Helmut Lachenmann

Helmut Lachenmann's (1935) Gran Torso (1971) for string quartet and Salut für Caudwell (1977) for two guitars played by the Berner Streichquartett and Wilhelm Bruck and Theodor Ross, respectively [click here to download]. Decent interview here. Do a crossword puzzle and listen to Salut für Caudwell through headphones.

Bela Bartok and Joseph Szigeti

A favorite recording of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47, the "Kreutzer," played by Josepf Szigeti and Bela Bartok and recorded on 4/13/40 at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Also included are Bartok's Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Second Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano [click here to download].

Franz Schubert and Ingrid Haebler

Both sets of Schubert's Impromptus (D. 899 and D. 935, composed in 1827) played by a fellow Viennese, the great Ingrid Haebler [click here to download]. I was on the island of Santorini about eight years ago and there I met an older Israeli man and his wife. After the necessary exchange of platitudes concerning the beauty of Santorini, we began to talk about music, eventually settling on classical music. At that stage, I was a devout 'contemporary classical' enthusiast with profound, but only occasional, experiences with Bach and some Beethoven--particularly the latter's cello sonatas (the first classical record I ever bought was the great Casals and Rudolf Serkin recording on Columbia). As our conversation progressed, I made my case for the continued relevance and unfair neglect of the living--Milton Babbitt, Xenakis, Carter--for the dead. My Israeli companion would have none of it, and retorted that he liked the "Three Bs" : Bach, Beethoven, and Bubert. I'm just reaching his level of wisdom.