10 Cds for a Desert Island (for Goldberg magazine)
1) "Kecapi Suling" (Ricks Records)
This is a wonderful mixture of Sundanese gamelan music together with bird songs. I find I listen to this CD more than any other because it is impossible to be anything but perfectly relaxed while listening to these sweet gentle sounds.
2) "Abbey Road" The Beatles (EMI)
Well, what can one say? This remains a great classic. It was fantastic when it came out, and I think all people of my generation will have a tremendous fondness for this CD.
3) "Mosaics" Michael Rabin (EMI Classics)
This is simply a marvellous, free and natural violin sound. No matter what Rabin plays, the timing and phrases are always perfectly right. It is a delight to hear any of Michael Rabin's recordings.
4) Chopin "Valses Brilliantes", Dinu Lipatti (La Collection)
I especially love all these waltzes and happily played them myself in my previous incarnation as a pianist. I find Lipatti's phrasing wonderful, perfectly turned and delicate.
5) "In a Mist" Bix Beiderbecke (Legends of Jazz)
This delightful music, happy and playful.
6) JS Bach "Goldberg Variations", Angela Hewitt (Hyperion)
I had a hard time choosing between this version and the first rendition of Glen Gould at Carnegie Hall in 1955. The Hewitt CD is more correct in style but of course there is more whimsy with Gould. May I have half of each?
7) "The Art of the Theremin" Clara Rockmore (Delos)
I adore this recording; I love the idea of an instrument you play by NOT touching it. This instrument is completely fascinating to me generally, and of course Clara Rockmore was the greatest theremin artist of all time.
8) Bela Bartok "Concerto for Orchestra" Erich Leinsdorf/Boston Symphony Orchestra (RCA)
I listened to this recording over and over as a small child. Some of the themes still fill me with a wonderful sense of wistfulness. Later I bought many versions by various orchestras, but this remains my favourite.
9) Elgar Cello Concerto (also Haydn Concerto, Beethoven sonata)- Jacqueline Du Pre, Pinchas Zuckerman, Daniel Barenboim (EMI)
I am a huge fan of Jacqueline Du Pre, no matter what she plays. I recall a viseo I saw many years ago where she was playing the Elgar Concerto with Daniel Barenboim conducting. It moved me to tears.
10) "Cheap Thrills" Janis Joplin, Big Brother and the Holding Company (Columbus)
I think music is as powerful as scent or colour for bringing up memories. When this recording was popular, I was busy working in a church cellar for the underground, shuttling American boys of draft age out of the country. We were often raided and taken to the police station for anti-American activities, but they always had to let me off because I was underage and could not be arrested. Whenever I hear "Cheap Thrills", in my mind's eye I see these anonymous friends gathered together in a great cause, feeling like we were doing our best for peace.
I know I am only allowed 10 CDs but if I really were isolated on an island for a long time, I would have to include the complete works of Antoine Forqueray for harpsichord and throw out something else. This is my favourite music to play, and I can feel the notes in my fingers when I hear it. If I couldn't actually play an instrument, I would wish to hear this music to call up a tactile sensation of playing, which I would miss beyond anything.
Complete Works of Antoine Forqueray, Mitzi Meyerson (MDG)
This is a wonderful mixture of Sundanese gamelan music together with bird songs. I find I listen to this CD more than any other because it is impossible to be anything but perfectly relaxed while listening to these sweet gentle sounds.
2) "Abbey Road" The Beatles (EMI)
Well, what can one say? This remains a great classic. It was fantastic when it came out, and I think all people of my generation will have a tremendous fondness for this CD.
3) "Mosaics" Michael Rabin (EMI Classics)
This is simply a marvellous, free and natural violin sound. No matter what Rabin plays, the timing and phrases are always perfectly right. It is a delight to hear any of Michael Rabin's recordings.
4) Chopin "Valses Brilliantes", Dinu Lipatti (La Collection)
I especially love all these waltzes and happily played them myself in my previous incarnation as a pianist. I find Lipatti's phrasing wonderful, perfectly turned and delicate.
5) "In a Mist" Bix Beiderbecke (Legends of Jazz)
This delightful music, happy and playful.
6) JS Bach "Goldberg Variations", Angela Hewitt (Hyperion)
I had a hard time choosing between this version and the first rendition of Glen Gould at Carnegie Hall in 1955. The Hewitt CD is more correct in style but of course there is more whimsy with Gould. May I have half of each?
7) "The Art of the Theremin" Clara Rockmore (Delos)
I adore this recording; I love the idea of an instrument you play by NOT touching it. This instrument is completely fascinating to me generally, and of course Clara Rockmore was the greatest theremin artist of all time.
8) Bela Bartok "Concerto for Orchestra" Erich Leinsdorf/Boston Symphony Orchestra (RCA)
I listened to this recording over and over as a small child. Some of the themes still fill me with a wonderful sense of wistfulness. Later I bought many versions by various orchestras, but this remains my favourite.
9) Elgar Cello Concerto (also Haydn Concerto, Beethoven sonata)- Jacqueline Du Pre, Pinchas Zuckerman, Daniel Barenboim (EMI)
I am a huge fan of Jacqueline Du Pre, no matter what she plays. I recall a viseo I saw many years ago where she was playing the Elgar Concerto with Daniel Barenboim conducting. It moved me to tears.
10) "Cheap Thrills" Janis Joplin, Big Brother and the Holding Company (Columbus)
I think music is as powerful as scent or colour for bringing up memories. When this recording was popular, I was busy working in a church cellar for the underground, shuttling American boys of draft age out of the country. We were often raided and taken to the police station for anti-American activities, but they always had to let me off because I was underage and could not be arrested. Whenever I hear "Cheap Thrills", in my mind's eye I see these anonymous friends gathered together in a great cause, feeling like we were doing our best for peace.
I know I am only allowed 10 CDs but if I really were isolated on an island for a long time, I would have to include the complete works of Antoine Forqueray for harpsichord and throw out something else. This is my favourite music to play, and I can feel the notes in my fingers when I hear it. If I couldn't actually play an instrument, I would wish to hear this music to call up a tactile sensation of playing, which I would miss beyond anything.
Complete Works of Antoine Forqueray, Mitzi Meyerson (MDG)