When will there be decent classical music recordings?

"mic every instrument individually, and then have the conductor work with audio engineers to bring the piece back to life."

it's not a nightmare, it can be done. the best solution is to store the individual instrument recordings as master. Then have the different recording engineers /studios to "mix" the different instruments recordings according to their "taste" then market under their on labels . Since each audiophile have their different perception on the correctness & presentation of complex works, i guess this way we could have higher chance of getting the music style we each prefers. 

-philip

I find that most classical recordings deliver more detail, particularly for higher frequencies, than I hear in actual concerts.  Yes, someone on stage, like the OP has a different perspective, but, the records are meant to sound somewhat like what the audience hears.  Most recordings are made to sound vibrant and alive by kicking up the top end just a little bit more than natural, but, I sort of like this when I am listening at home.  

As for dynamic range of recordings, this is deliberately compressed for most classical recordings of large orchestral pieces.  I have a few supposedly uncompressed recordings that come with a big warning on the front of the CD about how loud it can get.  The extreme range makes it quite hard to play the recording with any kind of noise in the room whatsoever, and at full volume one has to worry a bit about how hard the speakers are being pushed.  I know someone who blew out a tweeter on such a recording and he swears it was not playing that loudly at that time.   I can see why recording companies don't make uncompressed orchestral music on a regular basis.

I find that most classical recordings deliver more detail, particularly for higher frequencies, than I hear in actual concerts.... Most recordings are made to sound vibrant and alive by kicking up the top end just a little bit more than natural, but, I sort of like this when I am listening at home.

As you most likely realize, Larry, that will happen to a significant degree even if no electronic equalization is applied during the engineering of the recording, since even if just two or three mics are utilized those mics will usually be positioned closer to the performers than most of the seats in a concert hall. And as distance increases treble frequencies attenuate more rapidly in air than lower frequencies.

Best regards,
-- Al

The difficulty in recording and reproducing large orchestras is why old-timers like J. Gordon Holt considered reproducing such recordings the ultimate challenge and test of a music system's capabilities. For the exact reason Al just explained, getting the high frequencies right, so that playback on speakers sounds like what listeners in the concert hall hear, is the hardest to accomplish. Should speakers be designed to sound "right" with recordings made using only a stereo pair of mics (some audiophile labels), a trio (as were the Mercury and RCA's of the 50's and early 60's), or many "mono" mics placed close to the instrument(s)? Each style of micing requires a different loudspeaker high frequency balance to produce the kind of sound audience members hear. Pop/Rock recordings are entirely different, a reference to live audience sound being non-existent. 

Tanya, I am sorry to say that what you suggest is...not how it should be. We listen with two ears, I certainly do. Two mikes. Not three or five or fifty - two.