Tchaikovsky: Gilels/Reiner on RCA. My benchmark forever. One of those miraculous days in the studio when everything went right.

I love going back to the older videos...Listening to the Grieg and Schumann concertos with Nelson Freire ...fine performances....Kempe was an excellent accompanist...So many recordings to listen. Your videos are always a joy. You have passion and great opinions..

For me, no one has surpassed Dang Thai Son in the Chopin Piano Concertos. He recorded them twice: once on modern Steinway, with Jerzy Maksymiuk and the Sinfonia Varsovia (Victor JVC, 1992); and most recently, live (on period Erard), with Frans Bruggen and Orchestra of the 18th Century (2006). Few other pianists possess naturalness of phrasing and noble elegance like this terrifically under-appreciated Chopinist. The utter sublimity of live performance, especially the 2nd movement of the 1st Piano Concerto, makes Dang Thai Son's version with Bruggen a desert island disc for me.

David Hurwitz talking about the Schumann concerto is such a joy. And he is on point with the lift.

Delighted to see one of my compatriots make the Grieg selection, and even more delighted to see that it was one of the less “obvious” choices from Norway. Admittedly, my go-to choice has always been Andsnes/Bergen PO since that was one of my very first CDs but the options are so many. I am glad that I came upon this channel recently, it has opened my eyes to a mountain of excellent recordings of works I thought I knew. Thank you!

YEs, lets not forget Saint-Saens!

Wow thank you for that recommendation on the Chopin piano concerto 1 with Emanuel Ax - you weren’t kidding about that sounding fresh and sublime with the period instruments, and it’s truly a fantastic recording. Much obliged, sir.

Schumann - Larrocha / Davis / LSO on RCA. They do exactly what you mention at the beginning of the first movement. Alicia, always elegant, brings tension and contained weight to the piece, and Davis sound convincingly driven by her. It is one of my favorite version!

YES!!! The Saint-Saens Piano Concertos are so neglected. They’re splendid! My favorite is “the Egyptian”. I love the Schumann Concerto. Serkin/Szell is perfect. I have to mention an early (for me) LP two disc recording by Freire/Kempe that I enjoyed, coupled with the Tchaikovsky and Grieg, as well as Liszt’s Totentanz. I’ll have to check out the Argerich/Abbado. Well, I checked out the Argerich/Abbado recording. Electric! And, just like you said, she does things that you just don’t hear otherwise. Abbado is great too. Im going to listen to the live recording next.

I’ll be looking forward to the day when you have a talk on the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos series!

Now hearing the Ax. Good choice! The piano sounds wonderful.

Another very enjoyable video, thank you! Here goes: Chopin 1 & 2: Arrau (Philips). Worth trying to find the (re)issues that include some of Chopin’s other works for piano and orchestra, especially the Op. 2 Variations on “La ci darem la mano”. Mendelssohn: Serkin (Sony), in all his pedal stomping finery! Liszt: Katchen (Decca). Power, precision and taste without over-egging the cake. Schumann: Janis (Mercury). Fantastic music-making with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Takes all of the knotty piano writing and rhythms in his stride so you get a performance with real romantic flow and momentum. Mercury engineering, so you are sat between the pianist and the conductor. [Coupled with a fantastic version of the Tchaikovsky] Grieg: Michelangeli (BBC). Totally agree with previous comment. *One of a kind*. Can usually be found on KZfaq if not available for a sensible price second hand. Tchaikovsky 1: Earl Wild (Chesky). Glorious playing and recording.

Wow! Thanks, David! I'm looking forward to listening to some of these performances I haven't heard before - especially the Grieg. Anyway, here are my choices: Chopin (1&2): Samson Francois with Louis Fremaux. I don't know why, but so many people seem to overlook Francois in this repertoire. We shouldn't. He is one of the all time masters of the French school. I know Chopin wasn't French but he might as well have been. Superb! Mendelssohn (1&2): Murray Perahia with Neville Marriner. Perahia has such an amazing discography but this is one of his best. Probably my favorite recording of these concertos with Serkin a close second. Schumann: Myra Hess with Rudolf Schwarz (available on her Great Pianists of the 20th Century collection). I know the sound is far from digital but the playing is from another world! Poise and grace personified. Liszt (1&2): Georges Cziffra with Gyorgy Cziffra Jr. I love the idiomatic playing of Cziffra in Liszt. The virtuosity! The fire! Amazing! Grieg: Arthur Rubinstein with Ormandy. Okay, the sound has been remastered but it's not great. But the playing is the perfect mix between fire and knowledge of overall structure. However, my all time favorite performance is Percy Grainger, but the sound is even worse. Tchaikovsky: Stephen Hough with Osmo Vanska (You get all 3 concertos!). This is the best version in modern sound. It reminds me of the classic Horowitz/Szell but may be even better. Essential!

Cziffra and Michelangeli both did great versions of the Grieg, full of bite and life.

A plethora of great recordings of these marvelous concertos. My current favorites are: Chopin 1&2 - Grosvenor/Chan - a fresh approach from the new kid on the block and a good remedy to Zimerman’s mannerisms. Mendelssohn: Serkin/Ormandy - a classic, though I also think Wang with the Verbier Festival/Masur is great fun in #1. Schumann: Istomin/Walter - it has been my absolute favorite ever since it was first issued on LP with his Chopin#2. A truly Eusebian approach. No other conductor does the delightful little march that ends the first movement as well. Not too fast and with the right lift! Liszt: Zimmerman/Ozawa - as fine as any and tremendously exciting. Grieg: Perahia/C. Davis with the Bavarian Radio Sym. Sheer poetry! And it is coupled with a fine Schumann. Tchaikovsky: Argerich/Kondrashin - wild and wonderful. Also think her account with Dutoit is mighty fine.

boy do I have a sleeper for you. favorite Chopin 1st- Ida Černecká. first one I heard, and it clicked. one of those that gets all the energy right. With Tchaikovsky, similar to Chopin, one recording caught me and is the one I keep coming back to- Kissin with Karajan

Excellent video as usual Dave! Agree with many of the recommendations, notably Argerich for the Tchaikovsky (I do prefer the one with Kondrashin though, not least because it's coupled with her Rach3 with Chailly) and the Richter Liszt recordings. My personal picks for these would be: Chopin 1&2: Argerich/Dutoit (I think the pace she takes the coda of the first movement is spot on, it needs to be this fast and few do that); baby Kissin deserves a mention too :-) Mendelssohn 1&2: Hough/Foster on Hyperion (you mentioned it but not Hough by name), fabulous performances. Liszt 1&2: agree with some others that Cziffra did these two really well and full of fun and virtuosity! Schumann: I know it's against the rules but I'm going for Argerich again... Conducted by Harnoncourt Grieg: agree with the person who mentioned Michelangeli (especially his BBC Legends one) - wow... The first movement cadenza... Wow. But I'm going to go for Solomon/Menges. A really perfect performance. Tchaikovsky: the big one... And so many to choose from... I'm going for Wild conducted by Fistoulari. He absolutely nails it!

My current favourites: Chopin 1 Seong Jin Cho / LSO/ Noseda(DG), Chopin 2 Zimmerman /Polish Festival Orchestra (DG), Mendelssohn Concertos Perahia/ASMF/Marriner (Sony) Schuman Jan Lisiecki / Orchestra dell Accademia du Santa Cecilia/ Pappano (DG), Liszt Entremont / Philadelphia /Ormandy Sony) Tchaikovsky Yevgeny Sudbin/ Sau Paulo Symphony/Neschling (BIS) Grieg Stephen Hough / Bergen Phil / Litton (Hyperion)

I'm a couple years late, but here are my selections. Definitely not the best, but certainly some of my favorites. Chopin - Ax is one of my favorite pianists for solo Chopin, but Zimerman as soloist-conductor with the PFO is as close to perfection in the concertos as we may ever reach. If you're looking for someone else, Fialkowska/Tovey has a decent bid; not as warmly romantic as other recordings, but her technique is stunningly good. Mendelssohn - Underplayed concertos in my opinion. As much as I'd like to disagree with you, Thibaudet's recording is impossible to look past. Schumann - Howard Shelley's artistry is nearly unparalleled in this concerto, and the Opera North Orchestra is suitable accompaniment. Edit: the recording I had as a child was Byron Janis on Mercury Living Presence which is also good. Liszt - I admit I don't know these two concertos very well, but as you mentioned, Zimerman (predictably) does a great job. Grieg - I learned this as a student and I'm sick of it now. Michelangeli was my reference recording, can't remember the conductor. I'll check out Slåttebrekk; thanks for the advice. Tchaikovsky - Argerich... with Kondrashin! Got a CD of her Rach 3 with Chailly, was pleasantly surprised by the coupled Tchaik. Absolutely re-listen-able for me.

Love the Ax/Mackerras Chopin concerto recordings but for Mendelssohn I always pull Serkin/Ormandy off the shelf first - electrifying stuff. I am very intrigued by Slattebrekk's Grieg disc - I've literally never heard of it, but clearly it has to be bought. Thanks for the recommendation.

I'll only give my opinion on the Schumann/Grieg pairing, which for me has to be Dinu Lipatti. And thank you for bringing the Rubinstein/Leinsdorf Tchaikovsky 1 to my attention in your video on the subject. I've had it in my collection for some time without ever listening to it. To quote your parlance, "it's a smoker!"

I don't recognize that cover on the Argerich/Abbado/BPO Tchaikovsky PC #1 you held up, so I don't know what it's coupled with. The DG disc I have couples it with the 2 piano version of the Nutcracker Suite played by Argerich and Nicolas Economou that I enjoy as much as the concerto. I looked up the Schumann PC with Serkin/Ormandy and it is a bunch of versions with all kinds of different couplings, including one with Serkin and a string quartet playing the Schumann piano quintet, which is a great piece. There is a good recording of the Schumann PC with Perahia and Abbado on Sony that comes with Schumann's other 2 pieces for piano and orchestra (Op 92 & 134) that you discussed in a recent video. Since there are so many good recordings of all these concertos, I think somebody new to this repertory could make choices in large part based on the couplings. It's nice to pick up some good pieces that aren't frequently recorded as a bonus.

Wow! What an impeccable list! HOWEVER... I would pick Moravec/Neumann for the Schumann Concerto. I thought no one else would ever think of Ax/Mackerras... The same applies to Slattebrekk/Jurowski. No dead spots!

The Haydn Crusade...the Bach Cantata Schlep...we need the Piano Romance Avalanche for the 80+ volume Hyperion series.

Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 - Arrau/Inbal Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 - Malcuzynski/Susskind Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Rubinstein/Wallenstein (I personally wonder why the Liszt concerto(s) remain among the elite Romantic piano concertos. I think his solo piano works are higher in quality) Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 - Perahia/Marriner Grieg: Kovacevich/Davis Schumann: Fleisher/Szell Tchaikovsky: Cliburn/Kondrashin

Dave could you do a quick review like this at the end when doing other recording discussions?

This is going to be good. I actually dont have a recording if the Grieg.

Chopin I & II: Perahia/Mehta - SONY (Won't ever need another one..) Tchaikovsky I: Cliburn, Kondrashin (RCA - SACD) Knowing the background made me love it even more. Kondrashin's accompanied gorgeously (as always), it really felt like a genuine, romantic conversation between piano and orchestra. Schumann: Moravec/Neumann - easy choice! Grieg: Andsnes & Kitayenko! The Adagio is soooo gorgeous! Liszt I & II: Cohen & Neschling on BIS - HOT! Have a good time & happy listening!

That Schumann Ormandy choice was superb, great piano concerto, great conductor. I’m also glad Grieg was mentioned and Abbado was also mentioned, but slightly sad not seeing Rachmaninov in the list. Edit: oh he said 19th century piano concertos lol, sorry

From my own part I agree with some of yours, Thibaudet in Mendelssohn for sure, Richter in Liszt no question, though I'd add Zimerman/Ozawa and Berezovsky/Wolff for good measure. Some classics and also new shooting stars from my favorites are Anda/Kubelik for Schumann (Argerich/Chailly on DVD!), Seong-Jin Cho/Noseda in Chopin No 1 and in the ubiquitous Tchaikovsky No 1 John Browning/Ozawa on RCA and Haochen Zhang/Slobodeniuk on BIS.

Any opinions on the Derek Han/Israel CO/Gunzenhauser recording of the 2 Mendelssohn piano concertos.

Schumann: there's only one for me. Lipatti with Karajan. That was a once in a lifetime recording. Lipatti also did it with Ansermet but the Karajan is more lively. Lipatti also recorded the Greig and it's excellent.

Just want to recommend a recording of the Grieg PC that is spectacular IMO. Michelangeli / Frubeck de Burgos. It’s on the BBC label, recorded around 1968 from a live performance. It completely goes against the stereotype of this pianist as cool and polished. It’s white hot! Hair raising! It changed my mind about this concerto.

Why do the schumann and Greig concertos almost always go together in the same disk? I love arrau in those pieces.

On a similar but related topic...I enjoy Chopin and I have a recording his two piano concertos by pianist Dubravka Tomsic with the Ljublana Radio Symphony Orchestra...yes it's obscure and lies in virtual anonymity....It's an all-digital surround sound reference gold cd recording. It sounds really good and the timing, the pace, the performance, and the orchestra are unequaled I can not find a better set. I have compared to; zimerman's, arrau, argerich, rubinstein, lang lang, and others. This recording I would not trade it for the world...It saddens me that this woman, Tomsic, has not been rewarded for it....

There are 3 issues ofthe Richter/Kondrashin Liszt Concertos: Phillips, Japan, and the BBC. Is there any preferable recording as far as sound quality?

For the Grieg, I'm smitten with Leif Ove Andsnes, who adds the G minor Ballade and a smattering of Lyric Pieces.

Tchaikovsky: has anyone ever heard of Ludwig Hoffmann? He is really overdue a cd reissue. He recorded Tchaikovsky twice, the 1st with Gunnar Stern. Fantastic. 2nd time with Horst Stein: a bit sectioned but still good. He also recorded Liszt 1st with Stein and that's a gem. He downplays the virtuoso elements of Liszt's concerto which is surprising considering his other Liszt recordings.

I agree with your comment about an industry who makes it so hard for you to give them money. Between distribution boundaries for physical and digital content, region-coding and all the other industry hijinks it's a wonder that anyone buys anything. Of course Sony takes the cake - active promoter of region-coding AND also manufacturer of region-free disc players.

Ax on period instrument for Chopin 1st? Mh, nice one but no thanks. I'll keep my Argerich and Zimerman on regular, boring Steinways. Jokes aside, it is intriguing as you say, but in my book that's a second, alternative version, not a "first and only" choice. Yeah, even with Mackerras in fine form. But hey, unexpected and refreshing pick!

Hello, this is not maybe the place to share this but i did not know where to. Is it possible to make a video about best mono recordings ? I ask this because sometimes you refer to some mono recordings as "good mono".

What a fabulous presentation. Thanks, David - great work, and entertaining too. You mention Grieg / Serkin / Ormandy. In fact I have an earlier incarnation (Sony) which DOES pair Grieg and Schumann. Ormandy / Philadelphia; Schumann is with Rudolf Serkin, and Grieg is with Philippe Entremont, (a fine pianist in my opinion, thinking of his Chopin and Satie)

I think Scriabin's concerto is well-known enough to belong on this list. There are a few really good recordings out there, and of course, it's fantastic music. I'm probably biased of course, but at least among people I talk to, it's roughly as well known as, say Ravel's or Liszt's.

it is not related to the discussion but i just caught something thank to you I do not know sigurd slåttebrekk His ravel is fabulous I had to mention it to you thank you

Hey David! I woke up today wondering why Schubert never wrote a single concerto. I can't understand it, he was such a great composer for orchestra and for the piano as well. Why he never attempted to tackle a concerto??? Ohhh I just can imagine how gorgeous and heavenly would be a Schubert piano or violin concerto. What do you think about that? Have you ever wonder about it? Would be great to hear a chat about this matter.

Dear David what is your opinion on the Gilels/Maazel, Tchaikovsky first piano concerto?

Dave, why did you not include the Rachmaninov 2nd & 3rd piano concertos? They were written in the very early 20th century, are definitely Romantic, and are certainly popular.

In the Grieg I like Mustonen a lot (w/Blomstedt SFS), which was coupled with one of the Chopins. But not having compared with a dozen others, perhaps it’s not that special? No matter, I like it.

Ax/Chopin HIP - I must hear it. Freire...can´t pass without say...he is a Brazilian guy like me yeahh! Who cares? laughts. Just a curiosity: Argerich/Abbado/Tchaikowsky is as fast as Horowitz/Toscanini Live at 1943 - both are the faster among the 17 I have

Dave's list as usual is helpful and instructive but those on the list are generally why I don't go to live performances anymore....I am TOTALLY bored w the programming!

Chopin I: Zimerman/pfo Chopin II: Pires/Previn Mendelssohn: Thibaudet/Blomstedt Schumann: Perahia/Abbado Liszt: Cziffra/Cziffra jr. Grieg: Andsnes/Jansons Tchaikovsky: Argerich/Abbado (also live actually, which makes it even more insane)

Wow! I can't believe you forgot Dvorak's!, Being your favorite 19th century composer I figured you'd at least mention it.

I have to confess, I have not been a fan of the Grieg concerto for some time. It seems to me that pianists often take the "romantic" approach, playing with lots of generic and standardized rubato and with a monochromatic tonal palette. However, I am intrigued by your rave appraisal of Slattebrekk's interpretation. His recording of Schumann's Kreisleriana is so vibrant and individual, brimming with rhythmic drive. I'll have to give his Grieg a listen.

You are talking out your ass on Richter, you pick Emanuel Ax as well for Chopin Concerto. Rosina Lhevinne in her old age is much better. Let's not forget Heinrich N. Dinu L. and Francois. Also, Chopin played Pleyel mainly not Erard.

Tchaikovsky n. 2...who cares??!!...😂😂😂😂...agree!!!

Interesting as always, but could you please refrain from singing the melodies? Thanks.