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Baroque in Italy

Jean-Claude Malgoire performing Albinoni's Oboe Concerto, Op. 9.  Sony recording. The nobility and tranquility of the slow movement is particularly appealing.    
   
   
   

Vivaldi Seasons by Silverstein

Joseph Silverstein performs Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ozawa. Telarc recording. The beauty of the seasons is outstandingly conveyed.    
   
   
   

Beecham conducting Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing Handel's Messiah. RCA recording. A classical performance of a major classical work.    
   
   
   

John Eliot Gardiner conducting the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir performing Bach's Mass in B minor. Archiv recording.    
   
   
   

Arthur Grumiaux performing Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas. 2 CDs. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Arthur Grumiaux performing Bach Violin Concerto 1 & 2, and Concerto for 2 violins & strings ("Double") with Herman Krebbers. Les Solistes Romandes conducted by Arpad Gerecz. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Trevor Pinnock conducting The English Concert Orchestra performing Bach's 6 Brandenburg Concertos and 4 Orchestral Suites. Archiv Produktion.    
   
   
   

John Eliot Gardiner conducting the English Baroque Soloists performing Haydn's Die Schöpfung (The Creation). Archiv Produktion.    
   
   
   

Bruno Walter conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra performing Mozart's last six symphonies. CBS Masterworks.    
   
   
   

Mozart complete symphonies, Pinnock

Trevor Pinnock conducting English Concert performing Mozart's complete symphonies. Archiv recording.    
   
   
   

Murray Perahia conducting English Chamber Orchestra performing Mozart's complete piano concertos. Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Arthur Grumiaux

Arthur Grumiaux performing Mozart's five violin concertos with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin David. Philips recording    
   
   
   

Mozart wind concertos: Clarinet Gervase de Peyer (LSO, Peter Maag); Flute William Bennett (ECO, George Malcolm); Oboe John Mack (Cleveland Orch, Christoph von Dohnanyi); Bassoon David McGill (Cleveland Orch, Christoph von Dohnanyi); Horn Barry Tuckwell (LSO, Peter Maag)     
   
   
   

Bruno Walter conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven's Symphony 4 & 6. Sony recording. A most natural flow of music in #6.    
   
   
   

Beethoven 9 symphonies, Gardiner

Gardiner conducting Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique performing Beethoven's 9 symphonies. Archiv recording. The use of period instruments add great authenticity to the performances. The sound is clear and crisp, yet full of body and strength.    
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven's 9 symphonies. Deutsche Gramophone recording. The heroism of Beethoven has been rarely more expressive than in Karajan's conducing of this cycle in the 1960s.    
   
   
   

Karl Bohm conducting Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven's Symphony 6, 7, 8. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Beethoven 5 Piano Concertos

Harnoncourt conducting Chamber Orchestra Europe performing Beethoven's 5 piano concertos. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Kempff

Kempff performing Beethoven's piano sonatas. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Wolfgang Schneiderhan accompanied by Carl Seemann performing Beethoven's violin sonatas 1-10. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Kurt Sanderling conducting Dresden Staatskapelle performing Brahms' 4 symphonies. RCA recording.    
   
   
   

Yevgeny Mravinsky conducting Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky's Symphony 4, 5, and 6Deutsche Gramophone recording. No other recording can compare with this authentic performance, with such a irresistible tempo and strong Russian flavor.     
   
   
   

Tchaikovsky ballet by Kurtz

Efrem Kurtz conducting Philharmonia Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky's ballet music highlights. EMI recording. These performances have more grace and delicacy than most other competitors I've listened to. The tempos are just about right.    
   
   
   

Günter Wand conducting Berliner Philharmoniker performing Bruckner's Symphony 4. RCA recording.
 
   
   
   
   

Sinopoli conducting Dresden State Orchestra performing Bruckner's Symphony 5.
Deutsche Gramophone recording.
   
   
   
   

Riccardo Chailly conducting Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra performing Bruckner Symphony 7. Decca recording.
 
   
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Bruckner Symphony 8. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Kondrashin conducting Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Dvorak Symphony 9. --- Dorati conducting Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing Dvorak American Suite. Decca recording.    
   
   
   

Fricsay conducts Dvorak 9

Ferenc Fricsay conducting Berlin hilharmonic Orchestra performing Dvorak Symphony 9, and Smetana's My Vlast. DG recording.    
   
   
   

Antoni Wit conducting Katowice Polish Radio Orchestra & Chorus performing Smetana's My Vlast. Naxos recording. This performance has the flavor of an Eastern European musicians.     
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing Mendelssohn's Symphony 3 (Scottish) and 4 (Italian). Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Szell conducting Cleveland Symphony Orchestra performing Mahler's Symphony 4. CBS / Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Simon Rattle conducting Berliner Philharmoniker performing Mahler's Symphony 5. EMI recording.    
   
   
   

Abbado conducting Berliner Philharmoniker performing Mahler's Symphony 7. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Riccardo Chailly conducting Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra performing Mahler's Symphony 9. Decca recording.    
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing: (a) Jacques Offenbach's Gaîté Parisienne, (b) Gounod's Faust, (c) Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, (d) Delibes' Coppélia, and (e) Chopin's Les Sylphides. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Eugene Ormandy conducting Philadelphia Orchestra performing: (a) Chopin's Les sylphides, (b) Delibes' Sylvia, (c) Delibes' Coppélia, and (d) Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.    
   
   
   

Leonard Bernstein conducting New York Philharmonic performing Bizet's Carmen Suites & L'Arlésienne Suites. Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven's overtures. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Solti conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic performing 19 overtures (Light Cavalry by Suppe, Russlan and Ludmilla by Glinka, La Traviata by Verdi, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Wagner, The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, Academic Festival Overture by Brahms, The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Dawn on the Moscow River by Mussorsky, Poet and Peasant by Suppe. Decca recording.     
   
   
   

Neeme Javi and Ove Gotting conduct Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovksy's 1812 Overture and Marche Slave, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagñol and Russian Easter Festival Overture, Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia and Polovtsian Dances of Prince Igor. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Leopold Stokowski conducting RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra performing: (a) Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, (b) Enescu's Romanian Rhapsodies No. 2, (c) Smetana's The Moldau and The Bartered Bride, and (d) Wagner's Tannhäuser. RCA recording.    
   
   
   

Bernstein conducting New York Philharmonic performing: (a) Gershwin's An American in Paris, (b) Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, (c) Copland's Appalachian Spring, (d) Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, (e) Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite, (f) Barber's Adagio for strings. Sony.    
   
   
   

Eugene Ormandy conducting New York Philharmonic Orchestra performing Sibelius' works: (a) Finlandia, (b) Valse Triste, (c) Karelia Suite, (d) Pohjola's Daughter (Leonard Bernstein) , and (e) En Saga    
   
   
   

George Szell conducting Cleveland Orchestra performing Dvorak's Slavonic Dances . Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing Grieg's Peer-Gynt Suite. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Schubert complete trios. Philips recording. String trios: Georges Janzer , Arthur Grumiaux , Eva Czako , Grumiaux Trio. Piano trios: Beaux Arts Trio , Menahem Pressler , Daniel Guilet , Bernard Greenhouse.
 
   
   
   
   

John Eliot Gardiner conducting London Philharmonia Orchestra performing Holst's The Planets. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Riccardo Muti conducting Philadelphia Orchestra performing Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibiton and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Alfred Brandel performing Mozart's Piano Concerto 19, 20, 21, 23, 24. Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Neville Marriner. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Van Cliburn performing: (a) Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kiril Kondrashin; (b) Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner. RCA recording.    
   
   
   

Rachmaninoff piano concertos, Ashkenazy

Ashkenazy performing Rachmaninoff piano concertos with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Haitink. Decca recording.
Ashkenazy has a later recording with Previn conducting London Symphony Orchestra. I prefer this version with Haitink as it has richer tone and fuller body.
   
   
   
   

Evgeny Kissin performing Chopin's Piano Concerto 1 & 2, Mazurka, and Waltz. Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dmitri Kitajenko. RCA recording.    
   
   
   

Toscanini conducting NBC Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto 1. --- Fritz Reiner conducting RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven Piano Concerto 5 (Emperor). RCA recording.    
   
   
   

Alfred Brendel performing Beethoven's 5 piano concertos. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Szell conducting Schumann's symphonies

Szell conducting Cleveland Orchestra performing Schumann's 4 symphonies. Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Sawallisch conducting Dresden Staatskapelle performing Schumann's 4 symphonies. EMI recording.    
   
   
   

Steven Kovacevich plays: (a) Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, (b) Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor. BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Krystian Zimerman performing: (a) Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, and (b) Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Karajan    
   
   
   

Rubinstein performs Chopin

Rubinstein's complete collection of Chopin. EMI recording.
While other pianists may stand out with some of Chopin's works, no body has matched Rubinstein in this complete collection in terms of poetic feeling and delicate touch.
   
   
   
   

Leif Ove Andsnes performing Grieg Lyric Pieces, Op. 12, 38, 47, 57, 62, 68, 71. EMI recording.    
   
   
   

Leif Ove Andsnes performing Grieg Lyric Pieces, Op. 43 and 54. EMI recording.    
   
   
   

Pascal Rogé performing Saint-Saëns' Piano Concertos 1-5. Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dotoit. Decca recording.    
   
   
   

Für Elise: Romantic Piano Music. Performed by various artists. Naxos recording.    
   
   
   

The Maiden's Prayer: Leaves from Grandmother's Piano Album. Naxos recording.    
   
   
   

Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic performing: (a) Tchaikovsky's Serenade for String, (b) Dvorak's Serenade for String. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Rostropovich performing Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor and Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Karajan. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Jacqueline Du Pre performing Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, and Sea Pictures (5) for alto & orchestra. London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. EMI recording.    
   
   
   

Yehudi Menuhin performing: (a) Beethoven Violin Concerto in D. Philharmonia Orchestra; (b) Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Conducted by Furtwängler. EMI Classics recording.    
   
   
   

Wolfgang Schneiderhan performing Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, David Oistrakh performing Beethoven's Romances in G major and F major. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eugen Jochum. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Zino Francescatti performing Beethoven Violin Concerto. Bruno Walter conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra. David Oistrakh performing Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Ormandy conducting Philadelphia Orchestra . Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Grumiaux performing Mozart's 5 violin concertos. London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Perlman performing Mozart's 5 violin concertos. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Levine. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Salvatore Accardo performing Max Bruch's violin concertos. Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Kurt Masur. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Salvatore Accardo performing Paganini's violin concertos.  London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit. Deutsche Gramophone recording.    
   
   
   

Gil Shaham performing: (a) Paganini Violin Concerto 1; (b) Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto 3. New York Philharmonic, conducted by Sinopoli. Deutsche Grammophon recording.    
   
   
   

Gil Shaham performing: (a) Wieniawski Violin Concerto 1 & 2; (b) Sarasate Zigeunerweisen. London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lawrence Foster. Deutsche Grammophon recording.    
   
   
   

Nigel Kennedy performing violin concertos by Tchaikovsky (London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Okko Kamu) and Sibelius (Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle). Angel Records.    
   
   
   

Perlman performing Saint-Saens' Concertos for violin in B minor and Lalo's Symphonie espagnole. Paris Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Deutsche Grammophon recording.    
   
   
   

Heifetz performing violin concertos by: (a) Sibelius. Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Hendl, (b) Prokofiev's No. 2. Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch, (c) Glazunov. RCA Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Hendl. RCA recording. Hybrid SACD.    
   
   
   

Heifetz performing violin concertos by: (a) Beethoven, (b) Mendelssohn. Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch. RCA recording. Hybrid SACD.    
   
   
   

Heifetz performing violin concertos by: (a) Brahms, (b) Tchaikovsky. Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fitz Reiner. RCA recording. Hybrid SACD.    
   
   
   

Maxim Vengerov performing: (a) Prokofiev's Violin Concerto 1, (b) Shostakovich's Violin Concerto 1. LSO conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich. Elektra label.    
   
   
   

Heifetz showpieces: (a) Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, for violin and orchestra; (b) Saint-Saens' Havanaise; (c) Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen; (d) Chausson's Poème, and (e) Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. RCA recording.
The suppressed melancholy of Zigeunerweisen is never expressed with such moving and touching strength in any other performances.
   
   
   
   

Isaac Stern Favorite Violin Encores. Sony Classical recording. The purity and tranquility in many of the pieces can be rarely matched by any other violin performances, especially in Ave Maria (Schubert).    
   
   
   

Itzhak Perlman: Cinema Serenade. Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra. Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Joshua Bell: Romance of the Violin. Sony recording.    
   
   
   

Nigel Kennedy performing Vivaldi's Four Seasons. English Chamber Orchestra. EMI Digital recording. EMI recording.    
   
   
   

André Rieu - Romantic Moments. Philips recording.    
   
   
   

Rolf Smedvig Trumpet concertos by Haydn, Hummel, etc. Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jahja Ling. Telarc recording.    
   
   
   

Rolf Smedvig Virtuoso Trumpet. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2; Telemann's Trumpet Concerto in D "Di Melante"; Bach's Suite for orchestra No 2, and Leopod Mozart's Concerto for trumpet & string orchestra in D major. Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jahja Ling. Telarc recording.    
   
   
   

Hakan Hardenberger performing trumpet concertos by Haydn, Hummel, Hertel, and Stamitz. Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Neville Marriner. Polygram Records.    
   
   
   

James Galway's Greatest Hits. RCA recording.    
   
   
   

Sarah Brightman's Time to Say Goodbye. Angel Records.    
   
   
   

The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection (Sarah Brightman). Decca recording.    
   
   
   

Sarah Brightman: La Luna. Angel Records.    
   
   
   

Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera: The Original Cast Recording (1986 London Cast). (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rosemary Ashe, Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman). Decca recording.    
   
   
   

Yanni Live at the Acropolis, with Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Rohadi. Private Music recording.    
   
   

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