Classical Best Versions
What Is The Very Best Version?
In a catalogue that lists over 200 recordings of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons", and even 60 versions of Orff's "Carmina Burana", which is the very best?
With the help of Gramophone, Penguin Stereo Guide, BBC Music, and our own ears, we have put together the definitive guide to the popular classics.
Here are a selection of recommended recordings that should find a place in everyone's collection.
Displaying items 1 to 10 of 246
ENESCU
String Quartets Nos 1 & 2 Ad Libitum Quartet [ Naxos / CD - released 1/May/2001 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Chamber |
ERIK SATIE
Satie: Gymnopedies and other piano works Aldo Ciccolini (piano) [ Warner Classics Original Jacket Reissues / CD - released 20/Apr/2015 ] "No more committed or convincing champion of this music could be found than Ciccolini, who equally well conveys, for example, the tenderness of the fifth Gnossienne, the pre-Poulenc pert humour and charm of the Morceaux en forme de poire and the... |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: The preludes and fugues Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2015 ] "Melnikov unquestionably gives an impression of freshness and daring, as if he's discovering the music for the first time." (BBC Music Award WINNER 2011 - Instrumental) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos nos.1 & 2 / Sonata for violin and piano op.134 Alexander Melnikov (piano) / Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Teodor Currentzis, with Isabelle Faust (violin) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Feb/2012 ] "He makes his case well. The First Concerto is all rampaging dissonances and erotic regret; the Second (1957) masks nerve-racking syncopations beneath its surface brilliance...[the sonata] a compelling performance in which logic and rhetoric combine... |
ALBENIZ / GRANADOS
Albeniz: Iberia, Navarra / Granados: Goyescas Alicia de Larrocha (piano) [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 11/Sep/2001 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "Alicia de larrocha plays with full-blooded temperament and fire. The recording is excellent and the Decca reissue makes a formidable bargain" ROSETTE - Penguin Stereo Guide |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Violin Sonatas Vol 1 Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2016 ] "It is difficult to imagine [these sonatas] better played" (Five Stars BBC Music) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2 Alina Ibragimova (violin), State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov', Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 5/Jun/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award WINNER 2021 - Concerto BBC Music Award Nomination 2021 - Concerto |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Partitas BWV825-BWV830 Andras Schiff (piano) [ ECM Records / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] MARBECKS STAFF PICK: CD OF THE YEAR 2009 MUSICWEB UK RECORDING OF THE MONTH "Schiff's…unashamedly and masterfully pianistic, contrasting sustained tone and light staccato teasing out fragmentary motifs." BBC Music |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 & 2 Andras Schiff (piano) [ ECM New Series / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Instrumental |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (Complete oratorio) Andreas Scholl, Barbara Schlick, Sandrine Piau, Mark Padmore, Nathan Berg / Les Arts Florissants / William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2013 ] "...an exhilarating account of the score under the American-in-Paris, Christie, who makes you hear the work afresh..." - The Illustrated London News |
