Anybody have any classical favorites? Please list album/artist/label if you know.

Mine so far:

Brahms Symphony #1 in C minor, Vienna Symphony. Very moving and dramatic. Lush, rich, and complex harmonies.

Bach two and three part inventions, Andras Schiff, London Digital. Simple, elegant, Bach. One Piano, two parts for starters, then moves on to three parts.

Haydn: Three favorite concertos, Wynton Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma, English Chamber Orchetra. Great orchestral sections that feature amazing musicianship by Wynton and Yo-yo.

 

 

 

Delius: Orchestral Works Beecham EMI 7243 5 67553 2 1

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, etc. Previn EMI 7243 5 66943 2 3

Holst: The Planets w/ Colin Matthews 'Pluto - The Renewer' The Halle' Orchestra/Mark Elder Hyperion CDA67270

Mahler: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' Klemperer EMI 7243 5 67255 2 2

Mahler: Symphony No.5 Zander/Philharmonia Orchestra Telarc 2CD-80569

Orff: Carmina Burana Previn EMI 7243 5 66951 2 2

Respighi: Pini Di Roma - Fontane Di Roma, etc. Jansons EMI 7243 5 55600 2 5

Other Favorties:

Mozart Symphony 40

Berlioz Symphony Fantastique

Beethoven Syphonies 1-9

Copland Appalachian Spring

Tchikakovsky 1812 / Firebird Suite

Starting to wander:

Lux Aeterna Laurisden

Music of Hovaness Yolanda Kondonassis, Harp

Cantus - Male choir ensemble

uhmm... that's it for now...

I'm not one to often listen to classical although I have an appreciation for it. I've recently picked this up though due to a recommendation in Stereophile magazine. It follows me from house to car and back again.

: Missa De Apostolis / Motets [Audio CD] Isaac; Tallis Scholars; Phillips

Thanks for the recommendation Mitch, I just added that to my 'wishlist' at amazon. 

No prob Jim. Have you ever been over to the Lords and Taylor in downtown Philly and heard the Grand Court Organ there? I ask because of one of the only other classical CD's I have.

http://www.aperionaudio.com/forum/shwmessage.aspx?forumid=8&messageid=12&p=2

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005RDBI/qid=1094382520/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-2167748-1496933

Mitch, I've never been there, but now I may have to make a point to visit next time I am in Philly.

Mitch, I correct myself, I HAVE been there, and I have (apparently) heard it as well.  Of course, I cant really comment on it, as I didn't know that Lord & Taylor was the host of the Chirstmas Light Show I used to attend as a child.  We saw that show every year when we were younger, along with the Charles Dickens walk-through in another (forgotten) named retail shop in downtown Philadelphia.  Wow!  I've been telling my wife we need to head into Philly one holiday season to see the light show, little did I know it was accompanied by a very famous organ!!!  (didn't mean much to me at the age of 8-10)  Well, now I know one holiday outing we are doing this season.  Maybe we'll do Philly instead of NYC this year?  Man, I feel like I should have known about this.   Thanks!

Well Jim, I'm originally from Pa. (Poconos) and I'd never heard of it until the last year or so. Although It seems to be on the periphery of my recollections. Like you, I feel I should have known about this as well.  The CD is extremely well recorded and considered to be a exemplary recording for Bass. Usually Movies LFE are recommended or Bass heavy Dance Mixes.

Yeah, I am definitely going to pick it up!  This will be one of those discs that starts to reveal the limits of my Tabu monitors...

Its funny that this thread was started.  I was just listening to some opera last weekend with a friend who is a big fan.  We were both blown away by how well the system sounded.  He was especially impressed by the fullness and detail of the percussion.

As an aside, he wanted to hear how it sounded in DPL II music mode vs Stereo.  We both agreed stereo sounded better, especially the vocals, though the sound stage was a little more open in DPL II.

For CD listening simple stereo is still the best way to go for pure music quality.  Some of the new receiver do pretty well with the 5 channel stereo DSP modes, and PLII is an improvement over PLI, but stereo is still the best when you want to sit down and enjoy the pure quality of the music.

Tchaikovsy: 1812, Sym #5

Vivaldi: Four Seasons

....to name a few

I like PLII sometimes...it's got a nice open soundstage, you're right I'd say that if I use it, it;s mostly for live recordings, which many classical and opera recordings already are.

Hey if you want to wake up the nieghbors (and yourself ) check this one out. It's got a lot of very lively pieces, tons of crash cymbals and trumpets:

Dvorak Slavonic Dances Op. 46 & 72; Slovak Philharmonic, Naxos 8.550143

This was another one I played in high school. Ahhh, the good 'ol days of concert band. Hey, there was this one time, at band camp....

 

Ben, I sure hope you didn't play the flute in your band days...

2 channel is the only option for redbook CD IMO.  I actually usually prefer 2-channel SACD when it's an option as well, I just can't get into the insturments all over, but there are a few good recordings that actually use the extra channels to add 'ambience' to the recording.

I just picked up a two-channel SACD of Journey Escape and it totally SUCKS compared to the original (I know, that's what I get for picking up Journey   ). Korey will back me up on this one too. It was VERY dissappointing. However, most if not all the SACD's we've picked up so far are very nice and a big improvement over their CD version.

No, luckily I didn't play the flute, or any type of flute for that matter, in my band days. I did date a flute player though. She played the flute extremely well.

 

 

I'm sure she did...

Yeah, it always comes down to the engineer's passion and craft in the end.  That's why one format is not always better than the other, be it SACD vs CD, DTS vs AC3, etc., etc.  When it comes to music, the label it is put out on tells you a lot about the quality of the recording (usually), especially in the classical realm, where there are many versions available.