Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner My New Truck has a CD player. Want Recommendations.

Would like to hear are your favorite cd's (and specific pianists) of Chopin, Bach and Liszt and Beethoven. Thanks.

Chopin: Zimerman\'s Ballades
Bach: Tharaud\'s Italian Concertos
Liszt: Richter\'s Liszt Concerti
Beethoven: Annie Fischer\'s Complete Beethoven Sonatas

*The Annie Fischer set may be the best purchase I've ever made

Want recommendations?

First, I'd recommend you sell or dispose of your truck as soon as possible and use the funds to buy a small car or bicycle. I'm not an eco-freak, I just detest trucks and SUVs--too many on the road already! :p

Chopin: I don't like him, hence I have no recommendations other than to minimize your exposure to his music.

Liszt: My favorite composition of his is a little song entitled Oh Quand je dors and the best performance of this I've heard was by the mezzo soprano Jennie Tourel. Good luck finding that one in digital format! :rolleyes:

Bach: My favorite composer is best heard on harpsichord or clavichord (or organ) IMO. Ralph Kirkpatrick's performance of WTC Book I on harpsichord and WTC Book II on Clavichord (Deutsche Grammophon) are unforgettable, as is Karl Richter's 1970s (?) performance of the GV on Deutsche Grammophon. Nobody has ever played ornamentations better than Richter, and his reading of GV is every bit as revolutionary as Gould's on piano. Too bad so few people were paying attention at the time (or now for that matter).

On piano, I greatly love Edwin Fischer's WTC on EMI, Gould's Partitas on Columbia, and Schiff's inventions, and GV. Avoid Gould's French Suites at all costs!

Beethoven: I don't listen to as much of his piano music as I should, but I can recommend anything by Solomon! Any recommendations for the Diabelli Variations and/or Bagatelles would be appreciated!

Best Regards,
Kevin

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002TKFS6/sr=8-1/qid=1142820806/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2876142-2575005?%5Fencoding=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5005?s=classical&v=glance&n=5174

Ironic isn't it?

Chopin: Rubenstein's Ballades + scherzi, Perahia's 24 etudes.
Liszt: I have a 2-cd set of Bolet, I think it's called "Leibestraume: favorite piano works.." or something similar.

Bach --- Gould Goldbergs (1981)
Chopin --- Sokolov Preludes
Beethoven --- Goode Sonatas
Liszt --- Richter Concertos 1/2 and Sonata

Driving Music

Bach - French Suites, Gould
Chopin - Waltzes, Lipatti
Beethoven - Bagatelles, Brendel
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsodies, Cziffra

Oh, forgot about Lipatti's Chopin waltzes- I give them the highest possible recommendation!!
In fact, he has them on a disc along with the Bach Bb partita, Mozart k310, and 2 schubert impromptus. So you get two of your composers right there.

I think I've made a new Liszt find...
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A7IJUG/102-9963989-1550507

Haven't gotten it to my hands yet, but the samples are promising, as well as this review...

If you don't own a recording of Bach's six organ sonatas, you should try to find one... They are easy to find in some transcriptions:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000002ZX7/

...but difficult in their organ version:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T92A/

...I only have Stockmeier's recording of five of them:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000009DIR/

...so I can't say anything about the others.

The last... You probably have this, but I mention it anyway (one of the very best things out there, imo):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000041NE/

I forgot to mention that it doesn't really have the fourth Mephisto Waltz in it (the Amazon has made a mistake there: the "Bagatelle Without Tonality" isn't the 4th Mephisto Waltz).

(And I don't think the Wagner pieces fit in at all... The first act prelude from Tristan doesn't really work with the piano, at least if you've heard the original one, and while the end of the third act may work better, it really puts Liszt's more moderate genius into shadow (eventhough the transcription was made by Liszt himself), which just feels awkward in a Liszt album.)