new to classical music what composers are best for powerful and lifting music
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 10:57AM
Hi
Wondered whether anyone could help. Want to try out my new hifi system with some powerful and lifting classical music and wondered whether anyone could recommend composers, recordings.
Thanks
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 12:41PM
#2
RE: RE:best for power lifting music
I'm not sure doing Power Lifting to classical music is such a good idea. I think heavy metal is probably more suitable. Try Led Zeppelin 2 first.
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 1:59PM
#3
RE: powerful and lifting music
Some recordings for the audiophile's delight:
1. Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture - Dorati&MSO (Mercury)
2. R. Srauss - Alpine Symphony - Previn&WPO (Telarc)
3. Holst - The Planets - Gardiner&PO (DG-SACD)
4. Shostakovich - 11th Symphony - Lazarev&RSNO (Linn)
5. Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition - Reiner&CSO (RCA Living Stereo)
6. Saint-Saens - Symphony n. 3 - Munch&BSO (RCA Living Stereo)
If you are new to classical music perhaps you should stick w/ more accessible works - leaving more complex works for the future - like those above: only your neighbours will love them more.
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 4:14PM
#4
RE:
It’s interesting to see that both responses so far have interpreted ‘powerful’ to mean ‘very loud’ (Pines of Rome, 1812, etc.) – I would have thought that it would equally well apply to recordings where the dynamic range is more varied and subtle. This would really put good sound equipment to the test.
Try something like the Colin Davis recording of Elgar’s first symphony which starts incredibly quietly and the volume gradually increases. Or in the same vein, Sibelius’ third symphony – there’s an excellent recording on BIS conducted by Osmo Vanska.
But if you do want fireworks, you could do a lot worse than Fiesta by the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela. Their version of the West Side Story symphonic dances should be enough to give your amp and speakers a decent work out.
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 4:30PM
#5
RE: new to classical music
There is plenty of "power" in subtle Chamber (Schumann's Piano Quintet, for example) or Instrumental Music (a good thunderous Piano Sonata by Beethoven). Choral Music offers a lot (Poulenc's Gloria, to say the least) and Opera (some Wagnerian stuff can blow your system away).
Recommendations help much less than by trying yourself what your system may accept and promote through the trial and error way.
Parla
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 7:33PM
#6
RE: new to classical music - best for powerful and lifting music
For starters, try:
Bruckner's 8th Symphony (Wand and the Berlin Phil. Orch)
Glazunov's 6th Symphony (Serebrier and the Royal Scottish National Symp.)
Glazunov's 8th Symphony (Polyansky and the Russian State Symphony)
Glazunov's ballet "Raymonda" (Svetlanov and the Bolshoi)
Glazunov's ballet "The Seasons" (Jarvi and the Royal Scottish National Orch.)
Atterberg's Symphonies 2,3, & 9 (Rasilainen/CPO series)
Nielsen's Symphony no. 5 (Bernstein and the New York Phil.)
Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony (Bernstein and the New York Phil-DG label)
Alfven's Symphonies 3 & 4 (Jarvi and the Royal Stockholm)
Tchaikovsky's opera "Mazeppa" (either Jarvi on DG or Gergiev on Philips)
Myaskovsky's 6th, 13th, 16th, 25th, & 27th Symphonies (Svetlanov and the Russian Federation Symp. Orch.)
Shostakovich's Symphonies 5, 7, 8, 10, & 13 (Kondrashin and the Moscow PO)
Mompou's complete piano works (Martin Jones)
Bax's Symphonies 2, 3, 5, 6 (Bryden Thomson and the London Phil. Orch)
Bax's complete piano music (Eric Parkin on Chandos).
Holst's "The Planets" (Levine and the Chicago SO)
Leonid Polovinkin's Piano works (Karpova)
Felix Blumenfeld's Preludes and Impromptus (Thomson on Ivory Classics)
Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques (Earl Wild on Ivory Clasics)
Berlioz's "Le Damnation de Faust" (Solti et al and the Chicago SO)
Aarre Merikanto's opera "Juha" (Ondine label)
Sibelius' Symphonies 2 & 5 (Bernstein & the Vienna Phil.)
Rachmaninoff's Etudes Tableaux (Budyonny)
Scriabin's sonatas (Ashkenazy, Horowitz, or Szidon)
Catoire's piano works (Hamelin on the Hyperion label)
-I think that should do it for now. Happy hunting. :-)
Fri, Mar 9 2012, 11:55PM
#7
RE: new to classical music - best for powerful and lifting music
Thank for your list. I has pointed the way towards some discoveries for me.
Tue, Mar 13 2012, 8:07PM
#8
RE: new to classical music - best for powerful and lifting music
Tonal balance and subtlety are equally important as sheer power (dependent of course upon one's musical tastes). When I auditioned my first stereo system over 40 years ago I clearly remember one of Barenboim's Mozart concertos, which were just appearing, being one of the main issues used by the shop for comparitive listening. It impressed me well enough as I'm still using the turntable and amplifier regularly in one system! Nowadays if I,ve overhauled the turntable or made any adjustments I'll probably check it out with Britten's stunning LSO recording of The Young Person's Guide (and I also have a Shure test record I might use).
Hi
Wondered whether anyone could help. Want to try out my new hifi system with some powerful and lifting classical music and wondered whether anyone could recommend composers, recordings.
Thanks
For starters try these:
Beethoven Symphony No.5 Kleiber/Vienna PO DG
Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 Gilels DG
Strauss AlsoSprach Zarathustra BPO/Karajan DG
Wagner Overtures etc ChicagoSO/Vienna PO/Solti Decca
Respighi Pines of Rome Chicago SO/Reiner RCA Victor
Sibelius Symphony No 5 Berlin PO/Karajan DG
Dvorak Symphony No 8 Bavarian RSO/Kubelik DG
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 Ashkenazy/Previn Decca
Stravinsky Rite of Spring CBSO/Rattle EMI
A pretty good cross section of orchestral music which should put your system through its paces! Let us know how you get on and to which pieces you particularly respond.