The only time I would consider buying a historical performance is when the composer himself is conducting. With a revealing setup, the imperfections in old recordings (e.g. the hiss in Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue") are unbearable.
I have a few by Britten, and quite a few by modern composers like Adams, Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Glass, Goldschmidt, Tippett or Bryars, but DDD recordings probably don't count as historical performances.
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