Essential Classical Music - The Best Concerto Recordings

Gil Zilkha, singer/collector/music enthusiast
In this installment of Essential Classical Music, I cover the best recordings of the major concertos, including those of Bach, Barber, Bartok, Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Bruch, Chopin, Dvorak, Elgar, Gershwin, Grieg, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Rodrigo, Saint-Saens, Schumann, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Vivaldi.
0:00 Introduction
2:34 Bach, Violin Concertos
6:22 Barber, Violin Concerto
7:59 Bartok, Piano Concertos
9:30 Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3
12:44 Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4
17:58 Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5
25:48 Beethoven, Violin Concerto
36:25 Berg, Violin Concerto
38:59 Brahms, Piano Concertos
49:48 Brahms, Violin Concerto
1:07:24 Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1
1:10:01 Chopin, Piano Concertos
1:16:06 Dvořák, Cello Concerto
1:21:32 Elgar, Cello Concerto
1:23:36 Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue
1:27:06 Grieg, Piano Concerto
1:34:04 Liszt, Piano Concertos
1:37:07 Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto
1:41:50 Mozart, Clarinet Concerto
1:44:22 Mozart, Horn Concertos
1:45:48 Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20
1:53:47 Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 21
1:56:12 Mozart, Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24
2:01:05 Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 27
2:03:25 Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante
2:05:17 Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 3
2:07:11 Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2
2:13:47 Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3
2:19:09 Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
2:21:48 Ravel, Piano Concerto in G major
2:23:58 Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez
2:25:04 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concertos
2:27:25 Schumann, Piano Concerto
2:30:19 Shostakovich, Violin & Cello Concertos No. 1
2:32:28 Sibelius, Violin Concerto
2:37:39 Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1
2:45:27 Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto
2:52:25 Vivaldi, The Four Seasons

[@felixheiss]

Superb recommendations including several fairly old recordings .

[@ron101346]

I got the two Richter Liszt piano concertos when I was young and just getting into classical music. After hearing these two, I was hoping that every piano performance and every concerto was going to be as electric and compelling as these were, but most are not!

[@b1i2l336]

You have outstanding musical taste!

[@crosebore3781]

Very insightful and so delightfully presented. I learned a lot!

[@jesse-zy8yd]

Finally, Grumiaux's Bach concertos ! That recording has always been my top choice. So glad to see someone recommend it. Grumiaux's Four Seasons is also on top of my list. And, Huberman ... what a titan violinist. As far as the remastering goes of Huberman's Beethoven, I think the Austrian Preiser CD is unquestionably the best ( AAD , not ADD ! )

[@alecsachs9082]

Another video like the other one. Thanks Gil for taking my request!!

[@saturdaynightmusic5400]

Such dedication . Thank you for the insightful content.

[@m.e.y8963]

That was very helpful. Thank you. I’m looking forward to your reviews on opera and chamber music recordings.

[@watutman]

Good you mentioned pianist Pennario, everything I've heard from him is tops.

[@tip3y592]

❤❤❤Love your videos

[@ArtyFactual_Intelligence]

Grieg just signed up with the Trondheim Trolls, LOL Well he was found hiding under a bridge at 1.27.27. With Eric Morecambe.

[@laurentd8358]

Great video. A little long to be absorbed in one installment (thanks for the chapters by the way). Some very interesting suggestions.

[@hermannbrumm9557]

Johanna Martzy's Brahms Violin Concerto is a favorite of mine.

[@jamesscottvideos]

Another good video. (Just one mistake - you sad Chicago under Giulini for the Beethoven, but it's Philharmonia). 😉

[@SDSsongs]

Any plans on doing something similar for choral works and operas?

[@koreystephens]

Clarinet needs Jon Manasse and Gerard Schwarz and also David Schifrin also with Schwarz. Regular clarinet and extended clarinet.

[@TheMrpiggy6666]

Hi Gil, not a bad job mate, and of course to a certain extent it's subjective...though subjectivity tends to be about taste rather than critical judgement of which taste is only a part of.... It's worth remembering though that when dealing with esteemed artists such as those you mentioned that adjectives aren't enough to illuminate the subject to the extent that for someone who hasn't heard the ' voice' or sonic character of these performers that without deeper exploration someone who isn't that familiar with them won't necessarily be any the wiser as to what makes them a singular artist...for instance when you mentioned Michelangeli it's important for people to know about his absolute dedication to precision and clarity how that precision works stunningly in say in the Rachmaninoff 4th or the Ravel but could be considered cold if diamond cut clarity doesn't move the listener...Gilels Beethoven well yes it's fine but despite his ' golden tone' isn't as searching in the music as say Serkin or others....of course it's difficult to give a full picture as to why each of these singular talents can be distinguished from each other...but brevity can be illusory and inaccurate if by relying on adjectives you use the wrong ones... Michelangeli is not known for his 'power' though no doubt he could have summoned it if he chose....hope the channel goes well... perhaps in future videos you might spend more time really concentrating on how to present each artist ...most of the recording choices were fine but if I didn't know the artists I would be none the wiser as to what made them special...since you are a pianist that shouldn't be a problem.... there's lots of people doing these videos and only a few are good at it...I hope in the future you become one of those...and you don't need to be gentle....Cheers and thanks.

[@GilZilkha]

Thanks! One of the things I am very insistent on is reacting to what I hear in the particular recording itself. I can make general comments about the artists that goes with what I’m hearing, but I don’t want that to be the basis of the review. I don’t want to be a lazy reviewer who automatically assumes a recording is great simply because of the artist involved. Artists have good days and bad days, and some repertoire can bring out their best more than others. The key is what you hear in that particular recording. And often you do hear certain works bring out the special qualities of these excellent performers, which is why we treasure these recordings.

[@cortootify]

I think you were missing one which is one of the best recording of Beethove violin concert by Henryk Szering and Haitink , This is considered better performance than Oistrakh from many critics

[@EPA18]

I would like to suggest an improvement to your channel. Your videos are way too long As soon as i see multi-hour videos, i skip them. This video is over 3 hours long! I think you should break down the videos, perhaps by time periods or by composer. And they should be no more than 20-30 minutes.