Rudolf Serkin plays Beethoven piano sonatas: Moonlight, Pathetique, Appassionata This gives you excellent versions of three of the best and most accessible of the Beethoven piano sonatas. This is Ashkenazy, not Serkin, with a sublime adagio:
Hovhaness -- The Rubaiyat / Exile Symphony Symphony No. 1/ Meditation on Orpheus / Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints
Interesting to read about Rachmaninoff getting so annoyed at audiences wanting to hear the Prélude in C sharp minor that he wished he had not written it in the first place. Rachmaninoff: Prélude in C sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 Rachmaninov: 10 Préludes, Op. 23 Rachmaninov: 13 Préludes, Op. 32 Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) 1974
This morning I am re-Re-listening to some of the symphonies in this excellent cycle. I also intend to dive into the cycle recorded by Istvan Kertesz with the LSO which I have in a playlist in my music app. And at some point I will revisit the Kubelik cycle. There is a lot to enjoy in these symphonies. The 9th seems to get all the attention at the expense of the 6th and others.
I don't worry so much about taxes. But shipping from Presto can be expensive. My last purchase was a box set for $85 PLUS $25 for shipping. Presto's prices are all over the place, but there are plenty of bargains to be found, shipping notwithstanding. And they offer a wide selection of downloads, almost all at CD quality or better, and including quite a few physically OOP recordings. Again, prices all over the place. But I get instant delivery, no taxes and no shipping charge. I would say that the majority of my Presto purchases in recent years have been downloads.
Not sure if you are asking about performers or individual sonatas. If the latter, you might start with a single disc that includes three of the following: No. 8 (Pathetique), No. 14 (Moonlight), No. 21 (Waldstein), and No. 23 (Appassionata). Mind you, all 32 are worth a listen - or many listens. Edit - I see Minkin beat me to it. The album he displays was my first LP of Beethoven Sonatas.
What label is that on, John? Turns out I have a few more of her cds I'd forgotten about! But not that one.
I've discovered Presto recently, and it's true that there are bargains to be had there. When I make purchases, or add albums to my wishlist, I also make a point to check 7digital: I've found albums at sub $5-10 CAD there at times. For example, The Koln Concert and Concerts Bremen Lausanne by Keith Jarrett, 4 Pavel Haas Quartet albums, a single Vilde Frang album (320 m4a unfortunately).
Resuming my traversal of this set with disc 4, the last of the Debussy discs: Claude Debussy - Fantasie pour piano et orchestra, La plus que lente, Premier Rapsodie pour orchestre avec clarinette principale, Rapsodie pour orchestre etc saxophone solo, Khamma, Danse: Tarantelle styrienne - Martinon/Orchestre National de l'ORTF, Aldo Ciccolini (Piano, Fantasie etc.), John Leach (Cimbalom), Guy Dangain (clarinet), Jean-Marie Loneix (saxophone), Fabienne Boury (piano, Khamma) A bit of a concerto mop-up disc by the looks of things, but an interesting looking one - not sure I've ever heard a saxophone in a classical context (maybe in Shostakovich?), and I've never knowingly heard a cimbalom at all. The opening of the piano fantasie is wonderful, and the engineering here really holds up. A nice touch - discs 1-4 are Debussy, while 5-8 are Ravel, and this disc ends with the Tarantelle, which is a Debussy piano work orchestrated by... Maurice Ravel. A nice little baton pass.
Incidentally, how good/bad is the Apex label? I'm seeing a ton of albums for $3.75 to $7.50 CAD on Predto: Apex (label) (page 1 of 26) | Presto Music
I think the SQ is no worse than many of the lesser known record labels and I do have a few of them. I think they are mostly older Telefunken or other lesser know labels/artists acquired by WarnerMusic over the years but Warner has not quite figured out what categories they should belong in. I have noticed some have now moved into some Warner big boxes. WarnerMusic is the worst of the big three - Universal, Sony and Warner when it comes to organization and apparently its management is less familiar with classical music in general. It also had been the worst serial acquirers before it landed EMI about a decade ago.
Alas, it's out of print these days, and the second-hand prices tend to be a bit less of a bargain. It took me about a full year of online stakeout before I spotted a very lightly used copy for £20 on the Oxfam website.
Listening to "Noel - Harmonia Mundi Christmas Edition 2006" on Harmonia Mundi. Performed by: the RIAS Kammerchor, Uwe Gronostay Concerto Vocale Les Arts Florissants Ensemble 415 La Chapelle Royale Collegium Vocale Ghent Orchestre des Champs Elysees Anonymous 4 Theater of Voices Ensemble Organum Franz Xaver Gruber [1787-1863] - Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht Heinrich Schütz [1585-1672] - Heute ist Christus geboren SWV 439 Marc-Antoine Charpentier [1643-1704] - Pastorale sur la naissance de N.S. Jésus-Christ H.483 Scène 2. Air Régnez, calme profond Arcangelo Corelli [1653-1713] - Concerto da chiesa n°8 en sol mineur "fatto per la notte di Natale" Vivace - Allegro - Largo (Pastorale) Hector Berlioz [1803-1869] - L'Enfance du Christ op.25 L'Adieu des Bergers à la Sainte Famille Traditional Scottish - The Reel of Tullochgorum King Henry VIII [1491-1547] - Grene growith the holy Traditional American - Joy to the World! Gustav Holst [1874-1934] - In the bleak mid winter Traditional English - 0A New Year's Gift (Greensleeves) Louis-Claude Daquin [1694-1772] - Noël provençal Anonymous - Messe du Jour de Noël Kyrie Johann Sebastian Bach [1685-1750] - Magnificat BWV 243a "Magnificat anima mea" Cantate de Noël BWV 122 Choral Das neugeborne Kindelein Aria (B° O Menschen, die ihr täglich sündigt Recitativo (S) Die Engel, welche sich zuvor Aria (S, A, T) Ist Gott versöhnt und unser Freund Recitativo (B) Dies ist ein Tag, den selbst der Herr gemacht Choral Es bringt das rechte Jubeljahr0John Francis Wade - Herbei, o ihr Gläub'gen Louis-Claude Daquin [1694-1772] - Noël
Apex is a legitimate budget imprint (largely reissues) of Warner (Warner Bros, Teldec, and potentially EMI titles). Sound quality is usually quite good, but can vary depending on the age and quality of the original recordings.
Now playing: Claudio Monteverdi - Ottavo libro dei madrigali, 1638 - La Venexiana - recorded 2004, 2005 CD 2 of this set:
I know we should try to separate artists from their personal lives, but she has made several hateful comments and has drawn some hurtful cartoons about Ukrainians. Pianist Boris Berezovsky has, too. He was one of the first to call for cutting off their electricity and water supplies months ago.
Listening to CD 21 from "Bruno Walter - The Edition" on Sony. Mahler - Symphony No. 4 (Desi Halban - soprano, New York Philharmonic) / Lieder Und Gesange (Desi Halban - soprano, Bruno Walter - piano)
John thank you and everyone who replied. Actually I was hoping for guidance with performers and individual sonatas. Whatever members wanted to pass on. It seems the sonatas tend to show up in ones and twos in recordings I own. I have the following LP which got me interested. This is a large body of work so I appreciate the help. Gary Graffman, Beethoven* – Piano Sonatas Label: Columbia Masterworks – M 33890 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Released: 1976
The ones I listed are all masterful players, so I think you'd be safe with single recordings from any of them!
