The biggest finale in classic music? My vote is for the final movement of Bruckner's 5th Symphony, and specifically the gigantic coda which puts an exclamation point on the massive fugue Bruckner played out for the previous 25 minutes.

One of the great Bruckner conductors of the 20th and into the 21st century is Stanisaw Skrowaczewski, and his Bruckner cycle with the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony, as be was pushing 80 years old is magnificent. The 5th is no exception.



On CD

A different take on the Bruckner 5th, Eugen Jochum's late 50s recording with the Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks aka the Bavarian Radio Symphony. Brisk, with pointed rhythms this performance really bounces along. Until the final coda where Jochum savors the great choral and the Bayerishen brass blow the roof off the join.



On CD.

I've had this disc for a while but never got around to hearing it. Which was a major oversight on my part.

IMO Handel's keyboard music should be as well known and frequently played as Bach's. Generally I prefer it on modern piano, and Bridget Cunningham's performance on harpsichord doesn't change my mind. But it is well worth hearing and the sound on this recording is top shelf.



16/44 FLAC download

In general I prefer the modern concert grand to the harpsichord, mostly because it has a much larger tonal and interpretive palate. But Zuzana Ruzickova finds such a wide variety of sound and feeling in her Bach recordings that they are among my favorites regardless of instrument.



On CD

In my opinion the two undeniably great Bach pianists (not to be confused with pianists who have made great Bach recordings) of the late 20th/early 21st century are Andres Schiff and Angela Hewitt. And Hewitt's complete Bach recordings have recently been issued in a convenient box or download. I have a few of her recordings already, but at like 2 bucks a CD I bought the download and it is outstanding. If I were to compare I would say Hewitt is more lyrical and singing, Schiff is a little more rhythmic and danceable. But both are outstanding and essential.



16/44 FLAC download

To say Maria Tipo's Bach Partitas are the exact opposite of Glenn Gould's would not be entirely correct. They are both gifted pianists with instantly recognizable musical personalities. But it is fair to say Tipo's interpretation is the exact opposite. Where Gould is all in on mathematical precision,  Tipo finds Bach's inner Rachmaninoff, or maybe Mahler. She uses the pedal, legato, rubato, and voicing to give the Partitas very much of a late romantic flavor. It might not be for everyone, and it might not be for everyday, but it is very very interesting.



On CD.

Mahler 9 is one of my favorite pieces, and Jesus Lopez-Cabos is an excellent sounding, and very interesting version. He is sorta in between the "emotional" school like Bernstein, and the "intellectual" school, like Boulez. The Cincinnati Symphony gives up nothing to its "name brand" competitors and Telarc's sound wins in a landslide.



On CD

Frederick Delius was a unpleasant person who wrote beautiful music. None of it more beautiful than his Florida Suite, inspired by the spirituals he heard when he lived there briefly.



On CD

Thomas Beecham was a great champion of Delius' music while the composure was alive, and no one has done it better since. His collection of Delius recordings is truly definitive.