardeau Shubert lieders Schubert's Impromptus for piano or his Moments Musicaux
Efalardeau Shubert Schubert's Die Schone Mullerin or Die Winterise (lieders)
JohnK Smetana Berglund Smetana Ma Vlast(Berglund)
JohnK Stravinski Ozawa Stravinsky Rite of Spring(Ozawa)
JohnK Tchaikovsky Lanchberry Tchaikovsky Swan Lake(Lanchbery)
JohnK Tchaikovsky Muti Tchaikovsky Symphonies, etc.(Muti)
JohnK various Carol Rosenberger Water Music of the Impressionists - Carol Rosenberger
Mark Johnson various Claudio Abbado Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Lieutenant Kij‚ / Abbado
JohnK Various Barber collection (Schippers)
JohnK Various Latin American collection(buy from Amazon seller)
Mojo Various The Quicksilva Collection: Volume 2 Vivaldi, Purcell, Handell
JohnK Various Vocalise
JohnK Vaughan-Williams Bakels Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 2(Bakels)
PeterChenoweth Vivaldi Janine Jansen Vivaldi's Four Seasons - (Janine Jansen)
Efalardeau Vivaldi Concerti by Vivaldi
Efalardeau Zoltan Zoltan Kodaly's sonata pour solo cello opus
Efalardeau El Amor Brujo from Manual de Falla (ideally the 1915 version, but they are all good)

You guys are awesome.

You're referring to the composers, right?

Hey, how did Mark get on that list??

Looking over the list that Andrew has compiled, I note that one of my suggestions is shown only as "Vocalise", which doesn't really identify it. This in fact is the disc in which Anna Moffo and Stokowski created the most beautiful vocal recording that I've ever heard, and which deserves special attention. The authorized Arkiv reissue is now available directly from Amazon for $13.99.

I dunno. Especially since I've never heard of that piece!

I mean... wait.....

YOU DOUBT MY TALENTS, YOU MORTAL?
HA - HA - HA - HA -HA !

(Please read the above with a booming, reverberant voice. Thank you.)

Sorry John,

I knew there were inconsistencies. I went to the links for more info on most of the ones I spotted as my notes being vague but I missed that one. I bet there is other info missing too if you look closely but hopefully there is enough to find the CD if one goes looking.

The hot links didn't carry over and I wasn't ambitious enough to rebuild them either.

slacker.

Puppies are Cute.

Will classical music require a more powerful amplifier?

I'm considering buying some Axioms but have never heard them. What should I do?

You should also consider hearing them but never buying them. Axioms are not for fence-sitters.

Oh, that was my M.O.!

Well I ended up ordering 12.... I'll let ya'll know which ones I like / dislike after I get them. thanks for the help.

wow...that's jumping in with both feet! Congrats! I'd love to hear what you think of all 12!

Well the way I figure it, I’m bound to hate some of them, and love others. If I can get a few that I really like, then I can let all you classical music gurus know which ones they are so you can recommend some more. These classical CD’s are pretty cheap, plus, I’ve got another 650 gigs of storage to fill up. LOL

Moonlight Sonata/Beethoven.

Amazing when you think about it, these classical composers were the 'Rock Stars' of their time.

Youtube is a great place to audition music before you buy it, I'm starting to like jazz for the first time in my life but not sure where to start...don't know much in the way of jazz musicians.

I gave each of the CD’s I bought a spin. Some didn’t make it very far before I hit the “skip disk” button on my remote, but I did give each track a listen (some longer than others). I still need to take more time and figure out what it is that I like / dislike about each one, but I figured I’d give my real quick, unorthodox ranking. And I reserve the right to change my order after I listen to them some more… LOL

I bought these:

Holst, Planets
Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake
Dvorak, Cello Concerto
Respighi, Symphonic Poems
Rachmaninoff, Symphonic Dances
Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe
Brahms, Hungarian Dances
Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue
Smetana, Ma Vlast
Khachaturian, Spartacus
Janine Jansen's Four Season's – Vivaldi
Beethoven’s 7th

In order of best to worst….

1 - Janine Jansen's Four Season's – Vivaldi
2 - Dvorak, Cello Concerto
3 - Brahms, Hungarian Dances
4 - Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake
5 - Smetana, Ma Vlast
6 - Khachaturian, Spartacus
7 - Beethoven’s 7th
8 - Respighi, Symphonic Poems
9 - Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue
10 - Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe
11 - Rachmaninoff, Symphonic Dances
12 - Holst, Planets

I like string music, a lot. I didn’t care for the last three because they’re just too, oh I don’t know… sorta movie theme-ish. I don’t like that and I don’t really know why. The Gershwin is too, well dated for me. I doubt I’ll be listening to the any of those four again.

Based on my very initial impressions, is there a particular type of Classical that I should be looking at??

Try Chick Korea and Dave Brubek. Both are excellent musicians and are quite accessable. Another place to try before you buy is your local library. I am quite impressed by the range of discs they have.

Tks, Fred. I forgot about using the library. That's where they have them things from the last century, they called them 'books' or something like that.

I picked up this four disc Vivaldi set at Zellers (Canadian Target wannabe) about a week ago for $10.

Quite enjoyable. Considering others in the series.

Yeah Mike, listening to the compositions in their entirety is a minimum requirement for learning about classical music. They'll often grow on you, and you may have accidentally skipped some music that you'd like best.

But yes, from those initial impressions and as you specifically commented, you like strings. So, I'll suggest my two favorite CDs featuring string quartets: this one with the beautiful Debussy and Ravel quartets with other attractive items; and this , which has on one disc three of the most famous string quartets, by Borodin, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. Then, the other category that comes to mind is violin concertos, so I'll suggest what's probably my overall favorite out of many in that group, with the Sibelius and Korngold concertos . This "Virtuoso Violin" disc containing Spanish-influenced works by Sarasate and others is certainly aptly named, with terrific playing by Perlman.

bruch violin concerto

and Brahms violin concerto

You win some, you lose some.

I'm thrilled to see that the Janine Jansen album was #1. I simply love that album (I have it on SACD).

If you liked her, check out Nigel Kennedy's albums. He's another violin virtuoso. It's good, just arranged for a larger group so it doesn't have quite the intimacy that the Jansen album does.

You might also like Sharon Bezaly's albums. She's a lot like Janine Jansen, but on the flute.

Sorry to see that the Holst bombed and Gershwin was a dud.

"Jazz" is such a huge genre also that it's hard to nail down exactly who you'll like.

For 'classical' jazz, I'll second the idea of Dave Brubeck. Time Out is one of my favorite albums. If you like Jazz, you've got to have some Brubeck in your collection. Miles Davis is another Jazz legend that you ought to try out. Kind of Blue is often placed as the pinnacle of his work. Again, IMHO, no Jazz collection is complete without a Miles Davis.

But if you want more modern jazz, with vocals, I'm absolutely in love with Jane Monheit (Surrender), Madeleine Peyroux (Careless Love), Norah Jones (Come Away With Me), and Diana Krall (too many good albums to list). I can put their albums on rotation, bust out a bottle of good wine, crank up the Axioms, and the world just dissolves away.

Then if you want to get into 'contemporary' jazz (aka, 'smooth' jazz), that's a whole 'nuther group of artists to talk about.

Thanks again guys. I have more to try. I added a few more of your suggestions to my Amazon Shopping list. I don't have much going on this week, so I'll have more time to listen to the CD's I listed above.

I also have a Rhapsody free trial that came with my Squeezebox. They have virtually every track there is (almost). I can just download a few tracks and give them a listen.

No worries Peter... I expected to not like some, and really like others, which is what happened.

I like some Jazz, but it's not my favorite genre. Seeing how I'm all digital now, I'll buy a few that you note and have them on hand for when the mode strikes me.

Mike - One CD that I really enjoy is http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=1638 . IMHO no classical collection is complete without some Mozart.

If you like the sound of the violin, try a couple of short pieces by Fritz Kriesler called Liebesleid and Liebesfreud. They are usually on a CD with other music, such as the Bruch Vionin concerto.

Listening to a little Fritz on Rhapsody now.... Thanks Shane.

I have some Mozart Dave, but I'll check that one out too...

Katie Melua - nice nice

Awesome thread! I have been ignoring my redbook collection of CDs for too long and this thread inspired me to start replayng my favorites. I will post my top ten once I have reasonably reaquainted myself (I know nothing technical about classical music except that I know what I like). But first I have to share the classical SACD that I keep returning to over and over again. Such a beautiful piece of misic:

Antonio Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico op.3 Volume II: Concertos Nos. 7-12. Ottavio Dantone.

Please don't buy it on the strength of my appreciation for it - but does anyone else have this disk?

Thanks, Ian

I have a couple new additions. Not the typical classical, but I like the artists (hot looking too).

Vanessa Mae - best of
Lara St. John - Gypsy

U Tube has dozen of their videos. Did I mention these girls are hot, er I mean they play violin well?

Ian, I'm familiar with the concertos in L'Estro Armonico, but wasn't aware of the Dantone disc. From the Amazon samples however, I can appreciate your enthusiasm.

Since you like those concertos, which are second in popularity of Vivaldi's compositions to only The Four Seasons, you probably enjoy those as well and already have them. In any case I'll suggest my favorite Four Seasons, by Gil Shaham , for consideration.

Mike, I hope you've had a chance to listen to the recommended CDs at greater length and that their attractions have become apparent.

From your comment on the female violinists in your new post, I think that I can see one reason that you liked Janine's Four Seasons so much. With the trend going as it is now, there appears to be a possibility that these young violinists will be shown totally nude for some future recordings.

John,
Volume 1 is no slouch either. I have also found that these SACDs just want to be played loud, not something I typically do with classical music. It's the warm rich bass that wants to be heard. And thanks for the link to Dantone's piece as I discovered two more Arts lable recordings (I have 7 SACDs in the Arts lable - the production seems to be better than most). I do indeed like Vivaldi and on the strength of opinions in this thread I went ahead and ordered Janine Jansen in SACD. If I don't like it I have something nice to look at.

I will figure out how to properly hyperlink these to samples, but in the meantime here are a few of my favorite classical pieces:
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra - Albinoni/Pachelbel/Bach/Händel/Corelli/Vivaldi/Purcell (DG)
Yo-Yo Ma - Simply Baroque II: Bach & Boch
Ofra Harnoy - Vivaldi: Cello Concertos Vol. 3
George Frideric Handel - Oboe Concertos - Handel, Mozart, Haydn by Pamela Pecha (Oboe), Paul Freeman - Symphony Orchestra of Russia
Rinaldo Alessandrini; Concerto Italiano - Brandenburg Concertos
Händel — Heinz Holliger; Leppard, English Chamber Orchestra - Händel: Oboe Concertos, Concerto Grosso
Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon & Richard Tognetti - Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World

Thanks for reminding me that I wanted that. My sister owned the CD a long time ago, and I remember being very impressed by it.

I can only hope so John.

I wouldn’t get too wrapped up into that though. Did you actually listen to these two girls? They are quite good. And I doubt that Janine’s appearance is why I like that particular CD. I liked it before I realized it was an attractive women. I just like strings, cello in particular.

I have listened quite a bit more to all the classical CD’s I’ve purchased. I usually have them on random mix via my Slim Devices Duet, and I am continually drawn towards strings. I know for certain that I do not care for the works where there is a lot of brass involved. I like brass, but only if it’s old time jazz and live. They just don’t do it for me in a classical setting. I like the more peaceful string pieces. But, conversely, I like the very dynamic pieces that Mae does. Not her “wanna be a pop star crap”, but the pieces that she does with an orchestra background. You ought to listen to a couple and let me know what you think.

My wife and I and another couple spent yesterday afternoon at the Symphony and coincidentally Vivaldi's Four Seasons began the show. The gentleman whom is normally the concertmaster, Hok Kwan, was solo violin and guest conductor. While he is a very renowned violinist in our part of the country, I'm rather glad he chose to wear cloths.

Mike, listening to just segments of a classical composition meant to be heard in its entirety doesn't allow for really gaining an appreciation of the piece.

Okay, the local library didn't have the "Best of" Vanessa-Mae disc(could have requested it be sent from another library in the state in 3-4 days)but I took out five of her discs that had almost everything that was in "Best". Spent a couple hours tonight listening and the only track that I really enjoyed was the transcription for violin of Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot. This is a glorious melody composed to be sung by a tenor(e.g., Pavorotti), but which has been arranged for orchestra, piano, violin, etc. I believe this is the first time that I heard the violin transcription, and since it was well-played, I enjoyed it, as I said. The two segments from her slight rearrangement of The Four Seasons were interesting enough that I listened to all of it on the rather impertinently titled "The Original Four Seasons" disc. If I wasn't aware of the genuine original and better performances I probably would have been impressed enough to consider buying it. About the other items I have nothing good to say, so I won't describe my impressions.

In summary, she plays well, but that's nothing unusual these days and I won't bother listing the many that I'd view as a bit better. There're several very talented young Asian women playing today who are in the top rank, but judging from what I heard Vanessa-Mae isn't one of them. If you'd like to hear better examples in that specific category, for a beautiful cello disc consider The Swan by Ha-Na Chang. And if "strings" include those on a guitar, there's terrific playing here .

Also keep in mind that string quartets include a cello and if you didn't get my two favorites that I suggested to you a couple months ago(shame on you), you should enjoy the beautiful Debussy and Ravel disc and, as Fred did, this Borodin, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky disc with three favorite quartets.

What were the ones you suggested again John? I thought I bought all the disks you suggested.....

I love Guitar. I'll order your other suggestions as well.

.......I have an open mind.

Mike, I repeated the two string quartet links in my new reply in case you missed them previously(if so, cancel the shame on you). I think that you'd really enjoy those two and the two new cello and guitar discs linked.

Yea, shame on you!

John. So far, the Borodin et el and the Cello disc you recommended have shown of the qualities of my Axiom system more than any other music I have. The first time I listened to the cello concertos was on the cheap micro system I moved to my bedroom. I was very dissapointed. Then I listened on the main system. It was almost like two different discs.

Do you have any recommendations for Bach cello concertos? I have always really loved the bits of what I just learned is part of his cello concerto #1 and would like to pick up a disk that includes this one.

Fred, a clarification: J.S. Bach's most famous cello works are his Suites for solo cello. Are you possibly referring to his solo cello works? His son C.P.E. has some cello concerto works. So at this point I'm not certain which works you're looking for.

You are correct, I was thinking of the solo works. I guess that would rule out a concerto.

Yes, that's what I thought. Quite a few fine versions, but my clear preference, and at a bargain price for the complete 2-disc set of the Suites, is Heinrich Schiff .

They are all on order John.

I've been enjoying these CD's all week. Xuefei Yang's guitar work is probably my favorite of them all, but I like all four of the CD's very much.

I PM'd JohnK last night and he pointed me to this thread that I somehow completely overlooked. Guess I was looking too hard at the Stereo thread. Last night, I was listening to Vivaldi and my teenage daughter came up and told me that was her "childhood". She said she almost cried when she broke our original Vivaldi CD years ago (I always wondered where it went). Anyway, she showed me her Itunes and I was surprised to see that she had a fair amount of classical on there. She mentioned Bach and Cellos as well as Beethoven and Sonatas. So...I just ordered the recommended Bach and Dvorak for Cello as well as a version of the sonatas - no doubt will end up on her tunes. THANKS, John..............Rob

Specific request for advice here. Just finished a a "WGBH Classical" podcast, one of several I subscribe to to explore new music, and I'm hoping for recommendations on a good recording that includes

Mendelssohn's String Quartet #4

I also enjoyed Procafia's String Quartet #2.

I don't expect to find both on the same recording and am mainly looking for Mendelssohn's work but will throw the other out there also since it was on the same podcast and also enjoyable.

Do mean "prokofiev"?

Yes, Indeed I do. I intended to write a sentence explaining that I couldn't quiet gather the name from the announcer of the second piece but that it sounded phonetically like this...

Rather embarrassing when leaving out that little tidbit.

I currently have:
http://www.amazon.ca/String-Quartets-Nos...44742466&sr=8-3
Those are very decent interpretations. The bonus cello sonata is very good.

As for Mendelssohn, I do not have any specific recommendation. You may want to note that his quartets are frequently numbered using opus numbers. In that case, the one you are looking for is op. 44 #2.

Andrew, no good reason to pass up the Aurora disc with fine performances and sound at a bargain price which Eric suggested for the Prokofiev, and likewise for the Mendelssohn .

Since you enjoyed those string quartets, if you don't have them I'd recommend even more strongly the two discs containing the Debussy, Ravel, Borodin, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky quartets shown in Mike Drew's post above.

I liked them so they must be good. Now if only I could pick up a 50 of 50 for a listening session...

Grrrr!

Thanks for the recommendations. If I had remembered my wallet today, they would be already ordered.

I just bought a couple CD's that I'm enjoying quite a bit. I heard one song when I was listening to one of Pandora's classical channels, so bought two of the group's albums. They are a bit unusual from a classical sense. Not sure what to call them really. They are kind of a mix between classical and blue grass. Sorta "Last of the Mohican's" type of music. At any rate, figures some of you guys might like them.

Appalachian Journey and Appalachia Waltz; Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor

Oh, I hadn't heard of the second one! I've got the first, and while it's not my favorite from any of them, it's certainly pretty good.

I like Appalachian Waltz a bit better. They have three, but I have not tried the third one yet. They are not for everyone. I have a bit of an eclectic taste.