Legendary recordings that live up to their reputation

[pastoralguy]

Prompted by your post, I dug out the Sibelius which I haven't listened to for a while but I've always been (and still am) disappointed by Neveu's intonation in the Sibelius. It's one of those things that I now can't get out of my head. My loss I'm sure and I do like her Brahms.

Following on, I listened to a few other performances. Hilary Hahn's version is growing on me. I've always found it too cool, (lacking in bite/temperament as opposed to chilly Nordic cool!). Taking it in its own terms however, her playing is astonishing.

The first recording I bought, Oistrakh/Ormandy, is still a favourite and I prefer it to the other versions of his (Rozhdestvensky/Ehrling/Fougstedt).

I wonder how Neveu's playing would have developed had she not died in an air crash.

For me, Ida Haendel's recording of the Sibelius with Berglund is legendary.

[Nick Armstrong]

The ones that spring to mind (some of which are mentioned above) are:

Previn/LSO - Rachmaninov 2
Mravinsky/Leningrad - Tchaikovsky 4 - 6
Karajan/Phil - Rosenkavalier
Pollini - LvB Piano Sonatas 109 - 111
C Kleiber - LvB 5 & 7

[teamsaint]

The ones that spring to mind (some of which are mentioned above) are:

Previn/LSO - Rachmaninov 2
Mravinsky/Leningrad - Tchaikovsky 4 - 6
Karajan/Phil - Rosenkavalier
Pollini - LvB Piano Sonatas 109 - 111
C Kleiber - LvB 5 & 7

It had better be as good as you say, just done the price of a half at the RFH on it !

[gradus]

Stokowski/NYPO: Tchaik Francesca da Rimini
Dorati/LSO: Firebird
Bohm: 1966 Bayreuth Tristan
Beecham/RPO: Ein Heldenleben
Horowitz: Schumann Arabesque ( Carnegie Hall return recital)
Monteux: Daphnis
Klemperer/Philharmonia: Missa Solemnis
Toscanini/NBCSO: Beethoven 7
Walter: Mahler 9 - both recordings

[Roehre]

Not many, but there are exceptions:

Mahler 9/ Walter Vienna 1938
Tchaikovsky 4+5+6/Mravinsky
Dvorak Cello concerto /Thauer/Macal

[Nick Armstrong]

It had better be as good as you say, just done the price of a half at the RFH on it !

Get a quiet quarter-of-an-hour to yourself, put on Act 3, track 19 to the end, and if you're not convinced, I'll buy you that half !!

[teamsaint]

Get a quiet quarter-of-an-hour to yourself, put on Act 3, track 19 to the end, and if you're not convinced, I'll buy you that half !!

i'm sure you wont need to dig deep, but Its good to see a man backing his judgement with cold hard cash !! Looking forward to that disc arriving. ( this thread is perfect for a bit of quality buying......)

[edashtav]

Rachmaninov Symphony No 2 LSO/Previn is pure gold for me, too.

[antongould]

Get a quiet quarter-of-an-hour to yourself, put on Act 3, track 19 to the end, and if you're not convinced, I'll buy you that half !!

I'm sure it'll be like Southampton beating MANU at Old Trafford ....imagine that!!!

[teamsaint]

I'm sure it'll be like Southampton beating MANU at Old Trafford ....imagine that!!!

getting a quiet quarter of an hour to myself once every 27 years.?

Yup, sounds about right.

[Stanfordian]

Hiya Mikealdren,

I've never warmed to Ginette Neveu in the the Sibelius concerto. I reviewed a re-issue of it some years ago and played it a number of times. It does nothing for me at all.

[edashtav]

I bought Stern's coupling of the two Prokofiev violin concerti when it first came out on LP .The combination of Stern's aristocratic artistry and virtuosity coupled with Ormandy's wonderfully alert accompaniment made for a memorable record. I still feel that the first theme in the slow movement of the 2nd concerto as played in this recording is one of the most beautifully sculpted tunes in 20th century music. The way the orchestral strings take over from Stern and their tone burgeons like a rose opening still sends tingles down my spine. I've tried to wean myself from this record with others on CD, but all attempts have failed.

[Madame Suggia]

Janacek: Cunning little vixen, VPO Mackerras
Cherubini: Medea, Callas and Bernstein 1953
Verdi: La Traviata, Callas and Guilini 1955
Puccini: Suor Angelica, Serafin
Ravel : L'enfant et les sortilèges, Maazel
Nielsen: 5th symphony, Kondrashin
Prokofiev: complete symphonies Rohdestvensky
Sibelius: 2nd symphony, Cleveland, Szell (live)
Berlioz: La damnation de Faust, Markevitch
Stravinsky: Rite of spring, Markevitch
Stravinsky: Rite of spring, Minneapolis, Dorati

[EdgeleyRob]

Worrabout -

Walton 1,LSO Previn
Shostakovich 7,CSO Bernstein.
Vaughan Williams,The Pilgrims Progress,Boult.
Britten,Peter Grimes,Pears Britten
Beethoven,Triple Concerto,Oistrakh Rostropovich Richter,BPO Karajan
Brahms Violin Concerto,Kennedy LPO Tennstedt.

[makropulos]

A couple more from me, including slightly more recent things than in my last list. These lists could get very long, but I'm mindful of the stricture from the OP that they have to be "legendary' (i.e. presumably widely acclaimed already?) and to make just as big an impact now as they did when first heard... On that basis:

Brahms Clarinet Quintet, Vienna Octet, stereo version
Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, Mathis, Fassbaender et al, Engel, Sawallisch
Britten War Requiem, Britten
Janacek Glagolitic Mass, Ancerl
Janacek Sinfonietta/Taras Bulba, VPO/Mackerras
Lehár Merry Widow, Matacic
Mozart late symphonies, SCO/Mackerras
Ravel Daphnis et Chloé, BSO/Munch
Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos, Kempe
Verdi Aida, Solti
and big agreement with EdgeleyRob about VW Pilgrim's Progress, Boult