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Date: | Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:42:20 -0500 |
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Donald Scarinci:
>I am relatively new to classical music. I am looking for very high quality
>recordings of some of my favorite material. Particularly, I am looking
>for "The Planets," the Beethoven Symphonies, and Handel's "Water Music."
>I am open to any other recommendations that bring out the sound of a good
>stereo. I've been told that Telarc recordings are best. Any thoughts by
>anyone out there?
Don't stick with one label. Some Telarc recordings are fine, others
aren't. Even the sound quality - let alone the level of interpretation -
varies. This is true of almost every label.
I recommend the following:
1. Handel's Water Music. Lots of decisions to make. Do you want
"historical" instruments and performance techniques? Do want a modern
sound? Do you want Handel or Handel arranged? Do you want the complete
Water Music or just selections? Some of my favorite Water Musics (in no
particular order):
* Pinnock on Archiv ("historical")
* McGegan on Harmonia Mundi ("historical")
* Leppard on Philips (modern)
* Menuhin on EMI/Seraphim (modern)
* Szell on London (arr. by Harty, suite, modern)
2. Holst's Planets
* Boult on EMI. Avoid Davis, Karajan, Levi, and Dutoit. Not enough juice
or totally clueless about the music.
3. Beethoven Symphonies. I cannot recommend any complete set
wholeheartedly. It seems to me that you do better with individual
performances. There are a ton of them out there. I suggest that, to
begin, you read Deryk Barker's recommendations (he's listened to more
performances than most of us, including me). Point your browser to
http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~dbarker/beethoven.html
If you must have a complete integral set, I recommend (in no particular
order)
* Karajan 1955 on EMI (mono, except the 8th)
* Karajan 1961-2 on DGG
* Szell on Sony
* Ferencsik on Laserlight
* Harnoncourt on Teldec
* Dohnanyi on Telarc
This leaves out important historical sets (read "poor sound") like
Toscanini's, Furtwaengler's, and Mengelberg's.
Steve Schwartz
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