Classical music favorites

Three factors, at least, led to my appreciation early-on, and over succeeding years, of classical music. Having acknowledged these, I will mention three favorite composers whose music I enjoy, and picture images of recorded music that one might find streaming or perhaps available on compact discs (CDs).

My very first CD was a disc of Beethoven Symphonies nos. 4&8. The acknowledgement goes to my parents who consented to buy it for me, as I was a kid grabbing from a bin of bargain classical CDs in a K-Mart. Eventually I collected all nine Beethoven Symphonies in various bargain to mid-priced editions, mostly purchased by myself. I recall my mom driving me to a Harmony House Classical store to buy a Samuel Barber CD I had determined to find; and one Christmas I received Shostakovich, Opus 87 played by Vladimir Ashkenazy, a double CD she would have special-ordered from the local record store.

For some reason, my dad would sometimes find opera on AM radio while we were in the car. I still don’t get into Opera much. I once saw Salome by Strauss, have Celicia Bartoli — Mozart Portraits CD, and a double CD of Wagner overtures, which I didn’t really know what I was buying at the time, except it was ten or eleven dollars and collectible and classical music… so I am not a big opera fan. But somehow I think those brief times of opera on the radio encouraged me to expand my horizons. Later, I came to inherit a couple LPs, which were (my dad’s) from probably before I was born — Gershwin & Beethoven.

Secondly, Richard W. Carlson (1951–2011) was a pianist I worked for for awhile circa 1994-5. Hearing his work with Beethoven and other music left a distinct impression. I am glad we were friends, for his wisdom in those days, and being able to visit him around 2006 at his home. He had a swell concert and reception in Haslett, MI in 1996 I was blessed to be in attendance.

Thirdly, when I moved to Grand Rapids, MI for the first time, I began to listen regularly to Blue Lake Public Radio (WBLU and WBLV), which features a lot of classical music programming and knowledgeable hosts. I would not be able to overstate what an enormous influence that has been over the years, for which I am grateful. WKAR is a station in East Lansing, MI that plays a lot of classical I have enjoyed at different times as well.

Listening to 88.9FM (Blue Lake) in Grand Rapids led to my exploring the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, one of three favorites I am highlighting here. Within the years of my 20s I had collected, among several other works, CDs of all his string quartets and all of his symphonies. In some of these I bought multiple versions — different conductors with outstanding recordings — particularly symphonies 5 and 10. I have Kurt Sanderling conducting the Berlin Symphony in three Shostokovich symphonies, and his recording of the 15th is a favorite, pictured above.

Suwanai’s debut CD of Bruch is marvelous.

German composer Max Bruch lived a couple decades into the 20th Century, but he is firmly in the category of late Romanticism. The Violin Concerto no. 1, in G minor, is one of the most popular Romantic violin concertos. Akiko Suwanai’s 1997 release with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields is the only recording I need of this work! I was fortunate to be able to see great violinist Sarah Chang perform this work in 2022 in Grand Rapids, MI. Several other pieces by Bruch also regularly appear on recordings, worth checking out as well, such as his cello works, and the Concerto for Clarinet, Viola & Orchestra.

At last, Wolfgang A. Mozart cannot be overlooked when one comes to appreciate classical music. I was given a “CD tower” once — a hard-plastic holder for display-storing dozens of CDs in their jewel cases — and I had it half filled with Shostakovich and half with Mozart (that wasn’t quite all of those two composers’ CDs I own however). There is a lot, a lot, of great Mozart music recorded. One piece that became a favorite of mine is the Clarinet Quintet, certainly one of his masterpieces. The disc pictured above features Antony Pay on clarinet, a fine recording dating from 1979 that I have been streaming recently.