Eusebius7's recommended recordings:

~Music in the Davidsbündler tradition~

All recordings recommended here, are available on compact disk. The company label is not specified, because much of this is archive material, that may be available from more than one company.

Arturo Benedetti Michaelangeli: Michaelangeli,who died in 1995, was, without question, one of the greatest artists ever to be recorded, and his recordings are all the more precious, since there are so few of them. Look for his versions of:

Schumann: Carnaval

Brahms: Ballades, Paganini Variations

Chopin: Chopin recital (includes the majestic Bb minor Scherzo)

also, he made historic recordings of Beethoven's opus 111 sonata, and Bach's Italian Concerto.

Andras Schiff: Schiff, who is currently a successful concert pianist and recording artist, has made worthy recordings of numerous works in the Davidsbündler tradition, including:

Mendelssohn: Songs Without words

I can also recommend his recordings of Bohemian composers:

Dvorák: Piano Concerto (with Christoph von Dohnányi and the Cleveland Orchestra), Smetana's Polkas, and Janácek's On An Overgrown Path.

Click here for an excerpt of an interview, where Schiff discusses Robert Schumann.

I can also recommend the recordings of Schumann's works by Alicia de Larrocha, particularly her version of the Fantasie, Op. 17.

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An important aspect of the original Davidsbündler tradition was the composition of songs. Here are some fine interpreters of these songs:

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf had powerful insights into the interpretation of Lieder, by all the important composers. Her rendition of Schubert's "Ganymed," or Wolf's "Kennst Du das Land", will make your hair stand on end. Among singers who are still recording and performing, I would suggest the interpretations of Margaret Price, which are also very insightful.

And for those of you who require a second opinion with respect to Wagner, I'd like to recommend "The Ring of the Nibelungs: an Analysis," by the legendary Anna Russell.

Additional recommendations, by composer:

Schumann: Symphony #2 - Sir George Solti,Vienna Philharmonic

Symphony #3 - Carlo Maria Giulini, Los Angeles philharmonic

Symphony #4 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berlin philharmonic

For an in-depth discussion of a recent recording of Schumann's Oratorio, Das Paradies und die Peri, click here.

Brahms: Symphony #1 - Sir George Solti, Chicago symphony Orchestra

Symphony #4 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berlin philharmonic

Piano Quartet, Opus 25 - Murray Perahia, piano, with members of the Amadeus Quartet

Click here for a review of a recording of Brahms compositions for viola and alto, by William Primrose and Marian Anderson.

Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto - Virginia Jochum, Bamberg Symphony (also chamber works performed by Jochum with Joseph Silverstein and Colin Carr.)

Some recommended recordings of the Bohemian Composers:

HEINZ HOLLIGER, the Swiss oboe virtuoso and musicologist, has done much to call attention to the importance of J.D. Zelenka. His recordings of Zelenka's trio sonatas, with an all-star group of musicians, are magnificent.

ANDREAS STAIER, fortepiano specialist, has made recordings which highlight the importance of Jan Ladislav Dusík, whose compositions suggest a bridge between Mozart and Beethoven.

ALEXANDER SCHNEIDER, violinist, conductor, and associate of Pablo Casals, has made an excellent recording of Dvorák's string and wind serenades with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

In addition, readers are encouraged to listen to some of the many recordings made by such outstanding Czech musicians as violinist Josef Suk (great- grandson of Dvorák ), conductor Rafael Kubelik, and the Smetana Quartet. Beethoven once said that the best musicians come from Bohemia.

A recommendation by a particularly distinguished visitor to this site, during the latter part of the '90s, the late Igor Kipnis:

"If you are looking for the recording of the Brahms Vier Ernste Gesänge, and have no objection to a historical performance from 1936, you really should obtain the classic performance, now available on CD on several labels including EMI and Music & Arts, of my father, Alexander Kipnis. For many, this has been the performance of choice for many years.

Igor Kipnis"

For Eusebius7's list of Later Composers who tried to keep the flame alive, Click here.

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