I am beginning to build my classical music collection, and I would like to know what the best available recordings / performances piano conceof the two Brahms concertos are.

So far I have purchased:

Beethoven Symphonies - Bernstein/VPO
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 and No. 7 - Kleiber/VPO
Beethoven Piano Concertos - Barenboim/BPO
Brahms Symphonies - Bernstein/VPO and Karajan/BRO
Schumann Symphonies - Bernstein/VPO
Schubert Symphonies - Karajan/BPO
Mozart Symphonies No. 25 29 35 38 39 40 31 - Bernstein/VPO
Mozart Piano Concertos - Barenboim/English Chamber Orchestra
Tchaikovsky Symphonies - Bernstein/NYPO
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 - Horowitz and Toscanini/NBC Symphony Orchestra

Here's some of our posts regarding recordings. I mentioned the Szell/Beethoven complete symphonic cycle as being my favorite. Since you just got the whole Bernstein thing, I don't know if you'll want another set.

http://www.radiomute.com/showthread.php?t=12934&page=1

As far as Brahms goes.

Pn. Conc. No. 2: Fritz Reiner/Gilels or Mravinsky/Richter (one of those great performances on a crappy recording...typical of the Soviet Union).

No. 1: Try to find a Pollini or a Fritz Reiner/Serkin

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D min, Op. 15


Stephen Kovacevich, London Philharmonic Orchestra with Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting on EMI


I don't think you can still get No. 1 alone. This includes both


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...ssical&n=50940





Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 & also No. 2 in B flat, OP. 83

Emil Gilels, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Eugen Jochum conducting on Deutsche Grammophon


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...49532?v=glance



Gilels version of both with Jochum used to be the standard bearer for both Concertos. But I would pick Kovacevich and Sawallisch for the 1st and Gilels/Jochum for the 2nd.

I am a Beethoven fanatic and have pretty much everything worth having, which in my opinon is everything Beethoven composed.



Of all the Cycles my choice for the Cycle boxes would be toss up between Sir Charles Mackerras' with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on EMI



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...49532?v=glance




David Zinman with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra on Arte Nova. This one is the first that uses the corrected Bärenreiter Urtext of Beethoven's manuscript. It appears that the last 100 years Orchestra's have been using the mistake ridden Breitkopf version. The result of printers' editing and transcription errors. Zinman also plays at the jet speed tempo that Beethoven intended for the Symphonies to be played.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...646125-1749532




For a period piece recording my choice is Gardiner with the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique on Deutsche Grammophon.


Jonathan Del Mar who prepared the Bärenreiter Urtext also helped with the Gardiner.

I might be the first person to get a ticket for playing Beethoven's 9th too loud while driving by some tone deaf cop.