For Bassoon Students
Recommended Recordings
Having a collection of recordings for study and inspiration is an essential part of any classical musician's education. Below is a list of recordings that are famous in the classical music world for their excellence.
You will notice that I do not list bassoon recordings here. I feel there is more to learn from the great pianists, singers and string players who have a repertoire that is much richer than ours.
Chamber Music:
- Beethoven String Quartets; Guarneri Quartet, RCA
- Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time; Tashi; RCA
- Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartets; Borodin Quartet; EMI
Opera:
- Mozart: The Magic Flute; Bohm, Berlin Philharmonic; Deutsche Grammophon
- Puccini: Tosca ; Callas, DeStefano, DeSabata; EMI (one of the most famous opera recordings ever made)
- Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier; Schwarzkopf, von Karajan: EMI
- Wagner: Tristan; Furtwangler, Philharmonia Orchestra; EMI (also one that stands out)
Orchestral:
- Beethoven; Symphonies; George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Beethoven: The Five Piano Concerti; Leon Fleischer, Szell, Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Brahms: 4 Symphonies; Szell, Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Haydn: Symphonies; Szell, Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Mendelssohn: Italian Symphony (#4); Szell, Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Mozart: Symphonies 35-41; Szell, Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Reiner, Chicago Symphony; RCA (one of the most famous orchestral recordings ever made!)
- Rossini: Overtures; Szell, Cleveland Orchestra, Sony
- Schumann: Symphonies; Szell, Cleveland Orchestra; Sony
- Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4-6; Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra; Sony
Piano:
- Horowitz: Live at Carnegie Hall; Sony
- Maurizio Pollini: Stravinsky Petrouchka, Prokofiev Sonate No. 7 (the Stravinsky and Prokofiev are cult classics amongst pianists)
Violin/Cello:
- Bach: 6 Suites for Solo Cello; Yo-Yo Ma, Sony Records
- Bach: 6 Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; Nathan Milstein, Deutsche Grammophon
- The Essential David Oistrakh (Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven, Shostakovich), violin; RCA/BMG
- Schumann Cello Concerto; Yo-Yo Ma, Sony
- Nathan Milstein Library of Congress Recital: Beethoven, Brahms, Bach; Bridge
- Tchaikovsky/Mendelssohn Concerti, Jascha Heifetz, violin; RCA
- Sibelius, Prokofiev, Glazunov Concerti, Jascha Heifetz, violin; RCA
Vocal:
- Cecilia Bartoli: Rossini Arias; Decca
- Jussi Bjoerling: Studio Recordings 1930-1959; EMI
- Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings; Pears, Brain, Britten; Decca
- Maria Callas: Verdi Arias; EMI
- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Mahler Songs; EMI
- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: any Schubert Songs; EMI or DGG
- Renee Fleming: The Beautiful Voice; Decca
- Lauritz Melchior: Wagner Arias; RCA
- Rosa Ponselle: Prima Voce Series, Vol.2; Nimbus
- Leontyne Price: Verdi and Puccini Arias; RCA (the "Blue Album")
- Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: Strauss 4 Last Songs; Szell, London, EMI
- Bryn Terfel: The Vagabond, Songs by Vaughan Williams; Deutsche Grammophon
- Fritz Wunderlich: Schumann Dichterliebe; DGG
Where to start:
If many of these recordings are new to you, I would suggest starting with some real basics:
- Bach Cello Suites
- Beethoven Symphonies
- Brahms Symphonies
- Tchaikovsky Symphonies
Which Artists?
- Fischer-Dieskau for just about everything: interpretation, phrasing, pacing
- Bjoerling and Wunderlich for the sheer joy of singing in their voices
- Callas for dramatic performances
- Callas, Heifetz and Horowitz were all performers that exceeded the boundaries of their voice/instruments.