"The other arts persuade us, but music takes us by surprise," wrote the noted German music critic Eduard Hanslick.
Who among us doesn't love surprises, so why not give the gift of great music this Christmas? Here are some suggestions for the aesthetes and aspiring highbrows who might be on your list this Christmas season.
The Record of '94: The grim, powerful "Babi Yar" Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich will never be confused with fa-la-la yuletide fare, but if there is a more extraordinary offering this year than the gritty, intense account recorded by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic for Teldec, I haven't heard it.
Shostakovich's blistering musical denunciation of Soviet anti-Semitism and Nazi atrocities in Ukraine is always a searing emotional experience, but add the recitations by poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko at this Avery Fisher Hall concert and the impact becomes truly overwhelming. Yevtushenko reads his "Babi Yar" text in its original Russian before the symphony begins and concludes the disc with his poem, "The Loss," delivered in halting, deeply felt English.
"We are birthing now," he says of Russia's current agony, "but it is so painful to be born again."
An achingly human message to be sure, as we prepare to commemorate history's most famous birth.
A Seasonal Favorite: Handel's "Messiah" has been performed in seemingly infinite incarnations since the composer took it to Ireland for its Dublin premiere in April 1742. So if you're thinking of bestowing a recording of the most beloved oratorios on your favorite music lover, be advised that a single definitive "Messiah" doesn't really exist.
Basically, Handel's masterwork comes in three sizes: small, medium and large.
Among the smaller-scale, "authentically Baroque" versions are the intimate but oh so energetic Trevor Pinnock account (Archiv), and the more grand, more majestic John Eliot Gardiner on Philips.
The best medium-sized "Messiah" played on modern # instruments still comes from Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. This marvelously dextrous performance from the mid-1960s was a breath of fresh air that blew many musty Victorian cobwebs off Handel's oft-performed score. Just re-released by Philips in two-for-one budget format, it remains as irresistible as ever.
For a cast-of-thousands Handelian blast though, there's the inimitable Sir Thomas Beecham (RCA) conducting the Eugene Goossens arrangement, which adds considerably to the original orchestration.
Trombones and cymbals in "Messiah?" Absolutely. You might not want to hear Handel like this every time out, but it's a seasonal shot in the arm, no doubt about it!
An American Original: Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944) was a child prodigy pianist who became America's first bona fide female symphonic composer at the urging of her Boston Brahmin husband, who pooh-poohed the idea of a young wife stepping out on the concert circuit.
Rest assured, her inclusion here is no mere affirmative action gesture. Beach's music is wonderful. While her very fine Piano Concerto has yet to benefit from a worthy recording, any music lover is bound to enjoy her ruddy "Gaelic" Symphony, replete with Irish folk themes.
It gets a most sympathetic reading from the ubiquitous Neeme Jarvi and the Detroit Symphony on the Chandos label, where it is offered along with the single-movement First Symphony of Samuel Barber and Barber's "School for Scandal" Overture.
For a more intimate, altogether delightful Beach party, there is "Dark Garden," an anthology of her songs, violin-piano duos, and solo piano works performed by D'Anna Fortunato, mezzo soprano, and the estimable Joseph Silverstein on violin. At the keyboard is Virginia Eskin, the Boston-based pianist who has made Mrs. Beach's music a career specialty. Northeastern Records is responsible for this delightful release.
Meat and Potatoes Classics: The critics are oohing and aahing this season over Maestro John Eliot Gardiner's traversal of the nine Beethoven symphonies with his 19th-century-style band, The Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique (Archiv).
HC Robbins Landon, the British musicologist and critic, calls Gardiner's meticulously researched performances "the greatest cleaning operation since that of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes."
I don't know about all that -- some might find Gardiner rather lacking in warmth from time to time -- but the performances are stylish, well-played and undeniably zippy. Certainly, they rank far above the Christopher Hogwood monstrosities of a few years back. If the classicist on your list must be in on the very latest, your choice is clear.
But if your friend or loved one isn't a stickler for period perform ance practices, you can give some of the most satisfying Beethoven ever recorded at a fraction of Gardiner's cost. Deutsche Grammophon has just released Karl Bohm's recordings of Symphonies 1, 2, 4 and 5 in a 2-for-1 budget offering that will fit in any music lover's collection.
Other conductors have made the music sound slicker, sleeker and more monumental. But I'm not sure Beethoven has ever been easier to love than in these consummate "old pro" performances from Mr. Bohm.
Support the Home Team: The Baltimore Symphony has made several distinguished recordings, none more so than the recent Aaron Copland anthology for Argo that is one the of Best of 1994 by anyone's reckoning.
"Rodeo" and "Billy the Kid" are irresistibly played. What superior wind soloists we have here in town! "Danzon Cubano" and "El Salon Mexico" are equally distinguished. The latter in particular sizzles with as much jazzy color as I've ever heard, including Copland's own.
You can maintain the highest artistic standards and root for the home team at the same time with this one.
The $6 Option: Naxos, the record label that sells for a song but frequently delivers the whole opera, is always an option for the more parsimonious Santas among us. Among the finest offerings from this vast catalog are the Haydn Quartet cycle recorded so beautifully by the Kodaly String Quartet; a fine set of Mozart Violin Concertos starring fiddler Takako Nishizaki; and a sensational pairing of the Schumann and Brahms Piano Quintets with Naxos' house pianist Jeno Jando.
It's hard to go wrong with world-class performances that come cheaper than most stocking stuffers.
Happy listening!