Most Realistic Recordings

Thanks, tisimst, for this thread. As many have pointed out, it is unusually civil and constructive for this forum.

My two cents:

First, I agree with zgas-music about the general principle that "small ensembles" (and, by extension, solo instruments) sound best on one's home system. It's really not possible to reproduce a symphony orchestra in a grand space like the Musikverein convincingly in one's living room. So, from small to large, emphasizing idiosyncratic options others have not yet mentioned:

Solo piano: Beethoven's Sonatas opp. 57 and 111 by Carol Rosenberger on Delos. Not my favorite performances, but strong and confident—and she plays them on a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. This piano doubles the bass strings, and has an enormous sound. Arguably, this is "inauthentic" for Beethoven, as he composed these pieces for the pianoforte, a very different, much more modest instrument. But these two sonatas are "heroic" indeed, and sound "superheroic" on that super piano. The recording was made in 1981, at the very beginning of the digital era (it is a digital recording). Early digital notoriously sounds harsh. Not this CD.

Ivo Pogorelich's performance of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" on DGG is very natural-sounding. An audiophile friend turned me on to this recording, and I agree with his embrace of it.

Solo violin: Hilary Hahn's first recording of the Bach sonatas and partitas. Unpretentious artistry intimately recorded.

Solo cello: bdp24 recommended Starker on the original Mercury vinyl, and I wholeheartedly agree. I have owned that 3-LP box set since high school, and it is one of my prized possessions. There are three different recordings/performances by Starker; the Mercury set from the early 1960s is the best by far, both for sound and for interpretation. IMO, this is what Bach himself would have chosen from that huge field of alternatives. But I also agree with mceljo that the Bailey on Octave is outstanding, and has great sound. For that matter, Bailey's earlier performance on Telarc is also outstanding in both respects. 

ECM has been recommended by several folks, and I will concur there too. Jarrett, of course, but almost anything else as well, including their experimental stuff. Manfred Eicher is a genius, and the guiding force behind the label. If you like choral music, check out Vox Clamantis, a CD called "Filia Sion" (Gregorian chant, with other medieval things done in a slightly contemporary fashion, and gorgeously recorded). But one of my very favorite disks is Arvo Pärt's "Te Deum" on ECM. About half an hour of pure bliss! 

For Haydn symphonies (small ensemble performances, spectacularly well recorded), try any of the Orpheus versions on DGG. My favorite is probably No. 53, "L'Imperiale," but they're all good. And available cheap on eBay. The Orpheus performance of Beethoven's complete "Creatures of Prometheus" music is another favorite, and one of my "reference recordings." I've written about it on other threads. If you know Beethoven, you'll know the Overture to this piece, but the incidental music that follows it—an entire CD of little-known middle period Beethoven—is just as compelling.

Haydn's "Creation" ("Die Schöpfung") is another of my reference recordings, performed by Gardiner (his Beethoven cycle on original instruments, which was praised by someone above, is also outstanding), on Archiv. This is a big piece, with orchestra, chorus and soloists, but it is so well recorded here it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. And it's wonderful music.

Finally, just to shut myself up: "Uncommon Ritual," an odd but delicious album of miscellany by Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck and Mike Marshall (so, acoustic bass, mandolin, guitar, and banjo) is really beautiful, and so naturally recorded it feels very much like they're all in the room with you.

FWIW, my wife is a pianist, my daughter a violinist, and I play cello. We play together in the house all the time, so my ears are attuned to how those instruments sound in my listening space. These recordings faithfully reproduce the timbre, scale, and presence of piano, violin and cello with amazing fidelity.

So many great additions to my list of classical music to try out. I don't often listen to classical and I now have a full list to dive a little deeper into thanks to this thread. Appreciation to everyone for posting and the OP for starting the thread.

I was recently considering starting a similar thread since there is often talk about a system that can produce that "Live" sound. Since you want live here are contributions I find well recorded and worthy of mention.

Led Zeppelin - "How The West Was Won"

Unsure how such a fantastic recording comes out of a live concert from 1972 in Long Beach from a band known for poor production quality. Side 1 is fantastic.

Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris - "Real Live Road Running"

I listen and feel deprived. Of all the concert missed! The whole album is a pleasure.

Shawn Colvin - "Live"

A recent find, thanks to Roon/Qubuz, from an artist I've followed since her first album in the 80's and recorded in my town. A guitar and Mic. Simply perfect.

--Another Jerry

I wouldn't say it's exactly realistic, but it sure is exciting: Talking Book by Stevie Wonder. Stevie plays every instrument on some tracks, including drums (and blind at that!). "Superstition" rocks like mad, especially the clavinet and drums.

@fstein 

It's not the recording. It's the speakers.

We both know that speakers are the weakest link in the audio reproduction chain. That's kind of why I left speakers (or electronics, or room, or setup, etc.) out of my question, because I don't want the infinite variety of gear to dominate the conversation. Every piece of hardware, from the moment the sound wave hits the microphone's diaphragm, to the time a new soundwave is created by the speaker, changes the signal to some degree so that what we end up hearing is not quite what was originally produced. Some pieces of gear affect it more, others less so. I think we can all agree on that. This is why I left my question more subjective.

I want to hear if you feel like you have heard a recording, whether on your system or elsewhere, that you felt sounded more real than not. Because, if you have heard something like that, then someone else might, too, even on a different system from yours! It might be the clarity and soundstage of the presentation, it might be the ambience was captured particularly well, it could be that the relative dynamics from each "voice" (whether human or instrument) was as balanced as if heard in person, it could be that you felt that "full body" experience you get when you are at an in-person event. It's up to you! If you've had that experience, I'd love to know what you heard so that I can try it out, too.

@lrlacosse 

Ahh!!  The search for the Holy Grail!   That's why we are all here!

It could be. I like great sounding music. Sometimes I'm really in the mood to hear something as if live, but not most of the time. Any suggestions for me of something you heard that had a more realistic feeling?

@larry5729, @snilf, @manogolf, and @bdp24  thank you for all those suggestions!

i would imagine that at least in theory [i've never been privileged to hear an ambisonics recording on a full height-channel ambisonics system] that the full [height channel] ambisonics recordings in the right room would be the literal height of aural "you are there" realism.