101 Classical Music CDs

We've already talked about how Haydn's London Symphonies should be a foundation item in any beginner's classical music collection . Over a series of posts, we'll cover six of these twelve delightful symphonies from a Philips CD recording of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra. ********************** Sir Colin Davis and the Concertgebouw Orchestra Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Haydn: 6 "London" Symphonies (Nos. 94, 100, 101, 96, 103 and 104) Philips, 1977/2001 ********************** Don't worry which of the London Symphonies to buy. They're all excellent and accessible to novice classical music listeners, and yet they contain beautiful passages and complex themes and melodies that bear repeated listens. Better still, these symphonies are all quite brief, with the average symphony lasting around 25 minutes, and with movements lasting anywhere from four to eight minutes. Perfect for listening during a commute, or better still, in place of a content-free s...

As a diehard lover of classical music, it always pains me to see articles like a recent one in the Wall Street Journal about the shutdown of the Columbus Symphony in Columbus, Ohio. "On June 1, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra took what may be its final bows. Tears flowed from the musicians as well as from members of the capacity crowd in the Ohio Theatre." "The 57-year-old orchestra is out of money. The symphony canceled its summer pops season and told the musicians that they would not be paid for the rest of the current contract, which ends Aug. 31." What followed, in this article and in later letters to the editor* , was a stimulating debate on the role of the traditional classical music orchestra in the modern era. Some of the quotes addressed the harsh truth that full orchestras are expensive, and some communities simply lack the scale to sustain one: "I think that cities outside the very largest in this country must recognize that it is no longer possible...

Gustav Holst's The Planets is an orchestral suite that sprang from Holst's personal interest in astrology. It consists of seven surprisingly varied movements, each one named after one of the planets (excluding, uh, Earth and Pluto). Each movement illustrates that planet's astrological character, and thus the movements have names like Mars, the Bringer of War and Venus the Bringer of Peace . And of course who could forget Uranus, the Magician . (I dare you to say that last one out loud!) ********************** James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Holst (1874-1934) The Planets Deutsche Grammophon, 1990 ********************** Where is Earth and Pluto, you might ask? Well, you're standing on Earth, so it doesn't really play a role in astrology. And Pluto wasn't discovered until 1930, long after this work was completed. Of the seven movements, listeners will undoubtedly find Mars , Venus and Mercury compelling listening. But everyone's favorite (mys...

If you love Mahler for his larger than life, supersized symphonic productions, this symphony is for you. ********************** Claudio Abbado and the Weiner Philharmoniker Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Symphony #2 "Resurrection" Deutsche Grammophon, 1994 ********************** The Second Symphony contains everything, and I mean everything , in Mahler's arsenal. Powerful emotion, life and death themes, lush melodies, ripping brass parts, melodrama, pianissimo to fortissimissimo dynamic ranges, choral arrangements (in German no less), even extra parts for a sizable off-stage orchestra. They're all here in this nearly 90-minute long symphony. But let me warn you, listening to this symphony can be a shocking experience. At times it leaps from repose to climax with little warning or seeming logic. Mahler takes you from emotional valleys to sudden emotional peaks, from straight instrumental music to a consonant-laden German contralto solo, from lush woodwind melodies to deafen...

I'm often asked by people who are new to classical music for a list of CDs or key symphonies that I think are the best choices to start off a new classical music collection. What are ideal symphonies or works that can help you get started getting to know classical music? Today I'm going to attempt to answer this question, and I'll provide you with a brief list of works that can form the foundation of a great collection of important classical music. Keep in mind that whenever one reviews any type of list like this, invariably one can complain that a given work was left off the list ("where's Chopin? or Mahler?"), or even that some work was left on the list ("ugh, Beethoven's 5th again?"). This list is in no way meant to be exhaustive. It is merely a starting point for the novice listener. If you purchase recordings of these works and listen to each and every one of them, you'll have a great head start on your journey towards getting to know c...

I can't help but laugh when I see this CD, because each time I pull it from my shelf I always say to myself, "this disc is pathetic!" But of course that's not true. This disc contains two classical music's most beautiful works. ******************* Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Sonata #8 in C minor "Pathetique" Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Symphony #6 "Pathetique" Teldec, 1998 ******************* However, beyond their similar names, there is next to no similarity between these two works--one of which is a sonata for unaccompanied piano, and the other a symphony. Beethoven's piano sonatas are practically a genre unto themselves, and some of them can be difficult at first for for new classical music listeners to appreciate (this was certainly true for me). We'll tackle additional Beethoven piano sonatas in the coming months. In any event, these two preposterously disparate works supposedly fit t...