oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (04/30/84)
Gee, this is tough. It's hard to keep a list like this short *and* representative -- there is a strong temptation to include just your own favourites. Anyway, here are 15 `starter' records. (There's some inevitable overlap with my 20th century list of last fall.) *** Bach : Guitar works (BWV 999, 1002, 1004) : [DGG 2530 096] Yepes Also available played on the lute, but Yepes' guitarwork is so compelling I'd have to recommend this first. Bach : Magnificat (BWV ???) : [Angel S-36 615] Barenboim NPO For more trumpets, timpani and excitement, try this instead. An added bonus is the Bruckner Te Deum on the flip side. An odd combination, you might think (Bruckner was a contemporary of Wagner, not Bach), but both are thrilling works. Of course, Bach was an incredibly versatile (and prolific) composer -- it's impossible to sum him up in one or two LPs. Vivaldi : "The Four Seasons", Op 8 #1-4 : [Argo ZRG 654] Marriner ASMF Oh, gosh. I guess this is the one to go with, though there is a more recent recording on Archiv with the English Consort that is supposed to beat this. There's pounds of Vivaldi in the record bins, but this is the inevitable first purchase. Scarlatti : Harpsichord Sonatas [ARC 2533 072] Kirkpatrick There's a lot of Scarlatti, too, but most of it went unrecorded (and undiscovered) until Ralph Kirkpatrick catalogued and performed much of it. This is a fine album. Handel : Water Music : [Tel 6.42368] Harnoncourt CMW This is an old Handel standard, and rightly so. Harnoncourt's performances are out-of-the-ordinary. (He was responsible for authentic baroque performances well before the current trend.) Beethoven : Piano Concerto #4 : [DGG 2530 791] Pollini, Bohm VPO Another composer that's impossible to sum up in a record or two. The Ninth, the late (and early) piano sonatas, the late string quartets, Fidelio, Missa Solemnis etc etc should all be experienced. No wonder Brahms felt intimidated. Schubert : Die Schone Mullerin, D 795 [DGG 2530 544] Fischer-Dieskau, Moore Schubert also wrote much piano music, 9 symphonies and several masses, but it is his lieder for which he is most famous. Gerald Moore and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau are the unchallengeable team who have recorded these works, sometimes twice or three times over a couple of decades. Chopin : Preludes, Op 28 : [DGG 2530 550] Pollini Never cared much for the piano concerti, but these `exercises' are fabulous in addition to being challenging pieces for piano students. Debussy : Le Martyre de Saint Sebastian / Printemps [DGG 2530 879] Barenboim OP Beautifully atmospheric music. Debussy has also written a lot of interesting piano music. Debussy : String Quartet, Op 10 Ravel : String Quartet : [Philips 835 361] Italian Quartet These are two of the most enjoyable twentieth century chamber works. I wonder why Debussy and Ravel are so often lumped together. Much leaner sound, more in common with Prokofiev, or even Gershwin. Both French, I guess. Prokofiev : Piano Concerto #3 Ravel : Piano Concerto in G : [DGG 139 349] Argerich, Abbado BPO This is a fabulous album with good DG sound, even if it is 15 or 20 years old. Prokofiev's other four piano concerti and Ravel's Left Hand concerto are also worth investigating. Mahler : Das Lied von der Erde [DGG 2535 184] Merriman, Haefliger, Jochum COA I can't resist throwing this in. Das Lied is one of my favourite works of music, period. Not for all tastebuds, however. Stravinsky : Petrouchka : [Philips 9500 447] Davis COA Thrilling ballet music in four parts about a love triangle between a pierrot, a dancer and a Turk (or some indistinguishable equivalent). After all, you've all seen `Fantasia' -- you don't need to hear Sacre du Printemps again :-). Bartok : Piano Concerti #1, 2 : [DGG 2530 901] Pollini, Abbado CSO I'd love to recommend everything Bartok ever wrote, but I'll restrict myself here to a single LP. Exciting, jazzy and off-beat. Your ears may take a little bit to get accustomed, but you'll never look back. Vaughan Williams : Fantasia on Greensleeves Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis Five Variants on "Dives and Lazarus" The Lark Ascending : [Argo ZRG 696] Brown, Marriner ASMF Excellent compilation LP. The big surprise is that the Fantasia on Greensleeves is the *least* enjoyable piece on the record. *** Ok. That's it. I could go on and on (and I have) but I'll break here. I'd love to hear other recommendations. To keep things short I had to leave lots of big holes (Mozart, Tchaikovksy, Brahms, Shostakovich, Haydn, Wagner, etc etc). Oscar Nierstrasz