Classical Music - Recommended CDs

A list of excellent classical music recordings, arranged by composer.  Before we begin, I should explain a personal preference; it has been my experience, gained over decades of purchasing classical recordings, that one is often better off buying a large set of a composer's works when such a set is of available and of the best quality.  This assertion is made for two reasons; convenience and economy.  While such boxed sets often seem expensive, they are ultimately usually quite reasonable when compared with the cost of buying individual CD's.  On the other hand, there are some composers (Handel and Mahler both come to mind) where absolute completeness may not be desired.

Classical music has enriched my life beyond measure.  I am grateful to the composers and performers who have created - and who still create - this magical experience, and I am happy to pass along recommendations that I hope will enrich your life as well.

• Bach, Johann Sebastian
  • Essential Bach - This is a very inexpensive 2-CD set from Decca, and is a wonderful introduction to Bach's more familiar compositions.

• Bartok
  • Béla Bartók: The 6 String Quartets - Emerson String Quartet - Another 2-disc set, though not inexpensive.  I always enjoy listening to the Emerson String Quartet, and they are masterful when playing these works.
• Beethoven
  • Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas- Wilhelm Kempff.  A 9-CD set.  There are numerous collections of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, and the choice between the better ones is, of course, really a matter of personal taste.  Let me only say, then, that one really cannot go wrong by purchasing this set.
  • Beethoven: The String Quartets
  • Beethoven Symphonies
• Brahms
  • Complete Piano Music
  • Johannes Brahms: The Symphonies
• Chopin
  • Chopin: The Piano Works
• Corelli
  • Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5
• Debussy
  • Debussy: The Complete Works For Piano
• Dvorak
  • Dvorák: Complete Symphonies [BOX SET]
• Handel
  • Handel Arias
• Liszt
  • Liszt: Piano Works
  • Liszt: Organ Works - Some people like organ music, some do not.  If you do, you'll like this set.  Some day I'll have to do an entire web page devoted to classical music, since it really is a bit of a specialized interest.
• Mahler
  • Mahler - The Complete Symphonies / LPO, Tennstedt
• Mozart
  • Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Greatest Masterpieces
  • Mozart: Eine kleine Natchmusik/Serenata notturna/Posthorn Serenade/Haffner Serenade
  • Mozart Piano Concertos: Complete Mozart Edition [BOX SET]
  • Mozart - The Symphonies / Schröder, AAM, Hogwood
• Pachelbel
  • Pachelbel's Canon · Handel · Vivaldi · Gluck / AAM · Hogwood - When I was first developing a real interest in classical music, a (former) friend made rather smug and patronizing comments about the fact that I liked Pachelbel's Canon; presumably, it is too popularized to please "serious" classical music aficionados.  Since then, I've become something of an amateur expert on classical music - and I still very much like Pachelbel's Canon.  There are two morals to this story: 1) Educate yourself about classical music, but by all means listen to what you like, and; 2) Never be snobbish or condescending to others when discussing classical music.   
• Rachmaninoff
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Complete Recordings - These are actually recordings of Rachmaninoff performing, and includes his compositions and others; 10-CD set.
• Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade
• Schubert
• Schubert: The Symphonies
• Tchaikovsky
  • Tchaikovsky: The Complete Symphonies
  • Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1/ Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2 - Van Cliburn. 
  • Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty
• Telemann
  • Telemann - String Concertos / Musica Antiqua Köln · Goebel 
• Vivaldi
  • Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - by this point, you'll have guessed that I'm a fan of Christopher Hogwood; not a bad thing.

See Also

• Classical Guitar Music
• Classical Music Labels

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Classical Music - Recommended CDs