101 Classical Music CDs

"Whosoever has built a new Heaven has found the strength for it in his own Hell." -- Nietzsche "The mightiest of Beethoven's symphonies." --David Dubal , from The Essential Canon of Classical Music With today's post, I've now finished listening to and writing about the entire cycle of Beethoven's symphonic works. And I have to thank this blog for helping me accomplish a task I've wanted to do all my life: listen closely and carefully to every single one of Beethoven's nine symphonies. It's been a profound and deeply moving experience for me. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven: Symphonie No. 9 Deutsche Grammophon , 1984 ********************** Classical music fans with at least a passing knowledge of Beethoven's life and biographical details will know the story of the premiere of the Ninth: Beethoven was actually on the stage with the musicians, assisting the conduc...

Many classical music writers seem to want to group Beethoven's Eighth symphony together with his Sixth (the "Pastoral") and his Seventh symphonies. Perhaps it's because there are some musical traits common to all three works (peasant dance themes, for example), or perhaps it's because he wrote the Seventh and Eighth symphonies at the same time and the Sixth just a few years before that. Or maybe it's just that these symphonies are afterthoughts, grouped together arbitrarily by virtue of the fact that they are bracketed by the Fifth and the Ninth symphonies, works that are of such importance in the world of classical music that they dwarf nearly everything else Beethoven wrote. Let's never make the mistake of overlooking Beethoven's "overlooked" symphonies. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 8 / Fidelio Overture Deutsche Grammophon, 1977 ******************...

"Beethoven brought three startling innovations to music: first, he altered our very conception of the art by emphasizing the psychological element implicit in the language of sounds. Secondly, his own stormy and explosive temperament was, in part, responsible for a dramatization of the whole art of music.... Both of these elements--the psychological orientation and the instinct for drama--are inextricably linked in my mind with his third and possibly most original achievement: the creation of musical forms dynamically conceived on a scale never before attempted and of an inevitability that is irresistible." --Aaron Copeland, from David Dubal's The Essential Canon of Classical Music We return to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to give a close listen to an alternate performance of this exceptional classical music. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 8 / Fidelio Overture Deutsche Grammopho...

Today's post will cover Beethoven's Second Symphony, the other symphony on my 1985 CD of the Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. Like the First , this symphony is part of Beethoven's "backward looking" period. Most of what we hear in this symphony bears striking resemblance to what you'd hear from Mozart, Haydn or other composers of the Classical era. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Deutsche Grammophon, 1985 ********************** And yet, while the structure and many of the melodic and harmonic elements sound "Classical" you can also hear, at times, a level of stress and emotional content unheard of in a typical Classical-era symphony. Part of the increased emotional content of this symphony was doubtless a function of Beethoven's personal struggles. It was at this time he was beginning to suffer from ...

Today we will cover Beethoven's First Symphony, from a 1985 CD of the Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. I can see why music critics and historians consider Beethoven's First Symphony to be backward looking. There are times when you can hear Beethoven's stormy temper lurking in the First, but otherwise this symphony work sounds stylistically and structurally quite a bit like the music of Haydn or Mozart, key composers of the Classical era. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Deutsche Grammophon, 1985 ********************** Most music historians group Beethoven with Classical-era composers. But he wasn't really of the Classical era, nor was he truly of the Romantic era. He straddled both. His work evolved from Classical in style into forerunner works of the Romantic era (the Third Symphony is arguably a proto-Romantic work), and th...

The most commonly told anecdote about Beethoven's Third Symphony is the story of its dedication. After completing the symphony in 1803, Beethoven initially dedicated it to Napoleon as a representative of the freedoms and ideals of the French Revolution. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony #3; Leonore Overture III Deutsche Grammophon, 1966/1977 ********************** And then, of course, Napoleon crowned himself emporer. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Beethoven literally wigged out when he heard the news. He flew into a rage and tore up the title page of the symphony manuscript. And as told by his longtime friend and assistant Ferdinand Ries in the book Beethoven Remembered, Beethoven shouted: "So he is no more than a common mortal! Now, too, he will trample the rights of man, indulge only his ambition. Now he will think himself superior to all men and become a tyrant!" An...

Today we'll go over three of Beethoven's piano sonatas, from a Deutsche Grammophon CD of Maurizio Pollini performing Sonatas #13, #14 and #15. These are works composed for solo piano, with a symphony-like structure consisting typically of either three or four movements. ********************** Maurizio Pollini Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Sonatas No. 13, No. 14 and No. 15 Deutsche Grammophon, 1992 ********************** You don't need to be a piano expert to appreciate these works. But you do need to be a piano expert to play them. Beethoven's piano sonatas are so difficult and so technically demanding that the majority of piano students simply cannot perform them. This is in stark contrast to works by composers like Chopin (who wrote most of his preludes such that intermediate piano players could play them), or Rimsky-Korsakov (whose symphonies are performable by any above-average community band ). In fact, piano players generally find practicing Beethoven's piano...

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...

In today's post, we'll take yet another short break from symphonic works , and a return to some more beautiful works of chamber music. ********************** Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Trio in D major, "Ghost" Piano Trio in B flat major, "Archduke" The Geister Trio Deutsche Grammophon, 1970 ********************** Beethoven's symphonies certainly get the bulk of attention from listeners, in part because in many peoples' view, he brought the symphonic composition to a point of utter perfection (although some might say ponderous im perfection). But his chamber music is considered equally as important from an artistic standpoint--and quite frankly, it's quite a bit more relaxing to listen to. Today's musical selections are piano trios, which consist of a violin, a cello and a piano. Or more accurately stated, a fortepiano , which was the a predecessor to the modern piano, and was the instrument in use in Beethoven's day. Beethove...

We had dinner with some good friends last night and one of them commented on how he's trying to learn more about classical music, but he just didn't really like Beethoven. Too heavy and too serious. At first I thought to myself: Is this possible ? Somebody who doesn't like Beethoven? How can this be? ********************** George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony #4 Symphony #7 Sony Classical, 1992 ********************** We talked for a bit about how some of Beethoven's music, particularly his Fifth Symphony, has become so familiar to listeners and used in so many formats that the symphony--or at least the introductory "dut dut dut daaaaahhh" part--borders on self-parody. Remember "A Fifth of Beethoven" from the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack? I can see how mighty works like his Ninth and Fifth symphonies might be seen as ponderous and even a bit over the top, and I can also see how, compared to Mozart or Bach, Beetho...

I challenge anyone to sit quietly and attentively through a Beethoven symphony-- any Beethoven symphony--and not get both engrossed and emotional. ********************** George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony #4 Symphony #7 Sony Classical, 1992 ********************** Today we'll talk about Beethoven's 4th Symphony, and how the 4th seems to get overlooked--even forgotten--in the context of Beethoven's best known works. Granted, everything is relative in life, and it's hard to compare favorably to titanic works like Beethoven's 1st, 5th and 9th Symphonies (we'll eventually get to all of them in this blog). It's like being the youngest kid in a family, getting straight A's and going on to a great career as a doctor or lawyer or whatever, but because your older brothers are Stephen Hawking, Winston Churchill and Michael Jordan, nobody notices you. Even Beethoven, by definition, has a least successful symphony. But it's a...

I've wondered, after composing something as flawless and structurally perfect as the 5th Symphony , what can a man, even a giant like this man, possibly do for an encore? That's what draws me to Beethoven's 6th Symphony. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony #5 Symphony #6, "Pastoral" Deutsche Grammophon, 1984 ********************** The 6th Symphony, which I'll focus on today, may not have the gravitas of the 5th, but it is still stunningly beautiful and inspiring. It is lilting (as much as Beethoven can lilt), yet still quite formal. Beethoven was probably the cockiest composer in the history of classical music, but if you just spend a little time listening closely to any of his music, you can see that he deserved to be cocky. I have always loved the story about his response to people who were bewildered by the dissonance and complexity of his so-called "late" string quartets. He said,...

If you are interested in starting up a collection of solid classical music, you probably should start by buying all of Beethoven's symphonies, and the first one I suggest you spend time on is his 5th. ********************** Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony #5 Symphony #6, "Pastoral" Deutsche Grammophon, 1984 ********************** It is the most accessible of his symphonies to anyone new to classical music. Everyone recognizes the four-note opening theme. Beethoven's 5th is a textbook example of the symphonic form (some would say it represents the utter perfection of the symphonic form). And, at about 25 minutes in running time, it won't strain your attention span. I've probably listened to this symphony at least 200 times, and I've performed it as well. And I still get emotional listening to it. Listen for the triumphal sections about one minute into the second movement, as well as the soft woodwind and strin...