A list of some wonderful music, but how on earth can you omit Beethoven?
1 Like
I still think that the best advice was given at the start and that was to listen to Radio 3, or some other classical music station (but R3 by far the best), and find out what appeals. Classical music is such a broad range of music - some you will like and some you won’t. Imagine asking the question ‘Where should I start in popular music?’
Failing that try some Bach, say the Brandenburg Concertos.
Bach’s music is the only argument proving the creation of the Universe cannot be regarded as a complete failure. Without Bach, God would be a complete second-rate figure.
Emil M. Cioran
3 Likes
Karajan grew up in an age that had almost ‘forgotten’ Mahler, who had himself recently died. I imagine also that the Nazi ban on Jewish composers and music from the early 1930s meant that Karajan, living in Austria and Germany, could not have heard Mahler’s music even if he had wanted to.
Mahler’s resurgence - brought about by conductors as diverse as Jascha Horenstein, Bruno Walter, Rafael Kubelik, our own John Barbirolli and Lennie Bernstein (forgive me if I’ve missed names) - really got going with the end of Nazism in the mid to late 1940s.
Karajan never embraced Mahler completely, but his Deutsche Gramophon recordings of the works that he did conduct are masterly - the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Das Lied Von Der Erde and the Kindertotenlieder. After making his excellent (studio) recording of the Ninth, his love of the symphony grew and he was able to persuade Deutsche Gramophon to allow him to rerecord the piece ‘live’ a couple of years later. (It’s doubtful that anyone but Karajan could have managed that.)
Many think that the later ‘live’ Ninth is one of the greatest recordings (of any music) ever made, and it is truly remarkable that any orchestra could produce a work of such complexity in concert (with no later patching sessions).
3 Likes
Thanks CD. I have a quick listen on YouTube to the recommendations made before I buy. I purchase the physical product so that I can really hear the music properly on my music system.
I’m not a casual listener, I immerse myself in the music and I can’t do that with radio. I thought it best to ask advice here, which is why I started the thread, and so far I have not been disappointed with the music I’ve bought from above suggestions. I’ll certainly have a listen to your recommendation.
All the best Pete
1 Like
Glad to hear that thread going well for you. If you enjoy immersing yourself in the music then, assuming no-one has recommended it yet, then I would strongly suggest Bach’s Goldberg Variations. I have lost count of the number of hours I have spent immersed in this wonderful piece. Probably my desert island disc. People often recommend Glenn Gould but I much prefer the versions by Andras Schiff, Angela Hewitt and, more recently, Beatrice Rana.
2 Likes
Thank you CD
Glenn Gould had a remarkable association with Bach’s Goldbergs.
It was the first recording that the ever made (for CBS) and, forty-odd years later, his second of the work (for Sony) was the last recording that he ever made. It used to be possible to buy a 2CD set with the two recordings on the discs.
He was also a remarkably strange human being, with a practically endless list of things to do or not do in the recording studio.
And I wish that his recording producers had found a way to gag the clucker, as his humming along with the music can be maddening. ( In this regard, Mr Gould and a high resolution music system are not a good match.)
3 Likes
If you do enjoy piano music then my favourite disc of recent years is the Debussy - Rameau disc by Vikingur Olafsson. Just incredible. I can’t wait until he does a version of the Goldberg Variations.
2 Likes
The Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 is a late discovery for me and now one of my favourite chamber music pieces, particularly the first movement.
1 Like
Just listening to R3 now and they are playing Grieg’s Holberg Suite. Grieg up there with Tchaikovsky as one of great melody composers. Wonderful piece of music
1 Like
One my favorite albums of all time
1 Like
Just discovered this thread; it’s very interesting. I agree Vaughan Williams and Richard Hickox is a marriage made in heaven. May I also suggest the VW 5th symphony. The third movement, Romanza, is the most
wonderful music that I know.
1 Like
Yes, the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio is fantastic. (I included it in my list of pieces, posted earlier). 
The Kempe Trio version is superbly played and wonderfully recorded by BIS 
2 Likes
chamber music by motzart or schubert. it is music that i find relaxing.
1 Like
Hi VH thank you for posting this and a very interesting read.
Classical music has always been a bit of a mystery to me until now. I’ve always appreciated good music played by great musicians so it’s a surprise that I haven’t delved into it before now.
The higher up I’ve got up the hi fi ladder the more I’ve opened up to new music, and at my present levels the emotion and application of the musician is astonishing. Listening to fewer instruments is my preference at the moment so the quartets and piano passages are what I’m really enjoying.
Usual stuff about being in the room, texture and hearing the emotion applies here, but the sound of a cello and violin are quite magnificent and a complete break from guitar riffing at max 11 
Sir John Barbirolli didn’t record nearly enough of RVW, but his LP of the Fifth for EMI is quite sublime. Do try to have a listen, if you can.
In fact, Barbirolli didn’t record nearly enough of anything, but I suppose that we should be grateful for what he left us.
Thanks. Will try to get a copy if it is on cd as I don’t have a record player, sadly. I already have the Haitink version which if I remember correctly was the Record Review recommendation.
Yes, I have the Haitink complete Vaughan Williams symphonies (with the London Philharmonic, I think) on EMI CDs in a rather cheap cardboard case. All the symphonies are well prepared, well played and well recorded. So all very good indeed.
But the Barbirolli account has all that and then quite a lot more. It is also beautifully recorded - very probably in the old Kingsway Hall in London (but I’m not at home, so can’t check).
PS I have had a quick check on the Big River. It is there on CD, you will be pleased to hear(I hope), with a line drawing of a scribe with a quill, which may or may not have something to do with something.
I like metal as well, must say I’m not following the current stuff however I have Tool on my playlist the new stuff is still good. I dig Dream Theatre too, well produced too, rare for rock music.
Andy
1 Like
You mentioned progressive as well. If you are an Emerson Lake & Palmer fan, you should definitely check out Pictures at an Exhibition. Modest Mussorgsky wrote it as a solo piano work. Maurice Ravel orchestrated it, and that is the version most frequently heard. It’ll test your stereo. The Fritz Reiner/Chicago Symphony is probably the most famous version, but the sonics on the Georg Solti/Chicago Symphony version are pretty spectacular.
1 Like