Week 6 Nos. 71-75
71. Polonaise in A-flat Major (Heroic), Op. 53
47 Frédéric Chopin Piano Sonata 1842 Play
Ashkenazy at his best. There would normally be no need to look any further but I know you want to! And in this case there’s a great reason to, Rafal Blechacz’s deeply emotional reading in a pristine new hi res digital recording from DG. What a treat!
Ashkenazy “Chopin: Polonaises” 1985, 16/44.1
Blechacz “Chopin: Polonaises” 2013, 24/96
72. Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
661 Gustav Mahler Symphony 1894 Play
Definitely the right time of year to be listening to Mahler’s “Resurrection”. I have to side with Gramophone here and go with Vladimir Jurowski’s thrilling account with the LPO. I prefer this to either of the deservedly popular Rattle accounts with the BPO and the CBSO. For SQ don’t overlook Channel Classics and the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer.
London Philharmonic Orchetsra, Jurowski “Mahler: Symphony No.2” 2011, 16/44.1
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Fischer “Mahler: Symphony No.2” 2006, 16/44.1
73. Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
30 Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto 1806 Play
One of the benefits of the streaming era is that recordings which had very spotty availability in the LP and CD eras magically resurrect. A great example of this is the Hans Richter-Haaser recordings of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas, the original early 60s Testament LPs of which were among my father’s most prized possessions and which afaik were never re-released on CD. For a more modern recording try (another patriotic vote here) Maria João Pires with Daniel Harding leading the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Richter-Haaser, Philharmonia Orchestra, Kertész “Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58 & Rondo, Op. 51 No. 2” 196 16/44.1
João-Pires, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Harding “Beethoven: Piano Concerto Nos. 3 & 4” 2014, 16/44.1
74. Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93
34 Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony 1953 Play
Karajan has recorded this twice, although only his later 1982 DG recording is available on Qobuz. However this version from Praga Digitals seems to be a hi res remastering of his 1978 DG set which I preferred (as far as I can remember at least, the Qobuz metadata is not very helpful and unfortunately this was one of the CDs I didn’t rip before putting them all in storage). For a more recent recording check out Haitink with the LPO beautifully captured by the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall.
Berliner Philharmoniker, Karajan “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93” 1982, 16/44.1
Berliner Philharmoniker, Karajan “Beethoven: Symphony No. 5; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10” 1978(?) 24/96
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Haitink “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10” 2008, 16/44.1
75. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132
426 Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet 1825 Play
Bit of a toss-up here between the ever-excellent Lindsays on ASV or the equally polished Alban Berg on EMI. I’ll let you choose. For the “definitive” recording of these works check out the classic pre-war mono recording by the Busch Quartet from HMV.
The Lindsays “Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 14 & 15” 2003, 16/44.1
Alban Berg Quartett “Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 14 & 15” 1994, 16/44.1
Busch Quartet “Beethoven: “The Late String Quartets” 1937, 16/44.1
