Recommend a Chopin CD please...and others!!

sudzs

Got my first iPod from Santy and am going to fill it mostly with classical music I have been neglecting for years!

So can anyone recommend some CDs (or whatever they call'em on iTunes!)

So far have bought Peter and the Wolf to bring me back to being 6!!! But any essentials I should have???

swingking

the best Chopin CD I have in my collection is "chill with chopin". It contains most of the piano noctures in the chopin collection.

The other classical cds that are a must is the classic fm collection. These cds contain a large amount of different pieces from different genres.

Doshea3

Chopin? Hmm. I have a few Chopin CDs in my collection...the best one I can think of is Murray Perahia (who's playing in the National Concert Hall later this month) playing Chopin's 24 Études, and a few other pieces (the impromptus, I recall). If you're just looking for assorted Chopin, the "Horowitz plays Chopin" series is worth checking out—there are five or so CDs, which are priced at only about €6.99 each in Tower Records.

A composer I would recommend is Erik Satie, though as for recommending a particular CD, that's more difficult. I have a few Satie CDs, since no one single one satisfied me totally. However, there is a fairly definitive collection on the Brilliant Classics label, played by the very good (and underrated) Norwegian pianist Hakon Austbo (I'll leave the diacritics out). It's a double-CD set in a navy-blue case, which you should find in Tower Records in Wicklow Street for €8.99 (excellent value). It has all the famous pieces, and some less famous ones.

If you need any more recommendations, I'd be delighted to help. Enjoy!

funky penguin

Agree with above recomendations.

I'll just add one more..... Go to HMV Grafton St. and check out the HMV classical collection. 3 cds for 20 euro I think, or 8 euro each. Great value.

I haven't heard the chopin cds, but if they're anything like the rachmaninoff and beethoven ones i got, you shouldn't be dissapointed.

Doshea3

Oh, adding to funky penguin's HMV Classics suggestion, there are also Naxos CDs for the same price (usually €8 each or 3 for €20 for single CDs, double sets vary in price) which you will find in any good record shop (there's a huge selection in Tower Records Wicklow Street, and a fairly big one in HMV Grafton Street), on which you can find well-recorded versions of almost anything, from the most popular to the most obscure—most recordings, except those on the "Naxos Historical" line, are digital. I have Naxos recordings of everything from Busoni to Boulez, Poulenc to Puccini, Scriabin to Satie, and much much more, and I recommend them all very highly—even if you don't know the name of the artist who is playing, you can guarantee it will be a recording worth a listen. Excellent value, too.

Aard

I've got a recording of Idil Biret playing his preludes, polonaises and the fantaisie impromptu. Very enjoyable. And I agree with the above, go for the Naxos 3 for 20e offer and get some Prokofiev and Scriabin sonatas as well!

sudzs

Great! thanks all.

Off with my shopping list now!