CD Recommendations To Show Off Your HiFi System

Phil Gold

Audio enthusiasts argue passionately over what is the most important component in your stereo. Many will point to the speakers. Linn Audio will tell you for sure it's the source, while others will say it's the room itself. I will let you in on a little secret. It's none of the above - it's the recording. I'd like to share a reviewer's secret stash of top quality recordings with you. I'll stick to CDs for this list, and I'm not including any of those so called audiophile recordings designed to show off your equipment. So no Patricia Barber today, no Sheffield Labs recordings. I'm going to treat you to a sampling of superb and maybe lesser known performances by master musicians that just happen to have been well recorded. This will be quite an eclectic mix and if you can't find them in the stores, they are all listed at www.amazon.ca.

Joseph Haydn: Piano Concertos No 3, 4, 11 [EMI 724355696021]

Everyone who's heard this recording has been knocked out by the perfectly judged pianism and outstandingly realistic sound. Leif Ove Andsnes conducts the orchestra from the keyboard, just as Haydn did in his day. Very approachable music even for those not yet at home with the classics. Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra [RCA 61390 CD/SACD Hybrid]

Twentieth Century classical music isn't everyone's cup of tea, not even those comfortable with Beethoven and Bach. A mention of the name Bartok is enough to send many to the exits. But let me urge you to seek out the wonderful Fritz Reiner 1955 recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, played by the superb Chicago Symphony Orchestra. You may find it a stretch, but you'll thank me for it. The recording is clear, dynamic and colourful, accompanied by some detectable tape hiss, but what a performance! It'll sweep you off your feet and you'll wonder why they don't make conductors like that anymore. Bartok was destitute and sick and living in New York in the early forties when he was commissioned by Reiner and Szigeti to write this concerto, which premiered to enormous acclaim in 1944. He died the following year but this, his greatest masterpiece, quickly entered the standard repertoire. If you survive the Concerto for Orchestra, the other work on this disc, the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta may eventually work their way into your affections.

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos No 1&2 [Hyperion CDA 67425]

Now that I have you hooked on modern classical music, you just have to rush out and buy the superb recording of Shostakovich Piano Concertos played by Canada's own Marc-Andre Hamelin and the BBC Scottish Orchestra under Andrew Litton. I promise you - you'll never hear a version better played or better recorded. Shchedrin's Piano Concerto No 2 completes the album and it's a winner, complete with a jazz trio that keeps breaking in to disrupt the music.

Mozart: Divertimento KV 563 [Philips 416485-2]

The Grumiaux String Trio recorded this six movement work in Amsterdam in June 1967. Divertimento doesn't sound as substantial as String Quartet or Symphony, does it? But this is a masterpiece of the very highest order, crowned by the sublime set of variations in the fourth movement Andante. Arthur Grumiaux is a wonder in Mozart, evidenced also in his set of the Mozart Violin Concertos and the set of String Quintets, all superbly recorded in Philips' analog heyday.

Beethoven: String Quartets Opus 74 & 95 [Harmonia Mundi HMU 807460 CD/SACD Hybrid]

These middle period Beethoven String Quartets have been recorded numerous times. Even the artists on the disc, the Tokyo String Quartet, have been this way before. But this is no run of the mill recording. It wipes the floor with their previous effort and presents a worthy challenge to all comers in this magnificent music. The Tokyo display the highest possible levels of precision and ensemble as always, but also dig deep into the musical mystery rather than highlighting the surface brilliance they gave us before. Harmonia Mundi has given them superb recorded sound to set off their brilliant attack.

Jordi Savall: Tous Les Matins du Monde [Alia Vox CALI 9821-SA CD/SACD Hybrid]

This is my favourite pre-classical musician. Jordi Savall plays the viol with such passion and accuracy he brings to life long neglected compositions and establishes them as the masterpieces they are. When I last saw him, the versatile Savall was playing an amazing solo concert at the Edinburgh festival, fresh from conducting a Monteverdi Opera. His recordings are always top notch sonically and this early soundtrack went a long way to establish his reputation.

John Williams: The Great Paraguayan - John Williams Plays Barrios [Sony 1SK92611]

No - this is John Williams the guitar player, not the Star Wars guy. Possessed of a phenomenal technique, John Williams sometimes stood in the shadow of his great rival Julian Bream for interpretive prowess. But in this enchanting music, Williams is in his element. He will sweep you away with amazing colour, rhythm and virtuosity.

Sonny Rollins: Alfie [Impulse IMPD224]

Alfie's Theme highlights the amazing abilities and compositional talents of our greatest living sax player. Rollins wrote the music for the original Michael Caine movie, and I dare say this is as good as it gets for movie soundtracks. The recording quality is spectacular on this Bob Thiele production. Look out for fine contributions from JJ Johnson Frankie Dunlop and Phil Woods.

Ruben Gonzales: Introducing Ruben Gonzales: [Nonesuch 794772]

On the heels of the amazingly successful Buena Vista Social Club came this outstanding album. I've never heard a more naturally joyful musician than Ruben Gonzales, a youngster of 76 at the time of this 1996 recording. Manuel Guajiro Mirabel's distinctive trumpet lends its trademark minimalist precision to the proceedings, but Gonzales is the main event as he leads a survey of many Cuban jazz styles.

Chava Alberstein: Lemele [NMC Music 20781-2]

Here's one I doubt you have heard. Thirteen songs, sung in Yiddish, all arrangements by Ales Brezina, released in 2008. I have many of her earlier recordings dating back over thirty years and count myself fortunate to have seen her perform frequently in Toronto. This particular CD is very well recorded. What strikes the listener is that fabulous voice and the huge range of approaches she takes. After listening to this, almost any other pop or jazz singer seems limited and two dimensional. Take the first and last tracks (Good Memory and My Lover) and tell me where you've heard more confident or communicative singing. You don't even have to read the English translations - just enjoy her total mastery of timing and intonation.

Keb' Mo: Keb' Mo' [Okey EL-57863] and Big Wide Grin [Okey LK-63829]

More of you will be familiar with Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moor), the wonderful blues musician who played recently at the new Koerner Hall in the Royal Conservator of Music in Toronto. He is a master of so many different types of guitar and styles of music it can leave you reeling. I'll recommend two CDs. Start with his first album - Keb' Mo' and then move on to the larger scale Big Wide Grin. He's a natural entertainer and all his recordings have been top notch sonically. On Big Wide Grin he tackles Isn't She Lovely, Big Yellow Taxi and America the Beautiful but the standout is Grandma's Hands.

The Beatles: Love [Capitol 0946 37981023]

This is my top pick of Beatles recordings, with sound to die for. Unlike the recently release remastering of all the Beatles Albums, this one is a remix, prepared for the Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show "Love". As such it is adventurous and playful and altogether better sounding than the remastering project. Presided over by George Martin himself and approved by surviving Beatles Paul and Ringo, this captures the Beatles energy and creativity.

Sting: Ten Summoner's Tales [A&M 3145400702]

I'll never forget the Sting concert in the open air Roman amphitheatre in Provence. Almost every song led to an audience sing along, be it Roxanne, Every Breath You Take or If I Ever Lose My Faith in You. And that must have been a great day for lighter sales. But most impressive to me were Fields of Gold and Shape of My Heart, classics for the ages. Beautifully played and very carefully recorded, this is Sting at his best.

Leonard Cohen: Live In London [Columbia 88697405022]

Due to an accidental click in my web browser, I ended up with third row seats for the Leonard Cohen concert in Toronto on his recent retirement financing tour, and what a lucky break that was. It is simply stunning how much more effective he is today live than you would expect from his original recordings. He has matured in a big way as a performer, and he has such a great repertoire to fall back on. He picked superb musicians and singers to bring the best out of each song. This performance, though recorded over in England some months later, captures that evening for me and I count it the best of his career. Sound to match.

Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate: Kulanjan [Hannibal HNCO 1444]

Not every crossover album hits the mark, but here's one which, despite differences in tuning, language and culture, works a treat. My favourites are Ol' Geogie Buck and Catfish Blues. This album may have you exploring the back catalog of both artists, and that will be a profitable journey.

Cirque du Soleil: O [BMG 09026-63358-2]

This is my second selection from a Vegas Show. I'm not sure exactly which countries this world music recording is supposed to represent, but who cares. The music is by turns hypnotic, boisterous, powerful and sad, and always superbly presented. Some of the tracks you simply have to dance to, there's just no option. Fantastic recording quality rewards the best HiFi systems and will really impress the neighbours.