The idea sounded so simple.
Several weeks ago we four writers, all of whom have been collecting classical records for at least a millenium, were summoned to a meeting with our Arts editor. Select 25 currently available records (commercial discs, not ”pirates”) that you would recommend to someone who is just beginning a classical library, he told each of us. We were not to assume our prospective collector had listened to very much ”serious” music before. Nor were we to assume we necessarily had to spoonfeed him–that is, put him on a high-carbohydrate diet of ”Boleros” and ”1812 Overtures” and ”Grand Canyon Suites.”
Nor were we to compare notes until after we had completed our lists. Tricky.
But there was more. We also were to choose, out of the hundreds of thousands of discs issued since the advent of the long-playing record, 25 personal favorites–”desert island” picks–records we would rescue before wives and children if our houses caught fire.
Less tricky, but dangerous. Weren`t we discophiles being asked to put our idiosyncrasies a bit too nakedly on display here?
It didn`t take more than a few minutes for this normally docile quartet of colleagues to tear into the basic concept. Also each other.
Someone asked how basic is ”basic.” Someone else wanted to know if we were supposed to make the first list a strict historical survey, or was it to be more narrow and personal. Weren`t we going to look just a wee bit ridiculous recommending records that may strike us as ineffably wonderful but that no ”general” consumer would be caught dead buying?
After suffering these anxious queries in silence, one of our learned fraternity slowly rose to his feet and in doleful tones predicted disaster for the entire enterprise. The whole project, he said, promises to degenerate into a game of discographic one-upmanship, at best, or, at worst, a pointless charade.
”Too elementary and superficial to please knowledgeable collectors, too esoteric for novices,” scoffed he.
Besides, he added, how could four rational adult males who are celebrated for their immense cultural sophistication possibly reduce their preferences to a measly 50 records?
Good point! the rest of us chanted in perfect three-part harmony. It was the only thing on which we could agree.
With his benign reserves of wisdom and patience, our editor managed to calm everyone down and assure us that everything would work out fine. He said we could go in any direction we cared to with our lists, so long as it wasn`t too oddball. (No recommending the complete Zelenka orchestral works unless we were in dead earnest.) He said the readers will not assume omniscience on our part, so we shouldn`t pretend we have heard every recorded version that has ever been released of a given selection. He said these 200 listings are, after all, only gleanings.
”Who knows?” added our fearless leader, voice rising with the fervor of a Baptist preacher, ”if you succeed in tickling the interest of enough readers, we of the Arts section might periodically expand the idea into an entire series of record lists–favorite operas, conductors, early music, new music, that sort of thing. Think of that!”
We did. But we wrote our lists anyway.What follows is the first installment–the ”basic” 25 recordings for beginning classical collectors. Watch for our lists of desert-island choices in an upcoming issue.
The following is a list of recordings, all available domestically as of this writing, that I believe can be useful building blocks for those who are just starting a classical music library. In compiling it I tried to balance the kinds of repertory that got me hooked when I began to acquire long-playing discs, with the musical works that years of professional listening have taught me are important and worthwhile.
The process of winnowing down so many recommendable recordings to a
”basic” 25 involved much time, deliberation and searching–not only of my conscience, but the 300 or so tiny-type pages of the current Schwann catalogue. One of my main considerations was to include as many different musical forms as possible, or practical. (No, I did not try for historical balance; sorry, all you Gregorian chant buffs and electronic music freaks.)
Certain evergreens of the phonograph–Bruno Walter`s Mozart and Furtwaengler`s Wagner, for example–were self-recommending. The really tough aspect of this selection process for all of us was keeping one step ahead of the record companies, who in recent months have been deleting some of our most ”basic” choices from their catalogues at an appalling rate. Hence the omission of certain standard repertory items this time around.
1. Bach: ”Brandenburg” Concertos 1-6. English Concert. Trevor Pinnock, conductor and harpsichord. DG Archiv ARC-2742003 (two discs, digital). Among the various recordings that employ original instruments, the Pinnock set combines authenticity and vitality in judicious measure.
2. Bach: Mass in B minor. Soloists, Vienna Choir Boys, Chorus Viennensis, Vienna Concentus Musicus, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond. Teldec 3635019 (three discs). Like a modern-day art restorer cleansing the works of the old masters of several centuries of varnish and grime, Harnoncourt invites us to enter Bach`s masterpiece afresh, and be renewed in the process.
3. Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. RCA Gold Seal AGL1-2909. Reiner understood Bartok`s music perhaps better than any conductor of his time, and this fervent identification produced one of the great recordings of his Chicago years.
4. Beethoven: Symphony No. 5. (With Schubert: Symphony No. 8,
”Unfinished,” and Dvorak Symphony No. 9, ”From the New World.”)
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, cond. CBS MG-30371 (two discs). An economical means of acquiring Szell`s magisterial accounts of these symphonic cornerstones.
5. Berg: Violin Concerto. (With Stravinsky: Violin Concerto.) Itzhak Perlman, violin; Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG 2531110. In the sympathetic hands of Perlman, Berg`s late masterpiece becomes a requiem of poignant consolation.
6. Berlioz: ”Les Nuits d`Ete” and ”La Mort de Cleopatre.” Kiri Te Kanawa, Jessye Norman, sopranos; Orchestre de Paris, Daniel Barenboim, cond. DG 2532047 (digital). Seductively beautiful performances of two highly contrasting vocal works; the fragrant songs of summer make a splendid foil to the Egyptian queen`s dramatic scena.
7. Brahms: Symphonies. Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. DG 2711022 (four discs). Karajan`s Brahms is Olympian in its authority–firmly structured, richly lyrical, full of glowing detail.
8. Chopin: Nocturnes (21) and Waltzes (14). Arthur Rubinstein, piano. RCA ARL3-5018 (three discs, digitally remastered). From the reigning Chopinist of our time, splendidly poetic and sparkling renditions.
9. Copland: ”Appalachian Spring.” (With works by Barber, Gershwin, Ives and Piston.) New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. CBS MG-31155 (two discs). Copland`s perennially fresh ballet suite is the main, but by no means only, attraction of this exuberantly played American sampler.
10. Debussy: ”La Mer” and ”Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.” (With Ravel: ”Daphnis et Chloe,” Suite No. 2.) Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. DG 138923. The prismatic refinement of the orchestral execution gives this disc an edge over its several competitors.
11. Grieg: Piano Concerto. Schumann: Piano Concerto. Leon Fleisher, piano; Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, cond. CBS MP-38757. At bargain price, these lyrical and incisive readings make an especially desirable coupling.
12. Handel: ”Messiah.” Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner, cond. Philips 6769107 (three discs, digital). Apart from its echt-Barock virtues (original instruments, stylish
ornamentation, the inclusion of a boy soprano among the soloists, etc.), the Gardiner recording conveys more of the exultant joy of this beloved oratorio than just about any I have heard.
13. Haydn: Symphonies 93-98 and No. 40. Royal Philharmonic, Thomas Beecham, cond. Arabesque 8024 (three discs, mono). I don`t care if the texts are the old Barenreiter edition. Beecham was inimitable in this repertory, and the reissue of his classic 1950s performances is something to be celebrated.
14. Mahler: Symphony No. 4. Judith Raskin, soprano; Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, cond. CBS MY-37225. Szell`s essentially classical reading conveys the innocence of Mahler`s most accessible symphony in a way that I find irresistible.
15. Mozart: Piano Concertos 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27. Robert Casadesus, piano; Columbia Sym., George Szell, cond. CBS D3M-32796 (three discs). Lapidary readings from two master Mozarteans.
16. Mozart: Symphonies 35, 36, 38-41. Columbia Symphony, Bruno Walter, cond. CBS D3S-691 (three discs). Walter warms the classical contours of this music with a loving authority no other conductor has quite been able to duplicate.
17. Puccini: ”La Boheme.” Soloists, RCA Victor Orchestra and Chorus, Thomas Beecham, cond. Seraphim S-6099 (two discs). Time has increased one`s affections for this classic opera recording, which offers the dream duo of Victoria de los Angeles and Jussi Bjoerling under the wonderfully sympathetic hand of Beecham.
18. Rimsky-Korsakov: ”Scheherazade.” Royal Philharmonic, Thomas Beecham, cond. Angel Eminence AE-34417. For my money the most sophisticated, lyrical and sensuous ”Scheherazade” ever put on discs.
19. Schubert: ”Trout” Quintet. Clifford Curzon, piano; Vienna Octet. London Jubilee 41019. Singing warmth, freshness and geniality mark this made- in-Vienna account.
20. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5. New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. CBS MY-37218. Bernstein`s 1959 reading wrings more visceral drama from the Soviet composer`s most popular symphony than any other in my experience.
21. R. Strauss: ”Death and Transfiguration,” ”Don Juan” and ”Till Eulenspiegel`s Merry Pranks.” Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, cond. Philips 6514228 (digital). You won`t hear more vivid realizations of these sumptuous tone poems.
22. Stravinsky: ”Le Sacre du Printemps.” Boston Symphony, Pierre Monteux, cond. RCA AGM 1-5239 (mono). This second of the conductor`s three recordings of ”The Rite of Spring,” made in 1951, is unique in its combination of keen rhythmic thrust and finely enamelled detail.
23. Verdi: Requiem Mass. Soloists, Philharmonia Choir and Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini, cond. Angel SB-3649 (two discs). Giulini proves that lyrical fervor works just as well, if not better, than heaven-storming propulsion in projecting the essence of Verdi`s ”sacred opera.”
24. Vivaldi: ”The Four Seasons.” Soloists, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood, cond. L`Oiseau-Lyre 410126-1 (digital). Hogwood uses period instruments and assigns each concerto to a different soloist; his extra measure of rhythmic assurance puts this issue at the top of a very crowded list.
25. Wagner: ”Tristan und Isolde.” Soloists, Royal Opera Chorus and Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwaengler, cond. Seraphim 6134 (five discs, mono). The crown of the Furtwaengler legacy is this incomparable 1952 recording, with Kirsten Flagstad the soaring embodiment of maternal Womanhood and Ludwig Suthaus creating an intense portrait of erotic obsession. The conducting is the stuff of which Wagnerian dreams are made.
