101 Classical Music CDs

Today I'll evaluate a second version of Brahms' Second Symphony and use the opportunity to get to know this beautiful work even more intimately. ********************** Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Complete Symphonies Philips, 1989 ********************** I'll spend a fair portion of this post highlighting differences between today's recording by the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the more polished, almost mistake-free version by the Boston Symphony Orchestra that we listened to back in April. Before we get started, however, let me be clear on one point: despite the fact that I'll be citing strengths and weaknesses of one performance versus another, the actual differences in quality between these two performances is extremely small. So small, in fact, that it's simply further proof of my prior assertion that you can purchase pretty much any recording of any symphony performed by any major orchestra (think NFL cities),...

Today we're going to cover disc 2 from this amazing four CD set of Schumann's piano works, performed by pianist Wilhelm Kempff. After listening to these recordings, I've never been more inspired to want to learn to play the piano. It's amazing what this man can do when he composes for this instrument. One work is a spare, beautiful and unforgettable melody, and the next work resonates with the depth and complexity of an entire symphony. ********************** Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Performed by Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991) Schumann: Piano Works Deutsche Grammophone, 1975 ********************** And yet this man lived such a short life with so much suffering. If there's anything that even a cursory survey of the history of classical music shows, it's that so many of the world's greatest composers ranged from insane to insecure to shockingly miserable. More evidence of how true geniuses are doomed to suffer in this world. Let's get right into the listene...

If you're going to spend time learning Schumann's music, be sure to spend some time learning about Schumann the man. I found that having some sense of how this composer fought valiantly against personal demons and mental illness throughout his life was extremely helpful in helping me grasp his music. Try starting with his Wikipedia page for an overview of his life and key works. Today we will cover four works by Schumann: Papillons (opus 2), Davidsbundlertanze (opus 6) and Carnaval (opus 9), which are on disc 1 of a four-CD recording of Schumann's piano works performed by Wilhelm Kempff. ********************** Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Performed by Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991) Schumann: Piano Works Deutsche Grammophone, 1975 ********************** First, if you do the math on the various dates above, it's worth noting that pianist Wilhelm Kempff performs these works, which were recorded over the years 1967-1975, at ages ranging from 72 to 80! Presumably Kempff was well...

"A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything." --Gustav Mahler We return yet again to Mahler to listen to his Fifth Symphony in an exceptional recording by Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker. ********************** Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Symphony No. 5 Deutsche Grammophon, 1993 ********************** Readers of this blog know that I'm partial to Mahler because of his--how shall I put this?--liberal use of loud brass instruments. And as a former trumpet player I can't help but really fall for the Fifth, a symphony that starts out with a big, bright trumpet solo. What can I say? He had me at "hello." Like all of Mahler's symphonies, the Fifth blows your hair back with power chords and gripping climaxes, but this symphony is also surprisingly complex and varied, and it also has a highly interesting and irregular five movement structure. We've come a long way since the unive...

We're going to put in to practice the comparison exercise I talked about in our last post by comparing a new recording of Brahms' First Symphony (this one part of a 3-CD collection of the complete symphonies of Brahms performed by conductor Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989) to the original recording that I profiled back in February (which was a 1983 performance by Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic). ********************** Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Complete Symphonies Philips, 1989 ********************** I can't do justice to describing what an absolute pleasure and a great learning experience this process was. Two wonderful hours flew by while I listened to each of these symphonies back to back, taking notes all the while. Let's get right into the listener notes. Listener notes for Brahms Symphony #1 (Philadelphia Orchestra): 1) A general (and extended) comment on the tone of the overall...

One more general comment on comparing recordings of symphonies : If you go too long listening to only one recording of a favorite symphony, too often that recording becomes the default standard by which you judge all other recordings. It was arbitrary that it happened to be the first version you bought, and yet after several listens your mind starts to make that performance into the definitive performance. As a result, other equally well-performed versions sound less appealing only because they are different . Try to avoid this. You want your ear to stay flexible and non-judgmental, so don't wait too long before branching out and getting alternate versions of your classical music favorites. You don't need twelve versions of each work--two or three at most will do. Every version you hear, as long as it's above a certain baseline level of performance quality, will teach you something new about your favorite symphony. We'll be back shortly with our comparison of Brahms Sym...

One of the more subtle pleasures of classical music comes after you've become familiar with a few different symphonies and you have the opportunity to compare different recordings of the same piece. There's no better way to get to know a great classical music work. In fact, after you've bought five or ten different MP3s or CDs to start your classical music collection , I strongly encourage you to choose your favorite two or three symphonies from your first crop of discs and get yourself an additional copy of each one of them. A few thoughts on the process of comparing recordings: once you get your new recording, before listening to it, I suggest having one more close listen to your old one. Then, after listening through both, think about which aspects of your new recording are different, superior, inferior, etc., to your original one, and why? On the whole, which recording do you prefer, and why? There are no right or wrong answers here. The point of the exercise is to enjo...

In this blog I've spent quite a bit of time talking about Beethoven's shadow and how it loomed over so many composers who came after him. Would it surprise you that there was a composer whose shadow loomed over Beethoven? From David Dubal's The Essential Canon of Classical Music: On March 27, 1808, Haydn, now Austria's major celebrity, was seen for the last time in public at a performance of The Creation [this was Haydn's best known oratorio], conducted by Antonio Salieri. After the first part of the work, overcome by emotion, Haydn had to be carried home. Beethoven, who had also attended the performance, rushed to the doors of the theater, passionately kissing the old master's hands and forehead. This is typical of the fascinating anecdotes throughout David Dubal's book. It's been an enormous pleasure to read, and as a source of information for this blog, it has been second only to the music itself. I highly recommend it as a reference if you want to ...