Beethoven and Wilhelm Kempff

Beethoven's Piano Sonatas No. 1 op. 2 in F minor (1795) and No. 2 op. 2 in A major (1795) played by Wilhelm Kempff and recorded in 1951 [click here to download].

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.

Domenico Scarlatti and Wanda Landowska

Wanda Landowska's wild performances of a number of Domenico Scarlatti's (1685-1787) 555 Sonatas for harpsichord, recorded in Paris in 1934, 1939, and 1940 [click here to download]. On track 22 (recorded 3/8-9/40) at 2'00" and 2'41" one can hear the ineffective rumble of artillery in an attempt to halt the Nazi invasion of France. The Germans would enter Paris on June, 14 1940, forcing Landowska to flee to the greener pastures of Lakeville, Connecticut. Here is a clip of Landowska and admirers, including a testimony from the late Bill Buckley.

Robert Schumann and Pablo Casals

Pablo Casals playing Robert Schumann's (1810-1856) Cello Concerto in A minor, Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, and my favorite Fünf Stücke in Volkston (five pieces in a folk style) [click here to download]. With Eugene Ormandy conducting the Prades Festival Orchestra, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, piano, Alexander Schneider, violin, and Leopold Mannes, piano, respectively. If you listen closely to the Fünf Stücke you can hear Casals grunting on several occasions, particularly just before the start of a phrase, or as a guttural accent at the end of one. Casals's vocal accompaniment is most audible in the third and fourth movements.

Frédéric Chopin and William Kapell

Twenty-nine of Chopin's (1810-49) mazurkas recorded by William Kapell in the early '50s [click here to download].