Essential CDs

[eddie92099]

Which CDs would you say are essential to any serious collection?
Ed

[comme_le_vent]

good ones i would say

[comme_le_vent]

seriously, beatles cds, radiohead cds, horowitz scarlatti cds, richter sofia recital, hamelin kaleidoskope + composer-pianists, and all of his alkan cds. Argerich rach 3, cziffra - anything, especially liszt. stephen hough's 'the piano album', arnaldo cohen's liszt recital on naxos, rachmaninov's recordings , escpecially of his own piano concertos, art tatum - all his solo and group recordings. bernstein's mahler, therion - secret of the runes, nightwish - wishmaster, queen - queen 2 for the beautiful 'nevermore' and march of the black queen, kraus symphonies vol2 on naxos - for classical era music with romanitc emotions. and last but not least - the 'la roque d'antheron' les pianos de la nuit DVDs - especially the libetta one  

[comme_le_vent]

oops i think i just listed my favourite cds, not necesarily 'essential ones'. i think you should outline some criteria for a cd being 'essential'. does it have to be universally appealing? an accepted classic? or what? you tell me edwardo

[eddie92099]

Well, recordings that are, in your opinion, the best available of pieces that are, in your opinion, the best available,
Ed

[Noah]

- A complete Argerich discography
- Bach - Goldberg variations by Gould (at least one version)
- Bach - Wohltemperiertes Klavier by Richter or Gould
- Mozart - Piano Concertos by Zacharias
- Mozart - Trios by the Beaux Arts Trio
- Beethoven - Sonatas by Brendel and Schnabel
- Beethoven - Piano Concerto n.3 by Michelangeli
- Albeniz - Iberia by Alicia de Larrocha
- Barber - Sonata by Horowitz
- Brahms' First Concerto by Curzon

- Night Train by the Oscar Peterson Trio
- CDs of The Doors, Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Blur, Radiohead, Nirvana

[comme_le_vent]

Its good to see other ppl like 'popular music', I am a highly esteemed individual of the highest calibre, legends bow down to my feet. Yet i still sometimes find rach or bach too heavy for me, and i sometimes prefer to chill out to some metallica or iron maiden, fear of the dark is a particular favourite.

[comme_le_vent]

As for your criteria Edwardo - mr rated pg - dont diss me.
I'd say the best beethoven violin sonatas are by kempff and that yehudi dude. The best alkan symphony for solo piano and sonatine is by hamelin, the best rach 3 is argerich, best encoreists are hamelin and horowitz, best brahms piano works - katchen, best mahler symphonies - bernstein, best beethoven symphonies - toscanini, best godowsky- any piece- hamelin, best scriabin - horowitz , scarlatti-any sonata- horowitz, any bach - schiff, moonlight sonata - brendel or friedmann.
The thing i have most difficulty with is choosing the best chopin player, but the most stunning chopin performances ive heard were by richter, of a couple of the etudes.

[Noah]

Well... I do listen to 'popular' music but only in a very small proportion compared to the amount of 'classical' music I listen to.
About my list of essential cds, this is only a beginning of course. I'm interested to see what other people will post.

[erik-]

Let's say if I were sentenced to spend the rest of my life on a deserted island, and I would be allowed to bring along only 10 recordings, I would bring the following:

1 - Verdi's Rigoletto conducted by Rafael Kubelik (DG)
2 - Beethoven's complete piano sonatas and concerti by Claudio Arrau (PHILIPS)
3 - Schumann's sonatas for violin and piano by Argerich and Kremer (DG)
4 - Tchaikovsky's piano concerto n.1 live / Rachmaninov's piano concerto n.3 live by Argerich (PHILIPS)
5 - Debussy's Preludes and other pieces by Samson François (EMI)
6 - Chopin's Ballades by Kristian Zimmerman (DG)
7 - Liszt's Sonata in B minor, Hungarian Rhapsody n. 6 and other pieces by Martha Argerich (DG Gallleria)
8 - Beethoven's complete symphonies conducted by Harnoncourt (TELDEC)
9 - Mozart's Les noces de Figaro by Harnoncourt (TELDEC)
10 - Chopin's piano concerto n1 and Liszt piano concerto n.1 by argerich/abbado (DG)