[kolyas]

Any of the HMV (EMI) recordings of the London Symphony Orchestra with Andre Previn from the 1970s are worth listening to. The Interpretations are top notch and the sound is glorious. One of the best recording Engineers of all time was Walter Clegg, husband of Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, who made many recordings for HMV - everyone a star.
 
Any recording by Weller on Decca is also good value.
 
Arthur Salvatore of High End Audio gives a comprehensive list of the audiophile classical recordings on his site. All vinyl of course but many of them have been transcribed to CD, Note these are the best recorded/sounding versions which of course does not mean they are the best interpretations. 

 

[bigshot]

Previn's Schehrezade is my favorite. Hard to find now though.

 

[mitchflorida]

For Scheherazade, you must listen to Fritz Reiner and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
 
He is in first place and there is no second or third place.

 

[bigshot]

I have that one, and Beecham's. Previn's is the best. I have no idea why it isn't in print.

 

[mitchflorida]

It's available out there but hard to get.   it's on Ebay for seven dollars used.
 
As to why it is out of print, it just didn't sell well.  There are literally hundreds of recordings of that piece.

 

[bigshot]

It's pretty special though. There are a million average ones.

 

[bigshot]

By the way, the version of Schehrezade by Kees Bakels and the Malaysian Philharmonic is even better than Reiner's too, and it's dirt cheap. It might even be on one of the Amazon $1.99 special sets. It's a BIS recording.

 

[mitchflorida]

Wow, Malaysian Philharmonic.  I must have missed that one.   

 
 
 
I just noticed that Andre Previn is actually featured on that very same Reiner CD, with very good renditions of Flight of the Bumblebee and Tsar Saltan.  

 

[bigshot]

The Malaysian Philharmonic did a complete Rimsky-Korsakov cycle on BIS. It's some of the best orchestral recordings I've ever heard. The Antar Symphony is hands down the best version I've ever heard. Worth getting, and used copies of the whole cycle are pretty cheap at Amazon.

 

[kolyas]

While I mentioned Previn and the LSO one of my favourite recordings is 'Four Sea Interludes' from Peter Grimes. The music is very atmospheric - indeed magical - and the recording SQ of the highest order.
 
No one has mentioned Shostakovich here. One of my favourite composers. His music is chocked full of irony - very moving. Stalin must not have had a sense of irony or he would have shot the composer a thousand times. The 15th Symphony with Haitink won many awards in its time. The recording is superb and lovers of the William Tell overture will recognise the composers nod to Rossini.

 

[vcoheda]

if i were going to a desert island, i would bring bach's sacred cantatas (bwv 1-200). the harnoncourt/leonhardt is a good version.
 

 

[bigshot]

Do you have that box? It's VERY expensive. You can get everything Bach ever wrote in great recordings and performances for a fraction of the price of that particular box.

 

[i019791]

Quote:

Do you have that box? It's VERY expensive. You can get everything Bach ever wrote in great recordings and performances for a fraction of the price of that particular box.

For ca. 130 € on line, it cannot be considered expensive now. It was indeed very expensive in the past.

 

[Mr Blonde]

I very much like the recording of La Traviata from Carlos Kleiber in SACD version.

 

[bigshot]

The filmed Traviata by Zefferelli is great too.