# Your best sounding recordings



## lovetheclassics

Some recordings really stand out in terms of sonic depth and clarity. They give you the feeling you're experiencing a live performance. What are your favorite recordings?

Here are some recordings/albums I like:
Beethoven - Pianosonate no. 32 - Maestoso- Tor Espen Aspaas
Arnesen - Magnificat - Et misericordia - Nidarosdomens Jentekor & TrondheimSolistene
L'Absente - Yann Tierssen
Jazz at the Pawnshop (1977)
Brian Bomberg - Caravan


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## bigshot

Offenbach Gaeite Parisienne Fiedler / Boston Pops
Borodin Symphonies Ansermet / Suisse Romande
De Falla: Three Cornered Hat Ansermet / Suisse Romande
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe Munch / Boston


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## Weston

Believe it or not, this recording of Roussel (Christoph Eschenbach / Orchestre de Paris (2007) Ondine 1092) has astonishing clarity with rich warm bass tones that don't boom artificially.


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## lovetheclassics

Thanks for the suggestions made so far.

I found a useful thread here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/460526/your-10-best-sounding-classical-recordings

Some other suggestions?


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## Albert7

Glenn Gould's 1981 Sony Columbia recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations is a sonic masterpiece.

Kudos to the digital sound technology at that time without clipping.


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## lovetheclassics

I recently found this CD:








A very well recorded album. Listen, for example, to the first track: Giulio Cesare in Egitto - Quando voglio by Antonio Sartorio.


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## Guest

Albert7 said:


> Glenn Gould's 1981 Sony Columbia recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations is a sonic masterpiece.
> 
> Kudos to the digital sound technology at that time without clipping.


I wish the LP was derived from the analog backup recording, such as on _A State of Wonder_, which contains the 1955 and 1981 recordings. It's odd that they'd use analog for the CD and digital for the LP!


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## Bulldog

Just yesterday I was listening to a recording that has perfect sound - unmatched clarity and depth with no hint of dryness. It's pianist Jeremy Denk performing Bach's Goldberg Variations on the Nonesuch label. I've only listened to it twice so I'm not in a position to consider it one of the best versions on piano; however, it merits a lot more of my time.


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## realdealblues

This one seems to always fly under the radar but I've always really liked the sound on this recording. I also love the recordings themselves.

View attachment 72742


Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 2
Yoel Levi/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Pianist: Andre Watts


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## geralmar

Sorry for being so arcane, but for me it's the early '50s monophonic recording of Ravel's Bolero conducted by Walter Bauer on the long defunct Music Treasures of the World subscription label. No sense of lateral spread obviously, but the illusion of incredible depth for the orchestra while the solo instruments remain front and center. In five decades I've read only two passing critical mentions of the recording; while vaguely positive both mistakenly identified the conductor as Kurt Graunke.


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## BitPerfect

Just joined - first post 

Here are my suggestions. All are wonderful performances as well, since I don't like recommending unworthy performances just because they sound good:

Mahler - Symphony No 7 San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas (downloaded from Blue Coast Records).
Shostakovich - Symphony No 7 Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Mariss Jansons (SACD from RCO Live).
Saint-Saens - Symphony No 3 The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy (1980 recording with Michael Murray, SACD from Telarc).
"If You Love For Beauty" by Sasha Cooke, on the molto-obscure Yarlung Records. Comprises Mahler's Ruckert Lieder but notable for an OMG-Play-That-Again recital of Handel's "Ombra Mai Fu". Mine is a DSD256 download.
"Stravinsky" - The Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Eiji Oue. Mainly for the Firebird Suite. Rite of Spring is marred by a god-awful Timpani error in the run-up to the finale - from the trustworthy Reference Recordings.
The "Esoteric" remaster of Solti's Ring Cycle. Hideously expensive, and impossible to come by ... but the only way to *really* hear those custom-made anvils! SACD collector's edition only.
Résonance - an album of solo Viola da Gamba played by Nima Ben David. A stunningly pure recording from Todd Garfinkel at MA Recordings. If your speakers do proper deep bass this recording will leave you spellbound.
Schubert - The String Quintet D956 played by the Vellinger Quartet with Bernard Greenhouse. This CD was a free giveaway with the BBC Music Magazine back in 1998. Can it really be so good?...
You like?...


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## Tedski

^^^I like. :tiphat:


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## techniquest

> You like?...


I like too 

A few from me:
- Beethoven symphonies, Norrington / London Classical Players (Virgin Classics)
- Mahler symphonies, Bertini / Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester (EMI)
- Rimsky Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol, Ormandy / Philadelphia Orchestra (CBS)


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## haydnfan

This recording of Gorecki's third symphony:










You can hear the timbre of each instrument. The orchestra has a layered feel to it with an impressively deep sound stage. I feel that Perruche's voice shimmers and hangs in the air. There is a massive dynamic range from the whisper quiet beginning to the overpowering finale of the first movement. If you like this symphony, you've got to check out this recording. It is IMHO the best sounding recording in my collection.


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## michaels

BitPerfect said:


> Just joined - first post
> You like?...


¡me gusta!
One of my current favorite recordings is Gavriel Lipkind's Bach Cello suites... love the mic setup and the room (or maybe the processing that creates the sense of the room?) Great performance, even better recording.


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## EDaddy

I think these sound pretty amazing.


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## lovetheclassics

I like this one:









http://www.amazon.co.uk/Debussy-Pr%C3%A9lude-apr%C3%A8s-midi-faune-Gergiev/dp/B004P5C7IO

Any more recommendations?


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## Xaltotun

This must be one of the best:

Schumann Piano Quintet & Piano Quartet / Mandelring Quartet + Le Guay


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## PavolBrezina

This recording made by Manfred Honeck is superb


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## JohnD

Albert7 said:


> Glenn Gould's 1981 Sony Columbia recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations is a sonic masterpiece.
> 
> Kudos to the digital sound technology at that time without clipping.


I've got the original digital CD of Gould's 1981 Goldberg Variations, but Sony also simultaneously recorded this 1981 album using an analog recorder and a few years back they released the analog version in a set that contained both of Gould's Goldberg Variations albums. After doing an A-B comparison of the digital and analog recordings, I discovered that I liked the analog better.


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## Pugg

To name a few, ad to that Karajan sublime recordings if Madama Butterfly and La Boheme on DECCA:tiphat:


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## Dr Bartolo

This is my favorite in terms of recording quality, music and execution.

*Royal Ballet Gala Performance
Ernest Amsermet
LP Box Set
45 RPM*


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## Dr Bartolo

Another Great Recording

*Rimsky-Korsakoff
Scheherazade
Reiner
Chicago Simphony
RCA 
45 RPM Vinyl Set*


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## Dr Bartolo

This is another Great Recording

*Ballet Music from the Opera
Anatole Fistoulari
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
RCA 45 RPM Set*

On Side 1 ( in 33 RPM LP)
Verdi: Aida Act II - March & Ballet	
Saint Saens: Samson & Delilah Act III Bacchanale

Magnificent!!


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## The nose

This one!


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## Eva Yojimbo

Pretty much anything done by Reference Recordings, Linn, and Channel Classics. They're among the few labels that have earned my business on sound quality alone. Pentatone and RCA did a great job releasing old multi-channel recordings in SACD. There are many gems in both catalogs (and the RCAs are cheap!), but I single one out as being perhaps the finest opera recording I've heard:


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