Given that there is a large but finite number of "Great Composers," each of whom has a finite body of work, how does one go about selecting which performance of those works one should acquire? Does one go with "name-brand" orchestras and conductors? It's probably a good bet that Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia didn't screw up when recording Bach or Brahms, but are those recordings truly the best representation of the composer's work?
Thoughts?
Posted by Linkmeister at November 7, 2004 12:41 PMCertain performers are well-known as "specialists" in certain composers' works. I'm thinking of the likes of Artur Rubenstein for Chopin, von Karajan conducting Beethoven, E. Power Biggs playing Bach organ music, Bernstein conducting Charles Ives.
Posted by: N in Seattle at November 7, 2004 02:32 PMOrmandy's "Nutcracker"...
Erich Kunzel handles Tchaikovsky rather well.
One execellent source: Telarc rarely produces a dud (minor things like real cannons on the 1812 Overture from Kunzel).
Posted by: dan at November 7, 2004 07:44 PMWithout getting too much into a music history lesson, generally the further back into the past you look, the smaller the orchestra was. So, (as a rule of thumb) Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (and others like them) for Bach, Mozart, Handel and Purcell (for example), while the Philharmonics of New York, Phillie, London and Berlin for Beethoven, R. Strauss, Brahms and Mahler (again, for example). Of course, personal tastes factor highly, too, but I try to use these guidelines for my musical purchases.
As far as recordings go, I'd check out Deutsche Grammophon, too. Very solid. I second the Telarc motion, though they can be a bit heavy on the low end (bass).
Posted by: Mighty Hunter at November 8, 2004 04:51 AM