Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo 5 Favorite Symphonies

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D is one of my very favorite classical works (particularly the first movement). It has an interesting history.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D is a favorite among violinists these days and holds a place in history as the first great violin concerto by a Russian composer. He had written it for his friend Yosif Kotek, but dedicated the work to a more popular violinist at the time, Leopold Auer, founder of the Russian school of violin playing. However, Auer called the piece unplayable and declined the dedication, so it was a third violinist who premiered the work in 1881 -- Adolph Brodsky. Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick gave that concerto one of his most notorious reviews, saying the piece "brings us...to the horrid idea that there may be pieces whose stench one can hear." Incidentally, Auer changed his mind about ten years later and started praising and playing Violin Concerto in D quite frequently.

I've heard recordings of it by Perlman, Heifitz, and Oistrakh, and have just purchased a version recommended to me by JohnK. I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah Jason, it's the 1812 Overture, and the classic version which had the cannons almost literally "blow away" first-time listeners still hasn't been surpassed and is on sale now . Another vigorous piece you'll like is the Planets . Another Tchaikovsky CD is the one I also suggested to bigjohn. In fact all the ones that I suggested to him are very colorful and almost sure to appeal to a new listener, which is why I suggested them rather than the Beethoven or Dvorak symphonies.

The 1812 Overture always reminds me of high school (I played french horn) when we won state orchestra playing that piece. We used real cannons in it. Was always a big hit!

If you're into the strings... hit up Amazon for "String Quartet Tribute To" and search through the 90 odd results. Nothing overly fancy when it comes to the playing... but for some artists you may already like, hearing them in a different light is refreshing, and also those that don't like that particular band, may like it in a softer string quartet fashion.

I offer 4 songs from my collection as a sampling:

Fleetwood Mac - Second Hand News

Linkin Park - Crawling

Coldplay - In My Place

P.O.D. - Sattelite

Enjoy!

- D

The 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th is one of the greatest symphonic pieces ever written, IMO.

For those looking to start a classical collection, I recommend a CD called "Mozart Goes to a Party". It is a Mozart sampler wtih a couple of pieces jazzed up/modernized - very well recorded. I use the overture to "The Marriage of Figaro" from this CD to really show off my system because it is a tune that everybody knows (from Bugs Bunny), but there are instruments in there that you've never heard before - until you hear a great recording on a great system - which allows you to also appreciate Mozart that much more. My kids like it enough that they go around humming "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"

I have five favorite orchestral pieces; do they necessarily have to be symphonies???

My list wasn't. Post 'em!

JohnK,

I do have the Kleiber version of the fifth, but on SACD--the multichannel mix is awesome, as is the whole performance in general. Other versions I have are Colin Davis with the BBC Symphony Orcherstra (Pentatone Classics SACD), which is pretty good as well, and the George Szell standard CD with the Clevelend Orchestra. The Kleiber version is tops among the three, though, imo.

The Bruno Walter recording of Brahms' 4th on Sony SACD is the best sounding CD I have, which is strange in that it was recorded in 1959. I don't know why, but the strings sound the cleanest of everything I've heard to date.

The only recording I have of Dvorak's 9th is another multichannel SACD (I guess you can tell I'm sold on super audio), performed by Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The recording is okay, except that the brass section sounds a little bit louder than the strings. I actually want to check out the Bernstein version, as I heard it once on the radio, and it sounded pretty good. I also want to hear his version of Beethoven's 3rd--still looking for a good recording of that.

And, yes, Tchaikovsky's fourth is definitely a must. I have a stereo SACD from Telarc, with Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra. It's not bad, but I might actually pick up the one you mentioned--I mean, for $7.49, you can't really go wrong. The fifth I have on a regular Deutsche Grammophone CD, with Seiji Ozawa and the Berlin Philharmonic. It also has the 1812 overture, which kicks major booty. If that were a symphony, it definitely would've been on the list. ;-)

One thing I do need, though, is another recording of Mozart's 40th. The only one I have is George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra again. It's all right, but I'm sure there's a better one out there somewhere.

Hmmmm...well, I'm more into the 20th c. so my favorite five large-scale symphonic works would probably be (in no particular order):

1) "Petroushka" - Stravinsky

2) "Piano Concerto No. 2" - Bartok

3) "Confession of Isobel Gowdie" - James MacMillan

4) "Four Sea Interludes" - Britten

5) "The Desert Music" - Steve Reich

Now, of course, this list could be totally different by tomorrow morning, so don't hold me to it! -JT