(Part 2) Best chamber music according to redditors

Mstislav Rostropovich is the man you need. He was an absolute master of the cello and could do impossible things with the instrument. Here are a few of my favorite of his CDs:

• Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata and Frank: Cello Sonata - Amazon link and Youtube link (side note: the accompanist is the famous composer Benjamin Britten)
  
• Brahms: Cellos Sonatas - Amazon link and Youtube link
  
• Haydn: Cello Concertos - Amazon link and Youtube Link
  
• Bach: Cello Suites - Amazon link and Youtube link
  
• Anything where he does Shostakovich. Here's one Amazon link and a Youtube link, though he made plenty more.
  
  Mischa Maisky is another very skilled cellist whose recordings tend to be rather consistent. Most of what he recorded with Martha Argerich is wonderful. This is one of his strongest CDs; here's an excerpt.
  
  Pablo Casals is also fantastic, though I'm less familiar with his discography. His version of Bach's cello suites is fantastic, though: Amazon link
  
  I'd also recommend looking into Yo Yo Ma, Jaqueline DuPre, Janos Starker, and Pierre Fournier's discographies, though I can't think of any particular albums off the top of my head to recommend.
  

There is always the Bach Cello Suites but you're probably aware of them already.

I've been really enjoying these Brahms Cello Sonatas Rostropovich for the win. :-)

With Schubert, oh yes I do! The Fischer-Dishkau/Demus recording of Winterreise is a real treasure. Even people who aren't keen on lieder may find it appealing:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Winterreise-Dietrich-Fischer-Dieskau/dp/B000001GQE

Kleiber's rendition of the "Unfinished" symphony is the best I've heard:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Symphonies-Nos-3-8/dp/B000001GXE/

And I love the Takacs Quartet's take on the 13th and 14th string quartets:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-String-Quartets-Death-Maiden/dp/B000I5Y8W8/

Finally, the Emerson Quartet playing with Rostropovich (what a team-up!) for the String Quintet:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-String-Quintet-d-956/dp/B000001GFA/

As for Mahler you can't go wrong with Rattle's recording of the 2nd Symphony or Bernstein's recording of the 5th. Bernstein playing Rhapsody in Blue is terrific as well. Hope this helps :-)

I've been listening heavily for about 2 and a half year now. What I did at first was find some pieces that I liked(as you have) then hunted down a 'greatest hits' type CD to hear other music from said composer.

> Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata

For example, check this out regarding Beethoven. A lot of these tracks are just parts of something bigger(e.g., track 8 is the 3rd movement from his 3rd symphony[highly recommended!]). Find one or two of these that you like, then hunt down the entire piece and hear it as a whole.

That's what I did, and it helped me to discover lots of different music from different composers.

It also helped me to take large scale works(like a symphony) one movement at a time. Listen to the same movement over and over and over, then once you know it, listen to another one. Also, there's no need to start in any particular order. Start with the last movement if it should speak to you the most.

That's awesome you're into it now. 'Classical' music changed my life. I'm so so so glad it's a part of me now...

Also, I've got to plug this, though Mahler might be a bit daunting if you're just starting out(this is one of his more digestible pieces). Some of his work is enormous. This is just a single movement (4th) from Symphony No 5.

I very rarely want to hear anyone play Zappa except Zappa himself, but I really enjoy the shit out of this. It's a group playing Zappa pieces on baroque instruments and it's just plain fucking beautiful.

Not an answer to your question, but maybe of interest to you.

There's an album by the group Sequentia (who specialize in early music) titled Edda: Myths From Medieval Iceland In it they've attempted to re-construct what a telling of the Edda might have sounded like when it was performed.

You can listen to some samples on YouTube.

I found this
> This Album Is Dedicated To Children. It Mixes Original Compositions From De Courson & Gubitsch With Traditional Chants And Kids Chants From Egypt, China, India, Spain, England, France, South America,Africa And Hongaria. Features The Symphonic Orches.

This is an update correcting a mistake we made on the previous post!

As u/GoldmanT pointed out, his 1913 piano rolls recordings don’t include Clair de Lune but many other works. Thank you for pointing that out! We now linked to Dr Gradus ad Parnassum instead.

Here is an album with the recordings he did with piano rolls in 1913

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005IC03/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KEZxDb7B0KSC9

If you like Folia, he has two CDs of it. (Sorry for amazon links, I don't know how else to refer to them. Find them elsewhere if you are so inclined)

For standard repertoire works, I like his Brandenburgs and Orchestral Suites as well as his Royal Fireworks/Water Music.

He likes to push the envelope which can sometimes be fun. His Eroica is interesting, but I wouldn't want that to be my only recording. Same with his Mozart Serenades CD. It sounds like an exciting concert, but the unexpected parts don't work as well on repeat listens.

He's mostly known for early music and early baroque though. I enjoy these recordings but this is not my era of expertise, so I don't know how it compares to other performances.

This is the only video I know of, first movement only. It's not the same as the recording, though, which is perfect. I have this recording, which also has Elgar's vocal works, Sea Pictures. The soprano is lovely but the Cello Concerto is his greatest work IMO and this recording yanks my tears every time.

That fucking picardy third on the second line is so freaking good it made me do a backflip. Love the medieval vibez in this.

If people like this, I highly recommend checking out any complete works of Ravel CD. He has a lot of little tiny pieces like this that managed to slip past me when I was first doing a deep dive into his piano music. For instance, his homage to Borodin is A+ and also very tiny.

A couple more to add to what people have already mentioned:

Rubinstein - Chopin's Nocturnes

Horowitz Plays Liszt (especially the Sonata in B and the Mephisto Waltz)

Hilary Hahn Plays Bach (especially the Chaconne in Partita No. 2)

Get him some Hilary Hahn. That girl has done more for the instrument in the last 10 years than anyone else, and she still actively tours so he might get a chance to see her live. Almost all of it is pure gold, I would start with Hilary Hahn Plays Bach, and maybe the Barber & Meyer Violin Concertos. The 3rd movement of the Barber will totally blow his mind. Warning: Possible side-effects include falling in love with her.

Worth a listen: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000068QYH/

http://www.amazon.com/String-Quartet-Tribute-Various-Artists/dp/B000068QYH

Claude Debussy.

But Rogé is very good.

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Physical CD release available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QXLQYK8

Here are some to get you started. Unsystematically selective, and didn't include opera.

Beethoven String Quartets by the Tokyo String Quartet- Razumovsky and late Quartets.

Brahms and Schumann Piano Quintets.

Schubert String Quintet and Trout Quintet.

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique and Requiem.

Chopin Ballades/Scherzos, Nocturnes, and the op. 28 preludes.

Dvorak Cello Concerto.

Mendelssohn orchestral works.

Wagner overtures/preludes.

Schumann symphonies.

Wolf Lieder.

Schubert Winterreise, Die schoene Muellerin, and Lieder.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000001Q81/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_UuJzCbK0R5MK8

Also check out Bach’s Magnificat, a double album recorded by Ling’s College Choir, Cambridge

I would start with a "greatest hits" CD from each of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Hits-F-Chopin/dp/B0001AP19Y/

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Hits-Beethoven-L-V/dp/B000002A1D/

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Mozart/dp/B00005A8JZ/

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Hits-J-S-Bach/dp/B000002A1B/

From there you'll get an idea whether you like the classical period or the romantic period, etc. Also, whether you like solo piano, strings, or orchestra. At that point you can google similar composers from the same period, similar pieces using the same instruments, etc.

Pianist/conductor Andre Previn has made a few jazz albums. Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett made a recording of Shostakovich's preludes and fugues.

I'd highly recommend a Stan Getz album called "Focus", which has compositions for jazz trio and orchestra by Eddie Sauter and some absolutely gorgeous playing by Stan.

Clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre had an amazing trio in the early 60's with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow - a lot of their music is atonal (some is improvised and some is through-composed), and kind of ends up sounding like Webern.

There's also the Modern Jazz Quartet's "Blues on Bach", Theo Bleckmann & Kneebody's "Twelve Songs by Charles Ives", and Uri Caine's various jazz interpretations, including Wagner, Mozart, Bach, and Mahler

I mentioned it in another comment below, but Joe Lovano's "Rush Hour" is one of my favorite examples of "Third Stream" jazz, which is sort of a loose term for jazz with classical influences.

I'd strongly suggest Fratres by I Fiamminghi & Rudolf Werthen. Excellent album, excellent playing, and a great primer to the general style of Pärt.

Also, Cantique is an incredible album. I have many more suggestions if you'd like, but those a great place to start. PM me if you'd like some sample tracks

Mitsuko Uchida’s complete recordings of Mozart's sonatas are some of the best in my opinion and the complete collection is quite a bargain on Amazon.

For variations on Vivaldi, you might listen to these:

• Four Seasons - Chedeville arr. - Palladium Ensemble
  
• Four Seasons by Jeffrey Biegel (piano arrangement)
  
• Eight Seasons by Gidon Kremer
  
• Four Seasons by James Galway (video)
  
• Four Seasons by the Canadian Brass
  
• Vivaldi for Organ by Jean Guillou
  
  but in the spirit of the Richter recording, I recommend Heifetz's recording of Vitali's Chaconne
  
  and Rebel's Les Elemens by Musica Antiqua Koln
  
  and possibly Michael Nyman
  

thiiis

Gee, for some reason the Ravel doesn't seem to be available in downloadable form.

my all time favourite: anything by jordi savall. try and see him live playing the viol de gamba, you'll never regret it. there's an entire genre of period instrument music, mostly in europe but with strong smaller groups in the US and elsewhere.



for a great movie with an awesome soundtrack check out tous les matins du monde with music performed by savall. here's an except from the film on Improvisation sur les Folies. savall excels on all fronts.



do not click on the above link if you are somewhere you cannot cry or at least look pensive.



some of my favourite savall albums (i prefer him solo, but his group hesperion does amazing work too):


marin marias, viol

la folia

byslma playing bach suites on period cello

link to the film soundtrack as an perfect intro to this period of viol music


i could go on..

if you are in a listening environment right now just click here and listen, it rotates through some of hesperion's discography:

http://www.alia-vox.com/

edit: ouch! formatting

• Brahms: Die Klavierkonzerte; Fantasien Op. 116 - Emil Gilels, Eugen Jochum / Berliner Philharmoniker
  
  
• Strauss: Vier Letzte Lieder; 6 Orchesterlieder - Jessye Norman, Kurt Masur / Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
  
  
• Elgar: Cello Concerto; Sea Pictures - Jacqueline du Pré, Janet Baker, John Barbirolli / London Symphony
  
  
• Chopin: Nocturnes - Ivan Moravec
  
  
• Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 - Keith Jarrett

I have an entire album of Fratres variations. I love them all, but the wind octet arrangement is probably my favorite.

This is the recording I have.

This recording may be closer to what Bach would have heard himself. He plays on a baroque cello with gut strings. This gives you a very raw and earthy sound compared the steel strings of Rostropovich. It will also have a very different rhythmic feel, more push/pull, then straight up and down.

A version with Peter Wispelwey---he's recorded the suites three times I think, but the second one (recorded in 1998, I think) is the absolute best. this album right here

No. It's definitely not from India. I assume you know the background of this album.

Thanks for sharing it by the way. Looks like a really interesting musical initiative.

The link:
http://www.amazon.com/Edda-Icelandic-Medieval-Iceland-Sequentia/dp/B00000IFOM

The first album on your list should be Arvo Part's "Fur Alina"

Bachs Cello Suites, especially this recording.
Or something like Arvo Pärts "Alina"