Virtuosi 2: Szigeti Beecham and Prokofiev
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 in D major, Op.19 Joseph Szigeti London Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Beecham [see all Virtuosi posts here] From 1935, a wonderful performance by Szigeti of a modern work.
Sibelius Symphony 4
Sibelius recordings on the whole have been good to excellent. Over the years many conductors have traversed the Symphonies and Tone Poems with much success. A few performances stand out for me, and Ashkenazy with the Philharmonia Orchestra’s recording of Symphony 4 is a favorite. One of the early London digital recordings from 1981, I still play the LP. It has since been incorporated into several collections and the latest is of all 7 symphonies plus other works at a…
Adam’s Bon-Bon
Adolphe Adam’s ballet music for ‘Giselle’ is one of those not-so-serious classical works, and a fun listen. Take a touch of Tchaikovsky ballet music and add a taste of Strauss waltz music, and you have ‘Giselle’. The Ballet Suite shows up on various recordings here and there, but to get more of the music, you have two great options. Bonygne and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Gardens recorded a complete 2CD set that hails from the 1960’s. Another…
Wassenaer: Concerti Armonici
Wassenaer’s 6 concerti were originally attributed to Pergolesi, but since the early 1980’s they were in fact confirmed to be composed by Wassenaer. These are delightful baroque compositions, rather relaxed music, with a similarity to Vivaldi without sounding like a second-rate copy. Any fan of the baroque should check these out. The Marriner – ASMF recording is excellent and most enjoyable. Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unico_Wilhelm_van_Wassenaer
Starter Collection: Mozart Horn Concertos
Mozart: 4 Horn Concertos / Maag – Tuckwell – London SO /1981 / London Jubilee JL 41015
London Jubilee
One of those bargain lines from London Records in the early 80s, the London Jubilee label made up the bulk of my early classical music purchases, along with the CBS Great Performances line. As these records and cassettes were my first exposure to a lot of works, they have stuck in my mind as sounding right as far as performances go. That tends to happen when you get familiar with a particular recording. Luckily most of the releases were of…