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 101 to 120 of 233
TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker (Complete ballet on one CD) The Kirov Orchestra / Valery Gergiev [ Philips / CD - released 15/Apr/2003 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1851-1900) - "Philips has somehow crammed more than 81 minutes of superb sound onto this disc, making it a remarkable bargain. Very highly recommended!" |
J.S. BACH
Cantatas Nos BWV179, BWV199 & BWV113 Kozena, Towers, Padmore, Loges / English Baroque Soloists / John Eliot Gardiner [ DG Archiv / CD - released 21/Oct/2000 ] A live performance of Bach's Cantatas for the 11th Sunday after Trinity. Features Magdalena Kozena's stunning performance of BWV199 "Mein Herze schwimmt in Blut" |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: 3 Violin Sonatas Krysia Osostowicz (violin) Susan Tomes (piano) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 26/May/2008 ] 'Subtle enough to suggest that for both artists these performances were a revelatory voyage of discovery' (Gramophone) |
FRANZ LISZT
Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 / Totentanz Krystian Zimerman (piano) / Boston Symphony Orchestra / Seiji Ozawa [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 2/Jan/2002 ] Rosette (Highest Rating) Penguin Stereo Guide |
MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel: The Piano Concertos / Valses nobles et sentimentales (orchestral version) Krystian Zimerman (piano) Cleveland Orchestra / London Symphony / Pierre Boulez [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 20/Jul/2001 ] 1999 Gramophone Award Winner: Concerto - A Penguin Stereo Guide Rosette recording |
MAX BRUCH
Bruch: Violin Concerto / Scottish Fantasy Kyung-Wha Chung (violin) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rudolf Kempe [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] "Kyung-Wha Chung is a formidable player. She has a bold attack which springs from absolute security of intonation...the sound of the lyrical passages especially is consistently bright and rich, tonally integrated from top to bottom and of a really... |
SIBELIUS
Rondo of the Waves: The Oceanides, Op.73 / Coronation March / Porilaisten marssi / etc Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska [ BIS / CD - released 1/Mar/2003 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2003 - Orchestral |
SIBELIUS
Tone Poems: En Saga, The Dryad, Pohjola's Daughter, Night Ride and Sunrise Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska [ BIS / CD - released 1/Apr/2002 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - This is a very appealing collection of Sibelius favourites and rarities." (Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine Sept 2002) |
J. S. BACH
Musical Offering (Musikalisches Opfer) BWV1079 Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox / CD - released 30/Dec/2005 ] "One is occasionally fortunate enough to come across a new recording of a great work, and a personal favourite, that is so good that all other recordings pale in comparison. A recording that is not only played and recorded impeccably, but also one... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica' / Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 25/May/2016 ] "the end-result has been amongst the most impressive demonstrations of believable surround-sound I have heard." Recording of the Month MusicWeb (May 2016) |
EDWARD GRIEG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grieg: Lyric Pieces Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) [ EMI / Warner Classics / CD - released 3/Mar/2002 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2002 - Instrumental |
HAYDN
Piano Sonatas Nos 24, 30, 32, 33 & 34 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) [ EMI Music / CD - released 11/Jan/2002 ] Rosette (Highest Rating) Penguin Stereo Guide |
SIBELIUS
Kullervo Symphony Op 7 Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo-soprano) Raimo Laukka (baritone) / Lahti Symphony / Osmo Vanska. [ BIS / CD - released 1/Feb/2001 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Choral |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY / JEAN SIBELIUS
Tchaikovsky & Sibelius: Violin Concertos Lisa Batiashvili (violin) / Staatskapelle Dresden, Daniel Barenboim [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 15/Aug/2017 ] "Every familiar phrase somehow manages to sound both authoritative and newly discovered...a delight from start to finish." Gramophone Magazine Disc of the Month - January 2017 |
![Symphony No 2 'London' [Original Version] (with Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow) cover](https://images.marbecks.co.nz/_thumbnails/10112/10112621.jpg)
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Symphony No 2 'London' [Original Version] (with Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow) London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Mar/2003 ] 'Hickox and the LSO respond with an unquenchable spirit, generous flexibility and tender affection that suit VW's admirably ambitious inspiration to a T, and Chandos' sound is big and bold to match. Quite simply, an essential purchase for anyone... |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (Complete ballet recorded November 2008) London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev [ LSO Live SACD / 2 SACD - released 20/Jan/2010 ] DISC OF THE YEAR 2011 (BBC Music) - "Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet warrants a hi-res recording of the complete score since it is regarded by many as the greatest ballet score ever composed. The live recording is sensational in its realism." (AudAud... |
BRAHMS / HANDEL / LIEBERSON / MAHLER
Lieder (Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, 30 November 1998) Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (mezzo-soprano) Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Wigmore Hall Live / CD - released 21/Feb/2007 ] Taped live at a Wigmore Hall recital in 1998 this recording has now come to light following Hunt Lieberson's tragically early death in 2006. Highly recommended by Marbecks staff - a definite disc of the year. |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Songs 4 Lucy Crowe (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano) with Jennifer France (soprano) & Christopher Maltman (baritone) [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Mar/2018 ] "In wonderful voice throughout, Crowe very much makes this repertory her own. Ascents into the stratospheres are all beautifully and securely accomplished, and those long melismas are tautly controlled and always expressive, never vacuous" Gramophone |
DVORAK / MARTINU / JANACEK
Love Songs Magdalena Kozena (soprano) Graham Johnson (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 30/Aug/2000 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER - Vocal |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (Complete Opera recorded in 1953) Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano. Victor de Sabata [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Remastered / 2 CD - released 20/Oct/2014 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1851-1900) - 50 GREATEST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME (No 5) - BBC MUSIC |
