SA-CD.net - What should my first classical multichannel SACD purchase be?

Post by sacd_fan_2007 October 26, 2007 (11 of 16)

Since you like the light textured violin, flute, lute, etc... try Jenine Jensen's Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Instrumentation is one to a part giving it a much lighter and more transparent sound.

Naxos has two outstanding SACD's:
1. Robert Craft conducting the complete Firebird
2. The Royal Scottish Orchestra doing Holst's The Planets (Mars is a bit weak, but the other seven movements and the Mystic Trumpeter are fantastic)

Post by Orpheus October 27, 2007 (12 of 16)
If your looking for a mellow work, I'd recommend Brahms: Clarinet Quintet - Fitzwilliam String Quartet. This is the way Brahms, etc should be played to bring out the mellowness.

Post by Windsurfer October 27, 2007 (13 of 16)

The most exciting piano disc I ever heard is Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Vol. 1 - Igor Tchetuev

If you know Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata, this one has the most explosive dynamics I ever heard in a solo instrument recording. The power and control are almost beyond belief. The soulful moments are not neglected either.

For a violin concerto, I second Polly Nomial's choice of Julia Fischer's Tchaikovsky disc. The concerto is impressive (amazing really) but the Souvenir d’un lieu cher Op. 42 is a true treasure. On the other hand, her Russian Concertos disc Russian Violin Concertos - Fischer/Kreizberg is another I would not want to be without. There is more to that, but I will simply admit I am a huge fan of Fischer, I could not go without any of her recordings! It looks as if Amazon has most of them on sale right now!

For Symphonies, If you are partial to the reflective and deeply moving, try
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5, Tallis Fantasia - Spano

Otherwise for a dancing symphonic performance of extraordinary joy try Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 - Kleiber This is not in up-to-date sound, and I usually am a staunch advocate of sound quality, but this performance is really something.

Beagle, How in the world did you manage to limit yourself to only one disc?

Post by jlaurson October 27, 2007 (14 of 16)

Naxos has two outstanding SACD's: 1. Robert Craft conducting the complete Firebird 2. The Royal Scottish Orchestra doing Holst's The Planets Speaking of Naxos SACDs (I think the Craft re-makes of Strav. not quite hot, btw.), the Scherbakov/Yablonsky recording of Rachmaninov 2 & 3 is just about the best sounding (interpretation and audio quality) disc I've heard - not only from Naxos but in general. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=83444

Post by wehecht October 27, 2007 (15 of 16)

Dan,

Bearing in mind your expressed preferences I think you'd find each of these worthwhile:

Violin: For solo violin Bach's Sonatas and Partitas by Julia Fischer on Pentatone(PTC 5186 072); for violin concerti Tchaikovsky's concerto etc also by Julia Fischer on Pentatone (PTC 5186 095), Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" by Janine Jansen on Decca (475 6188), and the Beethoven and Mendelssohn concerti by Victoria Mullova on Phillips (470 629-2).

Piano: For solo piano Burkard Schiessmann's Chopin recital on Bayer (BR 100 348), Yevgeny Sudbin's Rachmaninov recital on BIS (BIS-SACD-1519), and Artur Pizarro's Ravel recital on Linn (CKD 290); for piano concerti the two Liszt concerti by Arnaldo Cohen on BIS (BIS-SACD-1530), Mozart's 9th and 25th by Alfred Brendel on Phillips (470 616-2), and the firsts of Tchaikovsky and Medtner also on BIS (BIS-SACD-1588).

Flute: A group of 20th century pieces for flute and orchstra coupled under the title "Bridge Across the Pyrenees" by Sharon Bezaly on BIS (BIS-SACD-1559), and the Mozart Concerti by Jacques Zoon on Telarc (SACD-60624) or Sharon Bezaly on BIS (BIS-SACD-153901) Note: the Zoon is just the two complete concerti coupled with the Symphony #41 all on "period instruments" while the Bezaly includes two additional Mozart movements for flute and orchestra, the instruments employed are "modern", and the cadenzas are challenging, or wierd depending on your point of view, newly composed by Kalevi Aho.

Orchestral: Three "mountain" symphonies by Alan Hovhaness on Telarc (SACD-60604), the Vaughn Williams Symphony #5 etc on Telarc (SACD-60676), the Symphony #3 and Cello Concerto of Peteris Vasks on Ondine (ODE 1086-5), Grieg's Peer Gynt suites etc on BIS (BIS-SACD-1591), and another BIS miscellany called "Seascapes" (BIS-SACD-1447) with includes Debussy's "La Mer" and what I personally believe is an even better piece, Frank Bridge's "The Sea".

As you've noticed several of these sugestions also appear on other replies, which just indicates that there's probably a consensus about the value of the music itself and the excellence of those recordings. Some others are a little off the beaten track because for me, and I suspect many collectors feel the same, the great joy of collecting classical recordings is in the discovery of something new and unexpected that speaks to my mind and soul. I envy you the opportunity to hear it all again for the first time.

Bill

Post by Windsurfer October 28, 2007 (16 of 16)
wehecht said: Dan, Some others are a little off the beaten track because for me, and I suspect many collectors feel the same, the great joy of collecting classical recordings is in the discovery of something new and unexpected that speaks to my mind and soul. I envy you the opportunity to hear it all again for the first time. Bill Right on!