Journal
Recommended Classical Recordings
Tuesday, 02 December 2008

Throughout my life I have listened seriously to Classical music recordings, trying to absorb the structure, beauty, depth and expression of the greatest works as played by those who appeal the most to my own tastes and passions.  As a result, during the time since about 1955 I’ve come to the conclusion that the following recordings are among the most inspiring, and for reasons that I can delineate if asked!  This is not at all a comprehensive list of the only great works or the only great performances (and there are varying degrees of greatness among these) --- but here’s a starting point for ideas I’d like to share with you if you’re interested!  (I must add that over time Bach and Beethoven have become by far my favorite composers --- I believe there’s a real reason they’ve been so popular for so long!)  I invite any comments of your own you may want to send via e-mail.  ---T.S.

I've underlined ones that are perhaps the more "significant" or "accessible" pieces to start with.

Johann Sebastian Bach:

Mass in B Minor, Oratorios, Cantatas, Passions, Orchestral Suites (including "Air on the G String" in Suite 3), Musical Offering --- Helmuth Rilling

Brandenburg Concertos --- Trevor Pinnock

Goldberg Variations, Well-Tempered Clavier, Partitas, English and French Suites, Inventions & Sinfonias, Keyboard Concertos, Toccatas, etc. --- Glenn Gould, Martha Argerich (misc.)

Italian Concerto --- Glenn Gould, Rudolf Serkin

The Art of the Fugue --- Glenn Gould (stark organ, piano), Emerson String Quartet

Chromatic Fantasia --- Rudolf Serkin

Solo Unaccompanied Violin Partitas and Suites --- Arthur Grumiaux

Solo Unaccompanied Cello Suites --- Pierre Fournier (rich, full-formed, profound), Maurice Gendron (warm, beautiful, perfect structure), Yo-Yo Ma (earlier version: light and fresh; later version: personally expressive), Pablo Casals (1938 ---full of life and spontaneous); Mstislav Rostropovich (serious and deep)

Organ works --- E. Power Biggs

Guitar transcriptions --- Christopher Parkening

Violin Concertos --- Christoph Poppen/Helmuth Rilling

Ludwig van Beethoven:

Symphonies, Overtures --- George Szell (sym. 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 especially), Leonard Bernstein (sym. 1, 2, 4, 8 especially), Wilhelm Furtwengler (versions in the 1940's), Carlos Kleiber (5) 

Piano Sonatas (17 of them by Serkin --- among my absolute favorite recordings!) (esp. "Moonlight," "Appassionata," "Les Adieux," "Pathetique," "Funeral March," "Waldstein," "Tempest," nos.29-32), Diabelli Variations, Fantasia --- Rudolf Serkin; Sonata #3 --- Arthur Rubinstein; various sonatas (yet to be designated) --- Glenn Gould; "Tempest" sonata --- Jeno Jando; various sonatas --- Sviatislav Richter

Violin Concerto --- Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh 

Piano Concertos (among the most wonderful of all music!) --- Rudolf Serkin (especially 3 & 5 w/ Leonard Bernstein), Arthur Rubinstein/Erich Leinsdorf (especially 4 & 5), Martha Argerich (1-3), Glenn Gould, Sviatislav Richter, Leon Fleisher, Vladimir Horowitz (5)

Triple Concerto --- David Oistrakh/Mstislav Rostropovich/Sviatislav Richter/Herbert von Karajan, Isaac Stern/Leonard Rose/Eugene Istomin/Eugene Ormandy

Sonatas for Piano and Violin (especially 5 "Spring")--- Martha Argerich/Gidon Kremer

String Quartets --- Alban Berg Quartett

Missa Solemnis, Mass in C --- Helmuth Rilling

"Archduke" & "Ghost" Trios --- Arthur Rubinstein/Jascha Heifetz/Emmanuel Feuermann, Isaac Stern/Leonard Rose/Eugene Istomin

Johannes Brahms:

Symphonies, Overtures --- George Szell

Piano Concertos --- Rudolf Serkin, Arthur Rubinstein/Erich Leinsdorf (or Fritz Reiner or Charles Munch)

Violin Concerto --- Isaac Stern, Nigel Kennedy, David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein

Double Concerto --- David Oistrakh/Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern/Leonard Rose

Solo piano works --- Arthur Rubinstein

Sonatas for Piano & Violin --- Arthur Rubinstein/Henryk Szeryng

Sonatas for Piano & Cello --- Mstislav Rostropovich/Rudolf Serkin

German Requiem --- James Levine/Kathleen Battle

Piano Trios --- Arthur Rubinstein/Henryk Szeryng/Pierre Fournier, Beaux Arts Trio (1960s versions)

Piano Quintet --- Arthur Rubinstein/Guarneri Quartet

Piano Quartets --- Beaux Arts Trio

George Frederick Handel:

Messiah oratorio --- Richard Westenburg (American mid-size dramatic & thrilling), Colin Davis (British mid-size classic interpretation), Trevor Pinnock (early music small-size with heart), Helmuth Rilling (Mozart's German version, brilliant), Thomas Beecham (sweeping large-size Romantic)

Water Music --- Charles MacKerras

Concerti Grossi --- Emil Klein

Felix Mendelssohn:

Symphonies (esp. 3, 4, 5) Overtures (esp. "Hebrides," "Ruy Blas") --- George Szell, Leonard Bernstein, Arturo Toscanini 

Elijah, St. Paul oratorios --- Helmuth Rilling (in German), Richard Hickox (in English)

Violin Concerto --- Isaac Stern

Piano Concertos --- Rudolf Serkin

Piano Trio --- Arthur Rubinstein/Jascha Heifetz/Gregor Piatagorsky

A Midsummer Night's Dream incidental music --- George Szell 

Songs Without Words --- Rudolf Serkin (selections), Glenn Gould (selections), Daniel Barenboim (complete)

Frederic Chopin:

Ballades, Scherzos, Nocturnes, Waltzes, Polonaises, Mazurkas, Concertos, Sonatas, Barcarolle, Berceuse, etc. --- Arthur Rubinstein, Martha Argerich

Preludes --- Martha Argerich

Etudes --- Rudolf Serkin, Wilhelm Backhaus

Franz Schubert:

Symphonies (esp. 7 (8) "Unfinished" & 8 (9) "The Great")--- George Szell (7,8), Thomas Beecham (3,5,6), Helmuth Rilling (1,2,4), Arturo Toscanini (5,7,8)

Piano sonatas & impromptus --- Arthur Rubinstein, Rudolf Serkin

"Wanderer" Fantasy --- Sviatislav Richter

"Trout" Quintet --- Rudolf Serkin et al, Yo-Yo Ma et al

"Arpeggione" sonata --- Lynn Harrell/James Levine 

String Quintet --- Alban Berg Quartett

Antonio Vivaldi:

The Four Seasons --- Nigel Kennedy

Guitar concertos --- John Williams, Christopher Parkening

Robert Schumann:

Symphonies --- George Szell, Zubin Mehta/Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic

Piano Concerto --- Rudolf Serkin, Arthur Rubinstein/Franco Caracciolo, Martha Argerich 

Piano solo works --- Arthur Rubinstein, Sviatislav Richter, Martha Argerich, Murray Parahia

Piano Quintet --- Arthur Rubinstein/Guarneri Quartet, Rudolf Serkin et al

Antonin Dvorak:

Symphonies, Overtures --- George Szell (7-9, "Carnival"), Istvan Kertesz (all, overtures)

Slavonic Dances --- George Szell 

Cello Concerto --- Pierre Fournier/George Szell

"American" String Quartet --- Juilliard Quartet

Piano Quintet --- Arthur Rubinstein/Guarneri Quartet

String Serenade --- Rudolf Kempe

Piano Trios --- Beaux Arts Trio

Dimitri Shostakovich:

Symphonies --- Leonard Bernstein (esp. 5 & 9), Simon Rattle (esp. 1 & 14), Mstoslav Rostropovich (esp. 2, 3, 11), Fritz Reiner (6), Evgeny Svetlanov (7), Bernard Haitink (8, 12, 15), Saulius Sondeckis (13), Andrew Litton (10)

String Quartets --- Borodin Quartet

Violin Concerto --- Maxim Vengerov

Preludes & Fugues --- Tatiana Nicolaeva

Piano Concertos --- Leonard Bernstein

Chamber music with piano --- Martha Argerich 

Franz Josef Haydn:

Symphonies (esp. 96 "Surprise") --- George Szell, Adam Fischer

The Creation --- Robert Shaw (English), Wolfgang Gonnenwein (German)

The Seasons --- Helmuth Rilling, Wolfgang Gonnenwein

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:

Symphonies (esp. 35, 40 & 41) --- George Szell

Overtures (The Marriage of Figaro etc.) --- Leonard Bernstein

Eine Kleine Nachtmusick --- George Szell

Piano Concertos (esp. 12, 17, 19-26) --- Rudolf Serkin (esp. 19-20 with George Szell), Arthur Rubinstein, Martha Argerich, Alicia deLarrocha

Requiem --- Helmuth Rilling, William Christie

Violin Concertos --- Itzhak Perlman

String Quartets --- Franz Schubert Quartet of Vienna, Sonare Quartet

Piano Sonatas --- Vladimir Horowitz, Alicia deLarrocha, Glenn Gould (unusual)

Aaron Copland:

Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Rodeo suites; Symphony 3 --- Leonard Bernstein

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:

Symphonies --- George Szell (4,5), Evgeny Mravinsky (6), Riccardo Muti (6), Lorin Maazel/Vienna (all)

Overtures (esp. "Romeo & Juliet," "Marche Slave," "1812") --- Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta/Los Angeles

Piano Concerto 1 --- Van Cliburn, Arthur Rubinstein/Erich Leinsdorf, Vladimir Horowitz/Arturo Toscanini

Violin Concerto --- Isaac Stern, Nathan Milstein 

Nutcracker ballet --- Antal Dorati 

Piano Trio --- Arthur Rubinstein/Jascha Heifetz/Gregor Piatigorsky

String Serenade --- Philippe Entremont

Sergei Rachmaninoff:

Piano Concerto 2 --- Arthur Rubinstein/Fritz Reiner, Sviatislav Richter/Stanislaw Wislocki, Van Cliburn 

Piano Concerto 3 --- Vladimir Horowitz/Fritz Reiner, Van Cliburn, Martha Argerich , Byron Janis

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini --- Arthur Rubinstein

Preludes, Sonatas --- Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatislav Richter

Vespers --- Robert Shaw 

Symphonies --- Lorin Maazel/Berlin (2); Adrian Boult, Charles MacKerras (3)

Igor Stravinsky:

Firebird, Rite of Spring, Petrouchka ballet suites--- Leonard Bernstein

Sergei Prokofiev:

Symphonies --- George Szell (5), Jean Martinon (all)

Peter and the Wolf --- Leonard Bernstein

Piano Concertos --- Rudolf Serkin (4), Martha Argerich (3), Gary Graffman (1,3), Sviatislav Richter (5), Van Cliburn (3), Evgeny Kissin (2)

Piano Sonatas (esp.7) ---  Sviatislav Richter, Martha Argerich, Glenn Gould

Visions Fugitives --- Arthur Rubinstein

Lieutenant Kije Suite --- George Szell

Toccata --- Martha Argerich

Violin Concertos --- Isaac Stern

Bedrich Smetana:

The Moldau (Vltava)--- George Szell, Arturo Toscanini

Ma Vlast (My Fatherland --- complete set of symphonic poems that includes The Moldau) --- Rafael Kubelik/Boston Symphony

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff:

Scheherazade symphonic suite --- Leonard Bernstein 

Claude Debussy:

La Mer, Printemps, Nuages, Prelude a l'Apresmidi d'un faune, Nocturnes, Images, Jeux --- Pierre Boulez, Michael Tilson Thomas

Piano solos --- Arthur Rubinstein

Bela Bartok: 

Concerto for Orchestra --- Pierre Boulez, George Szell, Fritz Reiner

String Quartets --- Juilliard Quartet

Piano Concerto --- Rudolf Serkin

Trio --- Benny Goodman/Josef Szigeti/Bela Bartok 

Richard Wagner:

Orchestral works --- George Szell

Richard Strauss:

Orchestral works --- George Szell, Rudolf Kempe

Anton Bruckner: 

Symphonies 1-9 --- George Szell, Eugen Jochum/Staatskapelle Dresden, Horst Stein

Masses --- Helmuth Rilling

Gustav Mahler:

Symphonies (esp. 1, 2, 4, 6, and Adagietto from 5) --- George Szell, Leonard Bernstein, Bruno Walter, Rafael Kubelik 

Edvard Grieg:

Peer Gynt suites --- Leonard Bernstein 

Piano Concerto --- Arthur Rubinstein, Leon Fleisher

Piano solos (Lyric Pieces, Ballade, Album Leaves, etc.) --- Arthur Rubinstein

Maurice Ravel:

Daphnis & Chloe Suite no. 2 --- Leonard Bernstein

Bolero --- Lorin Maazel

Gaspard de la nuit --- Martha Argerich

Piano concertos --- Martha Argerich

Ferde Grofe:

Grand Canyon Suite --- Leonard Bernstein

Joaquin Rodrigo:

Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasia para un gentilhombre --- John Williams, Julian Bream

Johann Strauss, Jr.:

Waltzes, etc. --- George Szell, Willie Boskovsky 

Modeste Moussorgsky:

Pictures at an Exhibition --- George Szell (orchestral), Sviatislav Richter (piano solo)

Overture to Khovanschine --- George Szell

Ottorino Respighi:

Ancient Airs & Dances, The Birds, The Pines of Rome, The Fountains of Rome --- Antal Dorati, Neville Marriner

Roman Festivals, Church Windows, Brazilian Impressions --- Jesus Lopez-Cobos 

Isaac Albeniz, Enrico Granados:

Piano works--- Alicia deLarrocha,  Arthur Rubinstein

Guitar transcriptions --- Christopher Parkening

Heitor Villa-Lobos:

Preludes --- Christopher Parkening, Julian Bream

Prolo de Bebe --- Arthur Rubinstein

Bachianas Brazilianos #5 ---  Kathleen Battle/Christopher Parkening

Georges Bizet: 

Carmen & L'Arlesienne Suites --- Leonard Bernstein 

Manuel de Falla:

Nights in the Gardens of Spain --- Arthur Rubinstein

Ralph Vaughan Williams:

The Lark Ascending --- Iona Brown/Neville Marriner

Fantasias on Greensleeves, on a Theme of Thomas Tallis --- Leonard Bernstein

Symphonies 2, 3, 5, 8, other orchestral works --- Adrian Boult, Vernon Handley, Andre Previn

Jean Sibelius:

Finlandia, Valse Triste, The Swan of Tuolena --- Leonard Bernstein

Symphonies --- Petri Sakari, Leonard Bernstein (esp. 1, 2, 5, 7)

Edward Elgar:

Pomp & Circumstance Marches, Enigma Variations --- Adrian Boult

Cello Concerto --- Jacqueline Du Pre

Samuel Barber:

Adagio for Strings --- Leonard Bernstein

Johann Pachelbel:

Canon in D --- Jean-Francois Paillard (early 1970's version)

Gioachino Rossini:

William Tell overture --- Leonard Bernstein

Great soundtrack: Patrick Doyle:

Henry V --- Simon Rattle

George Gershwin:

Rhapsody in Blue --- Earl Wild, Leonard Bernstein 

An American in Paris --- Leonard Bernstein

Zoltan Kodaly:

Hary Janos Suite --- George Szell

Leos Janacek:

Sinfonietta --- George Szell

Franz Liszt:

Hungarian Rhapsodies, Sonata in B Minor --- Martha Argerich, Svatislav Richter

Les Preludes --- Leonard Bernstein

Alexander Borodin:

Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor --- Leonard Bernstein

String Quartets --- Borodin Quartet

Symphony 2 --- Rafael Kubelik

Piano Concertos --- Arthur Rubinstein, Martha Argerich, Sviatislav Richter

 
Some Notes
Wednesday, 06 February 2008
big_meadows_playing_web.jpgA walk in nearby Freedom Park on this glorious warm and windy day is full of the noises of nature: awakening birds, frisking squirrels, and of course the Pine Wind in the loblollies!  Three water turtles were out in the remnant of a beaver pond.  Last weekend I wrote a tune in the Scottish airs tradition for Ro’s and my thirtieth wedding anniversary this month, “My Sweet Rowena in the Glen,” and debuted it at an early Valentine party: Howard Nilsen played the melody on accordion, and I accompanied on guitar.  It’s a keeper, and will soon be recorded on the new CD of Celtic airs with the working title Wild Mountain Thyme.
Thursday, March 13, 2008: Today is the official beginning of recording Wild Mountain Thyme --- starting with a hammered dulcimer solo of the Scottish air "Lassie with the Golden Hair," learned from the matchless fiddler Alasdair Fraser.  We're trying a new microphone setup: larger-diaphragm mics much closer to the dulcimer, utilizing carefully identified "sweet spots" to get the best presence and fullness.  If this album turns out to capture the moving spirit of these magnificent lyrical melodies, it will be very much worth the work!  A few examples of other wonderful Celtic tunes you may never have had the good fortune to have heard: "Our Hero," "Bonnie Bessie Logan," "Broom o' the Cowdenowes," "Bryn Calfaria," "The Mermaid," "Miss Rowan Davies," ""The Flower Among Us All," "Morgan Megan,"  and "The Rose Bud of Allenvale."
August 2008: ** Special note: We are now in YouTube!  Ann Robinson has made informal videos of outdoor and indoor performances and posted them; also, Peter Budnikas has videoed a concert and Ann has produced  some versions of it for YouTube.  To see these, go to www.youtube.com and search "Timothy Seaman." **

 Progress has been slow on the new album due to many other concerns, including a pretty heavy concert schedule including a special concert "Eighty-Five Strings" at the Kimball Theatre in July (and I perform about 200 times a year in all), and a broken hand that requires healing to be able to play flutes and guitar again!  But recently we were able to record some great tracks of Celtic harp and bowed dulcimer (wow!) by Ann Robinson, as well as more beautiful Celtic harp by Ardie Boggs.  Soon we'll record Peter Budnikas on Highland Pipes.  The titles of these are "She Moved Through the Fair," "Bonnie Dundee," "Archibald MacDonald of Keppoch," "Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms," and "The Southwind."  I also recorded hammered dulcimer live with Ann on that last piece, while doing the engineering and with a broken hand in a splint, but it worked well anyway!

In the spring I went ahead and spent extensive time investigating the comparative sounds of five different sets of microphones in the new configuration over the hammered dulcimer, on five different songs with five different sets of hammers, recording everything methodically so I could listen back on many different playback devices; most of the mcs sounded excellent, but I think my favorite microphones for this turned out to be Rode NT5s.  Others used were AKG C3000Bs, AKG C1000Ss, ATM 4041s, and ATM 37s.  For my particular instrument and playing style, it seems that small-diaphragm condensers sound best.  The  two preamplifiers were by PreSonus, one with tubes and one with Class A solid state.  (For you fellow engineers!)

In the special July concert it was a treat to have in the audience my high school band director, Jim Swiney, and his wife.  We had not seen each other for --- get this --- forty years!

Thursday, September 11, 2008: The three pins were removed today from my fifth metacarpal, so we are heading toward a full healing and renewed flute playing!  Indeed, earlier this week I began carefully playing small whistles and bamboo flutes, which require only six fingers.  Today the ring finger, tomorrow the pinkie!

*** And now I have a corner of the major dulcimer website, www.everythingdulcimer.com !  Feel free to click the link and check out the "Pros" section! *** 

Friday, September 26, 2008:   We are in the midst of a new recording project inserted in the middle of producing the Celtic Airs album:  a third self-produced dulcimer Christmas CD called Hope from on High, and assisted in part by the marvelous playing of Ardie Boggs, Ann Robinson, and Peter Budnikas!  So far we have recorded bagpipes, Celtic harps, bowed dulcimer, and hammered dulcimer played by these folks, plus a great deal of solo hammered dulcimer played by myself, on "Hope from on High (Paintbrush Canyon)," "Cycling Home for Christmas," "Erev Shel Shoshannim." "O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Once in Royal David's City," "St. Basil's Hymn," "Bonnie Dundee," "Auld Lang Syne," "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," Vivaldi's winter Largo from The Four Seasons, and "Simple Gifts."   Today the plan is to record Praeludium I from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and ""Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," and "O Tannenbaum/Down in Yon Forest," or at least one of those, or maybe something else on the lengthy planning list!  The goal is to have a final master recording and print materials prepared by October 8; if all goes well, we can meet that date, but if not, we'll have to decide whether to postpone release to next year, as production would end up being pushed past the Christmas season "window."  We'll let you know!