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Your 10 Best SOUNDING Classical Recordings

post #1 of 20
12/12/09 at 3:39am
Thread Starter 
This thread is for people to list their favorite classical recordings based on sonic character only. While it's preferable to hear good performances, please disregard the interpretation entirely and list what you feel are the 10 best recordings based on sonic character of all classical music which you have heard.
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post #2 of 20
12/12/09 at 6:02am
I can only pick 3..incidentally they are all from Mahler

Mahler 2 - Kaplan/VPO
Mahler 2 - Mehta/VPO
Mahler 5 - Barbirolli
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post #3 of 20
12/12/09 at 8:14am
Beethoven: Piano sonata #21. Russell Sherman. This is the most realistic 'sitting at the concert hall piano-sound' recording I have. You can almost feel the strings vibrating.

Sibelius: Symphony #1. Ashkenazy/PO. Again, this is what comes closer in my mind to actually being there, especially the brass and timpani. The atmosphere is just tremendous!

Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps (and Bartok's Mandarin + Mussorgsky: Night on Bare Mtn.) Salonen/LAPO. Disney Hall in all its glory, even though it's a live recording, it's got amazing impact and detail.

Gershwin: Porgy & Bess. Kunzel/Cincinnati PO. Those voices!

Holst: The Planets. Dutoit/Montreal SO. Simply overwhelming mass of sound.
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post #4 of 20
12/12/09 at 10:08am
Difficult, there are so many good recordings.
In random order:

Boulez - Explosant Fixe, Boulez conducts Boulez (DG)

Mahler: Symphony no. 6 - Wiener Philharmoniker/Boulez (DG) I love the warmth and clarity at the same time

Dvorak: Symphony no. 9 - Concertgebouworkest/Harnoncourt - Live (Teldec/Warner Classics)

Bach: Oster Oratorium - Collegium Vocale/Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi)

Mozart: Requiem - Le Concert des Nations/La Capella Reial de Catalunya/Savall (Auvidis Astrée)

Beethoven: Symphony no. 3 - Le Concert de Nations/Savall (Auvidis Astrée)

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin - Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Boulez (DG)

Monteverdi: L'Orfeo - Coro Antonio Il Verso/Ensemble Elyma/Garrido (K617)

Strauss: Don QuiXote - Cleveland Orchestra/Szell (Sony Masterworks Heritage)

Vivaldi: Cello Concertos - Ensemble Explorations/Dieltiens (Harmonia Mundi)
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post #5 of 20
12/18/09 at 9:07am
I reckon these sound amazing sonically and are good performances too.

Bach St Matthew's Passion - DG McCreesh

Respighi Pines of Rome etc Gatti Conifer Classics

Ravel Daphnis and Chloe DG Abbado LSO

Bach Cantatas Suzuki on Bis any of the later recordings on SACD

Wagner Orchestral excerpts DG Abbado BPO

Schumann Excerots from Goethes Faust DG Abbado BPO

Bruckner 3/4 Jansons RCO Live

Bruckner 3/8 Philips Haitink RCO

Strauss Heldenleben etc Blomstedt SFSO Decca

Vivaldi L'estravaganza Rachel Podger Channel Classics (actually all of her discs are amazing, also Mozart Sonatas and Bach).
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post #6 of 20
12/18/09 at 12:27pm
The Vanska Beethoven symphonies.
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post #7 of 20
12/19/09 at 12:03am
the best sounding classical CDs i own are consistently Pentatone SACDs followed by Harmonia Mundi. And i think ECM and Hyperion are excellent as well. Good bet anything by those labels will be of very good sound quality.
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post #8 of 20
12/19/09 at 12:16am
The Naive label just happens to have the 3 best recordings in my collection which are coincidentally by the same composer:

Amazon.com: Vivaldi Naive (mostly)

Vivaldi: Musica per mandolino e liuto (Vivaldi Edition) by Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi: La verità in cimento (Vivaldi Edition) by Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi Edition: Operas by Sergio Foresti


.
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post #9 of 20
12/19/09 at 12:41am
Thanks Mink, I just purchased: Vivaldi: Cello Concertos - Ensemble Explorations/Dieltiens (Harmonia Mundi)

BTW, Bach is my master, Vivaldi is a close 2nd.
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post #10 of 20
12/19/09 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmswjm View Post
Thanks Mink, I just purchased: Vivaldi: Cello Concertos - Ensemble Explorations/Dieltiens (Harmonia Mundi)
Great performance, you're not gonna regret it
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post #11 of 20
12/21/09 at 12:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by radiohlite View Post
Holst: The Planets. Dutoit/Montreal SO. Simply overwhelming mass of sound.
I asked for this for Christmas!
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post #12 of 20
12/21/09 at 12:47am
Some good ones:

Janowski - Wagner's Ring Cycle
Hahn - Bach Violin Concerto
Jaarvi - Beethoven symphony cycle
Gould's '81 Goldberg Variations (love the humming)
Bernstein/VPO - Beethoven Overtures
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post #13 of 20
12/21/09 at 7:09pm
This is the Let-me-show-off-my-sound-system thread.

1) Atterberg Symphony 6 on BIS. Thrilling sound -- deep bass, exhilirating highs.
2) Bruckner Symphony 9 on Sony -- the NEW one from Faibio Luisi.
3) Schmidt Symphony no. 4 on Chesky.
4) Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade with Serebrier on Reference Recordings.
5) Mahler Das Lied von der Erde with Oue on Reference Recordings.
6) Elgar Symphony 1 with Zinman on Telarc.
7) Williams - Star Wars music with the Utah Symphony on Varese Sarabande.
8) Holst - the Planets with Dutoit on London.
9) Tchaikovsky Symphony 6 on RCA with Termirkanov.
10) Mahler Symphony 4 on Channel Classics with Fischer.

There are many others that sound fantastic, but these are some of first I pull out when I want to demonstrate the speaker system or the headphones. And some of them happen to also be top-notch performances as well.
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post #14 of 20
12/22/09 at 3:45pm
I have three Linn (HD)CDs and they all sound stunning, especially the Schidlof Quartet ones


(images from amazon but get them from berkshirerecordoutlet)

I have heard perhaps a dozen CDs from Alia-Vox (Jordi Savall own label). I really love these two


but they all sound stunning and look gorgeous.

Speaking of Savall looking gorgeous, this DVD is reference quality (both technically and artistically)


I agree with lmswjm (what does that stand for?) that Naive Vivaldi Edition sounds fantastic (again both technically and artistically). Here are my favourites



Let me second radiohlite recommendation of Salonen's Stravinsky Sacre and add to it this older recording


Among the true oldies, I (surprise, surprise...) love the sound of Walter Legge mono recordings of the 50's. If you can play DVD-Audio you should get his mythical Tosca with Callas/Di Stefano/Gobbi in this format from berkshirerecordoutlet.

Let me finish with a very well recorded SACD, that could have been great but unfortunately isn't...
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post #15 of 20
12/26/09 at 1:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mink View Post
Great performance, you're not gonna regret it
Hey Mink, Just listened to that disc, it's great, thanks! I've got one for you, that is if you haven't heard it already:

Vivaldi: Concerti per violoncello I (Vivaldi Edition) by Christophe Coin
LL
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