Bach Brandenberg Concertos CD Recommendation

Also agree with the English Concert/Pinnock recommendation. Rcprince captures my thoughts exactly.

Warchal/Slovak C.O. gets the Gold. Have no recommendations for the Silver nor for the Bronze as of yet(and i've heard enough)...Just curious, why do folks usually go for the big names??? Tweek

Benjamin Britten conducting the English Chamber Orchestra.
If you follow the Penguin guide it's their "Rosette" choice.
Also if you don't want historical instruments.

You should give Jordi Savall and his band on Astree a try. A close second is Pinnock and the English Consort. The Astree has uniformly better sonics, in fact Astree gets my vote for the best early music label because of their interesting repertoire, outstanding performances and state of the art sonics.

Preference for Period Instruments: Roy Goodman conducting the Brandenburg Consort on Hyperion Dyad CDD22001. This is at a bargain price fortunately. Superb sonics also.

Preference for Modern Instruments:
David Shifrin, director of The Chamber Society of Lincoln Center on Delos DE 3185. Superb sonics also.

Alternative: TafelMusik with Jeanne Lamon on Sony 66289. Also with great sonics.

All three choices offer in addition to the fine sound--- wonderfully alive and consumately stylized playing. Additionally, they are all musically and emotionally unmannered performances which touch the soul and heart. Take your pick and enjoy! If one can, buy all three. They are worth every dollar spent for the bountiful joy they will engender time after time.