The Ninth

From my list, I am skipping over Mozart's Requiem since I am having difficulty finding much more to listen to than what I have.

Beethoven's Ninth has been recorded by about everyone making it difficult to find the "must-have" recording (as opposed to Kleiber's Fifth/Seventh disc which is always on the top of everyone's essential recordings). So once again, I've decided to suggest two recordings: one is traditional while the other is a bit alternative.

Karajan was a towering figure in Classical music recordings; his output was staggering. He recorded more than three versions of the Ninth (some pre-dating stereo) and generally people like either the 62 or 76 accounts. I will recommend the 62 recording since I have listened to it often and it has the Coriolan Overture as an added bonus.

For something a little different, I really enjoy Zinman's recording. It's fast (very fast), almost too fast for my tastes but intriguing. It seems this tempo is now thought to be authentic, so it's hard to argue. In addition, there's an alternative ending on the disc! How crazy! Anyway, the disc is so cheap that I would suggest anyone with a passing interest just buy it.

Finally, I must say that if you only buy one piece of Classical music, make it the Ninth. Any version.

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos

From my previous post, the first choice is Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

The story behind how these amazing pieces of music were just moldering on a shelf and then sold away ($22!) is just amazing.  

Basically, I distilled what I know down to two recordings.  One is on modern instruments while the other is historical.  Both are awesome.

1)Sir Neville Marriner and Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields have a two disc set with many outstanding soloists.  Both discs are a steal at Amazon.  Disc 1 (1-4) and Disc 2 (5,6 and  Orch Suite 1 as a bonus) at about $7 a piece are a steal.

2) Trevor Pinnock's recordings on period instruments set the bar for HIP.  While not as inexpensive as Marriner and ASMF's, it does include four Orchestral Suites and spans three discs.

Full disclosure: I don't own either of these.  My wife has some real crap version (which I phased out years ago) but I have always loved my Baumgartner versions.  I have read a lot about the different versions and listened to a large amount of samples.  Honestly, Marriner and Pinnock are awesome and I have a ton of other works by them, so it's not hard to go out on a limb and suggest them.

PS: Another version that really caught my ear was this one by the Italiano Concerto and Rinaldo Alessandrini.  Wow!  The No. 5's Harpsichord riff on here is enticing.

Classical Music Sampler

I toyed with the idea of making a top ten must-have Classical music list.  The more I thought about the order of how I'd rank various pieces, the more the list became dominated with Bach and Beethoven.  Plus, comparing and ranking various pieces becomes impossible.  How could someone compare Mozart's Don Giovanni with Bach's Mass in B Minor?  They're completely different categories.

Instead, I thought it'd be easier to create a sampler.  Try to span many genres, composers, and composition types while staying small.  Even this was difficult for very prolific composers.  So the following is a mix of compositions and music periods.  All of these pieces are great and (I think) needed for a basic music library.  However, I don't know if these are their respective composers' greatest works.

Bach - Brandenburg Concertos (up to 1721)

Mozart - Requiem (1791) 

Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 (1824)

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto (1845)

Mussorgsky (Ravel) - Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909)

Stravinsky - Rite of Spring (1913)

Glass - Akhnaten (1983)

Quick Discussion

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos - Bach is a monster; there is no bad Bach.  These concerti are very accessible yet intricate.  The six pieces range in instrumentation and tone.  Overall, an excellent Baroque sample and one of Bach's best.

Mozart's Requiem - Another giant among men; Mozart is amazing.  My choice for a Mass, even though it's a bit dark and many parts of it aren't even written by Mozart.  Still, the Confutatis maledictus is one of the most moving pieces of music and it has such a rich history by itself.  (For extra credit, listen to Faure's Requiem for a more "upbeat" Mass for the dead.)  This was a difficult choice as there are better Mozart compositions to be had, but this Mass is a keeper.

Beethoven's 9th - The older I get, the more I savor Beethoven.  His symphonies are the yardstick for all others and (since I'm not a huge Mahler fan) they all fall short.  The Ninth is almost cliche, but just sit down and really listen to it.  It's a no-brainer to be on the list and may be the best piece of music ever.

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto - I wanted to pick a good violin concerto, and this piece is probably the most virtuostic one that leapt to mind.  While Bach and Mozart may have more melodic violin concertos (and Beethoven's is pretty good too!), this piece just blows your socks off.

Mussorgsky's Pictures (arr. Ravel) - This piece represents those pieces of music telling a story (as does Respighi's Pines of Rome), but also illustrates how an arranger can breathe life into a work.  Ravel's arrangement is certainly the most famous, but Stokowski's is no slouch either.  Still, the piece is very evocative and moving.

The Rach 3 - It's famous or infamous as being very demanding and is an excellent example of how the piano is a truly amazing instrument.  Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto may be my personal favorite, but I wanted to pick the 3rd for its history and sheer moxie.

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring - Another historical piece (it caused a riot when premiered); it's not one of my favorites, but I included it to represent that tumultuous early 20th-century music that pushed the boundaries.   Plus, it was originally for a ballet, so I wanted to include some ballet music that wasn't Tchaikovsky. The drums take center stage and the sounds almost drive you crazy.

Glass's Akhnaten - I have a thing for Glass; my rational brain says his music must be crap, but I just love it.  Here we have my opera choice (though I enjoy Mozart's operas more) and a very easy introduction to Glass.  His Einstein on the Beach may be more famous, but it's hard-core minimalism (1,2,3... 1,2,3...) that easily turns off most people.  Here we have a bit more traditional opera and a great representation of modern music.

The next step is to pick superlative recordings for these; I'll dust off my Penguin Guide and see what it says.