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A Classical Music Top 100 Cds

The following are my favorite classical music cd’s. Where I have a

preferred recording, I’ve listed it here. With the availability now
of sample tracks to listen to online, I would suggest that people
wanting to explore classical music listen to a few different versions
of recordings before buying, and see what they like.

One note: from the late ‘70’s and early 1980’s there has been a
movement called Historically Informed Performance (HIP), or,
‘music played on period instruments’. When it’s possible to listen
to music from the Baroque period (including the music of Bach,
Handel, Vivaldi, Corelli and Telemann) I would suggest that
people at least give some of the period instrument versions a listen.
This era of music is where that approach really shines.

My best wishes to you. May these suggestions will help you to

have a broader and richer involvement as a listener, to these great
works.

J. S. Bach

1. 2. The Brandenberg Concertos - Trevor Pinnock, director - 2

Cd’s;

3. 4. The Orchestral Suites - La Stravaganza Koln - 2 Cd’s

5. The Violin Concertos - Anne Sophie Mutter, violin

6. An Isaac Stern Celebration (for the ‘double’ violin concerto)

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7. Keyboard Concertos 1, 2 and 4,

and,

8. Keyboard Concertos 3, 5, 6, 7 - Murray Perahia, piano

9. The ‘Cello Sonatas – Mischa Maisky, ‘cello, Martha Argerich,

piano

10 and 11. The ‘Cello Suites – Mischa Maisky, ‘cello,

(or Yo-Yo Ma, ‘cello)

12 and 13. The same music on played on the Harp, by Victoria

Drake

14. English Suites 2 and 3 - Ivo Pogorelich, piano

15. Toccata, BWV 911, Partita, BWV 826, English Suite, BWV
807 - Martha Argerich, piano

Choral Music

16. Magnificat, with Antonio Lotti, Missa Sapientiae - Thomas

Hengelbrock, conductor

17. The Shepherd Cantata,with Concerto BWV 1060 and

18. Hercules At the Crossroads, with Concerto BWV 1058 -

Helmuth Rilling, conductor

19. Christmas Music – Leipzig University Chorus

20 and 21: Cantatas, BWV 106, 82 and 147

and 80, 51 and 140

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22. BWV 9, 94 and 182 - La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken,

director

23. Magnificat, Sanctus, BWV 238 and Cantata, BWV 63,

The New London Consort, Philip Pickett, director

Mozart

Piano Concertos

24. 15 and 21, Alfred Brendel, piano

25. 22 and 23, Mitsuko Uchida, piano

26. 19, 11 and 17, Zoltan Kocsis, piano

27. 27 and Concerto for 2 Pianos, Emil Gilels and Elena Gilels,
piano/pianos

(and others, if you like those)

28 and 29: The Violin Concertos, and Sinfonia Concertante,

Yehudi Menuhin, violin - 2 Cd’s

30. Mozart Violin Concertos 4 and 5, Sinfonia Concertante,

Jascha Heifetz, violin

31 and 32: Wind Concertos - 2 Cd’s

33. Flute and Harp Concerto

34. Divertimenti – I Musici

35. Flute Quartets

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36. Oboe Quartets

37 and 38. Piano Trios - 2 Cd’s – Grummiaux Trio

39 and 40 (or more) Piano Sonatas, Alicia De Larrocha,

or

Piano Sonatas, Mitsuko Uchida, piano

The Late Symphonies (35-41)

41. Symphonies 31, 35 and 36, The English Concert, Trevor

Pinnock, conductor

42. Symphonies 38 and 39, John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

43. Symphonies 40 and 41, Claudio Abbado, conductor

44. Requiem, Neville Marriner, conductor

or

Riccardo Muti, conductor

Beethoven

45. Triple Concerto, Piano Concerto number 3

Zacharias, Hoelscher, Schiff; Kurt Masur, conductor

46 – 50 (all worthy) Symphonies 1 - 9, Claudio Abbado,

Conductor
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51. Symphony n. 6, Herbert Von Karajan, Conductor

52. Symphony No. 9, Kurt Masur, Conductor

Haydn

53. Three Concertos: with the Trumpet Concerto, Wynton

Marsallis, trumpet, and a ‘Cello Concerto, with M. Rostropovich,
‘cello

54 and 55: Symphonies 6, 7 and 8;

82, 83 and 85, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor

56 and 57: The London Symphonies (2 Cd’s)

Handel

58. Music for the Royal Fireworks; Water Music, Martin Pearlman,
conductor

59. Concertos

60. Oboe Concertos

61. Concerti Grossi, op. 3

62. Concerti Grossi, op. 6

Vivaldi

63. The Four Seasons, I Musici, Felix Ayo, violin

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64. A Vivaldi Gala, Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh, Itzahak Perlman

and Pinchas Zuckerman, violins, Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute

65 and 66. Violin Concertos, op. 8, 7-12, and

Concertos for Anna Maria, Mariana Sirbu, violin

67 and 68. L’Estro armonico,

69 and 70. La Cetra, and

71 and 72. La Stravaganza, The Academy of St. Martin in the

Fields, Neville Marriner, conductor, 2 Cd’s each

73 and 74. Concertos for diverse instruments (may fine examples

available – go with what you like)

75. Gloria, with Handel, Dixit Dominus, John Eliot Gardiner,

conductor

Telemann

76. Concertos From Tafelmusik

77. Water Music – Phillip Pickett and the New London Consort

78. The Best of Telemann

Corelli

79. Concerti Grossi, VII, IX, III, I, XI, VIII, The Tafelmusik
Baroque Orchestra

80 and 81. Concerti Grossi, op.6, 1-12, (2 Cd’s), I Musici

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82 and 83. Mendelssohn Symphonies 3 and 4, (2 Cd’s) Claudio

Abbado, Conductor

84. Dvorak Symphony Nr. 9, ‘From the New World’, Lorin

Maazel, conductor

85 and 86. Schubert, The Late String Quartets, Quartetto Italiano, 2

Cd’s (includes String Quartet Nr. 14 – the ‘Death and the Maiden’
Quartet

87. Homage to Sarasate – Rachel Barton, violin

88. Andrea Bocelli – Verdi

89. Jordi Savall, Viola Da’ Gamba - Ostinato

90. Arvo Part - Arbos

Classical Guitar

91 and 92. The 2 Cd set, Essential Classical Guitar is a good place

to start.

then

93. Most anything by Andres Segovia (sample some and see what
you like)

94. Pepe Romero - Songs My Father Taught Me (or others)

95. Rodrigo, Concerto de Arunjuez

96 and 97. Julian Bream - The Ultimate Guitar Collection, 2 Cd’s

and
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98. Jason Vieaux – Sevilla, the Music of Isaac Albeniz

ok ok two more

99. Handel’s Messiah, Karl Richter, conductor

and

100. the Naxos Cd, Silent Night – A Christmas Concert, by

various artists, all wonderful music. (When I listen to the Handel
Messiah, I substitute the track ‘I know my redeemer liveth’, with
Arien Auger, soprano, my preferred version, from this disc.)