# Favourite classical performers?



## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

So those that are into classical music, among the many recordings which performers (that will include conductors in my interpretation of the word) are among you favorites?

One of mine is german/slovak violinist Julia Fischer.

I have all recordings of Julia Fischer and they never fail to impress. 

You Tube list of videos with Julia Fischer











The first and last Decca recording (since the company shut down after valentines day) of hers are Bach's violin concertos BWV 1041-BWV 1043.

Julia Fischer | Bach Concertos

And one last thing my knees get weak when in the presence of a female classical violinist.


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## Zulban (Nov 11, 2008)

I don't know enough about classical artists to add much but I will keep my eye on this thread because I'm looking for some.


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## chu (Mar 2, 2009)

uuum does classical guitar count?
Jesse Cook makes me tingle, i didnt know guitar could be played like that.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

*Mozart, Beethoven, Bach (Emanuel)*.

*>.< Cliche*


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## Nightriser (Nov 8, 2008)

BadWolf said:


> *Mozart, Beethoven, Bach (Emanuel)*.


Okay, now how about performers?


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## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

Beethoven, eh? 

Then Osmo Vänskä is a must, he's recorded all the symphony with The Minnesota Orchestra within the last couple of years.

Especially this recording Amazon.com: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 And 6, "Pastoral": MP3 Downloads: Osmo Vanska


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## Zaria (Jan 11, 2009)

I'm a Mahler fan and one of the orchestras that has a long tradition of playing Mahler and therefore has the best renditions of his symphonies is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Try any of their recordings of his symphonies, especially the ones conducted by Bernhard Haitink, I love them. :laughing:

For older choral music, especially Bach, I always stick to the Collegium Vocal Gent with conductor Philiipe Herreweghe. I have a beautiful rendition of Bach's St. John Passion, I think it's one of my dearest CD's.

For Beethoven I'm sticking to the Berliner Philharmoniker and Von Karajan, I have one recording of them together (the 9th sympghony) and it's wonderful!

For solo instrumentalists or singers I don't really have any specific favourites, there are so many. I think I should mention Cecilia Bartoli though, she's just such a great singer and she seems to have a nice personality too! :wink:


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## Shai Gar (Jan 4, 2009)

I don't care about performers. A sheet of music is written with timed notes. A computer could play it just as well as a human and I'd love the music. I only care about those with enough creativity to compose the stuff. Copying someone elses work just doesn't strike me as valuable.


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## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

So we shall not talk performers with you then.

Maybe one should make a thread about composer then. Just a thought


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## Shai Gar (Jan 4, 2009)

No. That was my opinion on performers.

However, Performer/Composer Andre Rieu... He's got my audio fanaticism.


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## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

so we should not talk performers with you thats fine Shai


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## Shai Gar (Jan 4, 2009)

Or buy glasses. Whichever...


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## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

I disagree with your initial post and dont really care. This was not meant as a discussion but as inspiration, sharing the performers you find to be interesting. The discussion can be taken elsewhere if needed, but I dont see any need for it. And I dont have the time for a discussion on that at the moment.

So Andre Rieu you say, I'll try and find some soundbits with him.


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## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

Zaria said:


> I'm a Mahler fan and one of the orchestras that has a long tradition of playing Mahler and therefore has the best renditions of his symphonies is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Try any of their recordings of his symphonies, especially the ones conducted by Bernhard Haitink, I love them. :laughing:
> 
> For older choral music, especially Bach, I always stick to the Collegium Vocal Gent with conductor Philiipe Herreweghe. I have a beautiful rendition of Bach's St. John Passion, I think it's one of my dearest CD's.
> 
> ...


Ill look into that thank you. And Herbert von Karajan oh yes he was an amazing conductor, my dad have this vinyl recording of Tchaikovskiy's 1st piano concerto with Sviatoslav Richter as the pianist he listened to that endlessly. It still gets a spin every now and then, since I've adopted some of his old vinyl records.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

*Thank you slow.*


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## slowriot (Nov 11, 2008)

Christophe Coin is an amazing cellist. Plus Il Giardino Armonico is a great ensemble.

Together they've made a great recording of Vivaldi's Cello Concerto's on two cd's, I only have the first but its great.

Here's from the label's page Naïve


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## tawainainootoko (Apr 26, 2010)

There's too many for me to list them all, but I'll give an idea.

Orchestras: London Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Ulster (these 3 have provided some of the grandest brass playing; Berliner is luscious with the strings, esp. Liszt's Les Preludes; LSO & BPO/Berliner are my two favorites), any Russian, and generally I prefer European or Russian over American

Conductors: Vladimir Ashkenazy (even though he's inexperienced- check out his Rachmaninov symphonic cycle), _Herbert von Karajan_ (one of the best- esp. with the Berliner!!), _Istvan Kertesz_ (Dvorak full symphonic cycle- cannot beat the brass), Claudio Abbado, Furtwangler, Charles Dutoit, Pierre Boulez, Günter Wand** , *others I'll add later

Pianists: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Kristian Zimmerman, Martha Argerich, Helene Grimaud, Richter, Stephen Hough, Konstantin Scherbakov, Angela Hewitt + Michelangeli, Howard Shelley* 

Violinists: Sarah Chang, Jascha Heifetz (duh!), Janine Jansen

Cellists: Pablo Casals

Emerson String Quartet, Julliard String Quartet, Quartetto Italiano, Ahn Trio, Floristan Trio, Hagenquarttet

*(+ 5月 getsu 4日 nichi)


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## saynomore (Feb 27, 2010)

Violinist: Michael Rabin





Pianist: Friedrich Gulda


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## Ranjit (Feb 3, 2016)

Gyorgy Cziffra!!
ww.youtube.com/watch?v=KyzzAV9GhHQ
ww.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S2CfDwNAg
ww.youtube.com/watch?v=3L0Rncqx1yQ


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## Ranjit (Feb 3, 2016)

Ranjit said:


> Gyorgy Cziffra!!
> ww.youtube.com/watch?v=KyzzAV9GhHQ
> ww.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S2CfDwNAg
> ww.youtube.com/watch?v=3L0Rncqx1yQ


(Correct the hyperlink)


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## Fuel (Oct 20, 2015)

tawainainootoko said:


> There's too many for me to list them all, but I'll give an idea.
> 
> Orchestras: London Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Ulster (these 3 have provided some of the grandest brass playing; Berliner is luscious with the strings, esp. Liszt's Les Preludes; LSO & BPO/Berliner are my two favorites), any Russian, and generally I prefer European or Russian over American
> 
> ...


Great list!

I would add Borodin Quartet to it for myself.


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## shazam (Oct 18, 2015)

Most of them are dead, but my favourite would have to be Niccolo Paganini.

1. Because there are no known audio recordings of him playing. He composed his 24 Caprices and wrote down how to play them.
2. Because of various illnesses, they gave him an advantage. His violin pieces are regarded as the most difficult to play.
3. His father used to make him practice up to 14 hours a day, sometimes not giving Paganini food until he completed something.
4. He was so good people used to say that he was possessed by the devil, so he milked that label and played up to it, getting more notoriety because of it.
5. He inspired many other famous composers with his technical level of skill and musicality.


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