In this, the third of a series looking at the greatest recordings of each decade, the Presto editorial team have set themselves the challenging but pleasant task of picking out our absolute must-have recordings from the 1980s.
As well as ushering in the beginnings of a revived interest in ‘early music’ and historically-informed performance (represented here by an early recording from The Tallis Scholars), the 80s seem to have been a particular golden age for studio opera recordings and German Romantic repertoire (as you’ll see, we simply couldn’t decide between two favourite Bruckner recordings from Vienna so pushed the boat out and had both!)
You can also browse the first two instalments of this series - focusing on recordings of the 1960s, and 1970s.
Albéniz: Iberia (Alicia de Larrocha)
Albéniz: Iberia
CD Only
Superbly idiomatic performances from the doyenne of Spanish piano music, brimming with gentle wit, affection and warmth even in the most technically demanding passages. Decca’s wonderful sound-engineering provides exactly the right balmy ambience to allow the performances to glow.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Allegri: Miserere (Tallis Scholars)
Allegri: Miserere Mei
Original CD release
A recording from the Tallis Scholars' relatively early days - already showing the polish and care that their name has come to stand for. Allegri's haunting Miserere performed with a highly effective echo technique, Palestrina's popular Missa Papae Marcelli and, in between the two, a monumental twenty-minute motet by Mundy in luxurious Tudor Catholic style.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
JS Bach: Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould)
Bach, J S: Goldberg Variations, BWV988, (1981 Recording)
Download Only
Re-mastered version available for download, including Hi-Res option
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 (Emerson String Quartet)
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6
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Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Bernstein: Candide (Hadley, Ludwig, Anderson, London Symphony Orchestra, Bernstein)
Bernstein: Candide
CD Only
With the tenderly affecting voice of Jerry Hadley as Candide, the wry humour of Kurt Ollmann as Maximilian and Adolph Green as Dr Pangloss, and June Anderson on top form as Cunegonde (not least in her stunning account of Glitter and Be Gay), this is a joy of a recording. Throw in star turns from Christa Ludwig as the Old Lady and Nicolai Gedda in various roles (not to mention the composer himself conducting the London Symphony Orchestra), and you just can’t get better than this.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Bernstein: Candide
Download Only
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major (Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major
CD / Download
In what would be his final recording, the great Herbert von Karajan and the Wiener Philharmoniker bring a sense of space and breadth to Bruckner's majestic Seventh Symphony.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor (Wiener Philharmoniker, Carlo Maria Giulini)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor
CD / Download
The crowning glory of Carlo Maria Giulini’s account is a sublime performance of the Adagio, with the radiant sheen of the Wiener Philharmoniker string section on full display. Giulini’s command of structure and pacing ensures that his generally stately tempos never drag, and the magnificent brass end the symphony with a triumphant blaze of majesty.
Available Formats: 2 Presto CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Elgar: Violin Concerto (Nigel Kennedy, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley)
Elgar: Violin Concerto & Introduction and Allegro
CD / Download
Few interpreters of English orchestral music can match Vernon Handley at the helm of the London Philharmonic; though his Vaughan Williams is perhaps better remembered, this Elgar pairing shows the same deep understanding of the score. A young and vigorous Nigel Kennedy is a delight in the Concerto.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Feather on the Breath of God (Emma Kirkby, Gothic Voices, Christopher Page)
A reissue of a landmark recording by Emma Kirkby and Gothic Voices, this collection of sacred works by the 12th-century Hildegard of Bingen kick-started a renewed interest in medieval music among classical listeners. The performances are simple, free of unnecessary artifice and completely spellbinding.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (White, Haymon, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle)
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Download Only
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
DVD Video
Video Recording which uses the same soundtrack as the Audio Recording
Available Format: DVD Video
Horowitz in Moscow (Vladimir Horowitz)
Horowitz in Moscow
Download Only
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (Popp, Jedlicka, Novak, Randova, Wiener Philharmoniker, Charles Mackerras)
Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen
Download only
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Janacek - The Operas
9 CD set
A great value box set of Mackerras's Vienna Janacek recordings also including Jenůfa, The Makropulos Case, From the House of the Dead and Káta Kabanová
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Baker, Auger, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle)
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection'
Download Only
Simon Rattle strikes again, this time with the CBSO and its Chorus, with Arleen Augér and Janet Baker the soloists in a thrilling account of Mahler's great Resurrection Symphony. Baker's Urlicht is mesmerising, and paves the way for a climax as uplifting as any you'll hear on disc.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
CD Only (mid-price)
Leonard Bernstein was rarely one to underplay the emotion of any piece that he conducted, and that intensity leads to an electrifying performance of the Fifth Symphony with the Wiener Philharmoniker. He wrings every last drop of feeling from the Adagietto, and some excellent brass playing leads to an extremely exciting climax.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
CD / Download
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan)
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
CD Only
Debate raged long and hard in the Presto office as to which of Karajan’s Mahler Nines would make the cut – the same orchestra and conductor had made an acclaimed studio recording in 1980, but in the final analysis we can’t be without this live performance from Berlin two years later: ‘vitality’ is perhaps the wrong word, but to our ears it’s even more intense and alive than its predecessor.
Available Format: 2 Presto CDs
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Download Only
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Poulenc: Piano Works (Pascal Rogé)
Poulenc: Piano Works - Vol. 1
Presto CD / Download
These are the reference recordings of Poulenc's Piano works, by the great French pianist, Pascal Rogé. After winning a Rosette in The Penguin Guide, and the Instrumental Disc of the Year at the Gramophone Awards, this recording has gone on to be a perennial best-seller: irresistible with playing of great sensitivity.
Available Format: Presto CD
Poulenc - Solo Piano & Chamber Works
5 CD set / Download
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Respighi: Roman Trilogy (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit)
Respighi: Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome & Roman Festivals
Presto CD / Download
Charles Dutoit and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal bring out all the colours in this sparkling recording of Respighi’s Roman Trilogy. Pines of Rome moves from dazzling virtuosity to the awe-inspiring tread of the Roman army along the Appian Way, coupled with a riotously raucous Bacchanalian celebration in Roman Festivals and a grandiose, noble account of Fountains of Rome.
Available Formats: Presto CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Saint-Saëns: Organ Symphony (Simon Preston, Berliner Philharmoniker, James Levine)
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 'Organ Symphony'
CD / Download
Alongside impressive woodwind playing and thrilling brass contributions, the Berliner Philharmoniker under James Levine offer some ravishingly beautiful string playing in Saint-Saëns’s most popular symphony. Organ duties are handled with aplomb by Simon Preston; the organ’s weighty tone at the start of the second movement's Maestoso section doesn't disappoint. It’s coupled with a cheeky account of Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Murray Perahia & Radu Lupu play Mozart & Schubert
Murray Perahia & Radu Lupu play Mozart & Schubert
CD / Download
This is a sublime recording from Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu, two legendary and visionary pianists, both poets of the keyboard. BBC Music Magazine has since said: "Wonderful performance: delicacy in the Mozart as well as a feel for the Sonata's near-orchestral scale. A magisterial reading of Schubert's Fantasie." This is one of the finest piano duo collaborations on record.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Schubert: Schwanengesang (Peter Schreier & András Schiff)
Schubert: Schwanengesang, D957
Presto CD Only
German tenor Peter Schreier brings out the varying moods of Schubert’s music exquisitely. He’s never afraid to bring a slightly darker, harsh edge to his sound when the text calls for it, and his accounts of Der Atlas, In der Ferne, and Der Doppelgänger in particular are chilling. András Schiff is the perfect accompanist, matching Schreier’s interpretation every step of the way.
Available Format: Presto CD
Schubert - Song Cycles
3 CDs / Download
A 3 disc set also containing Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Strauss, R: Die Frau ohne Schatten (Behrens, Várady, Domingo, van Dam, Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg Solti)
Strauss, R: Die Frau ohne Schatten
CD / Download
Die Frau ohne Schatten includes some of the most demanding vocal roles that Strauss ever wrote, but Georg Solti's cast are more than up to the task: Hildegard Behrens as the Dyer's Wife and Júlia Várady as the Empress dominate, but the real treat is the casting of Plácido Domingo as the Emperor. He may be a slightly unorthodox choice for this role, but just revel in the sumptuous singing he treats us to!
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Strauss - Four Last Songs (Jessye Norman, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur)
Jessye Norman brings an unparalleled grandeur and opulence of sound to the long lines of Strauss’s great autumnal meditations, and rides the thrilling climax of Cäcilie with Ariadne-like rapture. Sumptuous (but never stodgy!) support from the late Kurt Masur and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder and Other Lieder
Download Only
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (Allen, Freni, von Otter, Shicoff, Staatskapelle Dresden, James Levine)
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
CD (including libretto) / Download
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Verdi: Don Carlos (Domingo, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Raimondi, Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado)
Verdi: Don Carlos
CD / Download
Domingo and Ricciarelli on rapturous form make one wonder how anyone can bear to be without the love-at-first-sight music of the oft-omitted first act; Nicolai Ghiaurov and Ruggero Raimondi chill the marrow in the great fourth-act confrontation between Church and State, whilst Lucia Valentini Terrani spits fire as the volatile Princess Eboli.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Verdi: Don Carlos
CD (including libretto) / Download
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Wagner: Parsifal (Hofmann, Vejzovic, Moll, van Dam, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan)
Wagner: Parsifal
CD / Download
Karajan’s luminous studio recording of Parsifal bears out Wagner’s conception of the work as a ‘consecration festival play’. The transcendent playing of the Berliner Philharmoniker is the real glory of this set (time truly does seem to become space here), though the cast – notably Peter Hofmann’s virile Parsifal and Siegmund Nimsgern’s black-voiced Klingsor – are never less than compelling.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
