The best classical recordings of all time<\/h2>1. Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelung<\/a><\/h3> \u2018Very nice,\u2019 sneered a rival producer, hearing that Decca were embarking on Wagner’s Ring Cycle<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018But of course you\u2019ll never sell any.\u2019 To him it was just an obscure, prestige project. But at a stroke \u2013 Donner\u2019s awesome hammerstroke in Rheingold, to be precise, the loudest sound then recorded \u2013 Decca\u2019s new venture was to galvanise classical recording, and begin a new era\u2026 (read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p>- The best recordings of Wagner music<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
2. Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos 5 & 7<\/a><\/h3> The reclusive Carlos Kleiber \u2013 voted the most inspiring conductor<\/a><\/strong> of all time in a poll of eminent current practitioners in BBC Music\u2019s April 2011 issue \u2013 was a rare visitor to the recording studio. But his LP of Beethoven<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Fifth Symphony<\/a><\/strong> with the Vienna Philharmonic, issued in 1975, was recognised as a classic\u2026(read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/kleiber_beethoven-386d305.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
3. Britten: War Requiem<\/a><\/h3> \u2018I thought Mozart<\/a><\/strong> and Verdi had said it all: I was wrong.\u2019 So spoke the usually sceptical Ernst Roth, Britten<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s publisher, after the momentous 1962 premiere of Britten’s War Requiem<\/a><\/strong> at the consecration of Coventry Cathedral\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzk0NDAzNC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE1ODk5NjQ1NjV9-765a916.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
4. JS Bach: Goldberg Variations<\/a><\/h3> Given this is now such a historic landmark, it seems strange to recall that executives at Columbia had misgivings about Glenn Gould recording Bach<\/a><\/strong>‘s Goldberg Variations\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>) <\/p>- The best recordings of JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/gould_bach-b183625.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
5. Puccini: Tosca<\/a><\/h3>It was the legendary recording producer Walter Legge who brought the 29-year-old Maria Callas<\/a><\/strong> to the EMI stable in 1953, thereafter recording with her between two and four operas each year until the end of the decade. She was already a rising international star and an experienced performer of Puccini<\/a><\/strong>‘s Tosca<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p>- The best recordings of Puccini’s Tosca<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiODA0NjY5My4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0OTA2MDU4Nzd9-9daac4d.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
6. Elgar: Cello Concerto<\/a><\/h3>Some say it\u2019s the red-hot personality, others that it\u2019s the du Pr\u00e9-Barenboim love story, still others that the tragic emotions evoked in the music foreshadow the tragedy that later befell the performer. Whether there\u2019s a rational explanation or not,\u00a0Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s recording of the\u00a0Elgar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Cello Concerto has a magic that has made it legendary… (read more<\/a><\/strong>) <\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/du-pre_elgar-7b9b0a9.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
<\/p>
7. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde<\/a><\/h3>This superlative recording, made in London in 1952 and never out of the catalogue, was the first complete one of Wagner<\/a><\/strong>‘s Tristan und Isolde<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, and contains several lengthy passages from the love duet in Act II and Tristan\u2019s delirium in Act III that many lovers of the work had never heard before\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p>- The best productions of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/tristan_philharmonia-10a054a.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
8. Ravel\/Berlioz: Sh\u00e9h\u00e9razade\/Nuits d’\u00e9t\u00e9<\/a><\/h3>Escapism is what Rave<\/strong>l<\/a>\u2019s Sh\u00e9h\u00e9razade and Berlioz<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Nuits d\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9 and have in common. R\u00e9gine Crespin knew that, which is why her performance of these two song cycles practically seems to exist out of time and space\u2026(read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p>- How the East inspired classical music, from the fictional heroine of Scheherazade to the sounds and sights of India<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/Ravel-Berlioz-7cbd237.jpg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
9. Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos 4-6<\/a><\/h3>Initially released on three separate stereo LPs, these Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong> performances convey a highly-strung raw energy that remains undimmed up to the present day… (read more<\/strong><\/a>) <\/p>- Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 brings his life to a close<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/51M7uWaT58L._AC_SY355_-e4ac4d1.jpg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
<\/p>
10. Gershwin: Porgy and Bess<\/a><\/h3> Glyndebourne\u2019s production of Porgy and Bess<\/a><\/strong><\/em> in 1986 confirmed the work\u2019s status not merely as Gershwin<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s masterpiece, but as one of the great operas\u2026(read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/08\/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzkyNTU4Ni4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0NjEwODQzMjh9-4437fc7.jpeg\")
<\/figure>- Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from Presto Classical<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from iTunes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Buy from ArkivMusic<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
11. JS Bach: Cello Suites<\/a><\/h3> It was a chance discovery in a Catalan junkshop that ultimately led to the making of one of the 20th century\u2019s truly great recordings of Bach’s Cello Suites<\/a><\/strong>\u2026(
\u2018Very nice,\u2019 sneered a rival producer, hearing that Decca were embarking on Wagner’s Ring Cycle<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018But of course you\u2019ll never sell any.\u2019 To him it was just an obscure, prestige project. But at a stroke \u2013 Donner\u2019s awesome hammerstroke in Rheingold, to be precise, the loudest sound then recorded \u2013 Decca\u2019s new venture was to galvanise classical recording, and begin a new era\u2026 (read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p> The reclusive Carlos Kleiber \u2013 voted the most inspiring conductor<\/a><\/strong> of all time in a poll of eminent current practitioners in BBC Music\u2019s April 2011 issue \u2013 was a rare visitor to the recording studio. But his LP of Beethoven<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Fifth Symphony<\/a><\/strong> with the Vienna Philharmonic, issued in 1975, was recognised as a classic\u2026(read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p> \u2018I thought Mozart<\/a><\/strong> and Verdi had said it all: I was wrong.\u2019 So spoke the usually sceptical Ernst Roth, Britten<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s publisher, after the momentous 1962 premiere of Britten’s War Requiem<\/a><\/strong> at the consecration of Coventry Cathedral\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p> Given this is now such a historic landmark, it seems strange to recall that executives at Columbia had misgivings about Glenn Gould recording Bach<\/a><\/strong>‘s Goldberg Variations\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>) <\/p> It was the legendary recording producer Walter Legge who brought the 29-year-old Maria Callas<\/a><\/strong> to the EMI stable in 1953, thereafter recording with her between two and four operas each year until the end of the decade. She was already a rising international star and an experienced performer of Puccini<\/a><\/strong>‘s Tosca<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p> Some say it\u2019s the red-hot personality, others that it\u2019s the du Pr\u00e9-Barenboim love story, still others that the tragic emotions evoked in the music foreshadow the tragedy that later befell the performer. Whether there\u2019s a rational explanation or not,\u00a0Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s recording of the\u00a0Elgar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Cello Concerto has a magic that has made it legendary… (read more<\/a><\/strong>) <\/p> <\/p> This superlative recording, made in London in 1952 and never out of the catalogue, was the first complete one of Wagner<\/a><\/strong>‘s Tristan und Isolde<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, and contains several lengthy passages from the love duet in Act II and Tristan\u2019s delirium in Act III that many lovers of the work had never heard before\u2026(read more<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p> Escapism is what Rave<\/strong>l<\/a>\u2019s Sh\u00e9h\u00e9razade and Berlioz<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Nuits d\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9 and have in common. R\u00e9gine Crespin knew that, which is why her performance of these two song cycles practically seems to exist out of time and space\u2026(read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p> Initially released on three separate stereo LPs, these Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong> performances convey a highly-strung raw energy that remains undimmed up to the present day… (read more<\/strong><\/a>) <\/p> <\/p> Glyndebourne\u2019s production of Porgy and Bess<\/a><\/strong><\/em> in 1986 confirmed the work\u2019s status not merely as Gershwin<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s masterpiece, but as one of the great operas\u2026(read more<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p> It was a chance discovery in a Catalan junkshop that ultimately led to the making of one of the 20th century\u2019s truly great recordings of Bach’s Cello Suites<\/a><\/strong>\u2026(2. Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos 5 & 7<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>3. Britten: War Requiem<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>4. JS Bach: Goldberg Variations<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>5. Puccini: Tosca<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>6. Elgar: Cello Concerto<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>7. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>8. Ravel\/Berlioz: Sh\u00e9h\u00e9razade\/Nuits d’\u00e9t\u00e9<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>9. Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos 4-6<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>10. Gershwin: Porgy and Bess<\/a><\/h3>
<\/figure>11. JS Bach: Cello Suites<\/a><\/h3>