Classical Music Recommendations

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This is a selection of recommendations from a variety of sources on the internet, particularly members of rec.music.classical.recordings. They are the recommendations of music lovers rather than music critics, and where possible any consensus is indicated as a ‘general recommendation’.

#BACH 
Brandenburgs

General Recommendations:

Makzimyuk/Polish CO  EMI Forte 2CD set, with three Christmas concerti by three other (Italian) composers. Daringly brisk tempi, technically sound, warmly recorded, great horns and trumpets in the appropriate concerti without period rasp (if you are not a HIP person).

Akademie fur Alte Musik/Harmonia Mundi. Probably my current favorite.

Lamon/Tafelmusik - a very good conventional performance, squeaky tpt in 2. My single favorite performance of any one movement from the Brandenburg's is probably Tafelmusik's first movement of the 5th where Jeanne Lamon turns in a spectacularly Valenti-esque performance of the cadenza replete with a marvelously sensitive application of a tension-exploiting rubato completely responsive to the harmonic language of the piece.

Stravaganza set on Virgin; certainly more "ear-popping" at times than even MAK Hans-Martin Kothe gives a spectacular performance on the baroque trumpet.

Il Gardino Armonico (Teldec cd number: 4509-98442-2). My current favorite, this is very lively performance of the Brandenberg. They are no where near as eye opening as their version of Vivaldi's 4 Seasons- although after hearing Goebel, it is hard to be more ear-popping.

This is my favourite HIP.

Jordi Savall/Le Concerts des Nations set recently reissued at mid-price on Astree – performances chock-full of rustic character and panache

Collegeum Aureum (1960's) some brief moments of suspect intonation but they aren't half so bad as the brief moments of suspect intonation in the orchestral suites coupled with them on CD. Leonhardt is heard to much more distinctive and lively effect than on Sony

Leppard - fastish tempi, many like it

Goebels with Musica Antiqua Koln on the "archive" label (fast tempi)
Ristenpart (Chamber Orchestra of the SAAR) widely liked. But the CDs are mono/stereo

Munclinger/Ars Revivida Supraphon

I Musici - non-HIP: after listening to countless recordings, I settle for I Musici.

 

Particular Recommendations

Koopman (introvert)

Pinnock (uneven, some strong supporters, some say boring)

ECO/Britten (some consider it surprisingly bland)

Leonhardt ??

Scherchen Vienna State Opera 1959 stereo, Paris mono set is superior and wonderful

Munch, BSO w. Lukas foss piano

Adolf Busch w Evelyn Rothwell

Anthony Newman & Friends on CBS ca. 1970.  Some period instruments e. g. violino piccolo, viole da gambi.  Tremendous keyboard playing (of course!).Sprightly tempi in fast movements.

>To be avoided like the plague is the Leonhardt and an all-star lineup on Sony

Can't stand Harnoncourt's first recording either.  Too slow for one thing.  Pinnock strikes me as the very epitome of the "neoclassical Stravinsky" style of supposedly authentic performance practice characteristic of too much HIP.  -david gable

> Tafelmusik on Sony leaves Pinnock in the dust

> After listening to "HIP" performances by Pinnock, Koopman, Lamon I settled for Lamon/Tafelmusik

> I have heard many versions of Bach's Brandenburgs. To name a few: Dart (Philomusica of London), Rampe (La Stravaganza, Hamburg), Pinnock (English Concert), Britten (English Chamber Orchestra), Ristenpart (Chamber Orchestra of the SAAR), Baumgartner (Festival Strings Lucerne), Scherchen (Vienna State Opera Orchestra), Ledger (English Chamber Orchestra), Leonhardt (with Bruggen, Kuijkens, Bylsma and co), Goebel (Musica Antiqua Koln).My vote goes to Leonhardt (HIP) and Ristenpart (non-HIP).
> Goebel: I don't understand why anyone wants a Bach that is "completely nuts" (and I do agree wholeheartedly: their tempi sound like a LooneyTunes soundtrack.) Surely no-one believes that Bach or the players of his time took things that fast?

> Goebel on Archiv is... interesting. I enjoy the set immensely, but not as a stand alone.

> Linde on EMI/Virgin is bland. Hogwood on L'oiseau-Lyre is competent - nothing surprising in it at all.

> At the risk of sounding like a stuck record or a salesman, try the new Stravaganza set on Virgin; certainly more "ear-popping" at times than even MAK. I too like the Giardino Armonico; stunning horns in 1 -- but then so does Stravaganza.(SR)
>Koopman is OK except fro tpt in 2 ) Crispian Steele-Perkins as in Tafelmusik

Vln Concertos

Tafelmusik/Lamon – strong HIP performances, better than Manze

I think two stand head and shoulders -- heck, probably torso as well -- above the others:

Manze's on Harmonia Mundi

Chiarappa's on Denon

(the former is a mid-price reissue of a recent recording on one disc of the usual three plus a violin version of BWV 1060, the latter a two disc set originally issued on Koch Europa containing not just the usual three but lso un-transcriptions of other concertos -- i.e., attempts to reconstruct lost violin originals of harpsichord concertos). Both offer remarkably alert, lively performances of some flair and exuberance -- qualities lacking in all the other HIP recordings, which, by comparison sound terribly earnest -- though I suspect they may be a bit extreme for some (if so, the Huggett/Koopman disc on Erato may be the safest bet, relaxed without being lazy). If I had to have just one of the two, I d probably pick the Denon, because I like to have all the other works as well. (SR)

* Oistrakh/Philadelphia Orch, E. Ormandy 24/12/1955 COL ML 5087, PHI A 01239L, MEL M10-46429 See www.oistrakh.com

Solo Keyboard works:

Die Wohltemperte Klavier

Feinberg

Nilolayeva

Edwin Fischer

Pearl -  best transfer

Naxos – not liked

EMI references – newer better than older pressings

Glenn Gould

Richter:

1969 live - Revelation 20003

1972 - BMG 60949 (also Melodiya)

1973 live - Victor Japan VICC 60071/4 (also Parnassus PCCD 20001/4) in Stiftskirche Wilteu, Innsbruck, 4CDs

1973 different live version - Parnassus (?)

Neither the RCA/BMG/Melodya version nor the live 1973 Innsbruck recording (available from Parnassus) are in very good sound,

but each contain some transcendental interpretations, as well as some that seem to misfire.

 

Others liked by some: Schepkin, Schiff, Koroliev

 

Solo Vln Sonatas

Milstein/DG Later, better recorded

Milstein/EMI earlier, better - more confident but less flexible though others disagree. Recording OK but DG is better. I like the Milstein EMI a lot more than the DG.  It's got a purity and serenity that I find lacking in the DG version.

Heifetz
Szeryng  mono CBS/(MP2K 46721) and stereo DG (437 365-2). I've not heard the Sony set, but the DG is one of my favorites.  Robustly played, fabulous tone and intonation, and beautiful phrasing.I am a huge fan of Szeryng's playing generally, especially before late 70's. I do find the phrasing in Milstein's EMI a bit more crisp than in Szeryng's DG. (While Szeryng's tone may occasionally have lacked some of Perlman's color, I find his playing enormously characterful and recognizable, indeed often fervent, and don't know how Perlman could have referred to him publicly as a "musical chameleon") I have the earlier Szeryng recording, as well as a number of the above-mentioned.   Szeryng seems to me the very best of the best.

To me, Szeryng appreciation depends a lot on mood; his playing can give the impression of concentration, which is good.  But he can also appear colorless and perhaps too uniform (the faster movements are relatively slow and unlively), and sometimes even the concentration seems to lag.  To those who don't want a meditative type approach to all of it, this might not work.

Josef Suk on EMI

Kuijken - The two sets by Sigiswald Kuijken are probably the best performances on record of JSB's music. The first is right up there with the best of them, sure. But the more recent recording? Not for me, I'm afraid.

Shumsky (ASV), leading Sitkovetsky by a short head—9+/10 to 9–/10 (rates Milstein 6/10) The most expressive recordings I know are Oscar Shumsky and Oleg Kagan (Erato). Shumsky is quite intense, and uses a time-honored sturdy legato and hardly any dropping of volume towards phrase and note ends to sound more  non-mournfully passionate than anyone else I know. (Menuhin occasionally has some of the same.)  This may not be to all tastes, but I like it. 

Sitkovetsky (Orfeo/Harmonia Mundi)

Szigeti on Vanguard. The Vanguard set was recorded late - in the 50s iirc. I hoped I would be able to get through the intonation problems to hear 'the heart of the matter'. I was unsuccessful. That set is a special case, in my opinion, and not unlike the Enescu version in that respect. Both are flawed, but still have moments of sheer genius and are not to be missed. We are very lucky to have them both. I'd say the same about Sandor Vegh's set as well.  But it is a shame that Szigeti didn't get to record them all in his prime.

There are recordings of this music from circa 1930, which are excellent, but incomplete, unfortunately, - superb performances of the first two Sonatas (rec. 1931 and 1933) and a couple of isolated movements from two of the Partitas.  They were all issued in Ward Marston's transfers on a Biddulph CD.

Oleg Kagan (Erato).Expressive

Grumiaux - first choice for several, a bit "stiff" for others (a bit too straight-forward),

Mullova - I'm particularly fond of Viktoria Mullova's recording on Philips. Amazing technique, as always, but I also find her musicianship and

interpretation to be judicious and intelligent -- and, in this particular recording, quite warm. She plays on gut strings, by the

way. The one "problem" is that the recording only contains the partitas, not the sonatas, and I have no idea if Mullova plans to do the sonatas.

(Another problem is that I believe the CD might be out of print.)

Kantorow. My favorite. Beautiful, stylish and unhysterical performances. (I would have played like this myself if I had been 12000 times better).Nearly perfect recording to my ears

Perlman, in his EMI set  includes all the repeats, etc., but I'm not crazy about his version.

Novotny Few performers give all the voices such independence. Supraphon 11 1806-2 112.
Podger for HIP good but not great - best only in the fast movements where she has fun

Van Dael on Naxos is pretty good HIP too. (good but not great)

Zehetmair (too fast at times)

Tenenbaum (a bit rough in execution).

Ehnes and Fulkerson versions got 10/10 reviews on classicstoday.com.

 

 

Solo Cello Sonatas

Bylsma (earlier set, on Pro Arte), altogether the most satisfying HIP I've heard. I LOVE Anner Byslma, and his baroque playing with detached notes and few slurs is delightful to listen to.  Tempos are slow and steady for the most part.

I thought Bylsma's earlier set was the one on Sony Essential Classics

Bylsma I – here his  HIP-ness may seem a bit extreme compared to Wispelwey or Bylsma II

Rostropovich - I find him overly romatic as well.

Starker RCA reaches depths I've never heard before. ? his 6th recording of the works.  I enjoyed the old Mercury, but it is nothing like this – I’m bowled over not only by the musical depth but by the dexterity and flexibility of the execution. This surpasses all his previous recordings and becomes a top recommendation

I don;t like Starker -  at all.  Overly dry and pedantic

Fournier is my choice for non-HIP Hardly qualifies as excellent modern sound, but it does sound pretty good. Performances ought to fill the bill. Plenty of dancing, but no lack of expressiveness and even romance. Fournier is lush and deep-toned, Schiff as good but more brisk and dancelike.

Though I like Bylsma 1, Schiff's energy, and Casals' restless inventiveness, I haven't heard any sets that match Fournier's (live?) version for Swiss Radio, released at one time on Adda. It's noble, elegant, passionate without maudlin excess, superbly paced, and lovingly articulated. Hearing it made me want to throw the rest of 'em out (I didn't, of course).

I spend most of my Bach Cello Suite listening time with Pierre Fournier [DG], Heinrich Schiff [EMI], and Erling Blöndal Bengtsson [Danacord],

though I enjoy many others nearly as much. Fournier is red-blooded and deftly romantic; Schiff is a lean, mean Baroque dancing machine;

Erling Blöndal Bengtsson [Danacord Bengtsson is unadorned but not plain, being neither too this nor too that yet not lacking character -- like a good-looking Amish woman.

Casals vastly improved sound (and lower price) on Naxos

Schiff brisk and dancelike. Over years of listening I've finally settled on Wispelwey II and Heinrich Schiff as all I need.  Bylsma's two CD's on Sony Essential Classics are a good alternative choice if you like his close-miked intensity; I've concluded that I don't.

Wispelway II is controversial, some think an excellent HIP choice. Either love or hate him.  Again, a baroque, not overly romantic approach.

My problem with Wispelway II is not that it is uninteresting, but that it sounds so manufactured that one wonders if the performance can be captured live. It seems overly rehearsed, not with any spontaneity. He is performing the suites live in NYC next year, and I will get to find out if I am correct. In any case, the phrasing tends to be somewhat choppy, which doesn't lead to "dancing".

Tortelier There are two sets of Tortelier, although I must admit neither moves me terribly much

Ma the 2nd series recorded is the better of the two. However, a quick, sometimes, too fast tempo.  Not overly romantic.

Carlos Prieto - wonderful...

Cazba Onczay - this is a cheapie Naxox 7.99 set  - the Hungarian cellist did not draw rave reviews, but I love the ringing overtones that come from his Gofriller instrument. Excellent recording.   Steady, even pacing, making each note count.

Maurice Gendron. I wonder if someone else likes him. Casals may have a stronger rythmic quality and Whisperley may sound better, but I tend to play Gendron more often than any other version. Very nice tone and rhythmic sense, maybe not the most personal, but fine.

Maisky - avoid at all costs.  Unless you wish to hear his snorting and snuffling breathing along with the most disgusting over romanticized schmalz - why oh why every note has to be life and death is beyond me. What he does to the first prelude he should hang for.

 

Organ works

Chapuis: very spontaneous, revealing a love of playing. Great instrument and recording for 1968. Recently rereleased. On that set Chapuis recorded the preludes and fugues on the Schnitger instrument at Zwolle--certainly one of the greatest instruments ever built! AFAIK, the rest of the series was recorded on modern instruments. His interpretations are very exciting: fast tempi, cleanly articulated, and dramatic. The Chapuis set is tremendously exciting - my favorite by far
 

Michael Murray’s recent recording on this instrument is one of the great Bach organ recordings (IMHO) -- what a contrast with his earlier "Romantic" performances such as the one at Methuen!

Rubsam on Philips: Infinitely better than his later ponderous Naxos. His technique is better
than Alain's.  Here's what the pipedreams web page says about it:  (Philips 438 170-2; 16-disc box, including Art of the Fugue) offers arguably the finest recording of Bach's music ever made, featuring an exceptional pair of Metzler instruments vividly captured in rich ambience.  Interpretations are always cogent, imaginative, and involved. Rubsam's playing combines the finest aspects of his teachers, Helmut Walcha (discipline and total integrity) and Marie-Claire Alain (subtle nuance and rythmic verve). The Naxos discs do have the advantage of low cost and easy availability, while the big Philips set may be maddeningly hard to find, though it's sure to please

I recently bought, used, the complete Bach organ music on 10 cd's, Philips, Wolfgang Rubsam.  I am listening to some choral preludes now and am in heaven.  Not only is the music incredible but the sound is the best organ i've ever heard - both recording (perfectly clear) and organ tone (orgasmic - organsmic?).  Anyone else share my enthusiasm here?  anyone dare try to tell me this isn't as good as music gets?  i've tried to look up reviews of this set but don't find much, though people say they're less fond of Rubsam's current Naxos series for its willful playing than the old philips one.  what they should be saying, however, is GO BUY THE PHILIPS SET!!!

Rubsam on Naxos. In Rubsam's more recent Bach cycle (on the budget-priced Naxos label, available separately) you'll enjoy a greater variety of historic and modern instruments, but the artist's interpretations are somewhat more individualistic, even provocative, still arresting if not quite main-stream. I'm only familiar with the Clavierubung III from the Naxos series. Despite being played on the Silberman organ at the Freiberg Cathedral, it is a very sludgy performance.

Hurford's first recording is fine but on inauthentic instruments. I dumped it after acquiring the Rubsam.

While I wouldn't dump my Hurford for anything--his performing is just too good--I too find his choice of instruments highly disappointing. I wasn't aware of a second recording until hearing it mentioned on this NG. I suppose it never was released in North America. A most interesting CD is the Peter Hurford / Northern Sinfonia "J.S. Bach Organ Concertos". Maybe, Handel got his inspiration from Bach...

 

Tachezi In 1985 Teldec released a special edition to mark Bach's 300th birthday of Herbert Tachezi playing The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080. The playing, registration etc is exceptional. This was on a phonograph record. I don't know if it is available on CD.
   
Herrick is expensive and nothing really special.

Fagius' recording of Mendelssohn is fantastic--the best I've heard--but I did not find his Bach to be a first choice by comparison with Chapuis.

 

Walcha There seems to be not one but TWO Walcha sets available in Canada (but not the US) -- a 12-disc set and a 16-disc set. The 12 disc set is the set he recorded in 1956 and 1962 in Alkmaar and 1969-70 on the Silberman organ in Strasbourg -- a classic recording.

Heiller. I have always been partial to Anton Heiller.

Wolfgang Stockmeier/Orgel My suggestion: go to http://www.zweitausendeins.de/ and click on "CD's". In the "Suche per Eingabe" menu select "Nach  Nummern" enter the magic number 40718, press the button "Suchen". You should get: Bach, J.S. "Das Orgelwerk" Art & Music. AAD. 20 CDs 39.95 DM. 12. 5 GBP  nr 40718.What you get is 20 CD's (the complete Bach organ works) for 39.95 DM (a little over $20) +shipping, performed by Wolfgang Stockmeier. I won't argue whether or not this is the best recording in the world - its a great performance on a selection of nice organs around Germany, and at this price, a  "must" for the Bach specialist!

Bach, J.S. "Toccata & Fuge BWV 565, Schüblersche Choräle BWV 645-650 u.a." Lionel Rogg/Silbermann-Orgel von Arlesheim. Harmonia Mundi France. ADD. CD 15.95 DM. Nr. 49799. 5GBP

Bach, J.S. "Orgelwerke" Ton Koopman/Orgel (Christian-Müller-Orgel/Waalse-Kerk Amsterdam, Gabler-Orgel/Basilika Weingarten). Laudate. DDD. 2 CDs 9.95 DM. Nr. 49315  3GBP

Bach, J.S. "Orgelbüchlein BWV 599-644"
René Saorgin/Orgel von Luxeuil. Harmonia Mundi France. ADD. CD 15.95 DM. Nr. 49798. 5GBP

Bach, J.S. "Orgelwerke Vol. 2 - Neumeister Choräle BWV 1090-1120, Präludium & Fuge BWV 549, Fantasie BWV 570 & 571, Triosonaten BWV 527 & 528, Passacaglia BWV 582, In dulci jubilo BWV 729, Toccata & Fuge BWV 538 & 540, Klavierübung 3 BWV 669-689 u.a." Hans Fagius/Orgel. Aufnahmen von BIS. Brilliant Classics. DDD. 9 CDs 29.95 DM. Nr. 49427  9GBP

 

 

What’s your all-time 12 favourite Bach organ works?

1.  Passcaglia and Fugue in Cmin BWV 582:  possibly the greatest organ work of all time.  It is unique in Bach's output.
2. Prelude and Fugue in E flat Maj BWV 552: One of my favorites, a marvelous work from the Clavierubung III.
3. Prelude and Fugue in Emin BWV 548:  Spitta called this a symphony in two movements.  I find the fugue to be incredible.  It is a rare da Capo fugue with concerto and toccata elements.
4. Fantasia and Fugue in Gmin BWV 542: A work of great tonal daring.
The fugue perhaps isn't well coupled, but still an enoyable piece.
5. Prelude and Fugue in B min BWV 544:  One of the great last prelude and fugues from the Leipzig era.  Not splashy or showy, but a deeply profound piece none-the-less.
6. Prelude and Fugue in C maj BWV 547:  Boyd called this perhaps Bach's finest organ work.
7.Prelude and Fugue in Cmin BWV 546:  I love the prelude of this work.  The fugue is not quite the equal; hence the relatively low ranking.
8. Tocatta and Fugue in Fmaj BWV 540:  Great early work.
9. Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot BWV 678:  The only chorale on the list.  Schweitzer called it chaotic.  I think it is beautiful.
10. Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in Cmaj BWV 564:  The adagio is just sumptuous in sound.
11. Toccata and Fugue in Dmin BWV 565:  Powerful thematic material with a well coupled fugue.
12. Prelude and Fugue in Amin BWV 543:  This one grows on you.

 

1. OK, there's no way not to put the Passacaglia and Fugue on the list, so I'll start off with it as well.
2. "Vater unser im Himmelreich," BWV 682. One of the most deeply moving works Bach wrote.
3. Toccata & Fugue in d minor, BWV 538. The fugue certainly ranks as one of his greatest achievements in the genre.
4. Prelude & Fugue in D Major, BWV 532, the most exciting of his works--ranking right up there with the most exuberant of choruses from his cantatas and oratorios.
5. "Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ," BWV 639 and
6. "Ach Herr, mich armen Su:nder," BWV 742. Two of his earliest and tiniest  of works, as well as most beautiful.
7. Sonata in e minor, BWV 528. They're all great, but right now I can't seem to get that one out of my head :)
8. Toccata and Fugue in F, BWV 540. I don't think it's an early work—maybe late Weimar or early Leipzig--still a great work nonetheless.
9. "O Lamm Gottes unschuldig," BWV 656. Another chorale prelude of exquisite beauty.
10. Prelude and Fugue in b minor, BWV 544. A paragon of technical assurance,  balance, and restraint.
11. Canonic variations on "Vom Himmel hoch," BWV 769. The Art of Fugue and Musical Offering's little sister.
12. Prelude & Fugue in a minor, BWV 543. It doesn't just *grow* on you, it's more like a drug that hooks you and makes a junkie out of you on the very first listen

 

Choral Works

Bm Mass

Robert Shaw on RCA Living Stereo Far and away. Great choir (about 35 strong), excellent soloists and nicely refurbished sound. There are

influences from scholarship, but as this recording was made in the late 1960s, there's nothing in it that would be considered "HIP" by

today's understanding of the term. Mid-priced.

Richter

Fasolis.Arts 47525-2, 1998
Max/Capriccio

Schreier on Berlin Classics,

Klemperer/EMI

Herreweghe on Harmonia Mundi.

 

Christmas Oratorio

Rene Jacobs on Harmonia Mundi.

Ralf Otto, many people’s favorite on Brilliant Classics (licensed from Capriccio)
Richter - great recording, very dramatic with unbeatable soloists (Wunderlich, Crass, Janowitz, Ludwig WOW!) “devout, a bit heavy”

Lehmann – very fine old style inc Helmut Kreps. I finally retired the LPs several years ago because they were completely worn

out.  Perhaps the reason the complete set has not been reissued is because two (if I remember correctly) were not conducted by Lehmann.  The set won the Grand Prix du Disque when it was first issued, as I recall. This set is definitely non_HIP.  I personally don't care if HIP or "modern" practices are followed.  I just care about what the performers find in the music.  I have perhaps 400 recordings of individual works; I love Gardiner, hate Harnoncourt, love Leonhardt, love Richter, etc.

Munchinger – Nice performance with Pears and Ameling, v. good sound

Kurt Thomas/Leipzig beautiful meditative performance with great soloists (F-D, Traxel, Giebel,Hoffgen) – old style but inferior to Lehmann

Collegium Aureum – Good

Grischkat – rather slow and heavy

Werner – OK

Tolzer Boys Choir under Schmid Gaden with Altmeyer. wonderfully airy atmosphere provided by the boy sopranos. The trumpets are pretty rough and the soloists sing like kids, but I still like the overall effect.

Jochum ’73 – big choral forces

Harnoncourt – Good “I found Harnoncourt's way with the music rather stodgy”.

Ledger

Koopman – good 13 strings, 21 singers

Sixteen/Christophers – english style 14 + 18

Pickett one to a part, 12 singers sounds nice

Suzuki – 11 strings, squeeky clean

Gardiner's recording leaves me cold.

Maderna - there's a wonderful recording by Maderna with a lot of other bach stuff, available of Berskshire for like $2. It clarrified for me lots of the structural problems with the work...not politically correct for HIP, but wonderful

 

St Matthew Passion

Harnoncourt I (mid-price on Teldec)

Harnoncourt 2 - 2000 recording

Leonhardt

Richter (second recording-with a superb Schreier) 

Scherchen's superb performance (mono), reissued on MCA Millennium, for $8.97.
Corboz

Herreweghe  - I would probably recommend Herreweghe over Brueggen, partly because Brueggen's soloists are more controversial (esp the Evangelist: I like a lot, but many may find too small-voiced).

Munchinger

Karajan -  fantastic cast of soloists.  I still pull out his SMP to hear Christa Ludwig sing "Buß und Reu".

 

St John Passion

Fasolis

Max/Capriccio - An excellent inexpensive HIP St John 

Willcocks Belart (formerly Decca) Peter Pears and the vague, fluffy tone of King's Cambridge - sung in English

Mid-price - a grand old-fashioned performance on Hungaroton, featuring pretty stunning singing by the soprano, and excellent soloists.

Cantatas

Best Cantatas, some suggestions:
BWV 6, 12, 21, 51, 76, 78, 80, 82,140, 106, 147, 198, 199,

My personal favorites and my favorite recordings of them:  8 (Herreweghe), 21 (Suzuki), 34 (Gardiner), 50 (Gardiner or Koopman), 51 (Rilling/Auger, Gardiner/Kirkby), 54 (Herreweghe/Scholl), 66 (Herreweghe), 79 (Leonhardt almost by default),80 (Herreweghe -- he uses WF Bach's trumpet parts, which most recordings nowadays omit), 130 (Harnoncourt or Koopman), 150 (Suzuki or Leonhardt), 172 (Gardiner), 190 (Koopman). 140 and 147 are probably the most popular -- but neither are favorites of  mine.

JLE: Two star: 21,32,39,106,131,140

JLE: One star: 1,5,6,7,8,12,13,20,27,34,40,48,57,61,67,68,85,90,100,104,105,115,116,120,147,151,152,155,158,159,166,180,182,198,199

http://www.classical.net/~music/comp.lst/works/bachjs/rateindx.html  Ratings And Comments On All Cantatas

 

Rilling

– the Secular set has its ups and downs and mixes recordings of Koopman, Goebel and others but overall is pretty good. Even better, if you're willing to have modern instruments, is Rilling's new traversal on Haenssler. Rilling really has woken up in the last few years and delivered excellent conducting with a fine group of young soloists.

His recent recordings in the series are a wonderfuil mix of HIP-insight and the modern style (his St. Matthew & St. John should be top recommendations). His earlier cantata efforts on Hanssler are a bit choppy for my taste.
Most of Rilling's that I've heard (nowhere near all) strike me as quite dull, especially compared to his latest efforts (his rerecordings of the passions especially). 

Hanssler: Cantatas are done with modern instruments and mixed voices by Helmuth Rilling. I find most of his cantata recordings stodgy and dull. I'm told that his recent recordings are more interesting. Remaining pieces are a mixed bag.

Rene Jacob's secular cantata set on Harmonia Mundi (also recently re-released) - one of the best cantata sets ever recorded.

Herreweghe

Harmonia Mundi has assembled Herreweghe cantatas at extreme bargain prices. They are excellent!! (HIP, of course.)

Many find them bland. Listen to the range of rougly contemporary composers conducted by, among others, Rene Jacobs, Konrad Junghanel, Goebel etc and you realize just how limited and limiting Herreweghe's performances really are.

I haven't any idea whether Herreweghe will be recording all of them, but while he's not exactly ideal either, his slowly continuing series strikes me as being preferable to Koopman and Suzuki. What we need is a series of recordings that offer a clear contrast to the style adopted by Koopman and Suzuki and Herreweghe (yes, there are differences, but they're all from the same school, as it were), but given the current state of the classical recording business that seems unlikely (Archiv ditched Gardiner's series because he wouldn't pay for it, but given the results of the first release that doesn't seem much of a loss). 

 

Gardiner

Gardiner's Bach is quite deep and beautiful.
Different strokes for different folks. I find nothing in Gardiner's approach that I would describe as deep or beautiful. To me it's fleet to a fault. In fact, the one overriding characteristic of Gardiner is that he favors tempi that never let the music sink in. I used to think they were under-interpreted by Herr Professor, but I now simply consider them a-interpreted (as in atonal). He's rather the anti-Christ of Classics in my book.

 

Harnoncourt/Leonhardt

I've been making a re-acquaintance with the Harnoncourt/Leonhardt series and am appreciating it more; despite its obvious flaws (poorly balanced tenor and bass sections in the Viennese choir, occasionally rickety brass, the occasionally unreliable treble, occasional dullnes from Leonhardt) these are on the whole superbly characterized and - at least by the adults - superbly sung. They also have strong dance rhythms and are excellently recorded.
As far as HIP or HIP-influenced Bach, I would start with some of the early Harnoncourt series. His St. Matthew remains one of the better all-round versions.

Harnoncourt/Leonhardt contains some good individual performances, especially of solo cantatas, but many of them seem rather
rickety and tentative in execution, for all that interpretatively these two conductors have better ideas than the other three put together.

period instruments, boy singers in choruses and some solos. The boys vary from the sublime Sebastian Hennig to ... others better left unnamed. Brass playing quite shaky, especially in earlier recordings. Overall highly variable in quality: some cantatas are wonderful, some painful to hear.

 

Karl Richter

I also have a very soft spot for Karl Richter's cantatas on Archiv. They're not all great, but they're certainly deep (and by that I don't mean solely on the basis of the slow tempi). And I'm not a big fan of Schreier, Fi-Di or Haefliger, so it's not the solo singing that carries the day for me in these recordings.

Gonnenwein

St. John & St. Matthew on EMI are also very good. For the B-minor, I'd look no further than Robert Shaw's RCA effort re-released to spectacular effect last fall on Living Stereo.

 
Koopman

My boredom with the Koopman series shows no signs of abating

I find it maddening that the current complete Bach Cantata series underway from Koopman and Suzuki should be of the same general type -- gentle, understated, "respectful" etc. I've given up on both of them.

I don't feel Herreweghe's recording are significantly better than Koopman's -- in fact, often they are almost indistinguishable. I've been collecting the Koopman series, but not with notable enthusiasm. Some of Koopman's performances are really top-notch; some of the more bumptious cantatas, such as 40, 65, 75, 190, and the Hunt and Peasant Cantatas, come across with great zest in Koopman's hands. But many others are perfunctory,  even a bit tired - sounding. Generally, the Koopman series has improved as it has gone along. Vol. 6 was quite wonderful, and I just received vol. 9, which boasts the contributions of tenor Christophe Pregardien and bass Klaus Mertens -- but the alto grates, and the soprani are nothing special

 

Suzuki

My dislike of the Suzuki series shows no signs of abating

Having listened to everything through the St. Matthew and Vol. 11 of the cantatas, I'd say the choir is best thing Suzuki has going. The orchestra, while well drilled, is one of blander period ensembles I can recall in terms of sonority. The "Holy Bach" syndrome. Everyone seems to excuse Suzuki's longeurs by claiming that he's cutting to the "spiritual" core of the 18h c. Lutheran church music. Funny thing is, such dull performances are rarely accepted with such good cheer in any renaissance or baroque repertoire other than Bach. Listen to the range of rougly contemporary composers conducted by, among others, Rene Jacobs, Konrad Junghanel, Goebel, Savall, Marc Minkowski, Diego Fasolis (on a good day), Hermann Max (despite occasionally awful soloists: Monika Frimmer!), Francois Lassere (excellent recordings of Monteverdi and Schutz on Pierre Verany) Ludger Remy, Il Giardino Armonico and, going back a bit further, but still in the sacred domain, Paul Van Nevel and Roland Wilson, and you realize just how limited and limiting Suzuki's (and Koopman and Herreweghe's) performances really are.

Suzuki and Koopman both offer middle-of-the-road, safe, HIP performances of little character, though on the whole – except for their decidedly mixed groups of soloists -- well executed.  I haven't any idea whether Herreweghe will be recording all of them, but while he's not exactly ideal either, his slowly continuing series strikes me as being preferable to all of those. 

I was quite impressed with the Suzuki series until I heard more of it. It's so uniformly shiny and polished and perky that it starts to cloy. It's sort of digitally-generated Anime' Bach. But as Simon says, no one series is likely to be totally satisfying. Bach's cantatas are remarkably elusive pieces to perform effectively and consistently. It seems that every conductor/ensemble that can produce some good cantata recordings also produces some clunkers  

Schreier

Secular cantatas conducted by Peter Schreier is really a disappointment. The orchestra (Berlin Chamber Orchestra, on modern instruments) is playing clumsy and several instrumental soloists use awful ornaments that don’t belong in baroque music

Leusink

I just made another attempt to listen to the Brilliant cantata boxes I have and when I began I thought, well, these aren't bad at all.  But then a tenor solo appeared and he just wouldn't do (Knut Schoch); a later tenor solo (Nico van der Meel, who's usually not this bad) was even worse.  So at the very least these can only be listened to if the tenor arias and recitatives are programmed out, which is hardly ideal.  And yes, the performances are very inconsistent aside from this: some cantatas are performed as though by well-prepared interested musicians, the rest as though by a collection of bored, tired sight-readers. I still don't think that Koopman and Suzuki are worth nine times as much per disc, and there are problems with Leonhardt/Harnoncourt; so I continue to find all the complete/to be completed sets unsatisfactory in various ways.  Individual performances seem the better solution.

Rifkin

Of course chamber organs and organ positives existed. What I meant was, that a certain invented HIP tradition claims, that the chamber organ (Truhenorgel) has to be used in nearly any of Bachs church cantata (see Harnoncourt series). Rifkins arguments for cembalo (sometimes two of them) and continuo strings usage (plus lute/bassoon were appropriate)in this case is much more convincing in my eyes.
Rifkins series was discontinued, but he has his successors. E.g. the Jeffrey Thomas Bach Cantata series (Koch records). Lets take an example of it, Vol. VI, BWV 78-80-140 (quite a good one, only Bott was not in full form) with a scoring of the b.c. in Rifkins way (Thomas worked with Rifkin): a Violone playing colla parte with Vcl, Cembalo, Organ, partly also w. bassoon and lute. Reduced, when suggested by the musical material (e.g., lute and cello only in the soprano aria of BWV 80). I know that this has been and is, a real battlefield among Bach enthusiasts 

Coin/Ensemble Baroque de Limoges Astree label (3CDs)  All the works feature the violoncello piccolo, which Christophe Coin himself plays.  The choir is Concerto Vocale Leipzig, soloists Barbara Schlick, Andreas Scholl, Christoph Pregardien, and Gotthold Schwarz.  Scholl

and Pregardien, in particular, are wonderful.  The interpretation reminds me of Herreweghe, but a bit more textured and "earthier". Coin remarks that, "The choice, for this recording, of a charming little church on the borders of Saxony and Thuringia was justified chiefly by the presence of an organ by Silbermann.  This instrument, which still has its stops with their rustic warmth and its original pitch (A =460Hz), obliges the organist to transpose down a tone (extant copies prove that the Cantor practiced that during the years he spent in Leipzig)"

    In all, the recordings sound both HIP and old-fashioned at the same time.  Highly recommended.  Cantatas included are 6, 41, 49, 68, 85, 115, 175, 180, 183, and 199.

 

Rotzsch

I actually enjoy Rotzsch very much - they are produced under the Virgin Classics record lablel. Some of the recordings are excellent (106, 71, 172, 21, 137, 4).  Also, they are cheap( $10 a CD). Darryl

 

Kuijken' s sacred cantata set on Accent. Probably the best ever cantata recording.

 

Good individual discs

Argenta's newly reissued two discs on Virgin (including a great 51) the bass/baritone cantatas discs by Kooy, Goerne and Mertens

the alto cantata disc by Scholl on Harmonia Mundi (his 54 there is far superior to his 54 with Koopman); ,

 

4:  Suzuki. Nothing comes close (have not heard the latest Junghanel)

8:  Herreweghe
21: Herreweghe/Suzuki. Koopman is not in his best here, IMHO.
50:Gardiner, which consists of no more than a magnificent double chorus .
51: Ziesak

54: Oberlin and perhaps Van Nes

54, Kirkby, Stich-Randall, Baird (her remake on Koch)

80 Ein Feste burg – Herreweghe is good here

82: Hotter on EMI for singing only. Really horrible oboe...

82: Fischer-Dieskau
82: Mertens/Kuijken on Accent for the singing and the oboe playing of  Ponseele. Any cantata recording in which Marcel Ponseele plays the oboe is often a must even if the singing is not always the best...
84: Ehmann.  Although it's generally recorded as a *minor gem* my favourite Bach Cantata is BWV.84 ('Ich bin vergnugt mit meinem Gluck'), but *only* in the fifties recording which has never been reissued on CD with Agnes Giebel in an incredibly *beautiful* and moving interplay with Helmut Winschermann's oboe with Ehmann conducting. Other versions of BWV.84 totally lack the magical effect this one has on me.

95: Suzuki. Actually, his vol 11. is probably one of the best.
106: Koopman 1st, Suzuki 2nd.

 

Rotzsch

Kantaten BWV 12, 24, 36, 41-43, 51, 57, 65, 57, 65, 67, 72, 73, 79, 92, 95, 103, 106, 111, 117, 119, 131, 137, 138, 144, 177, 179
Johannes-Passion BWV 245 +Orgelwerke:Toccata & Fuge BWV 565
Präludien & Fugen BWV 540 & 545 Giebel, Wagner, Höffgen, Lutze, Haefliger, Thomanerchor, Gewandhaus-Orchester, Rotzsch
Günther Ramin/Orgel Thomaskirche Leipzig 12cd 130DM 40.5 GBP

 

Kantaten BWV 1, 4, 10, 14, 21, 26, 29, 31, 36, 40, 50, 61, 66, 68, 71, 79, 80, 106, 110, 119, 134, 137, 140, 172, 173, 173a, 192, 198
Magnificat BWV 243 Auger, Schreier, Adam, Lorenz, Wenkel, Thomanerchor, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum, Gewandhausorchester, Rotzsch 11cd, 130DM 40.5 GBP

ach,Johann Sebastian (1685-1750):

 

Leusink – 9.99GBP

Vol 1             BWV 16,33,37,42,56,61,72,80,82,97,113,132,133,170.                                      

Vol 2             BWV 22,23,44,54,57,85,86,92,98,111,114,135,155,159,165,167,188.                    

Vol 3 -          BWV 17,35,87,90,99,106,117,123,153,161,168,172,173,199                    

Vol 4             BWV 13,45,69,81,102,116,130,138,144,149,150,169,196                        

Vol 5              BWV 6,26,27,46,55,94,96,107,139,115,156,163,164,178,179                      

Vol 6             BWV 2,3,8,60,62,78,93,103,128,145,151,154,171,185,186,192                          

Vol 7             BWV 9,36,47,73,91,121,125,110,121,129,152,157,166,184,198                         

Vol 8             BWV 18,30,40,49,79,84,88,89,100,108,136,140,176,187,194                   

 

Gardiner:

DGG Archiv Kantaten BWV 106,118,198

Kantaten BWV 11,37,43,128

 

Huggett:

Virgin Veritas Kantaten BWV 51,82,199

Virgin Veritas           Kantaten BWV 84,202,209

Virgin Veritas           2CD Kantaten BWV 51,82,84,199,202,209

 

Kuijken:

Accent ACC9395D   Kantaten BWV 49,58,82      CD 37.95 DM   11.85GBP 9.99 GFAS

                              Magnificat + BWV 21 Bekummerniss EX!

 

Herreweghe: Harmonia Mundi www.

Veritas5617212       Kantaten BWV 39,73,93,105,107,131   2 CD 49.95 DM  15.6 GBP

Kantaten BWV 39,93,107                       CD 39.95 DM   12.5 GBP   Ö, x, x

Kantaten BWV 73,105,131                     CD 39.95 DM   12.5 GBP    Ö, Ö Ö, Ö

 

>HMX 2951659       Kantaten BWV 8,125,138 Mit Fried         CD 19.95 DM   6.24 GBP   Ö, Ö , Ö

>HMX 2951328       Kantaten BWV 21 & 42   Bekummerniss  CD 23.95 DM   7.5 GBP             Ö Ö, ,x

>HMC 901644         Kantaten BWV 35, 54,170. Alto Scholl c-t GramEdCh 7.99 gbp CDSl  Ö ,Ö+,  Ö+   4.99

>HMX 2951365       Kantaten BWV 56,82,158   Bass            CD 23.95 DM   7.5 GBP             ÖÖ, Ö Ö, Ö

>HMX 2951270       Kantaten BWV 78 & 198 Trauerode        CD 19.95 DM   6.24 GBP   ÖÖ, Ö Ö

HMC 901594 Kantaten BWV 57,110,122 (xmas)          CD 19.95 DM   6.24 GBP       Ö+, Ö , ok 4.99

HMC 901690 Kantaten BWV 29,119,120 Wir danken   CD 37.95 DM   11.85GBP Ö+, Ö , Ö+

HMC 901605 Kantaten BWV 36,61,62   advent  CD 37.95 DM   11.85GBP ok, Ö , ok                     

HMC 901326           Magnificat + BWV 80 VG!

 

HMX 2951479  BACH Ascension Oratorio Schlick, Patriasz, Pregardien, Kooy, Collegium Vocale/Herreweghe Harmonia Mundi  £7.00

HMX 2908070/7  BACH Festive Cantatas Schlick, Rubens, Jezovsek, Wessel, Patriasz, Connolly, Taylor, Pregardien, Padmore, Kooy, Collegium Vocale/Herreweghe Harmonia Mundi 4cds  £28.00

HMX 951676/78  BACH St Matthew Passion Bostridge, Selig, Rubens, Scholl, Gura, Henschel, Choir and Orchestra of Collegium Vocale/Herreweghe Harmonia Mundi 3cds + free cd rom  £34.50

HMX 2951513  Easter Oratorio Schlick, Wessel, Taylor, Collegium Vocale/Herreweghe Harmonia Mundi 

 

HMX 2908091.95

Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust BWV 170
Widerstehe doch der Sünden BWV 54
Geist und Seele wird verwirret BWV 35
Ich habe genung BWV 82
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen BWV 56
Der Friede sei mit dir BWV 158
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis BWV 21
Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats BWV 42
Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben BWV 8
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin BWV 125
Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz BWV 138
Trauerode BWV 198
Laß Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl
Jesu, der du meine Seele BWV 78

 

Rene Jacobs

HMC 901273 Kantaten BWV 35,53,82 alto cantatas                                             Ö,?, ÖÖ

                                                 

Junghänel  Werke v.Knüpfer, Schelle, Kuhnau Cantus Cölln, Junghänel

HMC 901694           Kantaten BWV 4,12, 106,196,                CD 37.95 DM                   Ö, Ö +, ÖÖ,Ö

 

Koopman 3CDs at 110DM =34.5GBP

V1 Kantaten BWV 4, 21, 31, 71, 106, 131, 150, 185, 196 Schlick, Wessel, Mey, Mertens, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Koopman

V2 Kantaten BWV 2, 20, 44, 73, 101, 119, 130, 134, 134a, 180 Stam, Chance, Agnew, Mertens, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Koopman

 

Bach Collegium Japan/Suzuki

7773293 BWV 12,54,162,182

7945234 BWV 163,165,185,199

BISCD Vol?: BWV 18,143,152,155,161

BISCD Vol?: BWV 21 & 31

BISCD 751  Vol?: BWV 4,150,196 – CDSelections £5.99

BISCD Vol?: BWV 46,95,136,138

BISCD Vol?: BWV 61,63,132,172

BISCD Vol?: BWV 71,106,131

BISCD 901  Vol.8: BMV 22,23,75  

BISCD 931  Vol. 9: BMV 24,76,167 

BISCD 951  Vol.10; BMV 179, 105 & 186 

BISCD 991  Vol.11: BMV 136, 138, 95, 46  

BISCD 1031  Vol.12: BWV21, 147

 

Rilling

BWV 56,82 Fischer-Dieskau, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart/Rilling CDSelections £5.99

 

Richter:

MAGNIFICAT IN D MAJOR Maria Stader, Hertha Topper, Ernst Haefliger, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Munich Bach Chorus & Orchestra (recorded 1961) Conductor: RICHTER, Karl

DG 439 489-2 (CD) BUDGET

Coupled With: Cantata for the 1st Day of Christmas, BWV.63; Cantata for the Feast of Epiphany

Cantatas Nos.4, 56 & 82 DF-D Munich Bach Choir & Orchestra, Richter  ARCHIV 427 128-2 (CD)
BWV 67,108,127 Pears  CDSelections £4.99

 

Bruggen:.

Title: CANTATA, BWV.82: 'ICH HABE GENUG'  Max Van Egmond (bass), Baroque Ensemble

Conductor: BRÜGGEN, Frans RCA VICTOR GD 71956 (CD)  MID-PRICE

Coupled With: Cantata, BWV.56

 

Bach-Meisterwerke in bedeutenden Aufnahmen
History, ADD, m Rel.Date: 21.8.2000 20 CD, 2970271
Das Wohltemperierte Klavier 1 & 2
Italienisches Konzert BWV 971
Choräle BWV 147, 599, 639, 734 (arr.f.Klavier)
Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080 (Orchester-Version)
Partita BWV 825
Goldberg-Variationen BWV 988
Chromatische Fantasie & Fuge BWV 903
Englische Suite BWV 807
Französische Suite BWV 817
Violinsonate BWV 1016
Magnificat BWV 243
Kantaten BWV 82 & 147
MatthäusPassion BWV 244
Lieder & Arien BWV 493, 505, 515, 518
Geistliche Arien aus BWV 12, 68, 81, 112, 232, 244, 245, 248
Toccata & Fuge BWV 565
Präludien & Fugen BWV 534, 541, 545, 548
Fugen BWV 543 & 578
Choralvorspiele BWV 611, 653, 654, 656, 665, 731
Brandenburgische Konzerte Nr.1-6
Cellosuiten BWV 1007-1009
Partiten BWV 1002 & 1006 für Violine solo
Bearbeitungen für Gitarre
Orchestersuiten Nr.2 & 3
Sinfonia aus BWV 249
Violinkonzerte BWV 1041-1043
Cembalokonzerte BWV 1052 & 1055 Casals, Fischer, Landowska, Schweitzer,
Menuhin, Souzay, Lemnitz, Erb, Caratelli, Thomanerchor, Gewandhausorchester,
RO Beromünster, Orchestra Bach Cantata Club, Paris SO, Scherchen, Ramin,
Leitner u.v.a.

39.95 DM. Nr. 49898 12.5GBP !! http://www.zweitausendeins.de/

 

 

#BARTOK

Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Boulez and the BBC Orchestra more of the mystery of MSPC

Solti 60s.
Reiner

Fricsay

Marriner

Kubelík's  Mercury

 

Concerto for Orchestra.

Fricsay, Ferenc Edition Wilhelm Hansen , 1962, p. 74 Introduction par Yehudi Menuhin. Format: Pappband Gr.-8vo. 74 S
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/0521485053/ref=sib_dp_pt/203-0708277-8263145#reader-page

Zoltan Kocsis and the Hungarian National Philharmonic orchestra on Hungaroton. It will knock your socks off. It is the best
conducted,played,recorded and paprika filled version on disc-hands down. I've been listening to this work for 40 years and have heard most
of 'em...Reiner,Stoky,Ormandy,Dorati,Szell,Koussy,Lenny,Leinsdorf...but this one with Kocsis is simply the best.

Stokowski 1961 - CD is much better and it's interesting to hear principal trumpet Armando Ghitalla early in his career (Houston).

Koksic trumps all others I've heard-and I own 7 or 8 of the best. Hear it! If you don't you are not hearing the best.

Berlin Radio SO/Fricsay.

Cleveland/Dohnanyi on Decca You can get Szell's clarity and vigour plus the missing mystery and tenderness-and an even better orchestra in better sound (with no  cut)...? (available now from MHS) with the Cleveland of 20 years later. It is my favorite Cfo after the Kocis.

Great playing and sound, you hear a lot of detail you don't get in most other recordings plus a lot of sense for color, drama, as well as the lyrical side. Pretty groovy playing too. Plus it comes with a nice performance of Lutoslawski's CfO.

Chicago SO/Reiner found subtleties that everyone else misses. Coming back to the Reiner/CSO recently after many years, I felt its virtues all the more. The playing just seemed stupendous--free and disciplined, expressive and single-minded. The concentration is spellbinding to me, but I admit that once one gets used to it or plays it too often and it starts seeming dry and inevitable. Reiner's account, is well played, but I cannot quite put my finger on it, I feel it lacks any sort of panache to these ears. Quite plain in fact. Quite generic.

Pittsburg SO/Reiner Early recording – atmospheric 

Boulez/NYPO The 'keys' are that there are layers, and that the music is Bartokian. The top layer is exemplified by the Bernstein/NYPO recording. The layer that Boulez reveals with admirable finesse is presented 'in-your-face' by Fricsay. There are several good performances of the top layer, only those two (that I've heard) that adequately reveal the deeper layer.

Dorati with the LSO Dorati takes this point of view – that it’s essentially Hungarian -  and defends it brilliantly - the Mercury perf (LSO) is admirably "Hungarian" - but I don't know if you will find it a revelation.

Dorati/Hungarian National Philharmonic – Hungaraton. Very good recording and playing. Performance rather slick.

Dorati/Concertgebouw Eloquence, with a stunning MSPC by Ivan Fischer as coupling. I listened to it a few nights ago, and thought it very good indeed. Some very dramatic playing, but precise playing as well. Good sound too.

ACO/Dorati, available on Int'l and Aussi Eloquence

 

Chicago/Boulez – the earlier NYPO is better

Hungarian Festival Orch/Ivan Fischer

Kubelik/Boston SO w  Ozawa Miraculous Mandarin DG Galleria 437 247-2 is excellent in almost every way...interpretively equal to the feted Reiner.

Solti

Philadelphia Ormandy I have a soft spot for the great brass choir in the first movement and the virtuosity and wild dancing of the last movement. I highly recommend it. It also comes coupled with a very nice Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, featuring the Casadesus family

Haitink on a Philips Duo, coupled with the piano concertos (Bishop/Davis) is preferable – for me - to either Szell or Reiner.

Chailly is excellent - beautifullly played--no more tender than the Reiner, necessarily, but with a great sense of color and modern sound (not that the sound on the Reiner is anything but great). You'll get a different experience from Chailly.

Celibidache - For a uniquely interesting performance, though I wouldn't say he's the standard.

Arpad Joo's recording on Sefel may provide some new insight into the piece

Blomstedt/SFO is magnetic. OP, but I understand can be ordered as a one-up transfer. That one had something special going for it that seemed unique

Tibor Ferenc and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra is a very dramatic, hard-edged, serious minded 'layer one'
performance; an  interpretation recommendable for those qualities. Well recorded too. The CD - IMP Classics PCD 1013 - also contains a good performance of The Miraculous Mandarin (the suite) and the best recording of the Kossuth-Symphonic Poem I've heard anywhere. These recordings were made in Budapest in 1988, and I suspect that the orchestra no longer exists, but this was a highly competent group of musicians. The CfO spotlights them, and they answered the challenge admirably.

 

The top layer is amenable to a 'straight' interpretation as a concerto for orchestra, a la Bernstein/NYPO and Fischer/BFO. The mood is upbeat, the whole thing is sort of a celebration of orchestral colors. The deeper layer (according to Fricsay and me at least) is the composer's presentation of a trip to another dimension, one our physical senses can't get much of a handle on. There are 'presences', and things are happening, but not much of those things are happening in the three dimensions our senses are designed to interpret. If
you've taken a couple tokes too many, and don't trust Bartók's implicit assurance that you'll get home OK, the goings-on can be pretty disturbing. The last two movements (the downslope of the arch) represent the journey back to our familiar space. Many folks don't get hooked by that layer in the Boulez/NYPO recording. If you are one of those, try the Fricsay/BRSO version. I think he's too obvious about it, but at least you'll know how to catch the hook when you listen to Boulez/NYPO again. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Images

Boulez on DG

 

Sketches
Boulez on DG

 

The Wooden Prince

Boulez on DG

The Miraculous Mandarin

Boulez on Sony is very good

Boulez/Chicago Symphony Orchestra on DG. It is coupled with a recording of "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta".
Antal Dorati. On London with the Detroit SO in a great sounding Digital, or on Mercury in a much dimmer acoustic from the 1950s. I really like Dorati's Detroit account, on London. Some of his best Bartok, IMO.

I haven't heard Adam Fischer, but those who have rave about it and him.

Abbado's (now mid-price on DG Masters) LSO recording is very good, IMO, [but it's coupled with a lousy Janacek Sinfonietta].
Martinon / Chicago SO,w. Hindemith Nobilissima Visione and Varese Arcana RCA "High Performance" 24/96 CD's

Dutoit/Montreal complete ballet recording and forget all the others, you won't need 'em(?)

 

Divertimento for Strings 25 minutes

Boulez on DG

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has a terrific all-Bartok CD mid-price DG Masters series: 445 541-2 that leads off with the Divertimento. I recommend this one without reservation.
Kossuth

Two Pictures

Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra

Two Portraits

posthumous Violin Concerto

w.Roumanian Folk Dances cw Stravinsky; "Pulcinella" and the "Dumbarton Oaks" concerto.

 

Dance Suite

Short, rhythmic, not too dissonant.

Piano Concerto 1
Andras Schiff and Ivan Fischer on Teldec.(Warner mid price) Fischer betters his earlier recording (with Kocis on Philips) because his orchestra knows and plays the music better. Schiff certainly rises to the challenge (like Anda, everything is *there* but nothing is overstated) and easily surpasses some sluggish performances I heard him give of Bartok Two in London. The recording is very fine and it makes a point of placing the percussion right up front for the First Concerto,

Kocsic/Fischer

Anda/Fricsay

Pollini/Abbado I am a big fan of Pollini's #1.  Somehow his charging energy just amplifies the (already) percussive effects, and Abbado and Chicago sound almost demonic.

Bishop bargain Philips
Jando on Naxos.

Bronfman/Salonen
Serkin/Szell (Sony, don't know if it has ever appeared with its original coupling of Prokofiev 4 on CD)Serkin treats the First like middle period

Beethoven!

Barenboim/Boulez in 1 & 3, from 1970 or thereabouts.

 

Piano Concerto 2
Kocsic/Fischer

Pollini/Abbado  I second the virtues of Pollini in 1 and 2

Anda/Fricsay.

Bishop bargain Philips
Jando on Naxos.

Bronfman/Salonen
Weissenberg/Ormandy (r. 1969 and last seen on RCA Gold Seal) steely – assertive. It was on CD on BMG/RCA Gold Seal 09026-61396-2, paired with Rachmaninoff's Pf. con.no.3

 

Piano Concerto 3
Kocsic/Fischer for its fire and passion.  It's a nice complement to the Anda.  Great sound too.

Schiff/Fischer now available on inexpensive Elatus. wonderful orchestral playing and recording – a beautiful account of the slow movement. Of the post-Anda complete sets I am most impressed by Schiff & Fischer. The orchestral playing is better than on Fischer's earlier (Kocsis) set, as if that recording was a rehearsal for the more recent one. The production is splendid, great sound and the forward placement of the percussion in the First Concerto absolutely following Bartok's instructions in the score (rarely obeyed in concert because they cause a lot of disruption to the stage).

Sandor/Ormandy - the transfer on Pearl is excellent, as are the discmates, the Reiner/Pittsburgh Concerto for Orchestra and the Portrait

(what we would now know as the first movement of the youthful violin concerto) with Szigeti/Lambert/Philharmonia. As for Geza Anda, Kocsis, Bishop-Kovacevich and the first Sandor, they are all good, highly recommendable in fact. Even after hearing 12 versions, Sandor's premiere of the Bartok 3rd concerto w/Ormandy was a revelation.  Ditto Schiff's, only 14 by then.  Go for it!

Sandor II is marred by terrible Sony sonics. Pure orchestral mud, with the piano sounding hysterical.

Katchen/Kertesz Katchen doesn't believe in being louder and faster than the competition - although he is much faster than Anda and only slightly slower than Pennario. Nor does he seem to believe that Bartok's PC3 is written for percussion. In general Katchen's interpretation is natural, melodious, colourful and so well structured that it is easy to listen to.  The general mood is melancholic. Add to all this Katchen's beautiful tone ...

Anda/Fricsay

Anda/Karajan live performance from Salzburg on DG

Annie Fischer with Fricsay it's coupled with an absolutely devastating account of the Tchaikovsky 'Pathetigue'. One of my desert island discs. on Orfeo. For 3, my favorite remains Annie Fischer with Fricsay (live performance). That is awesome in all respects. I have been a lifelong fan of Bartok's music, and Annie's performance of PC 3 touches me profoundly every time I hear it

Annie Fischer/Markevich. the perfect balance between energy and repose I also recommended AF in #3, albeit the studio recording with Markevich.  That one, it seems, is nla.

Bishop bargain Philips(2 CDs) 438 812 VlnC#2(Szyring),Concerto for Orchestra. w/Haitink+Colin Davis
Jando on Naxos.
Bronfman/Salonen $3
Argerich/Dutoit superb finale in a performance that emphasises the virtuosity of the work

Barenboim/Boulez

Ogdon PC 3 is superbly shaped by both soloist and orchestra, but it's also a tad too cold for this melancholy, heartfelt work.

Lipatti - sound is definitely historical with 78 swish

Claude Helffer and the Monaco opera orchestra with Bruno Maderna conducting. The orchestra is crappy, but what a performance!! It has an unique atmosphere.

Violin Concerto 1

Chung/Solti
Isaac Stern with Bernstein, and NY Philharmonic, currently on Sony SMK 64502

 

Violin Concerto 2
Szekely/Mengleberg

Chung/Solti

Isaac Stern with Bernstein, and NY Philharmonic, currently on Sony SMK 64502

Gotkovsky

Perlman.
Szeryng/Haitink

Menuhin recorded it three times, all with Dorati, in '46 (RCA/BMG), '57 (Mercury), and in the '60s (EMI). Furtwaengler, 1953 EMI CDH 769 804 2 (with his 78 recording of the solo
sonata)   I believe the CSO has issued a live performance under Reiner as well
Szekely/Mengelberg Philips "Legendary Classics" CD oop

Gertler/ Ancerl - Supraphon - was on sale at HMV for 6.99
Gitlis/ Horenstein - VOX 10 quids or less including other superb concerto
performances
Zehetmair/Fischer; Berlin Classics Seconded.

Zukerman/ Slatkin
Takezawa/ Tilson Thomas
Sitkovetsky/Pesek
Midori on Sony (BPO/Mehta

Tibor Varga with Fricsay on DG

 

Cantana Profana

Boulez on DG

 

Bluebeard's Castle

Ludwig/Berry/Kertesz

Marton/Ramey/Fischer

 

Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion

Kontarsky brothers

Kocsis & Ranki Hungaroton
Bishop-Argerich on Philips,
Richter-Lobanov on Philips

Chamber recordings on Naxos, played by Jando, Pauk, Berkes, and the Kodaly Quartet. It includes the two violin sonatas, Contrasts, the solo violin sonata, the duos for violin, and the piano quintet. I recommend these three disks very highly.

 

Quartets

Julliard Quartet recorded the complete string qts three times, in 1949, 1963 Columbia D3S-717 (LP), and 1981. I don't think the first set has ever been transfered to CD, but the last two are currently available on CD in Japan as SRCR1824,5,6 (1963) and SRCR1804,5,6 (1981). The second 60's Julliard breathed this music. The 50's and later Juilliard performances are no substitutes  Best in 5 and 6. It is or was available on French Sony CD's. It has also been released under Sony UK's "Retrospective" series

 

Tokyo Quartet 1970 I don't find the Tokyo set interpretively similar to the Emersons; it is less aggressive, more flexible, and (esp.) less intent at spotlighting the virtuosity of the individual players at the expense of the ensemble. I have listened to both sets of the Bartok quartets as done by the TSQ and I like their second one on RCA a whole lot better.  The DG one the notes just seem to sit there. The music does not come to life for me at all.

 

For me the DG is THE desert island set if I could only have one set.  Full of rhythmic sparkle (moments such as the opening of the finale of the 4th are just so perfectly captured to my ears).  As far as the RCA set, I could never abide Oundijian's whiney tone in any of their
recordings, so whatever their relative merits otherwise, that is just a stumbling block that I cannot overcome.

Tatrai Quartet on Hungaroton . It's my favorite recording of the Bartok quartets. Very idiomatic, exciting but not excessively driven, warm analog sound (the bright digital sound in the Emerson set bothers me sometimes).Unfortunately, the Tatrai comes in a 3CD set (with some undistinguished orchestral filler), but it was midprice ($30) when I bought it.

Get the Tatrai set - otherwise you'll be setting yourself up for kicking yourself later for having lived without them

Takacs - second recording(on Decca) - full of inner insights and wonderful playing. The *first* Takacs cycle on Hungaraton is a very different line-up from the more recent Takacs set. There is a wonderful youthfulness about the set, reminiscent of some of the work that the young Barenboim and Du Pre did -- the Takacs ensemble had been students only nine years before recording the Bartoks. To my mind, though they aren't in the front line of cycles, they contribute a perspective on the music that few others do. On the other hand I feel that if this was the only version I had, I would be missing quite a lot of what these quartets are about.

I like the second Tackacs(Decca-London) a great deal, but it is a quite over the top in places.  They are very agressive and almost hysterical.  But it should be in everyone's collection. The first set (Hungaraton) was recorded some 12 years or more earlier and has a different lineup of players. The first one is a much more smoothed out performance in general.

Keller Quartet (Erato) best and the truest Bartok set of quartets reissued as a "two-fer" by WEA I do recommend the Keller Qt on Erato Ultima Double (ie it's cheap!). It doesn't strike me as off-the-wall (but then in these works there is so much room, how do you define off-the-wall?) but very clear-cut rhythmically, with excellent dynamic range and great control over the tone. Right from the beginning of the Keller version I was struck by a greater engagement on the part of the players a real sense of ensemble, excitement in the faster passages, and above all a Hungarian sound. I would certainly recommend them in preference to Novak

Fine Arts Quartet version (I sold my LPs when I bought the Hungarian Quartet cycle, though I wonder how much nostalgia is affecting my memory!) is one I miss.
Hungarian Quartet (DG - The Originals - 1956?) - lyrical approach. The Hungarians strike me as particularly good in the last 3 quartets
Vegh Quartet, on Auvidis - wonderful!!!  some beautiful playing but lack the intensity and commitment of the 60's Juilliard. I most often turn to the Vegh (the stereo remake is good, the HMV mono electrifying) or early Julliard.
Emerson. (If anyone recommends the Emerson Quartet recordings, disregard any other musical advice they give you.) I think the Emersons give a preferable account of Bartok. They're not just virtuosic: they're exciting.
Eder qt. on Teldec - very good.

Talich - The hard-to-locate Talich Quartet cycle on Collins Classics is also outstanding.

Violin Sonatas

Oistrakh/Richter.
Naxos with Pauk & Jando

2 Violin Sonatas, 2 Rhapsodies, Contrast or Piano Quintet should be recommended. Naxos

 

Piano Sonata (1926

Perahia

Kocsis on Philips.

 

Out of Doors

Perahia

 

Piano music

Bartok Sony Masterworks Portrait Books IV,V,VI of Mikrokosmos and a
performance of Contrasts with Benny Goodman & Szigeti.
 
There is the complete piano music set by Kocsis on Philips, and the excellent Microcosmos and For Children by Ranki on Teldec. Also, a fine recital by Schiff on Denon. There is also the Hungaroton piano collection played by Bartok himself. The sound is poor, but his performances are superb.

There is also Sandor's recording of the piano version of the Concerto for Orchestra, a magnificent performance on CBS (possibly deleted CD).

Sonatina, Out of Doors, Sonata, Microcosmos Books V-VI. Beroff good in some

Bartok playing his own piano music, particularly Book 6 of Mikrokosmos Bartok was a gifted pianist, and his piano compositions are varied, colorful, and idiomatic. BTW, his recording of the Beethoven Kreutzer
Sonata (with Szigeti) is one of the best ever.

-Sony's Masterworks portrait (Microkosmos, contrasts)
-ZYX music's "Bela Bartok spielt Bela Bartok"
-EMI classics composers in person (works by Bartok and Dohnanyi)
-Hugaroton's Bartok recordings from private collections (4 cd's where Bartok is playing a lot of his own work and a magistral performance (fragments) of his second pianoconcerto) Siegfried
Among the essential recordings are Bartok's own, released on Hungaroton in a box that could be out of print. If you find it, grab it. Bela was an incredible pianist and (of course) one of the strongest personalities to ever make piano recordings. The old recordings of Gyorgy Sandor are very fine; his remakes for Sony are below that level, but still idiomatic and well-enough played. Kocsis and Ranki are now the co-reigning kings of Bartok. I do wish Naxos had employed Jando insted of Szokolay, although the one CD of his I've heard is quite good. It's just that Jando has more personality (a must in this music).

 

#BEETHOVEN

SYMPHONIES

Boxed sets

Blomstedt/Staatskapelle Dresden on Brilliant Classics--the cheapest of the lot and better than most; an excellent choice that at www.broinc.com  will set you back a whopping $10.Very good Pastoral, it's a work that suits his relatively spacious, old-fashioned conception.

Excellent (a robust orchestra, great sound, always engaging performances)

Gunter Wand/NDR good value if you can find it from a European source

Szell before Karajan - brisk, high-energy version of traditional Beethoven style.  The main problem you might have with it is the sound, which is generally OK, but not state of the art even for its time (late 1950s and early 1960s).

One of the great orchestral achievements of the twentieth century.

Klemperer available in an EMI slimline box with the piano concertos (Barenboim).  Nine discs around $50.  1960s, but sound very good.  These performances are definitely in the "broad and majestic" camp.  I've enjoyed them a lot.

Furtwangler (an EMI box set, great performances but very dated mono sound from c. 1950)

Gardiner on Archiv. 

Karajan from 1962/1963 very good, but completely different. While his 1963 cycle may be the best overall, there are better performances of

individual works both before and after. For example, he disliked the Sixth and never did much more than rush through it, but he always offered an excellent Ninth (aside from his seeming hatred and consequent backward balancing of the chorus in the finale), and the '77 is superior to the '63. His very last recording of the Fifth is also better than '63 (more rugged, a touch less timbraly monochrome).

I actively dislike all of the Berlin recordings of it, but I do *not* find that to be the case with the Philharmonia recording. It's a bit generalized, but

there are qualities of warmth and affection, as well as glorious solo playing. OTOH, his Berlin recordings feature glorious ensemble playing (not even touched by any other conductor who worked with the Philharmonic after that), while this is not so in his Philharmonia recordings.

Bruno Walter/Columbia SO Berkshire sells this set with "minimal" packaging for an acceptably low price. 

Schmidt-Isserstedt/VPO (if available) for a more spacious view. Avoid Szell

Schmidt-Isserschedt is well recorded and played, and unsurpassed singing in 9.  I could see how people would like it, even though I don't.

Brueggen my favorite HIP set, http://www.kuijperklassiek.nl/ 32.95 Euros plus shipping

Barenboim on Teldec. It's simply in a class of its own (and IMO has the best 9th I've heard)!

Horenstein has been issued in a much better transfer.

Weingartner/VPO

Krips set is excellent of its kind (Central European - kapellmeisterisch). “Krips is mighty dull.”

 

Separate choices

Monteux Get the two Decca twofers with conducting ##1-8 (about $30 for the pair), then Furtwangler’s 9 - 1942

 

1,2, and 3, Bernstein Sony

5 and 7 Kleiber on DGG,

6 and 8 Vanska on BBC, or Boehm for 6 on DGG,

9 Bernstein on DGG. 

 

No 1+3 NDRSO/Gunter Wand (RCA)
No 2+8 London Classical Players/Roger Norrington (EMI)
No 4+6 Columbia SO/Bruno Walter (Sony)
No 5+7 VPO/Carlos Kleiber (DG)
No 9 BPO/Herbert von Karajan (DG 1977 recording)

1: Fey/Haenssler, Brueggen/Philips
2: Fey/Haenssler, Bernstein/Sony
3: Scherchen/Westminster, Savall/Astree, Bernstein/Sony, Abendroth/Tahra,
Furtwaengler/WWII/Tahra, Harnoncourt/Teldec
4: Bernstein/Sony, Zinman/Arte Nova
5: Szell/VPO/Orfeo
6: Mengelberg (Mackerras has the best storm)
7: Brueggen/Philips, Bernstein/Sony, Harnoncourt/Teldec
8: Brueggen/Philips, Casals/Sony, Scherchen/Westminster
9: Furtwaengler 1942 (Bernstein/Sony for the scherzo)

 

3: Furtwangler (12/8/52 performance)...runners-up would include
Furtwangler (wartime), Klemperer (mono), Scherchen (MCA)
4: Furtwangler (wartime)...followed by Zinman and Brueggen
5: Furtwangler (5/47)....various other Furtwangler, Reiner, Liebowitz
6: Furtwangler (various), Walter, Reiner, Bohm, Scherchen
7: Barenboim/Staatskapelle Berlin, Furtwangler (wartime), Liebowitz,
Toscanini (36 or 39)
8: Scherchen, Toscanini (39)
9: Furtwangler (1942)

 

1. Brüggen (Philips).
2. Gardiner (DG)
3. Klemperer (EMI-mono)
4. Furtwängler (M&A-wartime)
5. Kleiber (DG)
6. Böhm (DG)
7. Gardiner (DG)
8. Brüggen (Philips)
9. Gardiner (DG)

 

Symphony 1

Symphony 2  

Reiner on Sony/Columbia Masterworks

 

Symphony 3 - Eroica

NYPO/Bernstein  I know lots of people here like this, and I like a lot of Bernstein's recordings, but this just does not convince me.  I do not hear the excitement that everyone speaks about.

I prefer this over the Szell.  It's about as exciting as I can imagine the Eroica being (which is pretty darn exciting). 

Bernstein/VPO (DG).  As with many Berstein/DG recordings, this is a little too slow and sounds like it is conducted by a feeble man.

Pierre Monteux/ Concertgebouw  Philips 420 853-2 (recorded July, 1962). My favorite "Eroica". It was re-issued 3 times in CD. First of all on its own in the very first years of CD, in a Philips Legacy (or similar) series. Then as a part of a huge set with all Monteux's recordings, and a second time with Schubert's Unfinished. It has been out of print for many-many years.

I like the Concertgebouw, but I actively dislike the mannered and comparatively slow VPO on Decca.  "Old fashioned" for some reason is the description that comes to mind.

Walter Columbia Sym  no one performance can unite Walter's wonderful singing lines with Scherchen’s excitement. Walter's stereo version captures best my conception of this admittedly great work, far more than Kemperer's stereo 61 version. I always reach for Walter rather than Klemp in any Beethoven. I think Bruno Walter demonstrated you can have both 'lyrical touches' and 'thunder' in the same performance.

Walter: 1958 (Columbia) is very beautiful but 1957 is livelier.

Walter NY Phil 1949

Szell late 50s Epic/CBS.- a gripping performance, one of the best of his cycle. I heartily agree with the Szell recommendation.  From his Beethoven cycle, I think the 3rd may be the best. Szell is very well played and you should try to hear it for the amazing horn contributions to the scherzo's trio and the finale's coda if nothing else. He also explains the shifting rhythmic scansion of the first movement brilliantly, though it is done at the price of a slightly slow tempo relative to Beethoven's metronome mark.

The Szell performance *is* much slower than either Bernstein / New York or Toscanini, and you really *do* want it faster.

The 1957 George Szell Eroica became the benchmark recording for this symphony, for me, as soon as it was released.  The only recording to match it is Levine's with the Met, though if you can find a private release of Szell's 1970 concert version--his last performance in Cleveland--you will be one lucky collector.  I was present at the performance.  At the end some gets in an early bravo.  I'd like to think it was I.

Munch/BSO

Savall/Astree  is very exciting, in part because of the very close recorded sound; head and shoulders above any HIP competition I've heard. An excellent, wonderful-sounding performance with very flavorful period instruments.  The dull thud of the timpani in the funeral march creates a very sombre atmosphere.  Fleet tempi and lots of energy.

Reiner/CSO - from 1954 was on RCA LM1899.  Sad to say, it was not recorded in stereo

Von Matacic/CzechPO from '59 It's out on Japanese Supraphon.It has been on CD, twice - once on Supraphon, once, in superior sound, on Urania (the American one, not the Italian one); not sure whether either is still in print. Von Matacic was a conductor in a not un-Mitropoulos-like mold, and his Eroica is one of my great favorites.  On the evidence of the Von Matacic recordings that survive, what an odd career he must have had!  His repertory included all kinds of offbeat opera. I think he was a far better conductor than a number of celebrity maestros including Giulini and Karajan

Matacic's is a rougher, more worldly reading, certainly less precise than Monteux's, but perhaps a companion with more character.

Norrington/Haenssler (not his earlier EMI).  The careful attention to dynamics, superb phrasing, and all-around vigor of the Stuttgart

orchestra are a marvel to hear. Superb in every way; I didn't think ol' Sir Roger had it in him.

Norrington (2002) has the fastest Funeral March ever, even faster than Beethoven's marking, which places it beyond the pale of 'greatness' for me.

Sawallisch Concertgebouw

Karajan 1962

Solti 1989

Dohnanyi

Bohm DG

Fricsay some find it very boring!!!

Giulini/LAPO (DG) The Giulini is a very special performance; by which I mean it's unusual, granitic and broadly-structured, the sort of slowness one associates with Klemperer and Celibidache.

Jochum/DG in the Original Masters set

Schuricht BPO (1941)

Leibowitz would have been a contender if he had taken the first-movement repeat.

Klemperer Philharmonia 1955 Mono

Klemperer: Royal Danish Orch (1957, Testament). Avoid the ones from 1970.

Klemperer 1961 Stereo  – the two EMI recordings are among my favorites (perhaps the earlier mono is preferable) -- but don't expect more "excitement" than Bernstein provides. Klemperer's mono Philharmonia recording is like a map of the harmony and his steady speeds allow string playing - especially cellos and double basses - of phenominal insight and detail. Believe me, you can hear the difference when the double basses know the harmonic implication of their lines! BTW this was recorded in the days just after Karajan performed the Eroica with the same orchestra, which might have something to do with the polish of the execution. Whatever one thinks of him, there's no doubt that Walter Legge was a very canny guy; the idea of an Eroica rehearsed by Karajan but recorded by Klemperer is audacious!

The two Klemperer Eroicas I have on EMI were recorded in 1955 Legacy series (dated 57) and 1959 The P date of the second Eroica is 1961. The second is the only one released in stereo. The mono was recorded at the same time as the first Klemperer studio recording of the 7th which was recorded in experimental stereo and has been released in both mono and stereo formats in the CD era. Beethoven 3 (??) -- Kingsway, 3-4 Oct 55 and 17 Dec 55 Beethoven 7 (experimental stereo) -- Kingsway, 5-6 Oct 55 and 17 Dec 55. in the same Legacy" series is LvB's Symphonies 4 and 7. Alas, not in the same league. These recordings were made in 1957 and 1955.

De Sabata. The finest performance of the Eroica I know is by the London Philharmonic under Vittorio de Sabata. It was recorded by English Decca in the late 40's. And while it lacks some of the speed and whiplash of my previous favorite: Erich Kleiber with the VPO, it has an awesome majesty to it and incredible tension from beginning to end, without ever seeming the least bit slow.

I adore Vittorio de Sabata but I am not quite convinced by his Eroica. Many times extremely insightful detail, but also a lot of pure dragging to

my ears. Funnily enough, I hear no such thing in de Sabata's sublime recording of Verdi's Requiem, where others do.

Erich Kleiber/Concertgebouw (Decca) . I think the Amsterdam is a little better played and, as a recent Decca "Legends", easier to find.

Erich Kleiber/Vienna Phil (Decca)  Eric Klieber's early 1950s Vienna and Concertgebouw recordings are both very good all-rounders. Kleiber: Vienna (1955), unless you hate the repeat in I, in which case Concertgebouw (1950).

Furtwangler 1944 recording with the VP Testament or Tahra. The Tahra reissue (in FURT 1034/39) is said to be correctly pitched. I know that it is about 2% slower than Bayer's. I didn't like the Eroica very much until I heard excerpts of the Furtwängler wartime recording (VPO Dec. 1944). It became my favorite symphony afterwards! The funeral march in this recording is absolutely fantastic! Check out the thrilling performance by Furtwaengler and the Berlin Philharmonic made in Dec. 1944.  It's now available on a Tahra CD.

Furtwangler 1952  If I had to pick one Erocia, it would be the Furtwangler from 12/8/52, if I have to choose one: Furt 1952

Toscanini1939 is in his earlier style. That is, meaning with greater freedom of line. More rubato, more breathing. That is the one on

Naxos. It was also on the RCA Toscanini edition and Relief, Nuovo Era etc. Toscanini, reportedly, blushed when he heard a recording of this

concert. I do cherish the 1939 "Eroica," especially in its last incarnation in the "Toscanini Edition," taken not from the published 78s but from NBC's transcription discs

Toscanini 1949 - Try hearing his 1949 recording of the "Eroica," made in Carnegie Hall, not Studio 8H. The older "Toscanini Collection" set contained 1949, but this set may be deleted by now, and the separate 1953 Eroica on Gold Seal may also be deleted. The last time I heard the 1949, it seemed to me the finest of AT's official three recordings.

Toscanini 1953 - 6 December The 1953 was also made in Carnegie, but with an audience. The current "The Immortal" set contains the  Eroica. I wish there was an Eroica in half-decent sound so that one could judge how accurate the RCA sound was in reproducing what T was conducting.

Richard Taruskin performed a useful experiment, comparing the tempi chosen at five key places in the fast section of the first movement of Beethoven's first symphony, for which Beethoven set the (initial) tempo at half note = 112, in six "literalist" interpretations (Toscanini/BBC, Toscanini/NBC, Karajan 1961, Leibowitz, Hanover Band and Hogwood. Toscanini/BBC starts at 104, jumps to 112 at the "bridge", drops back to 104 at the second theme, slows to 99 at the cello theme, and jumps to 109 at the development. Toscanini/NBC is
similar: 107, 111, 103, 98, 111 -- each time a variation of 13, i.e., more than 10% overall (a wider variation than Karajan, Leibowitz or the Hanover Band). (Of course, Mengelberg's range in the thrilling performance issued by Philips is wider -- a difference of over 30 points -- and, interestingly, he starts faster than Beethoven asks for (115) and at one point greatly exceeds it (123 at the development).) If you want to read more on this (to me rather interesting) subject, look at Taruskin's Text and Act, Chapter 8.
Toscanini, particularly in his later years (and 1939 already counts as his "later years"), seemed to favor tempo fluctuations that were extremely subtle and took place over a longer span than with some other conductors, or which applied to sections rather than individual phrases. In the second movement of the Eroica, he would ease the tempo just slightly as it shifted into the major, to heighten the sense of relaxation and brightening of mood, then resume a slightly faster pace when the section ended, to re-emphasize the tension, and then adding an ever-so-slight quickening of the tempo as the fugato section proceeded, to heighten the drama and sense of approaching climax. And in the second movement of Beethoven's 5th, in his 1952 performance, one of the least inflected of his available recordings of it, I sometimes thought that there was no tempo change at all. But listening closely, at the very end, for example, I once again heard the tiniest easing of tempo as the movement drew to a close, so subtle that I wouldn't hear it without specifically listening for it, but yet would still feel it as a change in the mood of the music when I wasn't listening analytically.
In performances as tightly knit as Toscanini's often are, more subtle adjustments often carry the same weight as grosser adjustments do in performances where there are frequent changes; and if the tempo is always changing, within and across phrases, those changes sometimes almost lose their impact altogether through the lack of a strong reference tempo which can adequately establish a basic psychological and "felt" sense of pacing.
The type of performance style you mention I do in fact hear in Toscanini's 1953 live performance of Wagner's "Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music" (and in some of his Strauss "Tod und Verklarung" performances)—constantly changing tempo, sometimes even within the phrase. But those are very different styles of music than Beethoven, and it suggests that while Toscanini's style was in general quite a bit less inflected in his later years, he did not really eschew any particular style at all, except with reference to particular compositional styles in which he thought it inappropriate. Bill

Scherchen 1958.( Avoid 1951) Westminster - Beethoven Symphonies 3 & 6 DG it is ADD. If you don't think Bernstein/NYP is exciting and if Toscanini is too slow, I'm not sure what one can say.  Maybe Scherchen's super fleet first movement will do it for you. Only one Eroica "does it" for me: Scherchen's stereo recording on MCA or Westminster.  The first movement is even faster than Gardiner's, but it manages to combine sheer speed with a sense of wildness and untamed abandon which I have not heard before.

Before you head for the frantic near-train-wreck of Scherchen's stereo VSOO recording, I would give Szell a try.

Scherchen/Westminster (the stereo version) is my favourite.  Mr. Hermann's Wild Ride.  A performance that throws caution to the wind.

Mengelberg His 1930 NYPSO recording (Biddulph) appears to be the first to include the first movement repeat.  There are so many things in this recording to enjoy, when he and Toscanini were really not so far apart.

His 1938 recording (Tahra) seems more monumental by comparison. Easily a first choice if it were available in better sound.

I am not so fond of his Telefunken recording (the one that was used as replacement for his 1940 live cycle), during which he seems inhibited. How do people feel about his incomplete recording from the 1940 cycle on Tahra?

 Mengelberg: Frustrating: 1930 has the repeat in I, but is a bit too slow for that; 1940 (studio) leaves out the repeats in III; 5 March 1942 isn't as lively; and 6 May 1943 has bad sound.

Fried  I believe it has the fastest scherzo of all.  He made it fit onto a single 78-rpm side!

All but two commercial recordings before 1945 fit the scherzo on one side: they cut one or both repeats. The first uncut recording was Mengelberg (1930), which took 2 sides. After that came Koussevitzky (1934), which fit on one side but is correspondingly the fastest on disc (a record not worth breaking). The practice of cutting those repeats was dropped after the war, with a few exceptions: Walter (1941 and 1949), Scherchen (1951), and Munch (1957).

 

Symphony 4

Knappertsbusch’s mono Beethoven #4 on Decca Legends CD c/w the PC5 with Curzon has been one of my favorites for almost 50 years

Monteux

 

Symphony 5
Carlos Kleiber For an unbelievably intense first movement (that takes the repeat!) Carlos Kleiber's famous DG recording is pretty hard to beat, IMO. The VPO play like their lives depended on it. This is probably one of the more memorable recordings made in a while.
Reiner/ RCA for an unbelievably intense fourth movement that unfortunately does not take the repeat + features some incredible trumpet playing from Adolph "Bud" Herseth

Toscanini/New York Philharmonic-Symphony 1933
Toscanini/NBC Symphony 1939 (live)
Toscanini/NBC Symphony 1939 (studio)
Karajan. Definately the best.
Leinsdorf/Boston SO

Symphony 6 - Pastoral

Schmidt-Isserstedt/VPO on Decca.

Cluytens/BPO The Cluytens has much of the beauty and serenity of the Walter, but his storm has more weight and fury.

Bohm/VPO
Walter/ColSO on Sony.  The Walter is "bucolic" to the nth degree, with glowing, lyrical playing throughout. The one problem - and it keeps this recording from being my favorite - is the underpowered storm.
Monteux/VPO London/Decca "DoubleDecker" with 1, 3, & 8
Klemperer/Philh. (slow 3^rd movement)
Reiner

Harnoncourt's Pastoral is very good - I didn't keep Harnoncourt's set, and that's the recording I miss most from it

Steinberg/Pittsburg - There were two LP recordings of the "Pastoral" by Steinberg and the Pittsburgh SO: a mono recording for Capitol (reissued on CD: EMI Classics CDM 7243 5 66553 2 4, paired with the Fifth symphony) and a stereophonic one for Command (Command 11033SD). Steinberg's recordings were always impressive

Bernstein/VPO on DGG

Zinman - You might want to charm the airily graceful and swift Zinman on Arte Nova

Mackerras on Eminence (if nothing else, it has the most thrilling storm on records, beating even Reiner and Bernstein II).

Karajan - The only conductor who seems to get the tempo close to right in the second movement is Karajan, though I don't think he otherwise does what you want (how anyone can look at the tempo directions Beethoven gives, or have encountered a brook -- as opposed to, say, the Mississippi on a hot, humid evening -- and come up with the tempo that's usually conjured up for that movement I can't understand; urbanites' fake nostalgia?).
Furtwaengler/EMI
Schalk/EMI
Mengleberg/Conc. '38

de Sabata (now on Naxos),

Weingartner (1938)

Leibowitz (with Royal Philharmonic, very relaxed indeed).

 

Symphony 7

 

Symphony 8

 

Symphony 9

 

PIANO CONCERTI

I enjoy Fleischer/Szell on Sony. Fleisher's interpretation is both valid and very effective - once you accept his premises; Szell's 'warmth and poetry' is an excellent foil. Strong interpretations, though some disagree on the strength of the pianism.
I enjoy Kempff/Leitner on DG (I only have them on LPs). Gentler.

I sort of miss the Katchen/Gamba set. More flamboyant on all counts (Australian Decca)
The best bargain is Kovacevich/Philips (it might be my first choice, period); in addition I wouldn't want to be without Kovacevich/EMI (faster, chamber-scale performances),

Schiff/Haitink (the best conducted of any, probably, with stunningly good playing by Dresden; Schiff's playing, you should be warned, is not nearly as extrovert as Beethoven usually receives, but imaginative and interesting none the less)

Gould (especially in 1, 2 and 4) has some strong performances

By far my favorite Gilels performances of this music are the much livelier - if less polished - live performances with the Czech PO cond. Sanderling from the late 1950s, available in tolerable mono via Multisonic (and one or two other labels). Gilels/Ludwig is truly beautiful but a bit too refined to make the absolute top of my list.

Solomon, whom I find very appealing, and post-war Gieseking cycles offer some positive straight-ahead performances, though in some cases conductors are changed midstream. The quirky live Michelangeli/Giulini have some wonderful moments as long as you don't have to look at ABM's grimaces (these were recorded on video as well as audio), but he's best heard in LvB concerti, IMO, in earlier radio and/or concert performances in (alas) poorer sound on lesser-known labels. Schnabel/Sargent (though I've never really been totally sold on their Emperor)

 

Piano Concerto 1 

Richter/RCA/Munch, not Richter/Eschenbach which is also RCA.

Vogt/EMI,

Schiff/Teldec,

Michelangeli/DG

Gould

Schnabel

Lupu

Kempff/Van Kempen/BPO (DG)

 

Piano Concerto 2 

Argerich/London Sinfonietta Denon/BMG/Ricordi or EMI (CDM763575). is a better performance than the one with Sinopoli/Philharmonia.  The former, to these ears, is riskier (successfully) and gritty.  The orchestra seems more responsive.  The Sinopoli, OTOH, while quite pleasant, appears to me to be more homoginized and measured.  The former makes me want more; the latter leaves me as "OK, that was nice." I think the BMG/Ricordi has a lot more fire and passion, which works great in this work. The Haydn coupling is wonderful too.  This is one of my favorite discs!

The EMI/Ricordi/Denon is better recorded (none of the aural fog DG was so fond of adding back then) and more crisply conducted/played - the London Sinfonietta sounds somewhat more like a chamber orchestra (which, presumably, it was). You might want to check any French online sources, as the London Sinfonietta disc somehow made it into a RCA-twofer with some added chamber music and solo piano performances.

Gould/Leningrad is a real corker!

Schiff/Teldec

Pletnev/TDK DVD

Lupu

Kempff/Van Kempen/BPO (DG)

 

Piano Concerto 3 

Annie Fischer/Fricsay. DG Nobody outdoes 'em--the closest thing to a "definitive" version It's in the historical box in DG's Beethoven Edition.

Richter/Sanderling with the VSO, on DG.

Kovacevich/Philips

Rubinstein/Toscanini

A Fischer/DG

Gilels/Szell (the best of that set)

Haskil/Markevitch (Philips)

Solomon Naxos

 

Piano Concerto 4

Fleischer/Szell still takes top honors, for me. I won't use the "definitive" descriptor, but I do love this version

Gilels/Ludwig (or/Szell, or/Sanderling Musonic) NB French EMI, complete Gilels EMI set /Vandernoot /Cluytens with the triple concerto (Oborin/Oistrakh/Knushevsky/Sargent), VC(Oistrakh/Cluytens) romances (Milstein). Also Philips GPC w.Mozart 27 Boehm/VPO(dull) Bach French Suite No. 2, Bach/Busoni Prelude and Fugue in D, and various Debussy, Ravel, and Weber items

Moravec/Turnovsky VAI or Moravec-Ancerl on Praga.

Pollini/Boehm

Schnabel/Sargent, (Arabesque, GPC probably Naxos now or soon)

Schnabel with the CSO under Frederick Stock; both are good, particularly the former, but not, for me, in the Gilels class /Stock w.PC5

Gulda/Stein

Perahia/Haitink on Sony

Rubinstein /Beecham the best, but /Leinsdorf or /Krips will do in a pinch, and of course they sound better. /live Mitropoulos I find the best of his six, but mediocre sound

Serkin/Ormandy

Bishop-Davis (Philips)

Claudio Arrau/Bernard Haitink (stereo, easily available)

Arrau-Galliera (EMI, so-so sound).or/Haitink

Bakhaus/Clemens Krauss

Backaus/ (video w.Bohm)

Backhaus/Knappertsbusch/VPO (TDK DVD)

Yudina/Sanderling
Casadesus/Van Beinum

Casadesus/Mitropoulos
Kempff/Kempen (50s)

Barenboim/Klemperer (a total must hear)

Lupu

Hofmann (not sure which one),

E. Fischer/Jochum
Levin/Gardiner (Archiv): HIP

Hansen

Michelangeli. Belgrade, 70s (?was it really ABM?)

 

Piano Concerto 5

Fleisher/Sony

Fischer/Furtwängler

Backhaus in stereo with Schmidt-Isserstedt or mono with Krauss

Michelangeli. The finest among ABM's 6 or 7 performances is the Helsinki live recording from May 1969 with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Celibidache. For an exciting, riveting performance by both orchestra and pianist, the ABM to have is on Praga with Smetacek and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. It'll pull you to the edge of your seat. Also included is ABM's spectacular Chopin Sonata 2.

Horowitz/Reiner. 

Casadesus/Mitropoulos/NYPO (Sony France)

Kovacevich/Philips

Grimaud/Teldec

Perahia/Sony

Gieseking/various (the intense wartime Gieseking/Rother with anti-aircraft obbligato!)

Cor de Groot/Willem Mengelberg, available [even more easily available alternate Fischer/Furtwangler]

 

A.Fischer 3 is available in the  Beethoven box of the complete edition, historical recordings, from DGG:

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) Complete Beethoven Edition Vol. 20 "Historische Aufnahmen"

Symphonie Nr.3 (Berlin PO,Schuricht);

Symphonie Nr.5 (Berlin PO,Nikisch);

Symphonie Nr.7 (Berlin PO,Fricsay); Stereo

Symphonie Nr.9 (Lindberg-Torlind, Jena,Sjöberg,Danish RSO,Busch);

Klavierkonzert Nr.3 (A.Fischer,Bayr.RSO,Fricsay);

Klavierkonzert Nr.5 (Kempff,Berlin PO,Raabe);

Violinkonzert op.61 (Wolfsthal,Berlin PO,Gurlitt);

LeonorenOuvertüre Nr.2  (Dän.RSO,Busch);Leonoren-Ouvertüre Nr.3 (Staatsopernorch.Berlin,Klemperer);

Coriolan-Ouvertüre & Egmont-Ouvertüre (Berlin PO,Furtwängler);

Violinsonaten Nr.5 (Schneiderhan,Kempff) & Nr.9 (Kulenkampff,Kempff);

Rondo a capriccio "Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen" (Kempff);

5 Lieder (Schlusnus,Rupp, Peschko) +Mozart:Klavierkonzert Nr.20 (mit Kadenzen von Beethoven) (Richter,Warschau PO,Wislocki)

*** Original-Image-Bit-Processing *** 6 CDs EUR 71,99 

 

Violin Concerto

Szigeti/Walter

Stern/Bernstein

Menuhin/Furtwangler

Milstein/Steinberg mono

Perlman is very slow.

 

STRING QUARTETS

All

Juilliard Quartet on Sony (the silver box), which isn't expensive either

Alban Berg Quartet

Talich Quartet – liked them in op. 18 very much, but I was disappointed with the late quartets. They seemed sometimes not very

imaginative, and most of the time a bit reserved and tame. Not bad, but those pieces must sound like lightning, thunder and earthquake

for me.

Musikverein/Platz or the Melos/DG

Budapest(Bridge)

Smetana (Denon).

Busch

Vegh Quartet

Cleveland

Lasalle

 

Early

Quatuor Turner/Harmonia Mundi;  Wonderful!  HIP

Budapest (Bridge) Lean, muscular, but highly poetic performances in very decent mono sound.

Juilliard (Sony) 60's set of all 16, cheap from European sources (about $40), and contains the best non-HIP Op. 18 that I've heard.

Alban Berg on EMI whose Op 18 is one of their best efforts, two single discs at about  5 pounds each (EMI 5732672 and 5732652) or the complete quartets for around 17 pounds

Italiano

Smetana (Denon).

Emerson

Turner

Lener

Fine Arts

Quartet Kodaly on Naxos

Cleveland on Telarc

Tokyo on RCA

Guarneri on RCA

Lindsays on ASV, but leader has tuning issues

 

Mid

Berg/EMI or Melos or Emerson SR

Budapest(Bridge) x 2

Smetana (Denon).x2

Amadeus

Late

Melos

Italiano/Budapest(Bridge)

Smetana (Denon).but 127, 131, and 132 in Supraphon's 50th Anniversary Smetana Quartet set.

Smetana (Denon)

Busch x 2

Budapest Library of Congress Live

Budapest (esp. Op. 130), Juilliard (esp. Op. 133), Yale.
Juilliard's RCA recordings of Opera 95, 131, 132, 135;  Juilliard's Epic/Columbia Middle and Late Quartets (as opposed to the Library of Congress live set);  and the Yale's 127 and 131

 

“For op 18, I've got Turner. For 59, Takacs. For late, Budapest (LoC), Busch, FAQ, Juilliard (that recent Sony cheapo box of live recs), and Yale. And for complete I've got ABQ, Hungarian (stereo), Vegh (ditto). So do I really need more?! I know EUR 34 isn't much to spend for the new Juillard set (and I'm in the UK so shipping isn't an issue), but shelf space is getting tight ...”

General sets

I should say here that I like intensity and drama and all that a lot - but don't necessarily want unrelentingly fiery and dramatic in all these works.  I seem to go for some fairly disparate styles even in the same piece - not because they all offer an ideal total package, but because they have something to say about parts of the pieces. (Hardest quartets for me to find the kind of performances I like: Op. 135, Op. 130.  My ideal would be playful, a bit mercureal, with good balance and warm sound. And appropriately emotionally gripping and coherent. It's tough - hopeless? - to find it all in one.) Lena

Budapest Quartet
I've never heard any of the early live Budapest Quartet material that's out there because I've found their commercial recordings from the 50's comparatively disappointing, but everybody says the early live stuff is much better.

1) 1920s Op. 130 the 1927-28 version with Hauser, Pogany, Roisman, Ipolyi, and Son, is on Biddolph LAB 159 Coupled with the first "Rasumovsky" and the GF Put this CD alongside the Calvet and Lenar versions, and you'll have a good sense of what Beethoven Quartet playing was like in the first third of the century.  Then put on the Rosé version for a totally different (and IMO much better) musical experience.

2) 1930s Op. 130 the '30s EMI, performed by the group comprised of Roisman, Schneider, Ipolyi, and Schneider.  The is the Budapest's finest performance on record, regardless of personnel (although I have to admit that the 1960 LC recording, which is accompanied by a stupendous Great Fugue, is growing on me)..  The Ward Marston transfer of the EMI op. 130 was released on Odyssey LP, but afaik it has not been reissued on CD. This one of Op.130 is one of the greatest recordings of anything I've ever heard...

3) 1940s The Masterworks Heritage sets date from the 1940s, mostly with (as in the stereo set) Roisman, Kroyt and the Schneiders, although I believe one or two performances from set of earlier quartets were made with Edgar Ortenberg as second violinist.

4) 1950s Library of Congress Masterworks Portrait Op. 18 derives from the 1950s Library of Congress integral cycle, when Gorodetzky was second violinist. TMK, there have been no other CD releases of Beethoven from this series to date

5) 1960s Stereo The MP disc of Opp. 74/95/133 and the two Essential Classics discs with Op. 59 (duplicating 74) derive from the stereo cycle, after Alexander Schneider had returned as second violinist. SBK 46545 (Opp. 59.1 & 2) & SBK 47665 (Opp.59.3, 74 and, very oddly, 133). The recordings appear to be from 1960 & 1962.
Budapest is my favorite, but the set I love so much isn't on CD (and may never be), their last set, in stereo, for Columbia. I have the LPs and I feel there's nothing quite like them. If you're CD-only, the earlier Budapest cycle (which lacks op. 130) is on a pair of 2CD sets from Sony, brilliantly remastered (from 78s). Those are available from Berkshire Record Outlet. Get 'em! or get (I mean AND get):

Masterwork's Heritage - which I find monochrome tonally and dramatically. I haven't heard your CD, but reliable reports claim that the Sony Budapest is drier than the live LC/Bridge recording.  I've avoided getting it because even the Budapest I like a lot can be a bit dry. Unlike Alan, I like Op. 130+133 best on the Bridge set, but I've heard no other Budapest versions.  It would probably be most correct to say that while the Budapest is a "lean" quartet in general, the style can vary on this set (from an underinflected Op. 132, which I don't like, to a spontaneous and even transporting Op. 130+133).
> They are too happy to offer repetition and variation with no  difference in each presentation.
This really isn't so at least in the parts I listen to consistently on this set (though you may still not like them).  They don't go for the Orford or Fine Arts kind of varied (and delightful) phrasing, but in Op. 130/i, they give a very good sense of the overall evolution of the movement - by varying things appropriately.  (E.g. analogous forte
passages are done differently to fit with the different places they occupy in the movement; the intervening Adagio segments all have a slightly different character, sequences are always done so they lead
somewhere, etc.)

Basically, the Budapest's is a decisive, unwhiny, upbeat style with lots of momentum (some people like that :) ), and their movements hang together quite well.  However, I don't think their lyricism ever goes for the "spiritual" or emotionally gripping, so their slow movements can sound a bit superficial.  The Budapest is not flawless here (or that well recorded) and occasionally sounds scrappy.  (But the intonation for instance is pretty good, considering - I've heard tons of more than suspect patches from many good newer quartets in these!)

Busch Quartet

Busch Quartet Masterworks Portrait I like very much
I like the Busch for their line (and because their movements make sense), and for their lyricism and even liveliness.  But I don't think that the Busch Op. 130/i (at least the one on Pearl) is more varied than the Budapest/Bridge.  (The Busch goes here for a rather uniform, low-key style - appealing, though I prefer more contrasts.)

Smetana Quartet
Smetana Qt. SU 0074-2 112 is two CDs; The dates noted thereon are: 1/23-28 1967 for Op 132; 9/29-10/6
1965 for Op 133; 4/4-7 1961 for Op 127; and 6/15-29 1970 for Op 131. Denon GF (1982 recording) is 14:43. The one on the Supraphon CD(s) is 15:46. So I guess the LP GF is the longest of the three?

BTW, that early-60s recording of op 127 I feel is one of the half-dozen greatest recordings ever made of a late Beethoven quartet. Yes, if it is just ONE early 60s recording.  Given that the GF is a different performance, it is entirely possible that the Op.127 is as well. The GF on the LP is also amazing.

I also have a 60s vintage Smetana recording on Westminster with  Op.18-4 and Op.59-3.  These are definitely different than other performances of the works by the Smetana that I've heard.  Op.59-3 is generally slower and different phrased.

No.15 Op.132, No.12 Op.127, No.14 Op.131, GROSSE FUGE Op.133 / (Novak, Kostecky, Skampa, Kohout) Supraphon: SU00742112 @499 CZK (8.3 GBP)

Well worth investigating are the Smetana quartet recordings from the 1960's.  I've got Op. 127, Op. 131, Op. 132, and the Grosse Fuge on Supraphon SU 0074-2 112.  This may be the wildest performance of the big fugue ever.

My first recommendations are the Smetana Quartet's recordings from the sixties (big Supraphon box, inexplicably missing Op. 130),

together with their later recordings (there is a superior Op. 130 in that set);

Vegh Quartet

First, while I share misgivings with the Vegh Quartet, there are many slow movements which they probably interpret better than any other quartet, at least in stereo, conveying a hushed, "inner" quality that eludes most other groups.
While I wouldn't call them "benchmarks," I think that they are wonderful performances. The Veghs have that rare ability to draw the listener into this very difficult music; if you want a sample, try their op. 130--the Presto has sly wit, the Danza Tedesca has a charming lilt, and the Cavatina is heartbreakingly beautiful. As for Sandor Vegh's breathing, I don't think I ever noticed it;

 

Juilliard Quartet
a) Perhaps best are the handful of Beethoven recordings the Juilliard made in the late 50's and early 60's for RCA with the immortal lineup of Mann, Cohen, Hillyer, and Adam (Op. 95, Op. 131, Op. 132, Op. 135), but there's virtually no chance of them turning up on CD, although the Japanese have reissued their RCA recordings of Berg's Lyric Suite, Webern's Five Pieces, Webern's Bagatelles, and the Debussy and Ravel quartets.

b) The 8-CD set is the cycle that was gradually accreted between 1964 and 1970 featuring the lineup:

Robert Mann

Isidore Cohen/Earl Carlyss

Raphael Hillyer/Samuel Rhodes

Claus Adam

c) The set released in three batches, early, middle, and late, is a series of live recordings recorded at the Library of Congress in the early 1980's and featuring the lineup:

Robert Mann

Joel Smirnoff

Samuel Rhodes

Joel Krosnick

I own both cycles minus the live early quartets.  I recommend the earlier set.

 

Juilliard 1996 disc, which I like very much indeed. (Is there any way of getting their 1980s cycle on CD these days? The (live) Juilliard 80's cycle is available, and has my so far favorite Grosse Fuge in it, among other things. This Juilliard cycle does generally a great job with details and voicing (the clarity of separate voices is very good).  They're not as emotionally intense and sharply contrasted as the earlier Juilliard - this version is lighter, but still has intensity and expression. Unfortunately, perhaps because of the concentration on details, or
because it's live, some movements seem to lack overall backbone, though the Juilliard is very good at that generally, but a lot works very well.  An excellent Op. 131 (one of my favorites) and others. Without qualifying: I like the Juilliard a lot. The sound is not beautiful as such, it's fairly uniformly plaintive, sharp, or a bit harsh, or with a slackish vibrato. But even though I often prefer a warmer sound this is a very rewarding quartet.

The older Juilliard is uniquely emotional and intense, but it's hard to find - and actually I sometimes find the occasional movement, like Heiliger Dankg., builds better in the 80's set...)
If you haven't got them already, I recommend you pick up the set of the complete Beethoven quartets recorded by the Juilliard Quartet between 1964 and 1970 recently reissued by Sony (and available inexpensively if you shop around

Why the Julliard recordings of Beethoven (any vintage) is a recommendation is beyond my comprehension. I gave away the free promos of these almost 30 years ago. Americans seem to have some inbred allegiance to them.

I like the Juilliard but find none of their cycles of really memorable quality. The same goes for the Hollywood. I dislike the recordings by

the Lindsay, Melos, Cleveland and Guarneri.I am relatively indifferent to the famed Hungarian Quartet.

I recently bought from Berkshire and then dumped the mid-'60s Sony  Juilliard-Beethoven set, having been appalled and bewildered by  the first movement of Op. 127 in particular.  What struck me there, and this seems a consistent trait of that edition of the Juilliard, is that Robert Mann's wiry, all-purpose, "modern music" muscularity  totally dominates the proceedings, not only in terms of sonic balance but also because apparently no one else in the ensemble (to the degree that you can hear them; Claus Adam sounds like he's in the next room playing a cigar box strung with rubber bands ) got a vote as to how a phrase should go. These are string QUARTETS, no?

I think that it's terrific; the early quartets are about the best non-Turner set I've heard, and the middle ones are just as good.  I'd recommend this set without reservation.

Fine Arts Quartet
The Fine Arts has a gorgeous, warm sound, and they have varied phrasing, long melodic lines, can occasionally be quite intense, with excellent balance.  But I find them at times more relaxed than ideal, contrasts can be smoothed a little in favor of a long line (but never as much as Busch generally does) and they can be a bit sluggish – not slow, but the phrasing isn't always snappy.  They're very different from the Budapest - but they're beautiful.  Sometimes all that works well with the piece, sometimes less well.  Their Op. 132 has plenty of intensity without being super-anguished.  Op. 127 is also good.  (131 didn't strike me as quite as good as the Yale's or Juilliard's, 135 is good but slightly sluggish, 130 I haven't listened to recently.)

Said it once, but feel compelled to reaffirm great love of the FA which have been with me for thirty years as many others have come and gone.  To add a bit to what has been said, the FA made a number of first-rate recordings beyond Beethoven, including a great Trout Quintet with Frank Glazer released a few years back on Boston Skyline.  Their Bartok set, their Mozart "Haydn" quartets – Vox - their incomplete Mendelssohn set, and single disks of Brahms and Haydn are all recordings I treasure and go back to.

I also have enjoyed the Fine Arts a great deal. A somewhat different style--somewhat moodier and darker--but excellent also

Yale Quartet
Yale set is excellent, with my favorite Op. 132

I like the Yale Qt. a great deal. Rhythmically incisive. Beautiful sound.  

More aggressive and intense (than FAQ) and very good, even though Simon doesn't like them :).  Also a warm sounding quartet.  At their best, I think they can have a powerful cumulative effect, as in Op. 131, which I think should be heard.  I think they're one of the best sets on the whole (caveat: parts of 135 suffer from rhythmic stagnancy despite good ideas, 132/ii too, and so on, so if you're very allergic to this,...).
I'd certainly pick the Yale set over the Hollywood set. First, because I prefer those performances, second, because even if you consider them stylistically similar, the sound of the Hollywood set was so dry (mono, as I recall) that I found them hard to listen to. The set is still sitting on my shelf waiting for me to try it again. This is an example of what I like about the Yale set: in the last movement of op. 127, in the finale bars (a kind of coda), Beethoven indicates that the tempo should be increased (there is no tempo marking at the opening of the movement). Almost all quartets I've heard do the opposite and slow down there; the Yale does in fact take note of what Beethoven wrote, and what it meant, and the result is an ending that has a rollicking wit and energy that I haven't heard on any other. It's a great set. For razor sharp, perhaps you could substitute the term "incisive, intense, and energetic". Somewhat different in style than what you already have; but that's good. The Berg is good, too; but they just don't seem as insightful or interesting to me as the Yale set.
I also think the Yale set is rather mixed, some superb, others sounding to me rather ordinary (the best disc in the set is the one containing op. 130 and the Grosse Fugue, I think).

 

Alban Berg Quartet
Alban Berg quartet's live performances (better than the studio set, which is of course very good) is my second choice after Smetana;

I haven't heard their remakes, but found their first effort undermined in some instances by the nasty early digital sound that plagues so many of their early digital recordings (e.g. Schubert); I also don't think their late quartet performances are as impressive overall as their superb set of the middle quartets. But you can easily judge this for yourself without risking much money: they've been reissued in EMI's budget Red Line series

 

Hollywood Quartet
I like their Op. 131 a lot because outside i it's more cheerful (!) than usual - which may not mean anything to you.  They have very long melodic lines and they can and do smooth over contrasts (like Busch, whom they don't otherwise resemble).  Their sound is sharper, less full than either the Fine Arts or the Yale, and they're energetic, if a bit understated.  Like the Budapest, the Hollywood sounds "decisive". Both are a bit lean, but they're not otherwise that similar - the Budapest is less inclined to use a long, uninterrupted legato line, and they have more enthusiasm and contrast than Hollywood. I like the Hollywood, but don't find myself listening to more than Op. 131.
I don't think the Hollywood sounds bad at all, though I prefer chamber music in stereo

It's been a long time since I heard the Hollywood Quartet Late Beethoven set, but I remember liking it a lot.  They have a rich Alban-Berg-Quartet-ish-like sound but play even more imaginatively. 

 

Hungarian Quartet

Good and not too expensive. If you do mono and are willing to consider a complete set that's inexpensive and features lean, taut, propulsive playing, the Hungarian Quartet on EMI is worth trying.

Vermeer Quartet (Teldec) has bite and musicianship to contribute, despite their relatively thin sound

 

Italian Quartet

Good and not too expensive

 

Talich Quartet

Calliope. A really distinguished set of performances

I don't think they offer what you're looking for -- they're closer to the Vegh Quartet, albeit technically superior.

Orford Quartet
I'm currently exploring this. They're interesting, different (and discs should be available).  They have good details, voicing, balance, all of which can be extremely enjoyable, at least in 30-second increments :). But the forest seems unfortunately often lost for all the trees, flora and fauna, though by no means always. If you want variety in phrasing, here it is.  I'm really kind of fond of them, and though neither lean nor very mean, they can also be quite dramatic at times.  They resemble the HIP Eroica Qt. a little, though they don't have the Eroica's humor (or intonation problems).  There are some very gripping slow movements.  I haven't heard them in all
the late stuff yet (concentrated on the middle ones so far), but I like their Op. 135 (not lean or mean) and Grosse Fuge (pretty mean) (coupled with Op. 18/6). Their "late middle" quartets (Op. 74, 95) are also very good, but with the forest vs. trees caveat. Like the Fine Arts, great for listening for details.
I am impressed by some (but only some) of the Orford Quartet's recordings on Delos; they're all superbly played, but not all are as characterful as they might be -- their
op 131 stands out in a postitive way -- and they come mixed in with earlier quartets.

Eroica Quartet
HIP. (135 + 74, 95 only) They're not in the lean and mean HIP style - they tend to vary their tempi a lot, along with everything else. Unique sound and unusual amounts of emotion and humor - and good ideas - but also consistent intonation problems and a tendency to get bogged down in details.  If you can take the latter (I have to "train" myself to listen!), the former can be very interesting.

 

Hagen Quartet

I'm not quite as enthused about Hagen's 131 as Simon is - they're good but don't seem to displace the Juilliard and the Yale in any way; especially not in their middle variations movement, which I thought was pretty uninteresting.  Heard only once so far though. Lena

 

Suske Quartet

Another set to consider, which can now be called budget and is superb, is the Suske Quartet's. Intelligent, lean in its way but with a beautiful, rich sound. The Late must be ordered from Europe, but is as low as $21 from German Music Express (musicexpress.com);

 

Musikverein Quartet

There are some superb performances among the recordings by the Musikverein Quartet on Platz, but these no longer seem to be distributed in the U.S. and you may be put off anyway by the fact that they're mixed in with earlier quartets.

Melos Quartet

Another group whose Beethoven quartets convey the requisite verve and flair (thrilling Grosse Fugue) is the Melos Qt on DG (a comment that will doubtless incur howls of outrage in some quarters; too bad), not to be confused with their earlier recordings on Intercord; but these seem to be out of print.
 

Emerson Quartet

DG are also extremely good in this music (though I sometimes find their vibrato a bit much), offering bold, extrovert, zesty performances; but to get their late quartets you have to get the whole lot - doesn't bother me -- I like the earlier quartets at least as much, perhaps more.

The Emersons keep quite fast tempi. I like op. 130 best in their set. I also like their op. 133;

 

Guarneri Quartet

The old Guarneri set has a good op. 131. Their tempi sound exactly right: slow parts are slow enough and fast parts fast enough. This combination seems to be quite uncommon. They always seemed like the equivalent of the Montreal Symphony – wonderful recorded ambience, and sometimes very good sound, but no one was at home. Yet they were considered hors concors for over a decade.

I know that I'm in the minority on this one, but I could never warm to the Yale Quartet's recordings.  I've always been partial to the late-60's

Guarneri Quartet's version.

Tokyo Quartet

The Tokyo qt plays most faithfully to the notes, also very well. Some breathing noises.

New Leipzig Quartet

I'll take this opportunity to put in a plug for a hard-to-find-but-worth-it CD of the New Leipzig String Quartet doing Beethoven's Op. 131, plus Schubert's D 703 Quartet movement, on the label MDG. This 1994 German release is superb in both sound and performance. Very natural, yet hardly bland! -- much of their Schubert series on the same label is excellent. I see there's also a set of the last three Mozart quartets which has been receiving rather good reviews. Simon

 

Pascal Quartet

on Concert Hall and Readers' Digest (!),

 

Beethoven Quartet

 on Melodiya.

Cleveland Quartet

on Telarc.

 

Bulgarian Quartet

Very good

 

Bartok Quartet

Very good

 

I am waiting for the Skampa or Petersen quartets to record late Beethoven. They are both young superquartets.

Petersen Q. actually recorded more than half of the quartets, op.59,2 and 95 on Berlin Classics, the rest on Capriccio (AFAIK the late ones are complete, rather unusually each coupled with one from op.18), but they may be hard to find (I only have the Berlin Disc, which is very

good indeed)

Skampa Quartet has recorded opp. 127 and 132; they are fine performances, although they probably won't displace your current favorites

(Smetana, Yale, etc.).  Their best Beethoven so far, IMO, is their op. 95—a wonderful performance, equalled only by the Hagen (I am grateful to Simon for insisting that I hear the Hagen.).  The Skampas also recorded a nice 59/2 that is a required purchase for its coupling, a great performance of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet. Their Op 95 really is fantastic. Since then, the cellist has left and joined the Petersen Qt. Which may or may not explain anything. I was a little disappointed in the Skampa Op 127.

Prazak Quartet. Another Czech group that is always worth hearing is the Prazak Quartet. I've been enjoying their set of the three op. 59 Quartets on Praga very much.

I have the Epic Columbia Juilliards, Vegh, Italiano plus smatterings of Turner, Takacs, Busch, Hagen, Emerson, and Mosaiques. In

addition to the Yales, I'm still eyeing the Petersens + Auryn 130/133, and waiting for an inexpensive way to get the early Smetanas.

The Yale Quartet recordings of the Late Quartets were not "originally released on different labels."  They were first issued on five

Vanguard Cardinal LPs, and then repackaged as a four-LP boxed set. Perhaps you are confusing them with the Busch Quartet, whose Late

Quartets were not all issued by the same label. why not pick up the Vlach / Janacek set on Praga?

On CD, Opp. 127 & 131 and 132 & 135 appeared on single Omega  discs, before the complete set turned up in a 3-CD box.  Perhaps this

is what John was referring to. On Artemis, they are apparently going to come out in a pair of 2fers. Whether that means that they'll be spread out or that some additional material by other artists will be included, we'll have to wait until next week to find out.

Andy, those Juilliard SQ early and middle late quartet sets might not be what you think they are.  They're probably the live Library of Congress recordings from the early 80's and not the recordings made bertween 1964 and 1970.

AFAIK that's the way it is. Apparently Sony has reissued the 64-70 recordings in one cardboard box and a few months later the digital

recordings in three (Early, Middle, Late) sets as 'Essential Classics'. But the complete older set should cost roughly as much as the three

smaller sets of the newer one (at least around here).

Early Quartets

 Clevelands and the Bergs -- but the early 80s Berg set, not the later remake. A third vote for the early 80's (analog) Berg. Wonderful performances, warm sound.

The Smetana is the best for the early six quartets. Other excellent choices: the Alban Berg, the Budapest, the Quartetto Italiano.
I don't think the Beethoven quartets find the Talich Qt at their best

The Fine Arts Quartet is excellent in the early quartets - they have good balance, with the voices pretty well audible, and they convey the many different styles in Op. 18 - also the humor and the more relaxed contrasts - without losing sight of the overall piece or without forgetting the momentum. However, for me, they *could* occasionally have a bit more drive, as well as a lot more kick to their culmination points. (But it's not a big problem.) They don't go for a "nervous," wiry sound, theirs is full, beautiful and somehow very satisfying. While they sound a bit more relaxed than my other favorites, they also have a lot of expressive details, in addition to getting the overall shape right. Of all the quartets I've heard, the Smetana is unsurpassed in one area: balance of instruments and audibility of voices. Unfortunately, at least their 80's CDs often suffer from phlegmatic stretches. I do heartily recommend these to myself; for others, perhaps only to idiots like me who already have 17 other versions... The Emerson is very excellent in dramatic and intensely lyrical parts, but unfortunately elsewhere they can sound a tiny bit mannered. They can also be too relentlessly tense; they never relax their tone, which comes in only one or two different varieties. This can get nerve-racking, as well as sometimes detrimental to the music, I think, since uniform sound doesn't exactly emphasize contrasts. (However, the Emerson 18.1/ii ought to be heard by everyone...) The Juilliard is somewhat more successful in varying their sound, while still conveying a good idea of the overall shape of the movement. (Oh, and the Emerson is only available as a complete quartet set.) The Guarneri has less momentum than the Juilliard and the Emerson but they're still OK. There's much measure-by-measure emphasis here, which I don't like, but their approach is more varied than J and E. I'd probably rank these 2. Fine Arts Quartet 3. Juilliard, 4. Emerson 5. Guarneri (but the order in 3-5 fluctuates by piece) However, the number 1 spot for Op.18 as a whole goes to Quatuor Turner. the set is I think only available in Europe - e.g. www.alapage.com Whoever they are, they have an expressive, extremely well thought out style with hugely long lines, great nervous energy, well approached culminating moments, but also good timing in the more relaxed contrasts.I Another excellent entry into this mess is the Schuppanzigh Quartet. Their new CD has Op. 18/4 and Op. 59/3. Their lines are perhaps a bit shorter than QuatuorTurner's, but in the "nervous sound" category, they are wonderful. Some of the sudden, very exciting rises to culmination points remind me of Schnabel, they take you similarly by surprise (sort of). This one is exceedingly HIP, as it's played on Beethoven's own instruments. My own current must-have list for Op. 18 consists of Quatuor Turner for the wonderful lines and kick and the Fine Arts Quartet for the beautiful sound and a more relaxed approach. I do consider Smetana essential, for pure quartet playing. And I'm holding my breath until the Schuppanzigh's next outing.
Lener Qt make more sense of these than any other comlete set I've heard.

Lener sit on my shelves next to performances by the Bohemian Quartet, the Kolisch Quartet, the Pro Arte Quartet, the Rose Quartet, the Flonzaley Quartet, and others. Of this group, the Lener are unquestionably the least played.

Actually, the complete Lener Beethoven have been out for over a year on Stradivarius.  I have only volume 2 in the series STR 78002.  I don't find any need to own the whole set.  The sound is good for the early electrical.  The performances IMO are primarily of historical interest.

Fine Arts on Everest and the Smetana. The single disk by the Mosaiques includes wonderful
versions of #5 & #6.

Get the two-CD Sony/Columbia Masterworks set of the Budapest Quartet that includes 18/4, 18/6, and 59/3. Fabulous performances, and it they sound great considering their age. My favorite op. 18 set--the Hungarian Quartet's stereo recordings--is unavailable afaik, although their mono cycle of all the quartets may still be available, and is a great value.

Middle Quartets

ABQ For the middle quartets try the Berg's first recording. Come to think of it, their first recording of the whole lot is so cheap I'm inclined to suggest it as a safe place to start (the Hungarian Qt would be too, but it's mono and costs more).

Takacs: their box of op 59 & 74 is marvellous. This new recording on Decca/London is stunning.

Emerson Fast, lean, nervous, exciting. Was available seperately in the Beethoven edition of DG.

Tokyo.

Vegh for dreamy slow movements.

Juilliard's Sony box (1960's recordings) is excellent too (as it is in the early and late quartets as well) and cheap...

You really should pick up the '60s Juilliard box. I don't think you'll find a better complete set of the middle quartets,

and their 59/1 and 59/3 are fantastic. (This is on French Sony, btw.)

Budapest  best is the live LC set on Bridge, which is superior to their other recordings of all the Middle Quartets except for 59/2, imo.

Skampa in 95 and 59/2  for those that like the Vegh

Prazak two-disc  set of the three op. 59 Quartets.

Orford's recordings -- check used bins for singles or get their complete quartets from Berkshire.

 

Quartet #7 op 59/1

Talich Quartet in 59/1 (listen with headphones; you will not believe the attention to balance and phrasing). 

 

Quartet #8 op 59/2

Janacek Quartet's 59/2, for those that like the Vegh

 

Quartet #9 op 59/3

New Music Quartet is incomparable in 59/3

Smetana one of their best

 

Quartet #10 op 74

Musikverein for 74

 

Quartet #11 op 95

Hagen in 95 (thanks, Simon!)

Petersen

 

Late Quartets

Quartet #12 op127

Smetana

Yale

Talich (except II)
Orford
Fine Arts (except III)
Tatrai
Hollywood
Bulgarian

Quartet #13 op. 130

Pascal
Yale

Hollywood
Beethoven
Busch
Smetana (except IV)
Petersen have recorded op 130 (plus GF) and 131, on Capriccio. Excellent. I got mine from Amazon.de

Quartet #14 op 131

Smetana – wonderful first movement, a weird lunar hush

Yale

Vlach
Bartok
Pascal
Hollywood
Talich

Quartet #15 op 132

Smetana

Yale

Beethoven
Bartok
Tatrai
Fine Arts
Orford
Talich

Quartet #16 op 135

Yale

Pascal
Janacek (1963)
Bartok
Busch
Paganini
Bulgarian
Talich

Grosse Fuge op 133

Guarneri (the earlier RCA set). 16'45. Different voices come through well, the cello best of all in this group. A bit lacking in treble, also not much edge in Allegro beginning in bar 533. A lovable, deeply-felt reading however. There is plenty of joy in the playing. Also these young guys do not get stifled in front of Beethoven - my favourite is the Guarneri. The bad news: it is hardly available anymore

Bartok
Vlach. 16'11. Now these Czech guys knew how to play Beethoven! Brusque, dance-like playing, warm, not exactly fiery. A goblet full of good beer, not to be taken too seriously. Technically perhaps not impeccable, and the sonic range is narrowish in this '62 recording, but who cares Beethoven
Italian (18'53). (which are available on a middle-priced Philips two-fer). At the opposite end of the spectrum, compared to the Emerson. If Vlach is beer, then Italian is wine, and in abundance.Their set of the late quartets of B. is a classic, but I think op. 133 remains a bit alien to them. They play extremely warmly and beautifully; admittedly this produces wonderful effects in Meno Mosso, bar 159 onwards.

Pascal
Smetana (first) (Slowest LP version?)
Tokyo. 15'56. Perhaps the best possible 'benchmark': technically no inferior to the Emerson, accurately played, the tempo does not waver, acoustically a big concert-hall feeling, however a refined performance, not heavy. Meno Mosso from bar 493 onwards is a real climax (but even here you cannot hear the sixteenths very well).

Emerson. The duration is 14'42. Enough said about them.
Lindsay. 16'00. A second-rate Tokyo, monotonous. My own opinion, of course.

Archduke

Suk. Boston Skyline BSD 146 Pretty widely available in the U.S. retail channel and via the usual U.S. online merchants. But also available direct, and at sale prices based on multiple buying.
http://www.bostonskylinerecords.com/
Well, the Suk's own 1975 performance (issued on Denon, now apparently unavailable) is *even better* and the sound is outstanding -- it says it's early digital.

I respectfully disagree with Mario Taboada's statement that the Suks' Denon remake of the Archduke is better than the early 60's Supraphon. I was rather disappointed by the remake, which
I recall as alarmingly fussy, particularly in light of the gorgeously flowing, long-lined original. P Goldstein

Is it certain that you're talking about the same thing? I have before me the Denon complete Beethoven trios by the Suk Trio with Josef Hala, which may be what you're talking about, Paul; in which case I agree with your assessment. The Archduke performance on it is from 1983. MT described a 1975 recording, which would put it during the Panenka years. Of course, this may in fact be the one you find fussy. There are some fine things on this complete set with Hala, BTW, but the Archduke is decidedly not among the set's better performances.
Interesting, Steve. I was probably referring to the Hala/1983 version (which I heard when it was issued, and not since), and I did not know that there were two different Suk Trio Archdukes on
Denon. I'll have to try to track the 1975/Panenka version down P Goldstein

Do, it's great (unmatched, in my experience). It was issued by Denon without any coupling (a 39 minute CD). It does indeed feature Panenka.
The Beethoven trio set with Hala is very beautiful, but Panenka (the usual pianist of the Suk) was a remarkable musician, especially in chamber ensemble. To the best of my knowledge, he only recorded trios 3, 5, & 7 with Suk and Chuchro. I believe that only the Archduke made it to CD. All, IMO, are superior to the later recordings with Hala

Beaux Arts Trio: the older one is beautiful; the remake is painfully discontinuous and mannered.)
Solomon-Holst-Pini is another great performance in surprisingly good sound reissued by APR

Gilels-Kogan-Rostropovich
William Murdoch et al.

Szigeti-Schnabel

Violin Sonatas

Kagan/Richter. Live Classics Nos. 2, 4 & 5 from Berkshire.
Suk-Panenka

Grumiaux/Haskil Mono 50s. For musical insights this tops the list, with Oistrakh

Oistrakh/Oborin, recorded in the early 60's Oistrakh is somewhat let down by Oborin's tameness, but I find him characterful enough and like these recordings a lot. So do others. Oistrakh's tone is, as ever, a wonder! The recording is June 1962(Philips)

Francescatti/Casadesus on Sony France, which is reasonably priced. I second the Fracescatti/Casadesus. Early stereo, but in imo good

sound.If you like the Oistrakh, you may find it impossibly lively! Very lively and elegant, but don't be deterred by the elegance.  These guys are incredibly musical.

Istomin-Stern
Morini/Firkusny,
Arrau-Szigeti is, unfortunately, not nearly as well recorded, though the performances are excellent. The sound is pretty good--I had this set on LP too.

There is also the Szigeti/Bartok recording.  Bad sound from the '30s, I think.
Barenboim-Zukerman on EMI or MHS is also very good (perhaps still available somewhere)

Ashkenazy-Perlman is good.
Bartok-Szigeti on Vanguard. The sound is limited but good enough to hear how these giants open up this
sonata like nobody else.
Cortot-Thibaud,

Frank-Frank seem to be the best of the past couple of decades. Their set is recommendable.

Argerich/Kremer (mainly for Argerich), but Kremer's shrill-sounding tone is such a turnoff

Rosand/Fissler (part of a dirt cheap, first rate box) it's really Rosand's show with piano accompaniment,

Frager/Zehetmair HIP  Teldec

Newman/Johnson HIP, Frager/Zehetmair on Newport Classics, perhaps the most extrovert, almost exhaustingly lively performance ever recorded.

Argerich/Kremer. It's a partnership of equals, though Kremer is an acquired taste.

 

 

Piano Sonatas – Complete sets

Kempff’s mono 50sset is marginally more interestingly interpreted than the Barenboim EMI. Unfortunately, several of the sonatas are beyond Kempff's technique, so he has to do some fudging, mostly (but not exclusively) with tempo. Barenboim (EMI), performance & sound, or Barenboim (DG), sound & performance. Schnabel Dante is cheap - seems to me to be the sensible 'starter'. He has his technique problems too, notably with Op. 106, but in general his interpretations are what the other folks heard before they made theirs. For far less money than the Kempff, I would suggest the Nat which has a lot of the same qualities as Kempff and fewer of the flaws. Except that Nat has none of the genius of Kempff and more of the pianistic problems! I simply do not hear interpretive insight to compensate for the technical deficiencies.  I also agree that given op's short list, Kempff's mono set is the way to go.  But I would much prefer either Schnabel or Gilels (even though the latter is missing a handful of the sonatas). But is the Gilels available as a box? Yes, as a 9-CD box including 27 Sonatas and the Eroica Variations. It's still listed as available at Alapage. Do there exist live Gilels performances of the "missing" works? No, according to the discography at http://www.doremi.com/DiscGilComp.html  Arrau is a bit on the slow and plodding side; kind of like goose liver pate that stayed in the fridge for too long. Arrau is probably one of the most intelligent and musical of pianists. The down side is that his later performances can be stolid and even sleepy. You may substitute the word "monumental" if it feels better. But if I had to own only one set of Beethoven sonatas, it would be that of Emil Gilels. To me, he just sounds so "right" and has such empathy with Beethoven, that I am completely satisfied. He has humor, gruffness, nobility, good technique, and an abundance of human spirit. Heidsieck/EMI: great set in great sound and bargain priced. Kuerti/Analekta: Tremendous bargain at 20 euros from fnac.com (includes the Diabelli variations). A bit eccentric at times, but with intense concentration throughout, almost Gouldian sense of purpose and drive; not to be missed. As much as a I like Annie Fischer and Gilels, I don't think either is on-the-mark as often as Schnabel.

I would hurry and  get 'Richter in Prague', a 15 cd set. About 5 discs in the set are Richter playing Beethoven. The Beethoven recordings used to be available as a separate set, but I think it is OOP. It looks like the complete set is going OOP too. Richter has recorded twenty-two of the Beethoven Sonatas. Comparing Richter and Arrau in those sonatas they have in common is a futile exercise as they're both good and both are different. If you can track them down Music & Arts has or had two 2 disc sets (910 and 946) of Richter in thirteen of the sonatas. For a complete listing of Richter in Beethoven and just about everything else the following address is useful:  http://trovar.com/

Sonata 1

 

Sonata 2

 

Sonata 3

 

Sonata 4 Op 7

Gulda

Heidsieck

Kuerti

Schnabel

Richter slightly below them.

Sokolov would be slightly below him.

Perl and Ashkenazy get my vote for good "central" performances

 

Sonata 5 Op 10 1

Op. 10/1, like the op. 18/4 quartet in the same key, just doesn't strike me as being one of Beethoven's more interesting pieces. It's also received its share of tedious performances, Gilels' certainly among them. The problem for me with recordings of op. 10/1 is that most pianists downplay the first movement just as they do the equivalent in op. 7 -- both are "allegro molto e con brio" but you're lucky even to get plain allegro (Gilels/DG is the worst culprit; it's not even allegro). Few get the tempo and mood right: Kovacevich, Gould, Kocsis, and Gulda all do, Kovacevich, as so often, probably conveying a wider range of the music's drama and moods than the others. It's far easier to find good performances of op. 10/3; among older recordings Edwin Fischer is not to be missed (there are at least two).

Sonata 6 Op 10/ 2

 

Sonata 7 Op 10/ 3

Fischer Many thanks to simon for alerting me to the existence of two Fischer Op.10-3. I have the 1954 version on LP. Is there a CD issue of the other one I should explore? - It's in an excellent two disc M&A set; a live performance from Hamburg in 1948. (At any rate, that's what I have; maybe there are more than these two.)

Schnabel It's hard to go past Schnabel and Fischer for op. 10/3.

Solomon's Op.10-3 is also wonderful though more subtle than others. It is one of the few Solomon recordings made in stereo.

Arrau goes deep but makes hard work of it; nonetheless I like his late recording very much for much the same reasons as I like his op. 7. There's a richness of sound and of feeling here that I treasure.

Kempff like Brendel seems to move within a smaller compass

Brendel

Richter's 1960 Carnegie Hall performance, c/w an equally fabulous set of Rachmaninov Preludes never been reissued since the original LP release, and the masters no longer exist. These were apparently recorded off the cuff, against Richter's wishes. Opinions vary - great, to full of fluffs and below par.

Gould I'm quite fond of  in a very different vein, all of the Op. 10 as performed by Gould. He catches the humor of Op.10-1 in a way that might just persuade those who claim to dislike this very Haydnesque sonata.

 

Sonata 8

 

Sonata 9

 

Sonata 10

 

Sonata 11

 

Sonata 12

 

Sonata 13

 

Sonata 14

 

Sonata 15

 

Sonata 16

 

Sonata 17

 

Sonata 18 Op.31/3

Richter - if you think  the Praga Op.31/3 is great (which indeed it is) look for the bootleg  version from Brooklyn 1965. Variable sound but absolutely great playing,

Sonata 19 Op 49/1

 

Sonata 20 Op 49/2

 

Sonata 21 Waldstein Op 53

 

Sonata 22 Op 54

 

Sonata 23 Op 57

Richter (1960)

Gilels

Rubinstein (1945) – very fiery!

Ashkenazy

Annie Fischer

Edwin Fischer

Horowitz (1972)

Levy

Serkin (1957 on Ermitage)

Brendel Here I am, listening to Brendel's most recent Philips Appassionata, with chills running down my spine.  Even after listening to Richter's and Gilels' performances again, I'm unable to agree with opinions frequently stated on this NG that Brendel's playing of this work is

dull.  Brendel is the performance that I keep coming back to even with Richter and Gilels providing superb alternative performances.

Rzewski's 'Appassionata', an experience not soon forgotten. For me the question cannot be "Is it good or is it bad?", but 'Is there more Appasionata there than there is Rzewski?' Still haven't decided whether he interpreted it or re-composed it.

 

Sonata 24 Op 78

Schnabel

Arrau

Sonata 25 Op 79

Schnabel

Arrau

Sonata 26 Les Adieux Op 81a

Schnabel

Arrau

Sonata 27 Op 90

Schnabel

Arrau

Sonata 28 Op 101

Fischer

Schnabel

Arrau

 

Sonata 29

Solomon

Richter

Pollini

Ashkenazy

 

Sonata 30 Op 109

Richter Op. 109, 110 and 111 from Leipzig (1964)

Rosen

Arrau

Fischer

Schnabel

 

Sonata 31 Op 110

Richter Op. 109, 110 and 111 from Leipzig (1964)

Rosen

Arrau

Fischer

Schnabel

 

Sonata 32 Op111

Richter Leipzig best on M&A, which is out of print. Doremi CD also, containing the last 3 sonatas, then Russ. Revelation

Sofronitsky. His Beethoven CD on ARLECCHINO was recommended in this NG. This CD is out of print (and was recently auctioned on eBay at US$185.49) The 3feb52 recording; this is on Urania SP 4203.

Michelangeli, Decca/London, out of print. Very good

Michelangeli in the Barbican There is an Op.111 by ABM in Aura's "Seven Wonders" package. I have a feeling this is from a 1990 Barbican recital by Michelangeli - if it is avoid it at all costs - a very unfortunate pirate.The artifacts and noise are unbearable and ABM's playing just sounds harsh. The 1990 Barbican is the WORST by far.  Michelangeli was pretty ill at that point.  I prefer the Decca over the others, yet the differences are small.  The 1970 Bonn recital disks have a bonus - a beautifully played Bagatelle which cannot be found anywhere else.

Michelangeli in Bonn 11th October 1970 RAI/ Kubelik 1961 Living Stage 2cds [MDT] BEETHOVEN Sonatas 3  4 & 32  Bagatelle Op119/3 LISZT Piano Concerto No.1

Michelangeli BBC I like it a lot,  I tracked down the Decca version after a long search mainly because it drew such high praise from some in this newsgroup, but was slightly disappointed.  All the i's were dotted and t's were crossed, but I felt like ABM wasn't fully connecting to the music, or at least how I understood it.  Sometimes his immaculate approach is a little off-putting to me.  The BBC version flows a little better to my ears and answers some of my reservations about the Decca reading.  Rhythmically it also seems a little looser, but this is just an impression (I haven't done a serious comparison).  Maybe it's not my absolute favorite, but still one of the handful I wouldn't want to be without. I also like his 1941 recording of Sonata 3, but have not really warmed up to the two recordings I have of Sonata 4. 12 is on the same BBC disc as No. 4. The Beethoven Sonatas that ABM performed on stage or in studio were 3,4,11,12, and 32. Regarding his studio recordings, it seemed to me that Michelangeli's sense of perfectionism always came forward in a pronounced way for commercial recordings, while live versions were always a bit freer and spontaneous. Yet, I sometimes find myself preferring his studio versions (i.e. Debussy Images).  Whether or not you like the Decca op. 111 - (I do), the technical perfection of the delivery is truly stunning – every trill is perfection, even passages deep in the bass register have a crystalline clarity.  I've long thought of the Decca op. 111 as the most technically perfect recording of a Beethoven Sonata I've ever heard.

Fischer

Schnabel

Solomon,

Yudina.
Levy

Rosen

Arrau

Ugorski

         

Diabelli Variations

Schnabel (absolute first/ desert island for me. Maybe the only one.
Brendel I (Vox) or III (Philips),

Horszowski I (Vox) or II (Pearl, the second is even better),

Rudolf Serkin (CBS),
Benjamin Frith (ASV).

Rosen

Vladar

I no longer recommend Richter's Philips recording as it strikes me as heavy-handed. Likewise, I am dropping Arrau's Philips recording from first rank, although, like Richter's, it has great moments. I agree, (have not heard Pearl H., or Frith)

 

Fidelio

Fricsay

Karajan/Vickers, Dernesch. One of my two or three favorite Fidelios, extremely well sung across the board (though I wish Vickers used as many appoggiaturas as he did with Klemperer) and dramatically conducted by Karajan (he and Keleman - near sprechstimme at times - conjure up the angriest, most spontaneous-sounding account of Pizarro's aria on records) and stunningly played (the horns in

Leonore's aria let rip like no-one else's).  The sound is quite good but has one serious blot (especially noticeable via headphones): much of

Dernesch's contribution was obviously recorded separately and patched in; she inhabits a different acoustic from everyone else, which I find  more than a little disconcerting.  I much prefer this to The Classic of the Gramophone on the same label.

 

#BERG

3 Orchestra Pieces, Lulu Suite, and Altenberg Lieder

Abbado LSO  DG is one if my favorites

 

Violin Concerto

Annie Sophie Mutter.  My favorite violin concerto recording hands down.

Krasner/Webern 1936 performance is the only other one that hits me as hard, or harder, but unfortunately the sound is awful.  With Mutter/Levine you get stunning performance AND sound.)

 

Wozzeck

Mitropoulos

 

#BORODIN

Symphonies

Nr 2:

Martinon

 

#BRAHMS

Symphonies

Nr 1:

Boehm/Bavarian RSO 1969 (live on Orfeo)
Szell, Cleveland

Klemperer

Levine/Chicago/RCA.  A powerful orchestra giving their all.

Abbado/BPO DG - The First from this set is my favorite recording of that piece.

Walter/Col SO

Van Beinum-ACO Philips Stereo

Karajan/VPO Decca

CSO+Wand (Live)
Furtwaengler/NDRSO 1951
Adrian Boult & LPO (EMI)
Levine/Vienna on DG

Horenstein/LSO,

Keilberth/BPO.

 

 

Abendroth,

Furtwangler/NDRSO 1951

Mengelberg/Concertgebouw c. 1940 and

Van Beinum/Decca (mono only but great) van beinum epic lp bc 1035

Toscanini, Paita,

Toscanini made two official recordings of the Brahms First.  A 1941 recording first released on 78s and the 1951recording that was part of

his official RCA Brahms cycle.  Both recordings have been transferred to CD and were released by RCA/BMG as part of the "Toscanini

Collection".  The 1941 disc is now OOP but could probably be found in used stores with no too much trouble.  The 1951 has been re-equalized and released by RCA/BMG in "The Immortal" collection and is easily available. There are two other unofficial recordings that derive from live performances that are especially interesting and remarkable.  The first is the concert/broadcast of May 6, 1940 available on Naxos

8.110805/6 and is white hot. The second is the 1952 performance that was part of the complete Brahms cycle he performed with the

Philharmonia in Royal Festival Hall and available on Testament.  The Philharmonia cycle is especially important as it allows us to hear

Toscanini conducting a first rate ensemble other than the NBC and the recorded sound is very different than the close up sound that RCA

favored.

 

Nr 2:

Walter/ColumbiaSO

Walter/NY Phil, EMI Great Conductors series. The phrasing and flow throughout is fabulous and the finale is extremely powerful with

incredibly fast playing by the strings. John Wilson has released it (coupled with an amazingly fast and exciting 3) as part of his Idlewild reissues project.

Munch/Boston/RCA – mid 50s a fairly passionate, seemingly spontaneous performance with an exciting finale. fnac.com couples it with sym. 4

stereo...might be available via BMG Japan) BPO+Karajan (80's set) Digital remake + 1964 & 1978 recordings
Monteux/LSO 1962 Philips (slightly preferable to VPO); Philips Classics Catalogue Number: 4425442 Admirers of the 1962 Monteux / LSO Brahms Symphony #2 might be interested to know that it has been reissued on Japanese Philips in an excellent-sounding "Super Digital Transfer."  C/w the Academic Festival Overture and the 1963 Schubert "Unfinished" with the Concertgebouw.  It costs about $13.40 postpaid to the US from Deodeo; the order # is UCCP9479.
Monteux/VPO 1959 London Weekend Decca

Stokowski – a marvelous late performance

Steinberg a thrilling performance c/w Vln conc Morini !! Look for Millenium, avoid the MCA with crossed channels in the last 2 movts. Millenium UMD 80394 has immeasurably improved sound and corrects MCA's reversing of the L & R channels in the last two movements.

Reiner, NYPO live 1960 – very enjoyable, especially the second movement which is just absolutely beautiful and played most sensitively--not what many would expect from Reiner. The sound is vastly improved in the NYPO historical box set version (I have the Arlecchino disc).
The Arlecchino is rawer, but with that rawness comes clearer highs and a somewhat more vivid experience.  The NYP box version isn’t exactly overfiltered, but there is some musical information on the Arl. that is not on the NYP. So some people actually prefer the Arl. version

Klieber/VPO

Abbado/BPO

Horenstein/Danish RSO (live on Unicorn)
Szell,

Bernstein/NYPO/Sony 1962

Bernstein/VPO DG
Giulini/VPO
Jochum' BPO on DG – good finale

Ancerl

Klemperor/Philharmonia

Solti/ChicagoSO

Chailly/Concertgebouw

 

Fricsay/VPO Energy and rhythm in OK historical sound.

Busch/DRSO EMI if available in any form, the greatest recording ever - *everyone* ought to hear it

Weingartner – great mono recording

Van Beinum-ACO (Philips...#2 is mono)

Furtwangler, Vienna Phil, Jan 1945 on DG which has the wildest finale I've heard, but isn't as consistantly

good as the Walter/NYPO.

Furtwangler May 1952 Berlin on EMI

Toscanini BBC SO 1938 Testament
Toscanini/NBC/RCA - '52

Beecham/LPO – a happy version

Klemperer (1945)

Van Beinum!

 

Nr 3:

Reiner/CSO (BMG/RCA)-

Walter ColSO

Szell/Cleveland

Dorati/LSO/Mercury.  Dorati and the LSO are so wonderful here that I have to mention this cycle again.

Abbado & BPO DG are excellent, but I wish for slightly more urgency in the final movement.

Klemperer /Philharmonia

Wand,

Karajan/VPO Decca

Monteux in the Tahra box

 

Walter/VPO (1936) in an absolutely fantastic transfer on KOCH (very clean masters, no fake
stereo but exceptionally full and 'present' sound) with his 4^th recorded in 1934 with BBC Sym.

Cantelli/Philh

Koussevitzky/BSO

Schuricht,

Furtwangler on DG 1954

Mitropoulos,

Mengelberg  Claremont/Pearl 31

 

Nr 4:

Klemperer/Philharmonia (EMI) Legacy with improved sound. I imprinted on the Klemperer and Boult versions when they were on LP.
Reiner/RPO (Chesky) - God, how I love the Reiner performance. It is so rhapsodic, great rubato, fantastic playing and audiophile recording quality. A winner. Reiner's personal favourite of all his recordings, so rumour has it. Reiner did symphonies 2-4.  All three performances are superb and make me wish that a Reiner had also left us a recording of No. 1.  Anyway, the Second is a live performance with the NYPO.  I still haven't heard the NYPO box set release but from what I've heard from the Arlecchino disc, it is a wonderful performance and ranks up with my favorites.  The Third is a studio recording with the CSO on BMG/RCA (currently out of print perhaps?).  And the Fourth is a studio recording with the RPO on Chesky...perhaps my favorite Brahms recording period, featuring an absolutely melting second movement.  Anyone who thinks Reiner was interpretively always cold and stiff should give this particular recording a listen.

Giulini/VPO (DGG)
Giulini/Philharmonia

Carlos Kleiber & VPO (DGG) Except for the not so hot recording, love the Kleiber, too. The VPO is superb. Seconded.  In know no better Brahms 4th.  The sound is quite good, the preformance superlative. I also don't much care for the sound, which thins out the orchestral tone in ways I don't think enhance the music - almost makes the VPO sound like a chamber orchestra. I like it well enough, but I'm not sure about Matty's "blistering" - the  last movement seems rather tepid to me

Munch - wow!!! what stirring performance. The timings are very short. His final movement is only 10:03. Got it at Barnes and Noble on sale for $6.99. Schumann's 4th with Leinsdorf as filler.

Walter/Col SO

Barbirolli/VPO

Mravinsky

Schuricht,

Stokowski/RCA,

Van Beinum-ACO Philips Stereo

Fischer-Dieskau/Czech Phil. on Supraphon;

Levine/CSO (RCA LP - may never have been reissued on CD);
Haitink/BSO (Philips).

Abbado/BerlinPO

Solti/ChicagoSO – Andante is ? too slow

Mackerras was a real eye opener for me after hearing many rather "heavy" 4ths. The relatively sparse sound allows the structure of the piece to be seen in stark relief. It has quickly become a favorite and has greatly clarified my understanding of this brilliant though at times puzzling symphony.
Bernstein/VPO, DG

 

Walter NY Phil 1951

Celibidache/Tahra - late 1940s, not the more recent, cooler performances on DG and EMI

Weingartner (EMI);

De Sabata/BPO 1939 (DGG Dokumente, nla)
Furtwangler/BPO 1943 (many labels) – many think this is best
Toscanini/BBC 1935 live is my favorite

Toscanini/RCA Toscanini 1951, is one of the best-sounding of all of his late recordings, but it's a rather severe treatment of the work.  For more warmth, either of the Walters should fill the bill.  The NY Phil recording has a smidgen more drive, and the orchestral playing is better, but it's mono, and the sound has a rather "dark" quality. 

The extraordinary live performances of all 4 symphonies by Toscanini with the Philharmonia orchestra (London) from 1952 are a revelation. Only recently released because of fluffed trombone entry and some firecrackers! It is on Testament (in UK) and has the incomparable Dennis Brain as 1st horn - listen to the horn parts in the first symphony. The whole thing is absolutely not what you expect. Lyrical, powerful & just breathtaking. At that time the Philharmonia was arguably the finest orchestra in the world. Scwarzkopf has talked of their quite perfect intonation and a woodwind section that has probably never been bettered.

It is mono, (perfect balance)- you will notice the mono until you are

absolutely gripped - takes about 2 bars! Van Beinum Epic LP BC 1019

Horenstein - OK; so what am I missing that others hear? At my last encounter with it a few weeks ago I tried the finale, which contains some of the slackest, least characterful playing in this work I've ever heard (particularly unimpressive wind playing). Simon

 

1^st movement Reiner (11:19); Toscanini BBC 1935 (11:44) Philharmonia 1952 (11:08, NBC 1951 (10:54). Stokowski/RCA 1974 (10.48) Dorati (11:56); Levine/VPO (11:30; Levine/Chicago is similar); Marriner (11:40); van Beinum (11:48); Weingartner (11:23); D'Avalos (10:30!); Mitropoulos (11:55).

 

Cycles:

Walter/Col SO Sony set is pretty good all around, warmer than Szell/Klemperer

Abbado/BPO,

Bohm/DG

Klemperer
Kertesz/VPO on London

Dorati,  Ultimately, I would recommend the Dorati set most urgently. Fine recording, brisk performances. Recorded in the late 50's/early 60's, a particularly fertile time for the LSO.  Exemplary recorded sound--you can even hear the low, growling contrabassoon part in Sym. 1.  The overall approach is taut and urgent, but with the punch of a full orchestra.  The earliest recording in the set (1957) is the only one not with the LSO:  the Minneapolis SO in No. 2.  It's a fine performance, but in the end lacks the power and persuasion of the LSO in 1, 3, and 4. As far as I can tell, this set is in print and readily available. Dorati is the *only* coductor I've heard, who can actually produce a lithe, genuine allegro in Brahms, as opposed to something like dinosaurs trying to dance.

Jochum/Berlin/DG Originals is very good (a wonderfully ecstatic finale in Sym. 2), but you'll have to accept decent mono sound and timpani that are sometimes there, sometimes not. – more fiery than his later stereo

Jochum/LPO on EMI  - Stereo but average sound

Haitink/Concertgebouw Orchestra which is complemented by the good sound in the Concertgebouw acoustics.  The Fr. horns are glorious throughout. WW playing is exceptional  The 4 CD set of all 4 symphonies, overtures, Haydn var. *and* serenades is available from Kuijper.  This is a "must-have" Brahms CD set. While you are at it, get the van Beinum Box of  Brahms Symphonies et.al. from the same source.  This is the best set  .... so far.

Boult/London Philharmonic Orchestra (EMI) with the very cheap DISKY HR 705412 3CD set of the symphonies, Alto Rhapsody, Academic amd Tragic overtures. (These are the later 1970s 'Indian Summer' Stereo recordings with the LPO or LSO not the 1950s mono recordings which have some scrappy playing).

Szell/CO on Sony
Sanderling Staatskapelle Dresden (RCA Navigator or Eurodisc) NOT on Capriccio

NDRSO+Wand (early 80's, 2CDs on BMG
Kubelik's VPO-Decca cycle?

Sawallisch on PhilipsI (his old cycle)

Dohnanyi/CO on Teldec
Bernstein/VPO on DGG
Steinberg/Pittsburgh on Millinnium (??)
Barbirolli/VPO on Royal Classics (but a very weak 4th)
Guilini/PO on EMI
Levine/Vienna cycle on DG, Levine/VPO(?)
Boehm/Orfeo
Solti,
Kempe, either Berlin (on Testament) or later Munich (on Acanta). And his recently issued BBC SO

 

Van Beinum/Concertgebouw Orchestra - he recorded the 1st and 3rd Symphonies for Decca on >78s. I have mono pressings of the 1st and 4th Symphonies, which were also >issued on stereo LP. I am not aware of Van Beinum making any other recordings of Brahms' symphonies he recorded two Brahms's #1('47 on 78's and '51 on tape) Van Beinum's Decca recording of the Brahms Third wasn't with the Concertgebouw Orchestra but with the L.P.O

Walter/NYPO is superb--perhaps my favorite overall (though I prefer a few individual performances for 1 and 4) I've always preferred this to his nice, but rather sloppy, L.A. cycle (the Columbia SO was mostly members of the Los Angeles PO).

Celibidache His first was a big disappointment for me. Slowish with nothing to compensate.  I like his 2-4, however.  That' said, I've always favored the first having a more muscular approach than the others- You must be referring to the EMI/Munich cycle, which I do not recommend. I was referring to the earlier ones -- Italy and Stuttgart.

Weingartner

Toscanini/Philharmonia live concerts rom London on Hunt Toscanini, Paita

Abendroth,

 
Karajan

EMI 50s, 2nd and the 4th with the Philharmonia: these are both excellent - for many, his finest Brahms recordings

Decca with VPO early 60s,

1st is one I never really cared for: it seems to lack dramatic momentum, and at the return of the chorale near the end, Karajan applies the brakes very sharply on what is already a funereal tempo. It is terribly self-conscious. The performance certainly isn't a patch on his DG recordings

3^rd is nice

DG 3 times –

-        in the early 60s - more lyrical

-        in the late 70s - more dramatic

-        a digital version in the 80s. This last one is an almost unmitigated disaster - only the 2nd is listenable.

 

As for the first two DG cycles - I like them! Although, I must admit, I was never quite convinced by his way with the 3rd symphony, which has always seemed to me a bit lacking in depth: plenty of surface gloss, but not much else. The others won't disappoint anyone, except, of course, those who are allergic to Fluffy.

Well, they disappoint me, and I'm not at all allergic to Fluffy.  There are aspects of his performances that are extremely impressive in terms of sheer orchestral control, one of the more remarkable being the late 70s 2/iv, which starts out as a barely articulate, barely audible smear and erupts into an exciting blaze of sound.  I don't hear much more than clever sonic effects, though, and overall there's way too much legato for me (this is less a problem in the last set).  I think his late 70s 1 comes closest to "working". SR

 

Furtwangler (Music and Arts)

My choices for the Brahms symphonies are:
Symphony 1  Three outstanding choices:

• 1951 Hamburg with the NDR Orchestra.
• 1952 February 10th with the Berlin Philharmonic
• 1947 Lucerne.

Off the three I like the '52 BPO the best followed very very quickly by the '51 Hamburg. The '52 BPO is hard to locate, unless you are in Japan, then it's readily available. Simply a great performance, with great sound, the same can be said for the '51 Hamburg. The 1947 Lucerne is also a great performance, but not quite up to the level of the 52 or 51. One must mention the January 23(I think), 1945 finale (only) with the BPO. This was Furtwangler's last performance with BPO before he fled to Switzerland brfore the war's end. It's unfortunate the the entire performance didn't survive. It's incredible.
Symphony 2  The 1945 with the VPO (DG VPO box). Good performance, though some heavy handed as someone once described it. I really like this one.
Symphony 3  The 1954 with the BPO head nicely on DG coupled with an interesting reading of Schubert's unfinished. I head the 1949 performance and it's also okay.
Symphony 4 The 1943 performance is electrifying, it's the only choice for me. It's heard quite nicely on M&A 941 or very very nicely with in the Wartime Tahra Box.

Knappertsbusch

I'm making my way through a Knappertsbusch Brahms set of the symphonies, overtures, double concerto, etc. on Arlecchino, which has two performances each of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies. There are some fine wartime Mozart and Haydn symphonies on another M&A set.

 

Avoid the following:

Kurt Sanderling/Capriccio, Thomas Sanderling, Mehta, Abravanel, Steinberg (mainly for the bad sound and balances), Barenboim, Eschenbach (unless you want to hear just how slow it's possible to hear the music played without completely falling apart), Harnoncourt (probably), Krivine, Kubelik/Orfeo, Mravinsky (there may be good individual performances), Sawallisch (both Philips and EMI), Stokowski, and Swarowsky (and perhaps some others I'm forgetting).  Szell 4^th? Toscanini 3^rd?

 

Hungarian Dances

Kubelik on EMI, now there's some real Hungarian-sounding rubato

Bogar on Naxos – earthy and satisfying

Abbado

Piano Concerto 1

Gilels

 

Piano Concerto 2

Richter/Leinsdorf RCA.  The version with Mravinsky is better. I much prefer the Maazel.

Gilels/Jochum - Grander

Gilels/Reiner - More lean
Backhaus/Bohm
Serkin/Szell is a magnificent performance, but I find the recorded sound a bit dull.
Katchen/Fernencsik provide a reading that highlights the more facile aspects of all the movements.  The simple and highly effective way Katchen plays the second melody of the second movement's trio is a good example of this (many pianists seem to use this moment to gush emotion). There are, of course, many moments where "weighty" (the main bodies of II.) and "noble" (many moments in I.) are pretty much required, and Katchen has the goods here.  This wouldn't be my first choice for the concerto (probably Richter/Leinsdorf for me taking into account both piano and orchestra), but it certainly offers many differences from many recordings.

Arrau/Giulini French EMI twofer containing both concertos.

Rubinstein/Krips The Krips is the most mellow of the three, but still faster and leaner than the norm for this work, and I think it's the most satisfying performance overall.

Rubinstein/Munch The middle one (the Munch) splits the difference – not so fast, more mellow

Rubinstein/Coates Any of the first three recordings of it (mit Coates, Munch, and Krips) fit the bill. The first of these (1929) is remarkably "lean, fast, and intense," albeit poorly recorded, and with its share of flubs and mishaps on the part of both Rubinstein and the orchestra -- even so, it's obvious we are in the presence of a pianist of brilliant technique and musicianship, and there are many spine-tingling moments.

Rubinstein/Coates, probably the fastest recording ever and, if a bit slapdash at times, surely more-or-less within your parameters.  Be sure to get the RCA Rubinstein Edition transfer, not its dull Claremont predecessor (the difference is such that it seems almost like a different performance).  I have also owned this performance on some other label besides Claremont -- perhaps Dante (?) -- and while it was not as bad as the Claremont (Claremont, IIRC, is the one that mucked it up further by imposing the fake stereo), it was not a transfer in the same class as the one for the Rubinstein Collection, for either the Brahms or the Tchaikovsky coupling. I guess what I'm saying is, the

Rubinstein Collection disc is the one to have, and not only in preference to Claremont

Candidates for extreme fast and lean Brahms 2nd's would be Horowitz/Toscanini, Rubinstein/Coates, Richter/Kondrashin (Prague

1950), Richter/Mravinsky (1961) and Watts/Bernstein.

 

Violin Concerto

Oistrakh/Klemperer

Oistrakh/Szell MDT has it on its February 03 releases list, very attractively priced.

Milstein/Jochum It showed up briefly in DG's Basic whoever series (DG's first slimline double reissues) coupled with Boehm's VPO sym 4 and Alto Rhapsody with Ludwig and a few other odds and ends.  I got mine from Berkshire several years ago, but don't think I've seen it in a store since.  (Nor do I think any of this series was ever released in the U.S. as regular domestic releases.).There was also a Belart, with Ferras/Barbizet in the Op. 100 sonata as a makeweight.  I've always liked this one myself, with Jochum's support a compensation for the occasional out-of-tune patches.

Piano Quintet

Rubinstein/Guarneri Glenn Gould was absolutely blown away by the Rubinstein, and it's not hard to see why, it's jaw-dropping from first to last.  Rubinstein had always wanted a chance to record quintets, and his joy at experiencing a dream come true is palpable.

 

Piano Music

Katchen

 

#BRITTEN

Peter Grimes

Pears/Britten

 

There is/was a video, with Vickers and Davis in fact. That recording is available on DvD from NVC Arts. Another version,

conducted by Britten himself with Peter Pears as Grimes, Heather Harper as Ellen Orford and Bryan Drake as Balstrode, is buried in the BBC's archive. It was recorded at the Maltings circa 1970, in colour but mono sound, by Brian Large and produced by John Culshaw.

 

#BRUCKNER

Complete Box Set of Symphonies:
Jochum/EMI – available cheapish

Jochum/DGG  - Possibly better than the EMI

Celbidache / Munic Philharmonic EMI (nearly complete)
Ashini / Canyon Classics
Wand / NDR BMG (?bland)
Tintner is a good cycle too.

The whole Knappertsbusch Music & Arts Bruckner set is recommendable - see Henry Fogel's excellent review in Fanfare

3rd (1889) Knappertsbusch Bavarian State live 11/10/54     Music & Arts CD 257 ............. 51:06 - 18:05 12:37  7:12 13:12

8th (1892) Knappertsbusch Bavarian State Orch 5/12/55     Music & Arts CD 266 ............. 69:41 - 12:44 13:16 22:14 21:27

9th (Loewe 1903) Knappertsbusch Bavarian State Orch live 10/2/58   Music & Arts CD 896 ............. 52:25 - 21:10 10:17 20:58 --:--

Of course, there are hopes that the Orfeo issues sound better.

 

Symphony 0

Tinter / Naxos

Solti / Chicago Decca

Symphony 1

Solti / Chicago Decca

Baremboim / Chicago DG
Tinter / Naxos

Wand (RCA)

 

Symphony 2

Karajan / Berlin DG

Solti / Chicago Decca
Tinter / Naxos

 

Symphony 3

Barenboim / Chicago DG

Karajan / Berlin DG
Tinter / Naxos

Kna  Orfeo

 

Symphony 4

Barenboim / Berlin Teldec

Karajan / Berlin (75) DG (yeah I know...somewhat overplayed, but I like it)
Bohm / VPO Decca
Barenboim's on Teldec

Jochum on DGG.

Wand/BPO/RCA

Tinter / Naxos

 

Symphony 5

Jochum EMI

Wand / Berlin BMG

Klemperer / Vienna Philharmonic ( live 1968 stereo! ) Music & Arts (simply, a massive performance)
Klemperer / Philharmonia EMI

Barenboim/Teldec

 

Symphony 6

Jochum EMI

Solti / Chicago Decca (somewhat brutal, but I like it) (‘’appalling’’)

Karajan / Berlin DG (an under valued reading)
Klemperer

 

Symphony 7

Klemperer / Philharmonia EMI

Barenboim / Chicago DG (somewhat over-blown, but a lot of atmosphere, and it grows on you with repeated hearings)

Karajan EMI
Jochum/BPO/Tahra (it's early 50's mono, but the sound is fine; this performance blazes like no other

Tintner / Naxos

 

Symphony 8

Haitink / Vienna Philharmonic Philips

Sinoppoli / Dresden DG

Karajan / VPO DG
Boulez/DG

Celi/EMI

Knappertsbutsch/BPO Music and Arts – live. Also on Orfeo

 

Symphony 9

Karajan (69) / DG
Barenboim / Berlin Teldec

Walter / Columbia Sony
Kna  Orfeo

#CHOPIN

Sonata 2

Michelangeli/1952/Arkadia. Once past the remarkably introspective introduction to i, I find this disappointing, with a rather understated I and ii, and a iii which offers a rather disjointed, excessively slow Funeral March interuppted by a strikingly still, calm lyrical section that's more an impressive display of control than anything else. iv, on the other hand, works well.
Michelangeli/1960/Praga. I vastly prefer this, much livelier and more intense in i and ii, more imaginative, faster, more coherent yet more flexible and nuanced in iii (an exceptionally lovely lyrical section); iv is better too.
His 1960 Prague recording (Praga) is more impulsive and less relaxed, but the Michelangeli control is still there in abundance. It is truly astonishing when one realizes it is a live recording.
Michelangeli/1959/London (Music & Arts CD-955) is hauntingly beautiful in its measured structure: the Funeral March is downright unnerving.
Michelangeli/1973/Tokyo on what looks like a pirate recording (Exclusive 92-T-14). Taped live. No notes. Sound is a bit hazy but acceptable. Is this the CD that also contains Beethoven Sonatas op. 22 and 26? If so, yes, it is a fantastic recording. M&A also released the same exact performances but toyed with the acoustics....so this is the one to have.
Rubinstein live in Moscow is also worth listening to - much better than his RCA studio recording which lacks both spontaneity and a sense of drive in the first movement.
Rubinstein/RCA. Dreadful, unbelievably pallid, dull, understated, utterly free of anything resembling drama. By a wide margin the worst so far, offering no more than bland, generalized lyricism.

The stereo Second Sonata sounds to me cautious and prosaic -- I find preferable both his mono recording and the live Moscow performance located elsewhere in the big box. I consider his Third Sonata to be a performance in a higher class (and it's his only extant attempt at it, at least in the _Collection_).

A version I like quite a lot is Rubinstein's 1946 RCA recording, which nobody seems to have mentioned.

Sokolov's recording of the sonata is superb, very imaginitive and convincing - he turns familiar phrases in unfamiliar ways and they sound better than ever. The playing itself is extraordinary and the sheer communicativeness of it all makes this my favorite version of the modern recordings I've heard. His Preludes recording is not my cup of tea at all,
Kissen's new recording is very good indeed. Again it's a case of rich imagination coupled to tremendous presentation. For example, Kissen pedals the finale in a very interesting and to my ears effective way. The bonus is that the disc contains a very intense traversal of the Op. 28 Preludes. I've been pretty lukewarm toward Kissen's recordings, but this one I thought a gem. Since we're not supposed to like him around here I'll doubtless lose any credibility I might have by saying that I love this impassioned, at times even aggressive, turbulent performance

Horowitz's CBS recording is certainly better than the RCA -- the first movement is more coherent, at any rate, though I like the oppressive, relentless intensity of the RCA Funeral March -- I don't think I would rank either very high overall. Simon
Gilels Live, Moscow, 10/61 torrid and fierce account Philips Great Pianists set., (terms that do not apply to the lovely lyrical passages). Gilels is very good at making sense of the work as a whole, preventing it from becoming episodic. Although he doesn't for me quite nail the extraordinary last movement.  I also love the Gilels (1961) for its frenzied energy (especially the 1st movement).

The most compelling Chopin sonata recording for me is Gilel's recording of #2 and The Sokolov is another one that I like a lot, though a bit too gigantic. .

Gilels/1955 Testament. 5:46, 6:53, 9:14, 1:16 A model of elegance, extremely lucid, unaggressive but never bland frankly I prefer a bit more passion, and find his upper lip a bit too stiff in the lyrical section of iii, but a favorite, for all  that. It's a studio recording made in NY in October 1955.

Gilels/1954 Multisonic: 5:14, 6:29, 7:23, 1:18 I see that I also have a live Gilels on Multisonic from a year earlier, which is several minutes quicker -- I guess I should listen to that too; perhaps it's more like the one you have, which I don't think I've heard.
On the basis of your other post, it sounds like the Multisonic also turns out not to resemble the 1961 performance. Track timings for it are: i: 5:33; ii: 6:55; iii: 7:31; iiii: 1:14. In case this conveys anything. Actually I don't think its ferocity has much to do with tempo.
Gilels/Multisonic seems unnecessary; it's conceptually of a piece with the Testament recording from a year later (iii is quite a bit quicker, but otherwise much the same) and has rather dim sound
Pogorelich is the odd-ball but one I have come to love.
Pogorelich/DG. i isn't as boldly characterized as I exected indeed, none of it is. iii is surprisingly fast and straightforward, effective in its understated lyricism. Weirdly shaped iv.
Pletnev/Virgin. Not sure what to make of this. Not at all like anyone else, with an interesting i made to sound more textually complex than it often does thanks in part to the uncommon attention he lavishes on inner voices and "accompaniments." I find the lyrical section of iii disappointing, oddly fragmented; to these ears this works best, regardless of how flexibly it's handled, if presented as an endless, uninterrupted line which is what most do, regardless of their other virtues/flaws.
Gavrilov/EMI. I suspect there aren't many who like this rather aggressive, crisp, articulate performance, which short-changes the lyricism in the music (I'm amazed that the Gramophone reviewer liked it so much) but makes up for that in other ways; the finale is stunning. I'm very fond of it, but would perhaps be wary of recommending it to others as a first choice (his DG remake is similar but a bit less aggressive). Kissin offers comparable aggression/passion and clarity but conveys the lyricism better.
Kuzmin/Russian Disc. Exciting, passionate playing in i and ii, but a perhaps exessively fast iii that doesn't sound much to me like a funeral march a reaction, perhaps, against all those ridiculous Kremlin funeral processions he doubtless grew up with which positively barges in, fortissimo, at the reprise.
Fiorentino/APR. A remarkable combination of passion and lucidity in i, lacking the aggressive tone of Kissin and Gavrilov (say) as one would expect from such an old-timer (though this is fairly recent, a live recording from 1993, marginally undermined by the slightly dull recorded sound). Excellent iii, which sounds aptly sad, sombre and relentless in the march, deceptively restrained and straightforward in the lyrical section (where he pays greater attention than most to the left hand). Interestingly shaped iv (of course, it could be argued that it shouldn't really be shaped at all...).
Godowsky/Philips. Perhaps the best thing in this Great Pianists set, featuring a thrillingly passionate but slowish and powerful i (odd that a recording from then should have the repeat in i), easily one of the best in this movement a pleasant surprise after most of the rest of what in
this set; I almost didn't bother listening to it for this comparison session. A magnificent fast but grand, almost defiant, performance of the march in iii, and though the lyrical middle section at first seemed too fast and loud for my taste, I ended up finding it effectively different. Interesting iv, where odd pairs of notes occasionally leap out of the blur.
Hamelin/Isba Classic. I very much like his fastish, dramatic accounts of i and ii, but find iii oddly unsatisfying, the rhythms not quite crisp or steady/relentless enough in the march, the lyrical section undermined by an accompaniment which is too square, the first note of each four note
sequence given excessive emphasis.
Cziffra/EMI. He finds more variety in i and ii than most, an imaginative mix of boldness, aggression, and lyricism, the typically thin French EMI sound adding to the striking clarity of his playing. iii is very successful too, the march taken at what sounds to me like the right speed
(somewhere in the middle of the available range) and conveying an aptly funereal mood, the lyrical interlude poetically handled.
Cziffra/Philips. Conceptually similar (iv seems a bit more restless, iii is a bit quicker), but sounds different in part because of the mellower, more bass-heavy, hissier sound.
Francois/EMI. His usual mix of clarity (again, the rather shallow French EMI sound helps), fantasy, poetry and drama his i is as wide-ranging as Cziffra's, but maybe even more captivating.
Janis/Philips, a fairly imaginative, fairly dramatic performance, lacking the last degree of flair and poetry, but better than many, including his famous teacher.

Kapell I hear nothing special in Kapell's; it sounds to me just like a fairly dutiful, fairly literal performance, very "modern" and not, I think, really competitive with others I've mentioned as favorites. The performance of 3 displays a bit more passion, at least in i, but I'm not convinced there either.

Harasiewicz is OK, but rather ordinary (better than Kapell, though),

Duchable is less than OK, desperately lacking in poetry and imagination -- you would never identify him as a French pianist (which I assume he is); this goes straight to the reject pile.

Ashkenazy I don't like either (the nasty, clangy sound doesn't help, but isn't dispositive); he is vastly more imaginative than the above three, but i sounds jerky and episodic, and iii is undermined by jerky, choppy rhythms in the march portions; ii, however, is wonderful,
edgily dramatic.

Friedman is, of course, in a different class from all of these, but it's a shame all we have are iii and iv.

Argerich, I must say I found rather disappointing -- she's good in the more aggressive parts of I and ii, but shortchanges the lyrical music (here and in iii) and doesn't offer the dramatic variety of the performances I like best.

Sonata 3

Percy Grainger's performance of #3 is my favourite
Cortot is very good

Rubinstein is my longtime overall favorite I'll take the opportunity to recommend that you get the mono 3rd sonata in addition to the stereo one; it's tauter and more exciting.  They're still my two favorite renditions, in a walk.

Pogorelich

Zhukov – Wigmore Hall I'm inclining to Zhukov for the first movement, Pogorelich for the second, Bolet for the third, and then a mixture of all three for the finale. Zhukov's finale is unmatched (IMHO), but I may be biased having heard him live.

Zhukov – Ann Arbor there is another unedited live version from Ann Arbor with Zhukov that I think is at least as good as the Wigmore Hall one: I had your Ann Arbor recording in mind, which I prefer even though both performances are wonderful. Has his earlier Melodiya
recording ever made it to CD?

Bolet

Lipatti...
Van Cliburn is superb, its only failing for me being a lack of ultimate delicacy; It is a superb reading that keeps one riveted from start to end, yet flows so naturally. And his touch and tone are superb.

Arrau surpasses all.

Gilels is liked by some, not others

Kapell is a serious challenge to Rubinstein

Malcuzynski. His performance of the second and third sonatas (and the rest of his Chopin) is really volcanic. The Chopin recordings were available on Capitol LPs, some of it reissued on CD, but not all (an egregious omission). I don't like Gilels and Argerich
Pollini, which alongside his Schubert's D959 is one of his best

Freire - my favorite - his whole Philips GP set is extraordinary

Pletnev. uses some extremely slow tempi -- way past Gilels. There are times when you just don't want to sit down and surrender to it. But it has many marvelous things in it, and I think it's must listening.

Argerich 1 is not special

Argerich II is good (?EMI one is better)

The worst Chopin 3rd  I have is Uchida.

Hoffman – Ist movement only, but maybe the best ever

Ballades

Malcuzynski

 

Moiseiwitsch

 

Francois

Zimerman/DG

 

Etudes op 10
Ashkenazy (Melodya better than later Decca) For an overall performance I turn to Ashkenazy on Decca. The technique is there, the music is there and most of all - Chopin is there! According to some pundits on this ng his earlier Russian recording is even better but I haven't heard it and can't comment

Pollini Compared to Pollini, Lortie is technically excellent but the music is somewhat bland. I'd take Polini over Lortie any day

Between the two, my vote is for Pollini: crisp, energizing, elegant. Some (including one of my piano teachers) hate it, calling it cold and mechanical.  Others, like me, think it's brilliant and thrilling.

I used to like Pollini's set for its almost anti-poetical grimness and technical perfection, but on repeated listenings I seem to perceive

technical weaknesses, and one tires of the in-your-face severity.

Lortie Perhaps even better than Pollini. Yes, that would be my first choice. Others find him cold - technically amazing but single facetted

Cortot musically brilliant but technically lacking

Gavrilov For sheer technical virtuosity and qute a bit of music making as well then Op 10 belongs to Gavrilov (you have to remember that these are studies!) His Op 25 is not as good with the exception of his stunningly portrayed Op 25/5

Gavrilov's recording is far superior, in my humble opinion, to the Pollini's one

Perahia is spectacular and subtle in places but maybe not as idiomatic as others.

Anievas.His interplay of mf down to piano is quite impressive however I have some reservations about his playing. The EMI sound is a bit muffled but I can't help but notice that some of the notes are either not well produced or missing entirely.

Cziffra

Wild (not wild enough)

Magalov

Browning – a bit cold

Lugansky Erato (8573-802282)

Zayas (too mannered),

Biret's is the worst, sounding awkward, unpoetic and uncaring.  I respect her for some of her other recordings and wonder why she made such a mess of these etudes.

 

Etudes op 25
Ginzburg – elegant and satisfying. For Op. 25 alone, Ginzburg is miraculous.  He imbues these "studies" with imagery so vivid, so seamless, that the rest of the world just disappears. Perhaps in the last three etudes Ginzburg's technique can't quite match his vision, but this remains one of my favorite piano recordings of all.

Sokolov's version of the Op. 25 etudes is dramatic and poetic, especially in the later etudes, and the sheer pianism is magnificent. In Op. 25 alone, Sokolov is terrific.  He's very poetic and communicative, though not as magically as Ginzburg, and his technique is among the very best.

Cziffra has an incredibly quirky yet memorable Op 10 but his Op 25 is my favourite. This is Chopin lovingly and tenderly played. I haven't

heard the much vaunted Sokolov Op 25 but it would have to be great to beat the Cziffra.

I liked Gavrilov's Op. 10, where he seemed to complement his fabulous technique with vivid poetic imagery.  However, to my ears his Op. 25 sounds pretty short on the poetic side.  Cziffra sounds rather the opposite, with the most incredible technical Op. 10 that sounds like a speeded up pianola offset by a commanding Op. 25 filled with atmosphere and emotion.

Friere

Berezovsky

Matsuzawa

 

Impromptus

Sofronitsky - no one comes even close

Cortot

Sokolov

Bolet

 

MAZURKAS

Rubinstein - I prefer the '50s Mazurkas to the '30s, but wouldn't want to be without both.  (The '30s renditions feature some of his wildest playing.)

Malcuzynski Disky twofer

Rosenthal APR, Pearl, and two brand-new Biddulphs LHW039 and 40--American Recs, and Chopin respectively, in predictably superb Ward Marston transfers of some rather difficult source material. You might want to try Pearl 9963 with mostly HMV recordings, in first-rate Seth Winner transfers.
Kapell's disc of 28 as a worthy supplement.

Wasowski

Jonas

 

I've been giving my discs a good listen, and my favourites in the last series are the following:
36 59 1 Pogorelich
37 59 2 Pogorelich
38 59 3 Rubinstein
39 63 1 Sofronitsky '49
40 63 2 Sofronitsky '60
41 63 3 Rachmaninov
42 67 1 Rubinstein
43 67 2 Rubinstein
44 67 3 Friedman
45 67 4 Sofronitsky '49
46 68 1 Ginzburg
47 68 2 Malcuzynski
48 68 3 Rubinstein
49 68 4 Rubinstein
50 Po Ginzburg
51 Po NotreTemps Ginzburg
In some of them it was very close between Friedman/Malcuzynski/Rubinstein/Sofronitsky. Michelangeli's 67/4 is very nice, too (strangely like Sofronitsky's)

 

Nocturnes

Rubinstein – preferably the early mono

Moravec is much more to my taste than Pires in the Nocturnes. The nocturned just "blew me away" . I listened to the entire set twice, parts of it a third time. It was in short one of the most intense musical experiences of my life.   And his live playing is, for me, spellbinding. No histrionics but his sense of timing, choice of phrasing and his TONE, live, tend to mesmerize me.  It's not often that a live recital moves me these days, but his certainly do. He must surely have one of the best pianissimo's in the business? Absolutely clear but absolutely pp, no muffling to achieve the sound reduction.

I think it is important to also notice what is missing from Moravec's Nocturnes: cojones! One should listen to Rosenthal and Sofronitsky (or even Szpilman) for performances that reveal (and live) the full range of emotion in these works. Moravec does not come close.

I happen to agree... his playing lacks real passion...... a bit dull and colorless but when one writes thes comments others get very
indignant as if this guy is some kind of God. Moravec has very little to offer besides subtlety. He certainly does not produce (and never did) revelatory performances. He is just very polished, and that's it. When I called him a third rate pianist I cautioned the audience to not take it in a derogatory sense. Third rate is quite high by my book. And it does not wear well -- at least to my ears. With every repeat listening, things get less and less interesting.

Arrau For the " old " version, I prefer Arrau. But I strongly recommend Maria Joao Pires

 

Polonaises

Rubinstein's ca. 1950 Polonaises, available in the Rubinstein Edition but also in the cheap "The Fifties" twofer, sweep the field.

Malcuzynski (the sound is as good as most London Ashenazys; try Berkshire Record Outlet)

 

Preludes

Pogorelich

Cortot from the early 1930s - never topped, really

Moravec's - either one. Moravec's VAI Preludes feature superb recorded sound.

Bolet (on GPOTTC) - You get the rest of a fantastic Carnegie Hall concert as well)

Argerich's Preludes are hideous. 

Sokolov is too unrelentingly aggressive for me.

 

Scherzi

Pogorelich - astounding

Pletnev on DG from Carnegie Hall

Ann Schein (try Canada)

Freire (try used)

Richter The Helsinki Recital 1976 on M&A - mainly for the Chopin Scherzo #4 and Etude op. 25/7

Moiseiwitsch

 w. ballades

 

Waltzes
Rubinstein - His stereo Waltzes aren't a patch on their mono predecessor, which have more wit and brio.

Lipatti – A classic, studio version preferred

 

Ballades

Malcuzynski (the sound is as good as most London Ashenazys; try Berkshire Record Outlet)

 

#4 Op. 52

Moiseiwitsch - The 4th ballade of my dreams would be Moiseiwitsch until the final coda, then someone like Richter carry the baton to the finish line.

Cortot,

François,

Richter,

Hofmann,

Tiegerman

Moravec,

Horowitz,

Malcuzynski

.

Recitals

Horowitz Chopin recordings on the Aura label (AUR 231-2).

Chopin Andante Spianato    okt-4

Chopin Ballade 1           mei-47

Chopin Etude 10/04         jan-52

Chopin Etude 10/05         jun-35

Chopin Etude 10/08         nov-32

Chopin Etude 25/03         mei-34

Chopin Impromptu 1         okt-51

Chopin Mazurka 07/03       nov-32

Chopin Mazurka 30/04       dec-49

Chopin Mazurka 41/02       mei-33

Chopin Mazurka 50/03       jun-35

Chopin Polonaise 6         okt-45

Chopin Scherzo 4           mrt-36

 

‘Definitive’ performances

Nocturne Op 27/2 Lipatti

Valse Op. 18 Magaloff

Ballade Op. 52 Moiseiwitsch

Prelude Op. 28/16 Lhevinne

Mazurka Op. 7 Friedman

 

Rachmaninov - Sonata 2

Hoffman - Sonata 3, 1st movement

Sofronitsky - Mazurka C#m op 50/3

Malcuzynski - Mazurka op 68/2

Rosenthal - Mazurka  C#m op 63/3 (choose from 3)

 

Scherzo 1: Sofronitsky

Mazurka 17/4 Horowitz

Etude Op 10 No 9 Cortot

Nouvelle Etude 2 Rosenthal

Op 34 Waltzes Richter

Polonaise 5 Bashkirov

Nocturne Op 27 No 1 Moravec

Fantasy Op 49 Arrau live

Numerous Mazurkas: early Rubinstein

 

Jonas: Mazurka Op 68/3.  Magical.

Horszowski's recording of Concerto No. 1

 

Etude op.25 No 7 Richter Helsinki 1976 (M&A)

Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante Zimerman Polskie Nagrania/DG

Waltz in E minor op.posth Luisada DG

Prelude in C sharp minor op.45 Pollini DG

Scherzo No 4 Pogo DG

 

Scherzo #2 - Michelangeli

Polonaise in Bb  - Jonas

Polonaise in F# Minor - Horowitz

Etude op. 25 #6 - Lhevinne

Mazurka in Bb Minor – Freidman

 

 

 

#COPLAND

Appalachian Spring – complete,  the full version for 13 instruments was done some time in the mid-1970s.  It was evidentally a different score than is typically performed today.

Copland did record the entire ballet LSO on CBS/Sony, in the original scoring for chamber orchestra.  IIRC, he did not record the full orchestra version of the complete score which he prepared at the request of Eugene Ormandy.  Leonard Slatkin's is the only recording of which I know.  It's a good one and serves well as a companion disc to Bernstein's classic NYP recording on Sony.

Slatkin with the St. Louis Symphony, EMI. I have always found his Appalachian Spring to be absolutely superb, as is his complete unabridged recordings of Billy the Kid and Rodeo as well.

Hugh Wolff with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Teldec

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.  Most recently available on ProArte (Intersound).

Tilson Thomas

Andrew Schenck's recording on Koch with the Atlantic Sinfonietta.  In a fascinating essay, Schenck explains how he chose certain tempi by studying early performances of the ballet.  The coupling, the original version of Barber's Medea, is worth the price of the disk in its own right.

Appalachian Spring – Suite

 

#DEBUSSY

La Mer

The title Debussy chose for the first movement, De l'aube à midi sur la mer (from dawn to midday at sea) caused Erik Satie to tell Debussy that "he liked the work, but especially the bit at a quarter to eleven".

Trumpets near the conclusion of the third movement –

With: Reiner, Toscanini, Monteux, Ansermet, Haitink

Without: Boulez, Szell

 

Boulez/New Philharmonia

Boulez/Cleveland (DG) I 'm with the Boulez I and the Cantelli admirers. Boulez II is not nearly as good musically (though the playing is absolutely perfect, chilling in fact).

Munch-BSO RCA Living Stereo ca. 1957

Reiner, Chicago Sym. + R.-K.:Scheherazade RCA 60875

Desormiere (S.Richter’s favourite) Arkadia OOP

Szell/Cleveland (Sony--super cheap, and amazing)

Szell/Cleveland live in 1957 in Italy on Aura records.

Cantelli Testament. SBT 1011

MTT, Philharmonia + Nocturnes CBS MDK 44645  ?

Dutoit with OSM. Very sonorous and at the same time detailed, just check the awesome brass chorale near the end of the 3rd movement, nobody gets this to sound as magnificient as Charles. Still, there is not just excitement, but plenty of coloristic detail.

Karajan

Salonen / LA Philharmonic / Sony, more reserved but beautifully shaped and played

Giulini's account with the same LAP (DG), unfortunately not easily available now, very sonorous and musically exquisetely played.

Mravinsky

Van Beinum

Gielen. - astoundingly good, good sound, very cheap on Vox. It should satisfy the Boulez-ite for clarity and seductive sonorities

De Sabata,
Rosenthal/Orchestre d'Opera de Paris (ADES)

Toscanini/Philadelphia (RCA)

Toscanini/Philadelphia (BBC)

Markevitch

Monteux

Koussevitzky/Boston

Mitropoulos/NYPO (Columbia)

Coppola

Leinsdorf

Maderna does La mer in the Arkadia Maderna/Debussy box -  terrific, certainly my favourite performance. Remarkably well played for a Maderna bootleg, and very song-full. The rest of the box is pretty special too, in fact.

Ansermet/Suisse Romande

Martinon (EMI)

Stokowski (Decca Phase 4)

Barenboim (DG--controversial, but very "shimmery" and Wagnerian; Debussy's roots after all, given that Wagner's mature style and aesthetic was basically French)

Celibidache (1960 Milan)

Celibidache “I am almost sure I heard a truly soporific Celibidache performance of this. The music was stuck and didn't move.”

>Celibidache/Munich I know it's *wrong*, but I can't help it!

Ancerl with the Brno State Phil on Praga PR 254008 Timings: I:7:50  II: 6:06  III: 6:50 (20:50) together with Ravel, Sheherazade (Danco); Poulenc, Concerto for two pianos; Roussel, Bacchus et Ariane Suite No.1 (these with the Czech Phil)

PhilO/Muti on EMI;

Martinon on EMI;

Sinopoli/Philharmonia (DG) on the list. Strong dynamics and very dramatic

Baudo (EMI Eminence)

Haitink (DUO).

Cleveland/Ashkenazy on US Eloquence is a good performance, well recorded and with a few Ravel tracks added to boot.

Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, who, despite his name, was a Frenchman who founded the Orchestre National de France (the French National Radio Orchestra) in 1934. The two recordings are on Testament (a studio recording from 1954 in mono) and Naïve (a public performance from eight years later in rather boxy but genuine stereo). For anyone interested in the real French orchestra sound (a sound that is no longer with us except on recordings), these CD's are invaluable. Inghelbrecht's performances shimmer, always move on and pack a wallop when asked to. They are simply gorgeous. Check them out. They are very much worth it, not to mention all the other material on both sets.

 

Images

Reiner, Chicago Sym.

 

 

Nocturnes

Monteux/LSO (Philips)

Monteux’BSO RCA stereo recording. I haven't listened to the Monteux in a while, but it's on a disc that is an absolute favorite of mine:  it includes a distinctive and sensationally atmospheric performance of the symphonic fragments from Le martyre de Saint Sébastien.  As much as I hate to admit it, Monteux shapes both Nuages and Sirènes more distinctively than Boulez, and it's only in the Fêtes that Boulez strikes me as clearly superior.  (Good as Boulez's first recording of the Nocturnes is, it's not quite the triumph that his savage Philharmonia La mer is.)

Boulez/Cleveland (Sony) Boulez is not uninvolved but reticent, as mysterious as the sphinx, and his Nuages may be too reticent for some listeners, but not for me: temperamentally, Debussy's art of suggestion with its nuances, subtle shifts, and dependence on

understatement suits him very well.  Nevertheless, he may be at his best in Fêtes, where the technical control he exerts over the monolithic crescendo depicting the crowd of revelers moving in from a distance is not to be believed.  Boulez has actually "reorchestrated" Sirènes:  composing the specific vowel sounds that the sirens sing.  Nevertheless, as decent as Boulez's performance is, this is the movement that benefits most from a more "shameless" approach. Like Monteux's. 

Ansermet/Suisse Romande

Czech PO/Fournet Of the recordings I'm well acquainted with -- those directed by Cantelli, Beinum, Stokowski, Fournet, and Haitink -- I favor the Fournet [Supraphon].  The Czech PO under Fournet produce a more earthy and detailed, less suave and homogenized sound than do the Concertgebouw under Haitink, with Fournet allowing individual voices, particularly those of the woodwinds, to stand out a bit more from the orchestral fabric.  Fournet adopts slightly slower tempos than Haitink in "Nuages" and "Fêtes," significantly slower in "Sirènes," but he generates and expertly maintains inner tension throughout, and the music flows unimpeded with a natural sense of ebb and flow.  "Fêtes" is treated to a uniquely buoyant performance, with rhythms being less trenchant but more "well sprung" and balletic than usual and with woodwinds bouncing around like a bunch of Mendelssohn's faeries;  the stately procession that runs through the middle of the festivities has just a hint of a swagger to it that I really like, as well.  Fournet's account of this movement provides a fascinating contrast to Cantelli's, which is notable for its tremendous sweep and momentum.

Stokowski/London SO (EMI) 1957; Voluptuous, famous stereo recording. excellent in all three nocturnes, especially "Sirenes". I felt that he was too mystical/spiritual and as a result, did not capture the flow which I feel is crucial to this music. Stokowski stretches "Nuages" further than he can sustain it, and tension goes slack.  His "Sirènes" goes better, and his "Fêtes" is quite imaginative, but his performance doesn't do much for me on the whole.

Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra (Chandos); 1990s; my favorite recording of the "Sirenes," sharply and cleanly done by a chorus of high-school girls! Excellent sound. This is with a superb La Mer, etc.

Abaddo on DG especially in Fetes. I wish Abbado was better transfered. Nuages esp. sounds unfocused, as if the tape EQ was misjudged. I didn't think the Berlin re-make was as good.

Haitink, but the trumpets are too close at the start of the procession in Fêtes. They also mis-read the upbeat to the fanfare figure, playing it too fast. But overall, it is a great performance. A lot of Nocturnes depends on first rate individual and collective woodwind playing and this is

where the Concertgebouw and Boston SO recordings excel. I like Haitink's "Nuages" and "Sirènes" quite a lot, but his "Fêtes" is too rhythmically square and inflexible for my liking;  even at the moderate pace he adopts, the movement strikes me as a bit mechanical and

relentless.

Van Beinum There is a wonderful recording of all three by Van Beinum that is available on Australian Eloquence. Beinum directs a taut and bracing account with excellent clarity  -- in other words, pretty much what you'd expect from Beinum and his orchestra.  I like it well enough, but it generally strikes me as a touch too fast and forthright, and tension could be greater.

Munch/BSO (Nuages & Fêtes only; RCA)

Cantelli's Nuages and Fetes remain my favorites.  Concerning Cantelli, I liked his version which was very different from his mentor Toscanini's 1940 live broadcast.  Cantelli captured the flow, but Toscanini's sounded like puffy white clouds w/a rose blush

sailing like QE2's  across an azure sky.  Too monumental and picturesque for me.

 

Jeux

Boulez/Cleveland DG – certainly the best overall account, wonderfully judged

Boulez/NewPhilharmonia – only inferior to his remake

Dutoit – much nice detail, but misses the overall command of Boulez

Haitink – lots of woodwind detail, but misses some of the structure and thematic material

 

Quartet

Quartetto Italiano, on Philips. Idiomatic, pure-toned, elegant.

Emerson Quartet on DGG. Predictably forthright, brisk, bracing.

Hagen, which also has a lovely work of Webern.

Alban Berg Quartet - EMI 

Vlach

Quattor Ysaye - London 'a close second to Berg' Both very agressive, lyrical and occasionally riveting.
The Cleveland Quartet. Definitely

Capet

Calvet Quartet. Both these groups understood this music as no one else did. Certainly none of today's groups plays it this way, and, given a choice, I'd go directly to the older ones.

Borodin Quartet Also great was a Melodiya LP with the original Borodin Quartet (D026499/500), but good luck finding it.

Tokyo Str.Qt. on Sony, and as a bonus you also get Faure's Pno. Trio beautifly played by the Roth Trio.
Budapest I've heard the Juilliards, the Guarneris's and one or two others and I'm happy with the Budapest. The playing has an unusually "fat" sound. That is, there is much sound produced at the sweetest part of the bow and the intonation is fine the ensemble is superb. I believe it may have been the last flowering of their best performance technique, the sort of ripeness that a fruit reaches just before it goes over the hill. The Beethoven quartets that they recorded later on are definitely over the hill with variable intonation and somewhat less than perfect ensemble. I have a very deep attachment to this recording and I think it is warranted. Don I have the Budapest recording on LP. While I haven't heard it in a number of years, I remember it being tonally very beautiful. The early stereo recordings captured the beautiful sound of this quartet.

 

Piano Music

 

Preludes Book 1

Cortot

Preludes Book 2

Richter live (BBC)

 

4,5,6, Horowitz, The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Sony Classical: S2K 53457, Volume I: The Studio Recordings 1962-1963

7, Horowitz, The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Sony Classical: SK 53471, Volume VIII: The Romantic & Impressionist Era

 

 

Etudes

Rosen LP only

Thibaudet

Ericourt

Pollini live (better than his studio DG)

Richter 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12; 1990 Savrona, Italy Doremi 2372431442 “Sviatoslav Richter Archives, Vol. 8” over-processed sound. Not a patch on his recording of the Preludes in the 60s and 70s, which are some of the best ever. If only he'd done the Etudes earlier...

Michelangeli also played them complete in concert but I've never seen mention of a recording surviving.

Horowitz recorded 1, 4, 5, 6, and 11 (twice). http://w1.854.telia.com/~u85420275/discography.htm  Horowitz discography

Etudes 1,4,6 RCA Victor: 09026 62644 2 The Private Collection, Vol.2

Etude 11, EMI References: CDHC 63538, Recordings 1930-1951

Etude 11, Sony Classical: SK 53471, Volume VIII: The Romantic & Impressionist Era

? Vladimir Horowitz Live - New York, 1947-1951 Urania 7575457212

 

L’Isle Joyeuse

Horowitz - Sony Classical: S3K 53461 Volume III: The Historic Return - The 1966 Concerts

 

Children’s Corner

Serenade for the Doll

Horowitz - Sony Classical: S3K 53461 Volume III: The Historic Return - The 1966 Concerts

RCA Victor: 09026-60463-2, Schumann: Kinderszenen, etc. (1953 live)

 

Pelleas et Melisande
Dutoit (Decca) this is the most satisfying Pelleas now available

Abbado Jose van Dam, who also sang Golaud for Karajan (EMI), is an artist who, in whatever he undertakes, leaves one reaching for superlatives. Excellent singers and production. Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic work together to produce exactly the kind of sound Debussy was looking for. I cannot recommend Pierre Boulez's reading, as he once said that he was trying to "Burn the mist off of Debussy." The mist is the most important part. Nor can I whole-heartedly recommend von Karajan's overly lush performance. Only Abbado finds the proper blend of texture and precision.

Baudo The excellence of this performance leaves one wondering why it has taken the best part of 20 years to emerge here. Baudo isn’t as Wagnerian in his treatment as Karajan, but he produces a warm sound from the Lyon orchestra, knows how to shape Debussy’s subtle phrases, and is notably good at making use of silences. Singers are excellent. This is very rewarding on a two-disc bargain-price issue.

Ansermet 1951 I didn't realise Ansermet's first Pelleas had made it to CD (and a quick look in Google suggests that this rerelease hasn't been discussed here yet). It's in the French Decca 'Rouge Opera' series on 460 155-2 and is available from FNAC for very little. (The same series also includes his Ravel operas and St.Sebastien.) It was once available on an english decca 2 cd set. The ist recording was made in 1951 at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande's usual venue. I was told by a Decca

engineer that it was all done with one microphone. If true – even engineers are allowed to boast - they certainly put the mic in the right place, as the sound is very well balanced and has the characteristic richness of really good late mono recordings.

Ansermet Stereo As far as I know his stereo remake has never made it to CD. I just got a nice shipment from HMV Japan of Ansermet CDS

I prefer the early performance to Ansermet's stereo remake, though that sounds even better. The 1951 recordng is more evenly cast and the strengths of the singers play well together. Mollet and Rehfuss (the Pelleas and Gouloud) are especially good in this respect, while the later team seems much more a collection of individuals, both in vocal style and diction. It no longer seems like an enclosed family drama.

Ansermet Met 1962 complete live performance.--3 cds  Anna Moffo,Nicolai Gedda,George London,Jerome Hines,Blanche Thebom,Teresa Stratas.

Karajan Famous, but makes it sound like Parsifal. Excellent singers.

Inghelbrecht 1962 (Disques Montaigne/Harmonia Mundi) Live and a bit bumpy and coughy, but a classic performance

Desormiere 1941a near-perfect cast except for a slightly inexact Arkel, is only in mono (shallow but clear)but very clean and clear: the forward placing of the voices allows every nuance of verbal meaning to come through

Fournet 1953

Cluytens 1956

Armin Jordan (Erato),

Haitink ONF - committed and very well thought out. The singers are excellent, von Otter expertly shading every nuance of Mélisande, and touchingly vulnerable in the death-scene. Holzmair an alluring Pelléas, Couderc convincingly boyish as Yniold. Naouri portrays a suitably brutal Gonauld frantic in his need to hear the truth. The only weakness is Geneviève, who sounds wobbly though as an old woman she is entitled to be unsteady! The orchestral playing is equally first rate, occasional slips in ensemble since this recording was live. Though there are surprisingly few stage noises (due no doubt to the low level of action in the score), there is the inevitable audience and background noise. This does not help at all when you try to lose yourself in Debussy's shady, half mythical world - you are constantly reminded of Paris's ailing bourgeoisie at the Champs-Élysées theatre. Worse, at some points the subtle orchestration is undone by surrounding noise, a reading as beautiful as this would have deserved a better recording. The sound lacks transparency (poor harpists!), inner voices are unclear, the sound is somewhat dull at times, and does not expand in the few forte moments. I would say that the interpretation makes it worthwhile.

 

DVD – Boulez/Welsh Nat Opera

 

Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien

This breathtaking oratorio has evrything in it-- Ectstasy, mysticism, gorgeous arias for soprano, elegant, dramatic yet peaceful narration, colorful orchestration. This is Debussy at his most religious. Even if you do not care about the topic of Martyrdom, etc, you should hear it for the beauty of this music. There is not a single second of uninteresting music here.

Tilson Thomas/LSO  - this is a good account of the work.

Charles Munch on an old RCA mono vinyl disk narrating from D'Annunzio while his Boston Symphony plays and Kopleff and Curtin sing--superb. If you want eloquence, try it.

Bernstein If you want a more technicolor version, well-acted and played, get Bernstein's one of Lenny's best productions.

 

#DONIZETTI

Lucia di Lammermoor

Schippers - reissued recently on Westminster. Not only Sills at her most delicately affecting, but Carlo Bergonzi in his prime at

Edguardo and passionate conducting from Thomas Schippers. Not only that, but the set remains (I think) the only "Lucia" to feature Donizetti's original conception of glass harmonica obbligato to accompany the Mad Scene - a thrilling, haunting effect, once heard always missed afterwards. It's also completely uncut. Top all-round recommendation for the piece, I think.

 

Three Queens

Anna Bolena, Elizabeth I in "Roberto Devereux" and Mary Stuart

Sills (and - if you can get it - Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe". Leave "Manon" and "Thais" until you're totally in love with dear "Bubbles" The Traviata is good too, though over-resonant acoustics in that recording can spoil it for some.).

 

#DVORAK

 

Symphony 6

Ancerl /CPO, with Carnival, My Home, and Hussite Overtures, Supraphon 111-926-2. One of the finest Dvorak symphony recordings I've heard

 

Symphony 7

Talich on Koch

 

Symphony 8

Talich on Koch

Szell/Concertgebouw (London),

Giulini/CSO (DGG),

Davis/Concertgebouw (Philips),

Barbirolli/Halle (EMI)).

 

Symphony 9 “New World”

Ancerl/Supraphon certainly does not lack drama

Ancerl/CPO (live atSalzburg) 1963 Orfeo 395951

Ancerl/CPO (live 1958) Ermitage A bit faster and a bit better recorded (but still mono)

Talich

Kubelik/Czech PO on Denon, c/w Mozart's Prague, recorded live in Prague in 1991.
Reiner and the CSO

Kertesz and the London Symphony Orchestra mid-60's.
Kertesz's VPO “still the best Dvorak 9”, a greater sense of life and spontaneity, more exciting than the LSO one, which sounds a bit heavy-handed by comparison

Fricsay a close second to Kertesz

 

 

Cello Concerto

Rostropovich/Szell. A great moment captured.
Feuermann, if you haven't heard the Chicago Symphony/Hans Lange version, it’s stunning

Rostropovitch/Giulini LPO 1977. Despite the annoyingly larger than life miking of the 'cello I find that the accompaniment lacks nothing in eloquence and excitement

 

Quartets

Stamitz Quartet's complete Dvorak quartet set has been reissued by Brilliant Classics; the 10 CD set goes for around $25 or 30.  This is a very fine integrale, including a good Op. 96 - even the windiest early quartets are played alertly; quite a contrast to the saggy baggy sightreading of the Prague Quartet on DG. They also recorded Smetana's and Janaceks quartets for Bayer Records

Vlach Quartet Prague

Vol 1, Nos 12; 13 (Opp 96, 106 Nxs 8.553371, Vol 2, Nos 8; 11 (Opp 30, 61) Nxs 8.553372, Vol 3, No 9, Op 34; Terzetto, Op 74 Nxs 8.553373
Vol 4, Nos 10; 14 (Opp 51, 105)  Nxs 8.553374, Vol 5, Cypresses, B 152; Movement, B120; Two Waltzes, Op 54; Gavotte, B164 Nxs 8.553375

Panocha Quartet Supraphon After initial enthusiasm, my pleasure in the performances has waned, some of their playing is lacking

in nuance of feeling, and slow movements perfunctory

 

Opus 96 American

Smetana (Testament) my favourite,

Vlach (Praga) excellent

Skampa (Supraphon)--especially the Skampa if you also want to have great recorded sound.

Prazak Quartet (Praga)

Janacek Quartet box from DGG. Fine performance.

Juilliard Qt

Hollywood (Testament), which is a lot like the Juilliard only more so, if you know what I mean, and is coupled with a phenomenal performance of the Smetana #1. 

Bohemian

Budapest Quartet, if you are interested in historicals, the 1926 recording (formerly on Novello),

2-cd set of historic recordings by Czech quartets on Biddulph.

 

#ELGAR

Monteux/LSO Decca

Toscanini/BBC (prefer BBC over NBC)

Toscanini/NBC

Beecham/RPO

Haitink/LPO

Del Mar/RPO on DGG Galeria - the P&C Marches are great

RPO/Mackerras  (EMI) (Argo, but OOP)

Bernstein  DG

Menuhin (Philips)

Boult/EMI,

Barbirolli/EMI.

Elgar hisself

Harty (if you can find a good transfer)

Stokowski/Czech PO - my off-the-wall choice

BBCP/Downes (Connifer, also OOP)

PO/Sinopoli (DG, mid-price)

Mata/LSO on Vox - I kid you not! THE most beautiful Nimrod on records!

Ormandy/Philadelphia on Sony Essential Classics

VPO/Gardiner is pleasing but not a top choice although the 'In The South' and Intro & Allegro on the CD are excellent.

Andrew Davis/BBC SO. Moving performance, detailed digital sound.

 

#DE FALLA

El Sombrero de tres picos

Ansermet

 

El amor brujo

Ines Rivandeneyra (mezzo-soprano) Eloquence- 468 313-2(CD)

Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Osorio/Herrera de la Fuente on OM80134DDD is the most evocative performance I know.

Soriano/Argenta may be the finest recorded performance of the piece. It's in print on Spanish RCA, available at http://www.elcorteingles.es. Seconded Soriano/Argenta which I used to have on lp and which I cannot find on cd, in spite of all the decca 2fors, etc. of Falla music.  I haven't heard Soriano's emi.  But I have an ASV recordng with another Soriano playing. I imprinted on Achucarro/Mata is really pretty good - idiomatic and dynamic with many interesting moments. Not quite the repose and magic of the quiter moments that Curzon has.

Curzon is fine in the quieter, more magical moments

Ciccolini/Halffter has arguably the best orchestral playing of all

Martha Argerich. (Barenboim).I strongly second the recommendation for Argerich's version. It's not very easy to obtain as it has been recorded on the - now defunct - label Erato, but some online-stores should still have it on stock.

R. Casadesus/Mitropoulos/NYPO (on french SONY coupled with a miraculous Emperor).

De Larrocha/de Burgos.  Rather slack conducting  

Rubinstein Mono w Golschman is slightly better than the stereo

Rubinstein/Ormandy I also have Rubinstein's on rca but don't recall being very impressed.

Rubinstein/Jorda stereo doesn't quite match others, good though it is.

Clara Haskil (piano); Eloquence- 468 313-2(CD)

Guimar Novaes - I hope to find it on cd, for 'old time's sake.' 

Soriano/de Burgos is a real snooze - the wrong Soriano recording. You want Soriano / Argenta

Eduardo del Pueyo, Jean Martinon/Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux  [Philps]

Dieltjens/Nozy on Gailly DC87 107 The latter is (re-)scored for piano and symphonic band!!

 

Harpsichord Concerto

Veyron-Lacroix Decca – LP

Various orchestras & conductors Eloquence- 468 313-2(CD)

 

#GLAZUNOV

Violin Concerto

Oistrakh Fabulous old mono recording

Milstein/Steinberg & the RCA Symphony Orchestra, b/w the Mozart adagio in E and Rondo in C with Golschman and the same orchestra. Both sides of this record are almost achingly gorgeous.

Heifetz Mono and later stereo

 

#GREIG

Piano concerto

Rubinstein/Dorati

Rubinstein/Wallenstein. March 10, 1961 Manhattan Center, New York. RCA / BMG Classics.

Curzon/Fjeldstad on London/Decca is also good (and in stereo).

Baekkelund/Oslo Phil Idiomatic – LP only (RCA)

Andsnes/Bergen/Kitaenko

Katchen-Kertesz-Israel PO on Decca/London early 60s.I prefer Katchen-Kertesz-Israel Phil. on Decca/London early 60s.  Ditto for

Schumann PC.

Katchen very exciting, this is very American (or is it Richter-like Russian?!) playing, takes this concerto into the virtuoso realm. Risk taking by the wagonload, all of which come off, as the programme note so perceptively tells us.

Perahia-Davis (paired with the Schumann, of course) Spectacular performance and sound - every idea and characteristic is so clear and convincing that it's my favorite right now. Colin Davis really brings the orchestra to life, too.

Freire/Kempe

Fleisher

Cziffra

 

Historical:

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli's 1942 (or 43?) recording with the Scala Orchestra conducted

by Pedrotti.

Michelangeli/Galliera Teldec

Michelangeli/de Burgos on BBC Legends.

Michelangeli / Burgos (1968)  This is NOT the performance issued on the BBC recording, but a far superior performance captured on a radio-check pirate LP.  Michelangeli was on fire for this performance, and throws caution to the wind - it makes the 1965 performance sound measured by comparison.  This is Michelangeli at his very best.  (Unfortunately, the sound on this is not quite as good as the BBC). This performance changed the way I felt about the Grieg forever - that's how transcendental this reading is.  The famous Michelangelian cool is shed - perhaps thanks to Burgos.

Moiseiwitsch/Ackerman

Moiseiwitch/?

Lipatti/Galliera EMI

Geiseking/Karajan

Solomon/Menges.

Arrau/Galliera (Testament)

 

3 Violin Sonatas

Dumay/Pires.

 

Lyric Pieces

Andsnes on Virgin Classics D102323.  Lyric Pieces op. 43 and 54, the sonata, and more.  Excellent!

Hakan Austbo's complete set on Brilliant Classics is also very good (as is most of his work) and very inexpensive.

Gilels

Eva Knardahl on Bis

 

Olav Trygvason - opera - cantata

 

Songs

Von Otter / Forsberg on DG For Haugtussa + additional songs.  The recital also includes selections from opp. 49, 60, and 61. 

Haakon Hagegard, 2CD set.  I think he sings this music wonderfully.

 

#HANDEL

Concerti Grossi

Harnoncourt/Teldec - my first choice 

Manze/HM. For rather safer HIP

Hogwood

Marriner – very cheap on Brilliant Classics I owned Marriner's ASMIF/Decca recordings for years and found op.6 dull. I began to sample

other editions. Manze's is the best played HIP recording I've heard, closely followed by Hogwood's. Either would make a good contrast

Iona Brown's Op.6 with the ASMF is now available inexpensively on Brilliant Classics (licensed from Haenssler), and coupled with the Op.3.

To be truthful, it is expertly played, and well recorded, and slightly more articulated than Marriner in this music, but I think this music really

demands a smoother approach. But you may well like it if you don't have a taste for HIP. The way Brown springs the Hornpipe movement of No.7 in B flat maj is a real delight.

Leppard. On modern instruments

Scherchen.

Guildhall String Ensemble (RCA, oop).

 

Organ Concerti

George Malcolm /ASMF/MarrinerI had Koopman for quite a while, but since got this in a box set with other works and never went back to Koopman. I can't explain why apart from it sounding more 'musical' to my ears.

Tachezi/Harnoncourt, unless you want something bigger and less articulate than a chamber organ. Tachezi with Harnoncourt (Teldec) is sometimes exciting and sometimes dull. Tachezi, Koopman, Pinnock - All are good (playing somewhat differing editions) but do not expect a revelation.

Nicholson and the Brandenburg Consort has gotten some praise. Bigger, more powerful and incisive sounding than Koopman's (I often find the orchestral participation in Koopman's rather limp), better recorded and perhaps a bit less square than Pinnock's.

Get the Nicholson/Goodman set on Hyperion. Great sound and the organ used was one that Handel played on frequently.

Koopman's set on Erato - all of them on 3 discs, or Opp. 4 and 7 on two - are unsurpassed.

Koopman (Erato) is nicely bouncy but underplays darker moments. Inexpensively available from http://www.kuijperklassiek.nl 

Simon Preston/Trevor Pinnock do the complete organ concertos Op.4 and Op.7 on a Universal Trio (from Archiv) 469 358-2, and with 3 other concertos included. Good sound, and tempi that is nothing out of the average (HIP instruments used by The English Concert). Excellent performances.

Pinnock (DG) is reliable throughout but a bit staid.

 

Messiah

C.Davis Philips Duo 438 356-2

 

#HAYDN

Symphonies

Fischer – the complete set seems to available in its Brilliant incarnation (60 Euro for 33 discs) now (at www.jpc.de) Reviews have been

quite mixed. Overall I think the performances of the middle works - c mid-30s-81 - are very good, better than most (including the Dorati and the Naxos series), sometimes excellent - boldly played, lively performances with good balances (horns ring out, timpani are hit with hardish sticks and don't lurk timidly in the background, etc.) that are quite well recorded (a bit too resonant for my taste, but miles better than the earlier recordings in the series).  I haven't heard the box containing the early works.  The performances of 82-104 may be better than they seem, but to these ears the distant, blurred sound gets in the way (the worst is 101/103, which almost seems like a mono recording with fake reverberation added).  But since you probably already have good performances of those works, it may not matter....  (My comments are based on the Nimbus originals and assume that Brilliant haven't fiddled around with the sound or done a botched editing job or some such.)

FonoForum did not think much of 70-81. They found the playing rather sloppy.

I think the playing is superb. I quickly disposed of my (dull!!) Naxos recordings of some of those symphonies after I purchased that set.

I was so impressed with Fischer's conceptualization of the Sturm and Drang works that I dumped my Dorati's.  I generally agree with Simon's analysis, but I didn't find the big sound of the later symphonies--specifically the volume that contains the London symphonies--offputting in any way.  I found Fischer's readings to have great dynamism and warmth

 

Sonatas

Eb

Horowitz

Richter's 1960 Bucharest performance is great. Try JVC VICC-2137 or -5015 or AS Disc 338 or Notes PGP 11025 or Historical Performers HP

Richter's 1986 Eb on Decca.

 

C

Richter

 

 

 

#HINDEMITH

Nobilissime Visione
Blomstedt/SFSO(it was paired with the Mathis)
Tortelier's Chandos CD with Nobilissima Visione, the Symphony in E-flat (nearly the equal of
Bernstein's NYPO one) and the Neues vom Tage overture

HP series (RCA/BMG). Martinon's Varese/Bartok/Hindemith disc.

 

Mathis

1)Steinberg/Boston Symphony/DGG Classikon. Beautiful playing and interpretation, and the sound holds up well (1971).
2) Mackerras/Basler Symphony/Novalis 150 118-2. Close to the above. The recording is digital, but not necessarily much better than the above.
3) Steinberg/Pittsburg/EMI. Like 1), but the late 50's sound is a little dim and has sharp-edged treble (though the Penguin guide will never mention that).
4) Herbert Kegel/Dresen Phil/ Deutsche Schallplatten.
5) Kletzki/L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Interpretively, similar to Steinberg; orchestral playing and sound not as good.
6) Karl Anton Rickenbacker/Bamberg Symphoniker/Virgin Classics. A slower and very autumnal reading, nice for a change, but without quite enough tension at times.
7) Horenstein /LSO Very fine - esp 1+2 mov Chandos coupled with Strauss's Death and
Transfiguration.

I'd try hard to find the Steinberg/DG/Boston Mathis, and then get several of the Tortelier discs.

 

#HOLST

The Planets

Boult/BBC SO – marvelously idiomatic

 

#JANACEK

Great Janacek conductors, some before my time, some not,  some recorded, some not:

Frantisek Jilek, Bohumil Gregor, Bretislav Bakala, Gerd Albrecht, Vaclav Neumann, Jaroslav Krombholc, Jaroslav Vogel, Jan Stych, Jiri
Kout, Petr Vronsky, Martin Turnovsky, Jaroslav Kyzlink.

Sinfonietta

Bakala, CPO (Supraphon) There are two by Bakala, and I prefer the 1950 performance recently reissued on a terrific Suprahpon CD with the (3613-2 001).  The 1955, with the Prague Symphony (on Arlecchino) isn't quite as incisive. On a Panton CD, Sinfonietta is coupled with Taras Bulba and the cantata Amarus but on Multisonic CD with Taras Bulba and Dunaj, Symphonic Fragment. Bakala also recorded Janacek's opera Sarka which I have on LP but I don't think it has been issued on CD.  He also recorded the Glagolitic Mass but again I don't know if this has come out on CD. Bakala was before my time but his reputation certainly lives on.  I think he gave the world premiere of From the House of the Dead (which he helped to complete) and, of course, he studied composition with Janacek.  I have been told he was also a notable interpreter of Novak and Suk.

To complicate matters, there is also the Supraphon isue of Bakala's Sinfonietta with his Glagolitic Mass, in good sound in the Supraphon

Archiv series.  Prior to that, there was a valuable 2-CD Arlecchino collection that included both works along with the Lachian Dances,

Taras Bulba, and other tone poems.  It is hard for me to say whether these are all the same performance of the Sinfonietta.  Supraphon

gives a recording date in October 1950.  Arlecchino gives May 1953 as the date, and the movement timings are similar but not identical.  I'm

too lazy to try to compare the two recordings side by side.  Whatever the case may be, Bakala definitely had the measure of this music; his

performances have a vivid grandeur that not even Ancerl can equal, imo.

The recordings of the Mass and Sinfonietta on Arlecchino and Supraphon Archiv are the same, but the latter sound better.

Ancerl, CPO (?, Artia LP) CD issue on Vivace (a Dutch label that licensed the recording from Supraphon).  It sounds good, and like the original LP, it is coupled with Ancerl's equally fine Taras Bulba.

Neumann/SWF There's a very good live performance on Arte Nova that seems to me to be better than his Czech one (sacrilege, I now).

Vaclav Neumann/CPO on Supraphon I thought the Neumann to be a real snoozer. In fact i think it's one of the worst readings I've heard of the work.

Belohlavek on Chandos.  He has the Czech Philharmonic in excellent recorded sound, with superior couplings (Martinu and Suk).

Szell Cleveland I'd take Szell over Mackerras anyday. I learned the Sinfonietta from the Szell recording, but found it dull and lacking intensity after hearing the Ancerl. Seemed quite unidiomatic, tempos on the slow side, and deficient in energy and fervor.  I won't be listening to this performance again.   But the Sony Essential Classics CD is worth having for Ormandy's live-wire Kodaly Dances of Galanta and Marosszek.

I rather like the Szell, in part because he (like Abbado) takes a somewhat slower tempo, which lets the fanfares broaden out and sound really grand. Mackerras also paces the fanfares moderately, to good effect. My beef with Kubelik (studio especially) is that he blasts through the fanfares too quickly.

Kubelik's first recording with the Czech Philharmonic on Testament is the one I still prefer - a more authentic and exciting performance, despite the obviously dated sound.

Kubelik/Bavarian Radio, live on Orfeo (coupled with a superb Dvorak 6). Orfeo is a more expressive performance and a substantially better recording technically than the DG. I just listened to the Kubelik for the first time today and thought it was no great shakes. The playing was rough at times and based on this & the commercial recording, i don't think that they are that great a band for Janacek. That said, the Dvorak was indeed excellent.

Kubelik/Bavarian RSO on DGG The sound of the DG recording is a real problem for me, coupled with some way out of tune brass moments. Kubelik's studio job with the same orchestra ain't exactly chopped liver.

Mackerras, VPO (Decca) Supposedly, the Mackerras used the latest scholarship in regards to the score when it came out. Which apparently explains some anomalies on his recording, e.g. the massive ritard he takes before that Spanish-tinged sequence in the middle movement.  It caused me to gasp when I first heard it 20 years ago, and it still doesn't work for me.

I guess Mac has the advantage of the "critical" edition, but I never  cottoned to the sound of the Vienna Phil in the music. Most of the others are of no consequence after Ancerl. Avoid Mackerras - hasn't a clue, and doesn't even remotely catch the frenzied excitement of Ancerl. I haven't heard the two Kubeliks (a state of affairs that must be rectified), but I would be looking in that direction for another version.

Mack is awesome, and the double decca release contains lots of other great Janacek orchestral music.

Kempe BBC Legends Disc. Not Czech in style but very exciting. The live Kempe (BBC) has some great moments, but also some weak

passages

Klemperer (IMG Great Conductor set) is a very interesting alternative.

Jarvi Among DDD versions, am I the only one who prefers Jarvi on Bis to more obvious choices such as Mackerras or Neumann? Yes, you are. Don't you feel lonely?

Ozawa -  while Ozawa's conducting is exciting, the CSO lacks the style of the various Czech ensembles.

Tilson Thomas is also very good.

Abbado/LSO/Decca  - a bit too civilized for my taste

Serebrier's version  on Reference Recordings with the Czech National Radio Orchestra. I acquired this 2-CD set as a Christmas present and was very surprised to find that the Sinfonietta, along with everything else, was very, very good.  I had never considered that he might be a good Janacek conductor.  Serebrier--Russian or Polish parentage, born and raised in Uruguay

Avoid Rattle

 

Quartets

Janacek

Talich

Smetana/Testament Their 2nd Janacek is awesome, with the 1st not far behind. And the 2nd is coupled with a marvelous Terzetto and a fine Dvorak op.105. A must-buy! Have you h eard the Smetana's killer concert recording of Janacek issued in the 50th anniversary box issued by Supraphon some years ago?  That one has got to be one of the greatest quartet performances on record. Incandescent.

Prazak recorded the Janacek SQs twice (Bonton, then more recently on Praga). Their latest Praga recordings' distant-but-brilliant engineering emphasizes their overwrought approach (IMO,to the detriment of the music). The earlier Bonton recording is fresher, very exciting, but still heavy-handed.

Vlach (pretty good sound) mid-price for a more reflective, mysterious interpretation.

Medici adds nothing to the above

Favourites:

From the House of the Dead         xx

The Cunning Little Vixen                xx

Jenufa                                       xx

Kata Kabanova                            x

The Makropulos Case                  x

 

From the House of the Dead

Czech Philharmonic Chorus; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Václav Neumann Supraphon CD     10 2941-2 

Beno Blachut Old Prisoner ; London Sinfonietta; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Charles Mackerras; David Atherton Decca     430 375-2DH2  c/w Mládí Youth - Nursery Rhymes - Mackerras's Decca recording is superb.

 

The Cunning Little Vixen

Magdaléna Hajóssyová Czech Philharmonic Chorus; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Kühn Children's Chorus/Václav Neumann Supraphon CD     10 3471-2  Vaclav Neumann's 1982 set of The Cunning Little Vixen was also Supraphon's third, and Neumann's second. The first of all (6/60—nla) included the unforgettable Rudolf Asmus as the Forester and Hana Bohmova as a pretty Vixen; the second, under Bohumil Gregor (12/72—nla), was rather more emotional, though it included a sharply observed Forester from Zdenek Kroupa and had as Vixen the excellent Helena Tattermuschova. Neumann's second version, now revived, finds Richard Novak rather lighter, more self-conscious as the Forester, though he gives a very agreeable performance, and Magdalena Hajossyova makes a pleasantly skittish Vixen.

I don't think there's a bad recording, but Neumann is the most colorful.  I recently bought the Neumann and was very happy with both Benackova and Neumann. Great orchestra, of course.

Gregor Supraphon

Mackerras/Decca , I do like the Vienna Vixen with Popp.

 

Jenufa

Gabriela Benacková Brno Janácek Opera Chorus; Brno Janácek Opera Orchestra/Frantisek Jílek  Supraphon CD     10 2751-2 

Gabriela Benackova at her finest, setting Jenufa's warmth and tenderness properly at the centre of a set of well-observed perform-ances. There is also, from Nadezda Kniplova, a performance that gives the Kostelnicka greater warmth and humanity than usual, suggesting tensions between these characteristics and the demands of her moral code. Vladimir Krejcik cleverly suggests Steva's proud masculinity to be merely showy as he turns from Jenufa with equal carelessness to pretty little Karolka; and Vilem Pribyl in turn allows Laca to grow by a natural process of self-understanding into the more striking character, the one truly deserving of Jenufa. The orchestra plays well for Jilek.

Mackerras/Decca. I do like the Vienna Jenufa

SU 3331-2 602

 

Kata Kabanova

Drahomíra Tikalová Jaroslav Krombholc (Supraphon, 11/93). SUA10050/1    10 8016-2 612

This, the first recording of Kata Kabanova, was made in Prague in 1959. It must have been treasured by many lovers of Janacek's music. The sound now cannot help seeming thin, notably in the strings, and the balance with the voices is not always favourable to them, so that Drahomira Tikalova can strain her fresh, charming but not very powerful voice. She sings so perceptively as to make light of these problems. Yet while one cannot possibly recommend this set in preference to Mackerras's, it is by no means to be dismissed out of hand. It captures performances by some of the great generation of Czech singers who were developing careers in a country few of them could leave, so that records were a tantalizing glimpse of, for instance, the great Beno Blachut. Here, at 46, his voice still has a heroic quality, and he sings Boris with the easy, natural musicianship that marked all his work

Gabriela Benackova Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Prague National Theatre Chorus/Charles Mackerras Supraphon CD     SU3291-2 (94 minutes : DDD) Mackerras/Supraphon with an all Czech cast  I'm far from a Soderstrom basher, but I prefer the new Kát'a Kabanová to the old anyway. However, Gabriela Benacková isn't ideal. It's a gripping performance, but she sound a bit too old for a young girl and her voice is coming clearly in the danger zone when she has to sing high notes.

Mackerras Kat'a with with Benackova on Supraphon is better than the Vienna/Soderstrom, IMO.

Mackerras/Decca.

 

The Makropulos Affair
Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra / Gregor 10 8351-2 612

Elisabeth Söderström London Philharmonic Orchestra; Vienna State Opera Chorus; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Charles Mackerras; François Huybrechts Decca     430 372-2DH2 c/w Lachian dances -

 

The Excursions of Mr Broucek

Vilém Pribyl Czech Philharmonic Chorus; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Frantisek Jílek Supraphon CD     11 2153-2

The issue of Frantisek Jilek's 1982 version of Mr Broucek on CD is a great pleasure. It is an opera of many small roles, and all are well characterized here. The recording sounds well in almost all the detail, and Jilek handles the score with great affection and liveliness.

Neumann - I like it and I think the opening scenes are as characteristic of Janacek's vocal writing as you need for a first purchase. - I'm very happy with my Neumann Supraphon LP set.

 

Fate Osud.
Brno Janácek Opera Chorus; Brno Janácek Opera Orchestra/Frantisek Jílek

Supraphon CD     SU0045-2    1980

 

The Diary of One Who Disappeared SU 0022-2 201  Blachut / Stepanova / Gedda / Soukupova / Palenicek

SU 3378-2 931 Prague Nat. Theatre/Vogel  c/w Piano Sonata "From the Street" / Straka, Peckova, Lapsansky

Jenùfa, Její pastorkyòa
(21.1.1904, Brünn), Opera in 3 Acts by Leos Janacek, after the drama of Moravian peasant life, Její pastorkyòa, by Gabriela Preissová.

Osud
("Destiny") (1904; 18.9.1934 Brno Radio broadcast), Opera in 3 Acts by Fedora Bartosová, after an idea by Leos Janacek.

Výlety pánì Brouèkovy
("The Excursions of Mr. Brouèek") (23.4.1920 Praha), Opera in 2 Parts by Viktor Dyk (Part 1) and Frantisek S. Procházka (Part 2), after the novel by Svatopluk Èech.

Kabanová
(23.11.1921 Brno), Opera in 3 Acts by Leos Janacek, after the play Groza ("The Storm") by Alexander Ostrovsky (translation by Vincenc Èervinka).

Príhody lisky Bystrousky
("The Cunning Little Vixen") (6.11.1923 Brno), Opera in 3 Acts by Leos Janacek, after the story by Rudolf Tìsnohlídek.

Vìc Makropulos
("The Makropulos Case") (18.12.1926 Brno), Opera in 3 Acts by Leos Janacek, after the drama by Karel Èapek.

Z mrtvého domu
("From the House of the Dead") (12.4.1930 Brno), Opera in 3 Acts by Leos Janacek, after the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

 

#LISZT

Recommended works:

In addition to the remarkable Sonata, Annees de Pelerinage and the Transcendental Etudes, there is the Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses (an early work, but an exceptionally rich one), there is all of visionary late piano music, much of it anticipating the innovations of the 20th century, and to which composers such as Busoni, Schoenberg, Berg, Ravel and others turned to for idea and inspiration. Among the works you might want to explore are the Bagatelle without Tonality; Czardas Macabre; Rhapsodies 17 an 19, etc; the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Mephisto Waltzes; the two St. Francis Legends; the Portraits of Hungarian Heroes; the Four Valses Oubliees; the Christmas Tree Suite, Berceuse, (1863 version); Wiegenlied; Schlaflos!; Nuages Gris; the first of the three concert etudes "Il lamento"; the Villa d'este threnody (includes Cypresses at the Villa d'este as well as  the famous Les Jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este); La Lugubre Gondola Nos. 1 and 2; and the absolutely extraordinary Impromptu in A flat, an ethereal work only so rarely played, though Cohen has in fact recorded it for Naxos along with other late works. [JBY]

Try Liszt's transcriptions of Schubert - I like them even better than the original version (probably because I find most singers very difficult to

listen to); many of these are much more musical than virtuosic, and at their best they bring out wonderful nuances of the originals.

.

"What Liszt isn't boring?"

Sonata in B/Argerich, Concerto pathetique/Argerich & Freire; Les Preludes (digital) HvK; Faust Symphony/Bernstein; PC's/Cziffra; Piano/Paik.

Levy brings a very keen structural sense to Liszt's scores, thus counteracting or minimizing the weakness many find in Liszt's compositional skills.  A work like the "Reminiscences de Dieu dans la solitude", which is full of gorgeous things but can seem flabby, soars in Levy's hands

Can I suggest that you get hold of the GPOTTC Cziffra disc on which the second disc has some of the best Liszt playing you'll ever hear. You also get Cziffra's quirky and amazing Chopin Etudes as a bonus.

Transcendental Etudes

For complete sets:

 

1. Berman (1963)

2. Berman (1959)

3. Berezovsky

4. Gekic

5. Ovchinikov. Could use a little more bite.

6. Le Guay. (She was only 20 when she recorded the set in 1994)

7. Jando

8. Cziffra (fine and surely different. But too spasmodic for my taste. The gypsy add-ins in Mazeppa is not for me either)

8a Fiorentino and Duchable

9. Bolet (1972)

10. Rose

11. Lazlo Simon

12. Howard (the 1837 version)

13. Arrau

14. Weber (the 1837 version. Mazeppa is, however, the 1840 version)

15. Howard (the 1852 version)

16. Bolet (1985). Embarrasing, try Mazeppa.

17. Delle-Vigne

A seriously underrated recording is the (sadly incomplete) set by Ashkenazy. No. 2, 5 (Feux Follet) and 10 are particularly fine. In

Feux Follet, he even finds time to shape the too seldom heard inner voice of the right hand - not even notables as Richter, Berman or

Kissin does that. I place Ashkenazy between the to Berman versions.

 

Berman If you are trying to recapture the excitement of hearing Berman's performance from the 1960s LP released in the U.S. (or did it not reach our shores until the 1970's?), the 'Russian Piano School' recording isn't the same performance. Nor is it as good.
> The great LP version, recorded in 1963, was released on CD by Melodyia/Victor in Japan in 1990 (VICC-2022 if you should be so lucky as to find a copy someplace, as it must certainly be out of print), but I don't know if it has ever been reissued elsewhere. I hope I'm wrong about that because the set is, IMHO, one of the highlights of recorded pianism.
I agree and disagree. The Melodiya recordings shows some astonishing feats of pianism that Berman did not duplicate in the later (stereo) recording, which is a little more subdued by comparison. The sound on Melodiya is so bad, however, that the stereo remake is certainly the one to have if you must have only one (and if you can find it - I have the Japanese CD and both the Columbia and MHS LP issues).
Ovchinnikov (which is very good indeed, and which is now in print) Ovchinikov is stunning in these. He makes Berman's seem pretty routine
According to the EMI website it's on CZS 572783 2 (2CD), which is a compilation of Liszt piano Etudes. MDT list it for sale (cheaply, too).

The Disc is called 'Etudes de Virtuositie' and is a Rouge et Noir twofer. also included on the disc are the Paganini Etudes played very

well by Jean-Marie Darre and some Cziffra. I couldn't find it listed on any of the likes of Amazon or CDNow but alapage have it listed and

say they can deliver in 6 days. Crotchet also have it and would be the cheaper option.

Arrau Somewhat heavy and emphatic though well played

Cziffra Mercurial but rather uninvolving

Fiorentino I have the impression that Fiorentino's interpretation might be the one I am looking for. AFAIK Fiorentino is not yet available. Amazon and JPC do not mention it

Bolet Romantic, expressive, Especially the early one on RCA.

 

Excerpts:

Richter, esp 1946 and Sofia

I  once did a blind test of #11. Arrau's piu lento con intimo sentimento was dead as the proverbial doornail. Cziffra sounded as if he did not like the impressionism of this etude. Bolet was note perfect but seemed to believe that he was playing Czerny. Contrary to what I expected I did like Berezovsky - although he was a very timid troubadour in the piu lento. To my great surprise I liked Gekic best - while believing that I was listening to Ovchinikov.

 

Sonata B minor

Ernst Levy [1956 Unicorn/Marston], but some tempo shifts

Gilels live version is better than studio

Richter several versions

Berman melodya

Van Cliburn

Horowitz (1932 mono) Much better than later remake

Arrau early first version is best

Pletnev’s second version

Nojimo

Sofronitsky (some technical slips)

Clifford Curzon [1961 live BBC Legends] and studio. Good architectural sense

Cziffra

Bolet

Bela Siki – moving slow passages and a very nice touch and tone. Prob. LP only

Alfred Cortot [1929 EMI/Pearl]

Horowitz (later stereo)

Peter Katin [1983 live Athene-Minerva]

Duchable's 1985 performance on Erato is commanding, bold, sweeping, technically impeccable.

Brendel – has its fans

 

Annees de Pelerinages

 

The Hungarian Rhapsodies

 

Harmonies Poetiques and Religieuses

 

The Paganini Etudes.

 

Two Legends

 

Polonaises (2 is good, 1 weak)

 

Ballades

 

Concert Etudes

La Leggierezza

Waldsrauchen

Un Sospiro

 

Transcriptions: Schubert Lieder

Lazar Berman has a favorite group of maybe six of these which he has performed and recorded again and again. Berman is excellent, as are Sofronitsky, Bolet, Barbosa, and Perahia.  Indeed most pianists who bother with them succeed with them.  A comprehensive recording

by someone like Thibodet or even Barenboim (whose Liszt opera transcription CD is quite good) would be welcome.

 

#MAHLER

Symphonies – ‘interesting’ readings (e.g. un-Germanic)

Maderna's Italian recordings of 3, 5, 7, 9; Rosbaud's 7, 9; Gielen's 3, 7.  The first movement of the 7th is your best starting

point; it's Mahler's most daring and interesting music, imo.  If it doesn't grab you in one of those three performances, give up.

Get the Gielen Mahler 7th on Haenssler. It's more spiky and Stravinskian than most Stravinsky.

For a non-heavy Mahler 4th, as light as a feather, and delicious into the bargain, then try Kletzki / Philharmonia / Emmy Loose on EMI's Artist

Profile of Paul Kletzki. A good twofer that has the Sibelius 2nd symphony

 

Complete Symphony Cycles:
Kubelik/DGG. Already recommended by several posters. Generally lean, a bit lightweight, emphasis on the lyrical at the expense of the drama, reasonably well recorded but not in the top rank technically.
Bernstein/DGG or Bernstein/Sony. Interpretively, the differences between these cycles are not terribly important for a beginner. Most Bernstein fans prefer some performances from the earlier cycle and some from the later one. Bernstein is interventionist, exhibitionist, dramatic, and takes interesting interpretive risks that usually, but not invariably, work out. The Sony set is not avaiable as a box as far as I know, but the disks are midprice. DGG has recently reissued their cycle, combined with Das Lied von der Erde and all the orchestral songs, in a nice slim package. The recording quality in either cycle is better than Kubelik's. I have the Sony cycle in a slim box, SX12K 68304, from what appears to be the UK (found it at Academy, where else?).  The recordings were remastered in 1995, and symphonies 6, 7, and 9 are split onto two discs, unlike the Bernstein Century releases. It's incredibly valuable. You could sell it for a fortune on eBay.

Solti/Decca. Forceful performances, long on drama and short on subtlety. In the main, very well recorded, but probably too uneven to recommend as a set. Of the CSO Solti Mahler recordings, I think most highly of 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8; 9 is only a little less good, and the CSO Das Lied (Kollo/Minton) is also very creditable. I do not especially care for his 1 or 4, and 3 is really quite bad. I would rank his CSO 5-8 among the very best.
My favorite Solti Mahler recordings are probably his earlier 1, 2, and 9 with the LSO from the 60s. He also did an undistinguished 4 with the Concertgebouw, and another botched 3 with the LSO. He and 3 never got along, I guess.

Haitink/Philips. Haitink's first cycle has been available in a nice slim box, but is perhaps now out of print. If you can find it, it would be my first recommendation as a starter set. None of the performances is less than very good, the sound is consistently fine, and the slightly self-effacing interpretive posture pays off in many ways. Not the only way to hear the cycle, but maybe the best way to start. Haitink's aborted second cycle (also on Philips, with the Berlin PO) is less good.
Tennstedt/EMI. This one is available in a slim box at a very favorable price, but it isn't among my favorites. Tennstedt tends to the high tension, Bernsteinish end of things, but he is not as consistently successful as Bernstein, and neither his performers nor his engineers are as good as several others. Still, at less than half the price of many others, it's worth considering.
Segerstam/Chandos. A sleeper cycle, rarely mentioned. Always interesting, sometimes eccentric. The Danish orchestra is perhaps not quite the equal of the others, but the engineering is superb and the interpretations are always worth hearing.
Bertini/EMI. It would not be worth mentioning this one, available in the US only as pricey individual import disks, were it not so consistently excellent. Perhaps somewhere in the world, someone has put this one in a box. In which case, it might be my first recommendation – superbly played and recorded, and interpretively (in the main) first class.

Do not bother with:  (inferior to any of those listed above)

Neumann/Supraphon

Brilliant Classics mixed-bag

Naxos,

De Waart (RCA?)

Sinopoli  - the ones I know are quite a mixture of good and bizarre.

10^th Symphony -  the recent Rattle/BPO is as good as any, though Morris is good if available. I suspect that there is a great recording of this piece waiting to be made, and it hasn't happened yet. TM

Hit list of Mahler symphonies:

1: very good
2: great
3: so-so
4: flawed
5: very good
6: great
7: so-so
8: flawed
DL: very good
9: great

 

1 ruined by hollow ending, much ado about nothing
2 ruined by pompous last movement
3 ruined by pompous last movement
4 perfect
5 ruined by sentimental adagietto
6 adequate
7 crazy
8 ridiculous
9 ruined by pompous last movement
Das Lied von der Erde: almost great

 

Faves:

1        YYN?NYY?YY?YNYN                           19/15            1.27

2        YYYYYNY??YYNNYY                           22/15            1.47

3        NYYY?NYY?YNNYYNNY                       20/17            1.8

4        YY?NYYYY???Y?YN                                      21/15            1.4

5        Y?NNY?NY?Y?YY                                16/13            1.23

6        YNYY?YY?YYYYY                                22/13            1.69   

7        NYN?NNNNYYNYYYYNN                      15/17            0.88

8        N?YYNNNNNNNN?YNYNNNN                 10/20            0.5

9        Y?YYY?YYY?YYYNYYN                       27/17            1.59

10      ?NNYYNN                                             5/7               0.7

DL      YNYYYYYYY?YY                                  21/12            1.75

 

Symphony 1

Walter/NYPO mono,

Walter/Columbia S.O.  later version is also good

Bernstein Concertgebouw (NOT NYPO)

Kubelik on DG Originals

Horenstein

Mitropolous/Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra

Mehta with Symph 3, Decca

Solti LSO

Beecham

Haitinck

Scherchen

Rattle/Birmingham (only if you want the "Blumine" movement not included in most recordings like Solti's)
Solti, Mackerras, Mehta (see 3)

 

 

Symphony 2

Walter/NYPO on Sony

Bernstein/NYPO (’87) on Sony

Klemperer/Philharmonia (EMI) on EMI Great Recordings of the Century
Kubelik

Mehta/VPO/Decca (NOT his remakes)

Solti LSO

Rattle (EMI)
Stokowski

 

Symphony 3

Horenstein/LSO on Unicorn

Bernstein, NYPO (DGG or CBS/Sony)
Haitink's second recording with the BPO. It has one of the most glorious finales I've heard yet.
Gielen A more modern reading. I think it sounds German as hell:  Bergian expressionist and with a lot of fierce energy. 

Maderna's Italian recording

Mehta/LA/Decca (NOT his remakes)  comes with 1
Tilson Thomas/LSO (Sony) – great sound and performance

Bertini I'm quickly warming up to the Bertini!!!!)

Sinopoli/DG

Symphony 4 –

Walter/NYPO from 1945

Walter 25 March 1947, with Desi Halban (who was also soloist in the commercial New York recording) and the Boston Symphony.  I love it not only for Walter's interpretation, but for Koussevitzky's strings.

Walter stereo

Abbado/Chicago with von Stade (the slow movement in this performance is just fabulous)

Abbado/VPO. Flicka

Salonen w/Hendricks