In this edition of Essential Classical Music, I look at the consensus reference recordings of the basic repertoire, those that have most stood the test of time and are most commonly recommended by critics and enthusiasts alike.
I cover the following works:
Bach, Brandenburg Concertos/Orchestral Suites
Bach, Violin Concertos
Bach, Cello Suites
Bach, Violin Sonatas & Partitas
Bach, Organ works
Bach, Goldberg Variations
Bach, Well-tempered Clavier
Bach, Cantata No. 82 "Ich habe genug"
Bach, Mass in B minor
Bach, St Matthew Passion
Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra/Music for Strings
Bartok, String Quartets
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”
Beethoven, Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7
Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"
Beethoven, Violin Concerto
Beethoven, String Quartets
Beethoven, Piano Trio No. 7 "Archduke”
Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer"
Beethoven, Piano Sonatas
Beethoven, Missa Solemnis
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique
Berlioz, Les nuits d'ete
Bizet, Carmen
Brahms, Symphony No. 1
Brahms, Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Brahms, Symphony No. 4
Brahms, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Brahms, Violin Concerto
Brahms, Clarinet Quintet
Brahms, Piano Quintet
Brahms, Ein Deutsches Requiem
Bruch, Violin Concerto
Bruckner, Symphony No. 4
Bruckner, Symphony No. 7
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Bruckner, Symphony No. 9
Chopin, Ballades
Chopin, Etudes
Chopin, Nocturnes
Chopin, Preludes
Chopin, Waltzes
Copland, Appalachian Spring
Debussy, La Mer/Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Debussy/Ravel, String Quartets
Debussy, Piano works
Dvorak, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9
Dvorak, Cello Concerto
Dvorak, String Quartet No. 12 “American”
Elgar, Cello Concerto
Elgar, Enigma Variations
Faure, Requiem
Franck, Violin Sonata
Gershwin, Rhapsody in blue, An American in Paris
Grieg/Schumann, Piano Concertos
Handel, Water Music/Music for the Royal Fireworks
Handel, Messiah
Handel, Giulio Cesare
Haydn, Symphonies Nos. 93-104 "London"
aydn, String Quartets, Op. 76
Haydn, The Creation
Holst, The Planets
Josquin, Missa Pange Lingua
Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1
Liszt, Piano Sonata
Mahler, Symphony No. 1
Mahler, Symphony No. 2
Mahler, Symphony No. 3
Mahler, Symphony No. 4
Mahler, Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3, Midsummer Night’s
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4 “Italian”
Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto
Mendelssohn, Octet
Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610
Mozart, Symphonies Nos. 35-41
Mozart, Piano Concertos
Mozart, Clarinet Concerto/Clarinet Quintet
Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante
Mozart, String quintets
Mozart, Requiem
Mozart, Don Giovanni
Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro
Mozart, Der Zauberflöte
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition
Orff, Carmina Burana
Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli
Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5
Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 3
Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet
Puccini, La bohème
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Puccini, Tosca
Puccini, Turandot
Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Ravel, Piano Concerto
Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe
Ravel, Gaspard de la nuit
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade
Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia
Saint-Saens, Symphony No. 3 "Organ"
Schubert, Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished”
Schubert, Symphony No. 9 “Great”
Schubert, “Trout” Quintet
Schubert, String Quintet
Schubert, String Quartet No. 14 "Death & the Maiden"
Schubert, Piano Sonata No. 21
Schubert, Winterreise
Schumann, Piano Quintet
Schumann, Kreisleriana
Schumann, Dichterliebe
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 10
Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 8
Sibelius, Symphony No. 2
Sibelius, Symphony No. 5
Sibelius, Symphony No. 7
Sibelius, Violin Concerto
Smetana, Má vlast
Strauss, Eine Alpensinfonie
Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra
Strauss, Ein Heldenleben
Strauss, Til Eulenspiegel/Don Juan/Tod und Verklärung
Strauss, Four Last Songs
Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier
Strauss, Salome
Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, Petrushka
Stravinsky, The Firebird
Tallis, Spem in alium
Tchaikovsky, Symphonies Nos. 4-6
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture
Tchaikovsky, Ballet suites
Verdi, Requiem
Verdi, Aida
Verdi, Otello
Verdi, Rigoletto
Verdi, La Traviata
Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Wagner, Parsifal
Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
0:00 Introduction
10:52 Bach
24:02 Beethoven
42:03 Brahms
52:07 Chopin
58:22 Dvorak
1:06:24 Handel
1:16:49 Mahler
1:26:58 Mozart
1:39:15 Puccini
1:50:03 Schubert
1:58:16 Schumann
2:05:24 Strauss
2:10:37 Stravinsky
2:16:57 Verdi
2:22:36 Wagner