Guiseppe Verdi, Aida, with Maria Callas, Mario del Monaco, Oliviero de Fabritis, and the Orchestra and Chorus of del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City: One of the greatest singers of our time in a legendary 1951 performance.
Gustav Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde, with Christa Ludwig and Fritz Wunderlich; Otto Klemperer conducting: The definitive recording of the passionate, varied, and sprawling work.
Johann Sebastian Bach, A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981): Two riveting performances by pianist Glenn Gould.
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Violin Concerto in D, as performed by Jascha Heifetz: You might evaluate prospective romantic partners on the basis of their reactions to this recording.
Samuel Barber, Leontyne Price Sings Barber: Includes Price’s performance of “Knoxville, Summer of 1915.” Other sopranos have recorded it. Accept no substitutes.
New Albums to Try
Peter Lieberson, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs: Beautiful love songs written by a husband to his wife, who recorded them before she died of cancer.
Steve Reich, Phases: A five-disc retrospective of the work of an unconventional contemporary master.
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Symphonies 4 and 5: Highlights of a fresh and wonderful Beethoven cycle in a new recording by conductor Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Dmitry Shostakovich, The Complete Symphonies: A set decades in the making from Latvia’s Mariss Jansons, who may be the best living conductor today.
Richard Wagner, The Ring: After languishing for half a century, this live recording from the 1953 Bayreuth Festival has been newly reissued.
Picks by: Anne Midgette, a classical-music writer for the New York Times. She is a coauthor, with Herbert Breslin, of The King & I: The Uncensored Tale of Luciano Pavarotti’s Rise to Fame by His Manager, Friend and Sometime Adversary (Broadway, $15, www.amazon.com).
