Introduction to the selection for inclusion
A list of the most individual outstanding recordings I know, in alphabetical order by composer and then opus number (or name if no opus number). It is not an attempt to be comprehensive to include all works and if no outstanding recording is known the work is not included. The list is under construction and being gradually added to - the last update was on 16 March
In a some cases individual movements are outstanding and listed - that indicates some other part of the performance is not of the same standard. Links on the title mean a more detailed review has been given in another post. If a date is given it means that more than one recording by an artist is available and the date is the one referred to. Amazon links are to the specific CDs of that performance I have heard - in some case it may be possible to buy other issues of the same performance at a cheaper price. Where 'other fine performances' of a work are given this means that the performance is excellent but in my opinion is only slighly below the superb performances which are indicated with illustrations.
The aesthetic approach in selection is indicated in the quotation under the title of this blog.
Bach - Ich habe genug, Cantata 82 BWV 82 - Fischer-Dieskau/Ristenpart 1951
Bach - Ich habe genug, Cantata 82 BWV 82 - Hotter
Bach - Fantasia and Fugue in C minor BWV537 - Rogg 1970
Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 BWV846-869 - Leonhardt
Bach - Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor BWV 903 - Alessandrini
Bach - Partita for solo violin no.2 in D minor BWV 1004 Chaconne - Kogan
Bach - Partita for solo violin no.2 in D minor BWV 1004 Chaconne - Szeryng 1967
Bach/Busoni - piano arrangement of Bach's Chaconne from Partita 2 for solo violin BWV 1004 - Michelangeli 1948
Bach - Violin Concerto in E major BWV 1042 - Schroder/Hogwood
Bach - Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV 1052 - Alessandrini
Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin (Suite) op.19 - Solti 1963
Beethoven - Piano Sonata 8 in C minor op.13 'Pathetique' - Richter 1958
Beethoven - Piano Sonata 14 in C sharp minor op.27 no. 2 'Moonlight' - Kempff 1956
Beethoven - Piano Sonata 14 in C sharp minor op.27 no. 2 'Moonlight' - Serkin 1951
Beethoven - Piano Concerto 3 in C minor op.35 - Haskil/Markevitch
Beethoven - Symphony 2 in D major op.36 - Erich Kleiber
Beethoven - Symphony 3 in E flat major op.55 - Klemperer 1955
Beethoven - Symphony 3 in E flat major op.55 - Klemperer 1957
Beethoven - Symphony 3 in E flat major op.55 - Klemperer 1958
Beethoven - Symphony 3 in E flat major op.55 - Klemperer 1961
Beethoven - Symphony 3 in E flat major op.55 - Toscanini 28 October 1939
Beethoven - Piano Sonata 23 in F minor op.57 Appassionata - Kovacevich
Beethoven - Piano Sonata 23 in F minor op.57 Appassionata - Richter 1959
Beethoven - Symphony 4 op.60 in B flat - Carlos Kleiber
Beethoven - Symphony 4 op.60 in B flat - Toscanini 1951
Beethoven - Violin Concerto op.61 - Szeryng/Klemperer
Beethoven - Coriolan Overture op.62 - Furtwangler 30 June 1943
Beethoven - Coriolan Overture op.62 - Keilberth
Klemperer - Coriolan Overture op.62 - Klemperer 1957
Beethoven - Coriolan Overture op.62 - Toscanini 14 December 1946
Other fine performances of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture
Szell 1965 - Coriolan Overture
Beethoven - Symphony 5 in C minor op.67 - Giulini 1981
Beethoven - Symphony 5 in C minor op.67 - Carlos Kleiber
Beethoven - Symphony 5 in C minor op.67 - Erich Kleiber 1953
Beethoven - Symphony 5 in C minor op.67 - Klemperer 1955
Other fine performances of Beethoven Symphony 5
Szell 1965 - Beethoven Symphony 5
Beethoven - Symphony 6 in F major op.68 - Carlos Kleiber
Beethoven - Symphony 6 in F major 'Pastoral' op.68 - Erich Kleiber 1955
Beethoven - Symphony 6 in F major 'Pastoral' op.68 - Toscanini 1937 (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
Beethoven - Symphony 6 in F major 'Pastoral' op.68 - Toscanini 1951
Beethoven - Fidelio op.72 - Walter 22 February 1941
Beethoven - Piano Concerto 5 in E flat major op.73 - Michelangeli/Giulini
Beethoven - Piano Concerto 5 in E flat major op.73 - Serkin/Bernstein
Beethoven - Piano Concerto 5 in E flat major op.73 - Serkin/Walter
Beethoven - Egmont Overture op.82 - Kempe 1957
Beethoven - Egmont Overture op. 82 - Klemperer 1955
Beethoven - Egmont Overture op. 82 - Klemperer 1957
Beethoven - Egmont, excerpts from the incidential music - Klemperer/Nilsson
Beethoven - Symphony 7 in A major op.92 - Carlos Kleiber
Beethoven - Symphony 7 in A major op.92 - Klemperer 1955
Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.28 in B flat major 'Hammerklavier' - Richter 1975
Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.28 in B flat major 'Hammerklavier' - Richter 1976
Beethoven - Missa Solemnis in D major op.123 - Toscanini 30 March - 2April 1953 (LP Version - Pristine Classical transcription)
Beethoven - Symphony 9 in D minor op.125 - Furtwangler 22 August 1954 (Pristine Classical transcription)
Beethoven - Symphony 9 in D minor - Klemperer 15 November 1957
Beethoven - Symphony 9 in D minor - Klemperer 1958
Beethoven - Symphony 9 in D minor op.125 - Szell
Beethoven - Symphony 9 in D minor op.125 - Toscanini 2 December 1939
Brahms - Piano Sonta 2 in F sharp minor op.2 - Richter
Brahms - Piano Sonata 3 in F minor op.5 - Barenboim
Brahms - Piano Sonata 3 in F minor op.5 - Curzon
Brahms - Four Ballades op.10 - Barenboim
Brahms - Four Ballades op.10 - Michelangeli
Brahms - Piano Concerto 1 in D minor op.15 - Serkin/Szell
Brahms - Piano Quartet 1 in G minor op.25 - Stern/Laredo/Ma/Ax
Brahms - Piano Quintet op.34 - Curzon/Amadeus Quartet
Brahms - Piano Quintet in F minor op.34 - Richter/Borodin Quartet
Brahms - Cello Sonata 1 in E minor op.38 - Starker 1964
Brahms - Symphony 1 in C minor op.68 - Giulini 1962
Brahms - Symphony 1 in C minor op.68 - Karajan 1988
Brahms - Symphony 1 in C minor op.68 - Klemperer 1955
Brahms - Symphony 1 in C minor op.68 - Mravinsky
Brahms - Symphony 1 in C minor op.68 - Szell 1 March 1957
Brahms - Symphony 1 in C minor op.68 - Toscanini 6 May 1940
Brahms - Piano Concerto 2 in B flat major op.83 - Backhaus/Bohm 1967
Brahms - Piano Concerto 2 in B flat major op.83 - Richter/Leinsdorf
Brahms - Symphony 4 in E minor op.98 - Carlos Kleiber
Brahms - Symphony 4 in E minor op.98 - Klemperer 1956-7
Brahms - Symphony 4 in E minor op.98 - Toscanini 3 December 1951
Brahms - Vier Ernste Gesange op.121 - Fischer-Dieskau/Klust 1949
Brahms - Vier Ernste Gesange op.121 - Hotter
Brahms - Vier Ernste Gesange op.121 - Kipnis
Bruckner - Symphony 4 in E flat major - Bohm 1973
Bruckner - Symphony 5 in B flat major - Karajan 1976
Bruckner - Symphony 6 in A major - Klemperer 1964
Bruckner - Symphony 8 in C minor - Karajan 1958
Bruckner - Symphony 9 in D minor - Luisi
Chopin - Etude in C major op.10 no. 1 - Richter 1958
Chopin - Etude in E major op.10 no.3 - Richter 1958
Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 in F minor op.21 - Argerich/Dutoit
Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 in F minor op.21 - Pires/Previn
Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 in F minor op.21 - Rubinstein/Giulini 1961
Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 in F minor op.21 - Rubinstein/Ormandy 1968
Chopin - Ballade 1 in G minor op.23 - Michelangeli 1972
Chopin - Nocturne 7 in C sharp minor op.27 no.2 - Rubinstein 1936
Chopin - Scherzo 2 in B flat minor op.31 - Michelangeli 1972
Chopin - Nocturne 13 in C minor op.48 no.1 - Pires
Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius op.38 - Sargent
Haydn - Symphony 94 in G major 'Surprise' Hob. 1:94 - Karajan 1981
Haydn - Symphony 94 in G major 'Surprise' Hob. 1:94 - Carlos Kleiber
Holst - The Planets op.32 - Boult 1978
Mahler - Symphony 1 in D major - Horenstein 1969
Mahler - Symphony 2 in C minor - Barbirolli 1965
Mahler - Symphony 2 in C minor - Barbirolli 1970
Mahler - Symphony 2 in C minor - Klemperer 1951 Wiener Symphoniker
Mahler - Symphony 2 in C minor - Stokowski
Mahler - Symphony 2 in C minor - Tennstedt 1989
Other fine performances of Mahler's Symphony 2
Jurowski - Mahler: Symphony No.2
Haitink 2008 - Mahler: Symphony No 2
Mahler - Symphony 3 in D minor - Barbirolli 1969
Mahler - Symphony 3 in D minor - Haitink 2006
Mahler - Symphony 3 in D minor - Horenstein
Mahler - Symphony 4 in G major - Barbirolli
Mahler - Symphony 4 in G major - Szell
Mahler - Symphony 5 in C sharp minor - Rattle
Mahler - Symphony 6 in A minor - Tennstedt 1991
Mahler - Symphony 9 in D major - Szell
Mahler - Symphony 9 in D major - Walter 1938
Mozart - Symphony 25 in G minor K183 - Klemperer 1956
Mozart - Symphony 25 in G minor K183 - Walter 1954
Mozart - Symphony 29 in A major K201 - Klemperer 1955
Mozart - Symphony 29 in A major K201 - Klemperer 1965
Mozart - Sinfonia Concertante in E flat K.364 - Mutter/Bashmet
Mozart - Symphony 35 in D major K385 - Barenboim
Mozart - Piano Concerto 20 in D minor K466 - Curzon/Britten
Mozart - Piano Conert 24 in C minor K491 - Bilson/Gardiner
Mozart - Symphony 40 in G minor K550 - Giulini 1965
Mozart - Piano Concerto 24 in C minor K491 - Haskil/Cluytens
Mozart - Piano Concerto 27 in B flat K595 - Curzon/Briten
Mozart - Symphony 38 in D major K504 - Barenboim
Mozart - Symphony 38 in D major K504 - Klemperer 1957
Mozart - Symphony 38 in D major K504 - Klemperer 1962
Mozart - Symphony 38 in D major K504 - Walter 1954
Mozart - Symphony 39 in E flat major K543 - Klemperer 1956
Mozart - Symphony 39 in E flat major K543 - Klemperer 1962
Mozart - Symphony 39 in E flat major K543 - Krips 1947
Mozart - Symphony 41 in C major K551 - Klemperer 1954
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet - Rozhdestvensky
Puccini - La Boheme - Beecham/de los Angeles/Bjorling
Puccini - Madama Butterfly - Karajan/Callas
Puccini - Tosca - de Sabata/Callas
Puccini - (Turandot) Nessun dorma - Corelli
Rachmaninov - Symphony 2 in E minor op.27 - Previn
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade op.35 - Beecham
Schubert - Der Konig in Thule D367 - Fassbaender 1990
Schubert - Der Tod und das Madchen D531 - Fassbaender 1990
Schubert - Thekla D595 - Fassbaender 1990
Schubert - Schwannengesang D744 - Fassbaender 1990
Schubert - Symphony 8 in B minor D759 - Erich Kleiber 1935
Schubert - Symphony 8 D759 - Mravinsky 1978
Schubert - Piano Sonata in A min D784 - Richter 31 March 1979
Schubert - Im Abendrot D799 - Hotter
Schubert - String Quartet 14 in D minor D810 'Death and the Maiden' - The Lindsays
Schubert - Winterreise D911 - Hotter/Moore 1954
Schubert - Winterreise D911 - Goerne/Brendel
Schubert - Symphony 9 in C major D944 - Bohm
Schubert - Symphony 9 in C major D944 - Boult
Schubert - Symphony 9 in C major D944 - Toscanini 1941
Schubert - Symphony 9 D944 (Movements 1&2) - Sinopoli
Schubert - Schwangengesang D957 - Hotter
Schubert - Der Doppelganger (from Schwanengesang) D957 - Kipnis
Schubert - Standchen (from Schwanengesang) D957 - Volker
Schumann - Etudes Symphoniques op.13 - Richter
Schumann - Dichterliebe - op.48 - Fischer-Dieskau/Demus 1953
Schumann - Dichterliebe - op.48 - Hotter/Altman
Schumann - Dichterliebe - op.48 - Husch (Pristine Classics transcription)
Shostakovich - Symphony 4 in C minor op.43 - Haitink 2008
Shostakovich - Symphony 5 in D minor op.47 - Barbirolli
Shostakovich - Symphony 5 in D minor op.47 - Horenstein
Shostakovich - Symphony 5 op.47 in D minor - Mravinsky 1938
Shostakovich - Symphony 5 op.47 in D minor - Mravinsky 1954
Shostakovich - Symphony 5 op.47 in D minor - Stokowski 1939
Shostakovich - Symphony 6 in B minor op.54 - Mravinsky 1965
Shostakovich - Symphony 6 in B minor op.54 - Mravinsky 1972
Shostakovich - Symphony 6 in B minor op.54 - Reiner
Shostakovich - Symphony 6 in B minor op.54 - Stokowski 1940
Shostakovich - Symphony 7 in C major op.60 'Leningrad' - Mravinsky
Shostakovich - Symphony 8 in C minor op.65 - Mravinsky 1947
Shostakovich - Symphony 8 in C minor op.65 - Mravinsky 1960
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto 1 op.77 - Batiashvili/Salonen
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto 1 op.77 - Oistrakh/Mravinsky 1957
Shostakovich - Symphony 10 in E minor op.93 - Mravinsky 3 March 1976
Shostakovich - Symphony 10 in E minor op.93 - Mravinsky 31 March 1976
Shostakovich - Symphony 11 in G minor op.103 'The Year 1905' - Berglund
Shostakovich - Symphony 11 in G minor op.103 'The Year 1905' - Mravinsky 1959
Sibelius - En Saga op.9 - Ormandy 1976
Sibelius - Lemminkainen Legends op.22 - Franck
Sibelius - Lemminkainen Legends op.22 - Ormandy
Sibelius - Symphony 1 in E minor op.39 - Segerstam
Sibelius - Symphony 1 in E minor op.39 - Stokowski
Sibelius - Symphony 2 in D major op.42 - Beecham
Sibelius - Symphony 2 in D major op.43 - Stokowski
Sibelius - Symphony 2 in D major op.43 - Szell
Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D major op.47 - Batiashvili/Oramo
Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D major op.47 - Bushkov/Vedernikov
Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D major op.47 - Hahn/Salonen
Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D major op.47 - Perlman/Previn 1979
Sibelius - Pohjola's Daughter op.49 - Neeme Jarvi
Sibelius - Symphony 3 in C major op.52 - Barbirolli 1969
Sibelius - Symphony 3 in C major op.52 - Kajanus
Sibelius - Symphony 3 in C major op.52 - Kondrashin
Sibelius - Nightride and Sunrise op.55 - Paavo Jarvi
Sibelius - Symphony 4 in A minor op.63 - Beecham 1937
Sibelius - Luonnotar op.70 - Kringelborn/Paavo Jarvi
Sibelius - Symphony 5 in E flat major op.82 - Kajanus
Sibelius - Symphony 5 in E flat major op.82 - Kondrashin
Sibelius - Symphony 7 in C major op.105 - Koussevitzky
Sibelius - Tapiola op.112 - Kajanus
Sibelius - Tapiola op.112 - Segerstam
Strauss, Richard - Four Last Songs - Karajan/Janowitz
Strauss, Richard - Four Last Songs - Szell/Schwarzkopf
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet - Kondrashin 1965
Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake op.20 - Rozhdestvensky
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto 1 in B flat minor - Gilels/Mravinsky
Tchaikovsky - Francesca da Rimini op.32 - Rozhdestvensky 1961
Tchaikovsky - Francesca da Rimini op.32 - Rozhdestvensky 1991
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 4 in F minor op.36 - Mravinsky 1960
Tchaikovsky - Manfred op.58 - Rozhdestvensky 1989
Tchaikovsky - Manfred op.58 - Svetlanov
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 5 in E minor op.64 - Kempe 1960
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 5 in E minor op.64 - Mravinsky 1960
Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty op.66 - Rozhdestvensky
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker op.71 - Rozhdestvensky
Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker Excerpts op.71 - Mravinsky
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 in E minor op.74 - Furtwangler
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 in E minor op.74 - Mravinsky 1960
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 in E minor op.74 - Rozhdestvensky 1987
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 in E minor op.74 - Toscanini 1942
Verdi - Don Carlo - Caballé/Domingo/Giulini
Verdi - La Traviata - Carlos Kleiber/Cotrubas/Domingo
Verdi - Otello - Scotto/Domingo/Levine
Wagner - Lohengrin, 'In fernem Land' - Tietjen/Volker 1936
Wagner - Lohengrin - Prelude to Act 1 - Kempe 1958
Wagner - Parsifal - Goodall 1971
Wagner - Parsifal - Knappertsbusch 1951
Wagner - Parsifal (excerpts) - Muck
Wagner - Parsifal - Act 3 Good Friday music - Kipnis/Siegfried Wagner
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete cycles
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen - Krauss 1953
Wagner - Das Rheingold (Der Ring des Nibelungen 1st day) - Furtwangler 1954 (Pristine Classical transcription)
Wagner - Die Walkure (Der Ring des Nibelungen 2nd day) - Furtwangler 1954 (Pristine Classical transcription)
Wagner - Siegfried (Der Ring des Nibelungen 3rd day) - Furtwangler 1954 (Pristine Classical transcription)
Wagner - Gotterdammerung (Der Ring des Nibelungen 4th day) - Furtwangler 1954 (Pristine Classical transcription)
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen - Individual Operas
Wagner - Gotterdammerung (Der Ring des Nibelungen 4th day) - Fuchs/Svanholm/Elmendorff (Music & Arts transcription)
Wagner - Gotterdammerung (Der Ring des Nibelungen 4th day) - Keilberth 1955 (Bayreuth, 2nd cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen)
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen - Excerpts from individual operas
Wagner - Die Walkure (Der Ring des Nibelungen 2nd day) - Act 1 - Lorenz/TeschemacherElmendorff
Wagner - Die Walkure (Der Ring des Nibelungen 2nd day) - Act 1 - Lehmann/Melchior/Walter
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde - Flagstad/Suthaus/Furtwangler
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde - Gray/Mitchinson/Goodall
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde - Buchner/Lorenz/Heger
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde - Price/Kollo/Carlos Kleiber 1982
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde (Act 2 Love Duet excerpts) - Flagstadt/Melchior/McArthur
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde - Prelude und Liebestod - Kempe 1958
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