I don't wanna Jack Off In Back. It's baroque but don't fix it.

January 16, 2009 12:33 PM

I'm looking for some classical music recomendations. I like Glenn Gould, Anner Bylsma, Morimur (The Hilliard Ensemble with Christoph Poppen). I really like interesting little albums that are individual and not necessarily part of some huge opus. Any suggestions? Doesn't even have to be classical. I'll describe the things I like about these recordings. Hit me up with some suggestions.

I'm particularly interested in more violin music. I've been listening to Anner Bylsma's recording of the Vivaldi sonatas for years and I'm still amazed at how much life and vitality is in that recording. I'm trying to find something similar for violin. It doesn't necessarily have to be baroque music (but that would be great). I'm just looking for really lively recordings that are not overly polished but show great heart and soul. Doesn't have to be violin either. But I like recordings that have great presence and a feeling of space and personality.

Recently I got Morimur by the Hilliard Ensemble and love that too. I also have an album they did with the saxophone player Jan Garbarek (Officium) that I listened to non stop for a year or so. So I'm interested in ensembles doing interesting and creative things with music.

And I just am revisiting Glenn Gould and Yehudi Menuhin's Bach, Beethoven and Schoenberg recording. I love the tension on the recording as they both are pushed in directions that they wouldn't normally go. So I'm interested in situations where musicians who might not agree on things meet in the middle and make something great.

I'm suspicious of wonderkind violinists but if something is really great, I'll give it a listen.

Other things I've loved in the past:
Anything with Jordi Savall
The re-recording of Gould's Goldberg Variations (the thing where they digitized his mono recording and played it back on a modern piano)
The Recorded Violin (historic recordings of old violin 78s)
Andrew Manze playing Handel (amazing but still not as amazing as Anner Bylsma)

posted by sully75 to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

Since you've mentioned Bach, I'll recommend the recording by the King's Consort of Bach's six trio sonatas for organ, transcribed for chamber ensemble. I think they are much livelier and more interesting pieces played by three different instruments at once than by two organ manuals and a pedal. There's a similar recording by the Arion Ensemble that's also good.
posted by letourneau at 12:56 PM on January 16, 2009

I have just been turned onto Bartok's Mikrokosmos and his other works, which I find absolutely amazing and with melodies I haven't heard of in other Western music. last.fm has led to some interesting suggestions, its classical selections are broad and its suggestion processes works well.
posted by bensherman at 1:02 PM on January 16, 2009

First of all, if you like Anner Bylsma's stuff, he's recorded a lot of romantic repertoire too. I love his Brahms cello sonatas on Sony.

Special tip for violin lovers who want a less glitzy style than Andrew Manze: check out recordings with the Dutch baroque violinist Antoinette Lohmann (for example, but not exclusively, on the Challenge label). Might be something. There's tons of heart and soul there. Gotta Google on "her name"...

And on historical recordings with violin, Misha Elman is sweet.

Savall is marvelous, true. In the same genre, there's a new CD on Paradizo with Josh Cheatham (gamba) and Skip Sempe (harpsichord) and another one, forget who. French gamba music (hmmm...like lots of hot chocolate...)



I personally don't like Gould too much, but that's neither here nor there. A safe card for a fresh approach to Bach on the piano is Murray Perahia (exclusively Sony). His Chopin is one-of-a-kind too imo.
[I prefer Bach on a good harpsichord, but that's me...]

If you can stand historical pianos at all: Malcolm Bilson and Schubert may be an idea (Hungaroton. I'm especially thinking of the large B-Major sonata D 960, and that CD with incomplete [and hence unknown but fantastic], reconstructed sonatas). Bilson has also recorded Beethoven sonatas together with Bylsma, but I'm not sure whether that set is still available.

Ah, and Bartok: Zoltan Kocsis is Superb here!
posted by Namlit at 1:20 PM on January 16, 2009

Not violin, very well-known, hardly challenging, but awesome: Dennis Brain's recording of Mozart's Horn Concertos. Completely fits your "presence and personality" criteria.

I know nothing about classical music but this recording makes me very, very happy.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:31 PM on January 16, 2009

Not at all sure if this will fit your bill, but how about Dennis Brain playing the Mozart Horn concertos 1-4 with Herbert Von Karajan and Philharmonia Orchestra? Lively and delightful, and Dennis Brain! His personality really shines through. Since the performance is 50+ years old, it's not all glossy and overproduced either.

On preview: WHOA. Spooky, BitterOldPunk!!
posted by kittyb at 1:37 PM on January 16, 2009

Response by poster: Oops I should have said: I'm generally not a fan of the classical and romantic periods. I know, I suck. But I'll give it all a shot. I'm mellowing. But did agree with Glenn Gould's admission that music stopped for him after Bach and started again at Wagner.

Thanks for the suggestions so far...keep them coming.
posted by sully75 at 2:01 PM on January 16, 2009

I really like Martha Argerich's recording of the 1st piano concerto by Dimitri Shostakovich. I recommend it because I think it is interesting, passionate and really creative music.
posted by elmono at 2:06 PM on January 16, 2009

[If you don't like classical and romantic, but you love Bylsma, and you want to learn, you're all set.]

But okay. Go to the Paradizo dot org website and look at what you find there. Those guys are really dedicated to great music making, great variety too, and no, I'm not one of them or something.

Keep the Bartok in the mix. That's after Wagner... Kocsis has done the entire lot for Philips. My favorite are the children's songs for piano solo, super-simple stuff, but very moving.
posted by Namlit at 2:11 PM on January 16, 2009

If you jump from Bach to Wagner, you skip Beethoven, which, in my mind, is saying you like all rock n roll except for everything between Les Paul and Cyndi Lauper.

You sure you got that right?
posted by bensherman at 2:48 PM on January 16, 2009

What comes to mind is this recording of Zelenka's trio sonatas. Baroque but different-sounding. Some of the sonatas are played on violins, others on wind instruments - I love the ones with the double reeds.
posted by bassjump at 4:56 PM on January 16, 2009

Liking rock and roll except everything between Les Paul (or at least, Joe Meek) and Cyndi Lauper seems reasonable enough to me.

Anyway, this seems obvious, but you've checked out the Kronos Quartet, right? Their album-oriented approach and their focus on 20th century musics make it sound like it would be up your alley. My favorite album of theirs is probably "Winter Was Hard".
posted by Casuistry at 5:27 PM on January 16, 2009

Youtube search 'Virgil Fox' for classical organ musics.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:52 PM on January 16, 2009

I have a feeling that you would like Diana Doherty (oboe), but I haven't heard any of her recordings. I've seen her live, and her energy and personality is unreal, but I don't know if it would translate on recording. You could try though - maybe Inflight Entertainment, or the Ross Edwards concerto? I think her recording of Edwards' Yananda and Ulpirra captures what you're looking for, but they're very short works.

I also love Il Giardino Armonico's recording of the Four Seasons, for the same feeling of energy, but it's definitely a very polished recording.
posted by Emilyisnow at 5:36 AM on January 17, 2009

Response by poster: For the record, I don't like Beethoven. I'll add that I went to a big music conservatory, studied jazz bass, but listened to a lot (A LOT) of classical music, both live and on recording. And come to my dislike of classical and romantic music honestly. But like I said, I'm open. I like the occasional recording here and there.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions!
posted by sully75 at 7:23 AM on January 17, 2009

Try the Barber Violin Concerto, the Sibelius Violin Concerto, Vivaldi's L'estro armonico (esp. Concerto #10 for 4 violins), the Franck sonata for violin and piano. I especially love Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Mr. ap loves Bartok's Music for Percussion, Strings, and Celeste. I'm also fond of Shostakovich's 5th and 10th Symphonies (the 5th and the 9th are often on the same recording).
posted by angiep at 10:05 PM on January 17, 2009

I think I have similar taste -- I really enjoy Anner Bylsma (the Bach cello suites, for me) and the same Glenn Gould as well.

Some other baroque performers that I've liked:

Rolf Lislevand and Ensemble Kasperberger
Europa Galante
Musica Antiqua Koln

And I like Henryk Szeryng's Bach violin sonatas, but it seems everyone has a different favorite there.
posted by alb at 7:49 AM on January 20, 2009