I put my recordings of HIP music into the closet with my hair shirts. I must admit that I’ve never liked the overscored, over produced, recordings of orchestral music. I welcomed Harnoncourt’s Beethoven, Berglund’s Sibelius, Mackerras’ Schubert and Brahms. What I found I loved the most was not HIP so much as the reduced forces and the clarity it brought. But, that probably explains why I love music for the solo piano and piano duets. Go figure. :-)
RV, I really don’t have a favorite that I don’t stray from often. But I do have a love for Puccini’s La Boheme by Shippers that has never diminished, and I have grown to appreciate Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s Debussy series. They are my go-to recordings of this music now.
FWIW, and I realize it may be a bit off topic, but in a prior post you referred to crying for the love of the first movement of Mahler’s 9th. Something I can appreciate and it occurs occasionally to me, just nothing of Mahler’s so much. What, who, actually does exactly this for me is a ’pop’ singer, Eva Cassidy. If you are not acquainted with her, but appreciate a great voice and can abide something not ’classical’ in our sense, you should listen to her. She died young and unappreciated in her early 30’s, but was later discovered in England (she’s from Appalachia). Her songs are so, so, beautiful and full of heart. I cry just thinking about her and I save her music for those times when I’m emotionally prepared to hear her. It’s that exquisite, for me at least. Just hear her ’Over the Rainbow’ juxtaposed to the perennial favorite version by Judy Garland. I could go on, she really winds me up! :-)