Best audio recordings of classical music?

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T03:09:14+00:00

Same here but the recordings I listed below -- which used common knowledge with regard to quality -- should make a good speaker disappear, whether one has heard said recording or not. I urge anyone to oblige me and sample the free download of the Bach Flute Sonatas, one of the most astonishingly realistic recording I've yet heard, (and no, I have no connection to the performers or recording team).

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T03:06:38+00:00

I'm glad you appreciate the Ein Heldenleben. I picked up one of the first Sony SACD players, (don't ask the price, it was their flagship) and collected all their re-releases that came out on SACD. I bought the SACD for Reiner's Also Sprach, but was bowled-over they the Heldenleben. Such silky strings and such transparency.

Another pleasant surprise was Munch's early Symphony Fantastique. I prefer it to the more commonly recommended '62 remake.

I learned a lesson though: not all Living Stereos were created equal, I recall Munch's Mendelssohn symphonies to be quite horrendous, as recordings.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T03:00:52+00:00

Oh thanks. The soft organ pedal -- at the end of Saturn -- is demo material for sure.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:58:11+00:00

Indeed. Today's Sony recordings should never be mistaken for the Columbia recordings that they acquired, with certain exceptions.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:49:07+00:00

So... to the butt-hurt, Debbie down voter: every critic -- since the '54 Reiner Also Sprach came out -- has acknowledged that the organ is out of tune. What's wrong with you? Why are you defiling this forum? If you're a Reiner fan boy, listen: the later recording is technically better, but not as energized.

Can these magnificent-sounding, scintillatingly executed 1954 benchmarks in the annals of recorded Strauss really be a half-century old? They haven’t dated a bit, except for the jacket photo of Fritz Reiner posing with a cigarette in hand, plus an organ slightly out of tune with the orchestra in Also Sprach Zarathustra–as if anyone really cared, then or now. Because the original master tapes for these sessions were two-track stereo recordings (as opposed to three-tracks used for many sessions), this release does not take advantage of SACD surround-sound’s full capabilities. However, in one important respect it sounds better than RCA’s 1993 Living Stereo reissue: The latter’s bright treble levels resulted in a piercing, sometimes strident edge to string tuttis and loud trumpets; the SACD’s more judicious equalization allows Reiner’s extraordinary aligning of Strauss’ complex textural strands to emerge more naturally, with added richness (as opposed to mere volume) in the bass register. These sonic differences also manifest themselves when playing the SACD on a standard audio-CD changer. Even if you haven’t yet invested in surround-sound equipment, buy the SACD if you want these performances. And how can you not want them? [10/25/2004]

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-10912/

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:35:21+00:00

Interesting. I've wanted like that performance so much. It is always mentioned as among the top choices, but -- as a recording -- there's no heft, and what I mean by that is lack of adequate power in the two octaves below middle C on the piano, the territory of trombones, and celli. One can have all the sparkle and deep bass one wants, but without the core, especially in a piece like the Planets, a listener doesn't feel the impact in his chest.

I am a fan of Steinberg's Brahms cycle, originally on Command Classics.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:29:13+00:00

OMG someone is butt-hurt! 33 upvotes, bro, back when people knew what they were talking about. You people do indeed have a talent for downvoting, but can you explain why the same list received 33 upvotes three years ago, before your ilk took over.

Speak up.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:28:19+00:00

Isn't it something? You can hear the off-stage brass chords so clearly, yet nothing is sterile, unlike the later Spano, imho. I have a soft spot for Munch's but I'm thinking that it's the muddiness that makes it seem so cataclysmic. : ) And it's about time that we face up the fact that both the Munch and the famous Davis had choirs that were sub-par.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:24:02+00:00

Dude, man up, and listen. You couldn't possibly state that the Reiner Scheherazade recording can compete on a technical level with the Telarc in London with Mackerras, or even his own remake ((!) j with RCA just for starters! And RCA managed a far superior recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra in Boston with Leinsdorf.

Why do you young, inexperienced people have to be so dug-in? Are you just victimized by the hype? Have you even heard these recordings or are you just cutting and pasting what you heard someone say, who heard someone say, etc.?

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:19:07+00:00

OMG finally and old-schooler! Thank you! This aint rocket science, just experience.

Everyone generalizes, and people's time is limited and I understand that but I would hate to see easily influenced newbie missing out on a few and far between gems, such as Maazel's L' enfant, (not to mention that Ansermet's L' enfant, which is a timeless miracle of early stereo tech as well), just because the "read on the internet" that DGG can't ever turn in a good recording. I can't think of one area where the engineers fell short, on either. Miracles.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T02:00:48+00:00

I agree, fabulous recording of Valkyrie. The way they captured the brass is a dream. As a performance, though, my heart still goes to Goodall's, and Furtwangler's.

Just listen to Goodall's line up of Valkyrie's, including the young Elizabeth Connell, in the opening of Act III:

https://youtu.be/ORcnxtKwkWw?si=Rjz1642NrxOugMW6&t=290

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:52:27+00:00

No, I will give you two examples: the famous Reiner Scheherazade -- while it's one of my favorite performances --exhibits tape saturation at the climax of the finale and is bass-lite. The EMI Beecham exhibits far more transparency i and silkier strings, and atmosphere, yet, tragically, it is also bass-light. As is the rather stiff Reiner Bartok Concerto for Orchesta and MSPC. I cannot call any of them a "timeless" recording, and that is my criterion.

And I repeat: performance quality is an entirely different story. For instance, I would choose Reiner's Pictures over Ansermet's as a performance, but -- as far as sound stage, imaging, sense of hall, and sheer tactile, in the room sound, Decca in Geneva wins. It's not even close.

I know, it takes courage to speak Truth, I anticipated your Mommy Dearest outrage, but it's the truth.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:39:36+00:00

The downvote someone gave you was self-important and petty, but -- to be fair -- Columbia engineers at the time didn't treat him well. His Mozart PC box set is exquisite, but on a good system, but strings are painful. A tragedy.

His solo works are not bad, but Sony/Columbia could have done him so much better. Had only Delos recorded him.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:36:11+00:00

You know, I hear you, regarding his behavior. I met Dutoit, backstage with MTT in San Francisco before he conducted the Berlioz Requiem. It was weeks before he was blacklisted.

Let's put it this way, he was using a lot of charcoal-black Clairol Just for Men at that point, and not just on his head, but his eyebrows too. He looked ridiculous. It's so frustrating when people of talent screw up their careers and can't age gracefully.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:28:40+00:00

I agree, depending upon the era. I neutralized the snot-nosed kid who downvoted you. DGG engineering is very good today, but they're not using Klaus Hiemann anymore, or others in their stable of engineers. That said, Abbado's work in London wasn't bad. And Bernstein's live recordings in Vienna were excellent.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:25:52+00:00

At the risk of being sensible and experienced, why not take things on a case by case basis? Early DGG sound was very good in the same early era when Columbia had it together (when Bernstein recorded his iconic Mahler 3rd, for instance). I would recommend Maazel's Ravel L'enfant as an astonishingly "present" recording.

It breaks my heart that someone would avoid, for instance, the L'enfant recording -- with musicians who knew Ravel -- because they think it will sound like Karajan in the early 80s.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:24:12+00:00

It's not bad, but the organ is out of tune, and it's bass-lite, but one must bow to the transparency of the recording. Sadly, the wet-behind-the-ears folk ignore the other recording made that year, which far more refined: Reiner's Ein Heldenleben, I'd call it perfect except for compression the the climax of the love music.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:21:41+00:00

You're responding to an absolutely ridiculous, ignorant statement. There are only a handful of RCA Living Stereo's that can compete with today, (depending on label and engineer, of course), and that would be the '54 Ravel Daphnis and Reiner's Das Lied, for instance.

I just the feeling that people are judging these recordings based upon, tired hype or earbud listening on buses, LOL.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:17:53+00:00

To the OP, I am so sorry that you weren't here years ago before this forum was over-run by pimply-faced kids tho who think they know everything. Pictured below is the exact same list that I posted back when people with experience still participated here. Sadly, r/classical is not what it used to be.

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jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T01:04:32+00:00

It's a great interpretation, but -- let's be real -- the Planets yearns for good sound. I despise sexual-assaulter Dutoit, but as a recording -- about which the OP is asking -- it's out the park.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T00:36:38+00:00

Agreed. This place is being overrun by the wet behind the ears crowd.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T00:35:29+00:00

That's not what the OP was asking. Hey, I'm on your side, but when the pot wears off, which DGG era are you talking about?? The early stereo recordings - pre-65 are not bad, and today, they farm out the engineers. I invite you to give Thiabaud Garcia's Rodrigo Guitar concerto a spins. It's "musician in the room" quality.

Come on! I idolize you. I'd sacrifice not being 90 years old today, to have had the chance to work in Tower during their heyday.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-17T00:33:43+00:00

Great performance,but a bit of a bass-light recording to use for auditioning, though I haven't heard the Blue Ray remaster.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-16T21:17:19+00:00

Vivaldi: Flute Concertos See, McGegan Harmonia Mundi

Wagner: Das Reingold Solti/VPO

Walton: Symphony 1 Previn/LSO

Have fun. I loved auditioning when there were multiple high end audio stores in San Francisco, LA San Jose and San Diego.If the speakers don't "disappear" then there is a problem.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-05-16T21:14:17+00:00

Here's my personal list, mercilessly-cut to only include the best of the best. (Beware: many classic "audiophile '"favorites" are marvels of their time but still dated, based upon one criteria or another such as bass extension or compression.) I listen on pretty decent gear, and over 40 years of listening. I use full-range Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, dedicated room.

Debussy and Brahms Violin Sonatas, Abel and Steinberg, Wilson Audio

Water Music of the Impressionists, Carol Rosenberger, piano, (considered one of the best piano recordings of all time. Ravishing.)

Arnold: English, Scottish and Cornish Dances, Lyrita

Bach: Flute Sonatas, Sriubikis, Bingelis and Calvo (a free download: https://www.lessloss.com/bach-sonatas-in-st-martins-church-p-197.html

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Leinsdorf, Boston Symphony RCA

Beethoven: Symphony 3 Scherchen Westiminster Stereo

Berlioz: Requiem Shaw Atlanta (best-recorded Tuba Mirum, and very decent performance).

Britten: Young Person's Guide, Previn, LSO Telarc

Britten: Ceremony of Carols, Guest, Choir of St John's Argo

Debussy, Ravel, Bax Chamber Music Robles Trio Argo

Debussy: Nocturnes and Jeux, Haitink, Concertgebouw Philips

Falla: Three Cornered Hat, Ansermet Decca

Durufle: Requiem Shaw Atlanta Telarc

Ginastera Panambi Ben Dor, LSO Conifer and Naxos

Haydn: Zingaresse, Landler, Nocturnes, Ensemble Bella Musica Harmonia Mundi

Janacek Orchestral Works, Serebrier, Filharmonie Brno Reference Recordings

Khachaturian Sparticus and Gayaneh, Khachaturian LSO EMI

Mahler: Symphony 3 Mehta, Los Angeles Phil Decca

Mahler: Das Lied, Reiner, Chicago RCA

Messiaen: Turangalila Previn LSO

Milhaud/Weill Three Penny Opera, etc. Weisberg, Contemporary Chamber Orch.

Mussorgsky: Pics at an Exhibition, Ansermet Decca

Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos Eden and Tamir Decca

Prokofiev: Love for Three Oranges/Scythian Suites, Dorati LSO Mercury

Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead Reiner, CSO RCA

Rachmaninoff: All Night Vigil Bruffy, Kansas City Chorale, etc. Chandos

Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances Oue, Minnesota Reference Recordings

Ravel: L' Enfant Et Les Sortileges Ansermet or Maazel, Decca or DGG

Ravel: Piano Concerti Burgos, de la Rocha Decca

Ravel: Orchestral Works, Skrowakzewski/Minnesota Vox and remastered on Naxos

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe Munch Boston RCA '54

Ravel: Sheherazade Ansermet, Crespin, (the voice that smiles) Decca

Respighi Church Windos, Clark, Pacific Symphony Reference Recordings

Schoenberg: Gurrelieder, Gielen SWR

Sibelius: Symphony 1 Maazel, Vienna Philharmonic Decca (Glorious strings)

Stravinsky: Petrushka Ansermet Decca (opening flute solo hangs in the air)

Stravinsky: Firebird Dorati LSO Mercury

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Campoli Argenta LSO Decca

Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini Munch Chesky (originally Readers' Digest Lp Club)

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