It isn't SACD, but IMO a good place to start is a two disc set with Christopher Parkening on EMI. His "Great Recordings" include "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", "Sleepers Awake", and "Simple Gifts" as well as over 20 other selections.

I don't even know if this has any importance, but EMI has just released Klaus Tennstedt's Beethoven 6th and 8th. Looking to CT.com, it appears none of their team knew these existed, as the only Tennstedt Beethoven they recall is a 6th symphony in the "Minnesota Orchestra at 100". I don't think...

Quote: Originally Posted by appophylite If you look around, you'll find a lot of classical on vinyl. My sister picked up a vinyl rig for me for Christmas. It's nothing stellar but it will get me by as my first vinyl rig. I went looking for some vinyl and found the Literary Council in my...

Perhaps it's a Michigan thing, but does anyone else get incredibly sick of Christmas music around November 10th? I love "Christmas Favorites" and some of the new stuff is okay. I like a mix of religious and secular, but I'll take just secular if that's what I get. But playing the same 10...

Quote: Originally Posted by jsbach The most sought after interpretation of this concerto is the one performed by Regino Sainz de la Maza, the Concerto was dedicated to him. It is said to be the best, but I have not heard it myself. There are many recordings of this work, the one I...

Kubelik on Audite

Quote: Originally Posted by eyeresist I'm a big Dvorak fan, so Dorati's 7/8 might be the one I check out first. Has anyone heard the Abravanel Brahms set? It was reissued on DVD-A recently (remastered from the original quadrophonic (!) recordings) as well as CD. What I've heard...

Quote: Originally Posted by ken36 Pretenders Seether

Nancy Sinatra

I think the 8th could be more famous if it didn't take so damn much work to perform and put together. It is a joyous, exciting work that is full of the color that Mahler is famed for. I think the first is easiest for a casual listener to understand. It has perhaps the least "weirdness" (a...

Zinman's cycle is out of print now? Interesting. The concertos are what I own from the contents of this set and they are excellent. Despite receiving the ubiquitous 10/10 from Classics Today, I find that all of the concertos are indeed worth much more the six dollars they cost individually...

At least DG hasn't gotten the same idea with Lenny's Mahler...it was always more expesive to my knowledge, and many don't care for it anyways. I happen to like it quite a bit, but it is pricey.

Quote: Originally Posted by pbarach I loved the disc with 3 & 4 (Bronfman/Zinman), but I thought the pianist was rather dull in 1 & 2 (I'm sticking with Fleisher/Szell in both of these) and therefore I skipped buying the disc with 5 and the Choral Fantasy. If you haven't heard the...

Toscanini: The Verdi Recordings. If you can stand MONO sound, this 11 CD set covers parts of 12 Verdi Operas, and includes the Requiem and Te Deum. Prokofiev-- The Fiery Angel Beethoven- Fidelio Weber-- Oberon

Quote: Originally Posted by randerson3024 1. Beethoven's 9th - Solti 2. Beethoven's 5th & 7th - Kleiber 3. Beethoven's 3rd - Abbado 4. Rimsky Korsakov - Scheharezade 5. Ravel - Bolero 6. Mozart's 40th & 41st 7. Wagner - Ring Highlights - Solti 8. Franck - Symphony in D-Minor...

Quote: Originally Posted by DarkAngel Bunny I was almost tempted to get the Klemperer set, but each time I sample some tracks I am left scratching my head as to what is going on here with some of the strange tempos. One of the most glaring examples is 7th symphony 4th movement. Instead...

Quote: Originally Posted by Bunnyears If you can find it, Blomstedt's Ninth with the Staatskapelle Dresden has some of the best singing I've heard in this work. The whole cycle is on Brilliant Classics for 25 dollars.

Sorry, by other goodies in the Chicago set i meant... --Britten's serenade for Horn, tenor and strings -- Mozart's Oboe and Bassoon concertos, horn concerto no. 3 --Haydn's trumpet concerto Sorry for any confusion, Brian

DG's Chicago Symphony "Principal Soloists" set has, (2 discs) -- R. Vaughn Williams Tuba concerto -- Schumann's Konzertstick for Four Horns -- Ravel's Bolero and other goodies as well. Arte Nova, (known for David Zinman's Beethoven cycle) released a disc of trobone concertos for a...

Interesting that no one has mentioned Dinu Lippati, especially now that EMI's historical line brings his complete recordings (Chopin, for EMI) down to two for the price of one. While the Orchestral parts of the concerto are muffled and dull, the piano playing is great. The 15 disc Naxos...

Stokowski's recordings of his transcriptions are the best, really. Erich Kunzel has a Telarc CD, "The Fantastic Stokowski", as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by tw0k1ngs Yes, and he being "godly" will always be my opinion. I don't go around insulting people as if my opinion were "universal." Of course one can't accrue a coherent argument when he is on the defense from the beginning. This isn't court, I don't have...

Quote: Originally Posted by Otto The Blotto Rostropovich in the 3 Ballet suites on DG extremely exciting and high voltage. Ashkenazy in Symphonies 4, 5 and 6 on Decca extremely good value, playing and sound, Karajan and the Berlin Phil from the seventies also worth hearing, I prefer the...

Quote: Originally Posted by jjhatfield In defense of IT, I think almost any rapper runs out of clever ways to say the same thing eventually. But give "Cause of Death" a listen, it always gives me chills. Way intense. But these are without a doubt, the dumbest lyrics ever in the...

Quote: Originally Posted by Masolino Later Beethoven pc's, namely 4 & 5, don't seem to lend themselves too well to the soloist-conducts-from-piano approach. Maybe I am wrong, but is there any recording of these pieces with no conductor at the podium? Immerseel may re-record the...