Best recordings for the following...

For the 4 Seasons my preference goes to the Philips recording of I Musici -- available separately (426 944-2) or, better still in a boxed Vivaldi Edition Vol.2 (456 186-2). IMO both volume 1&2 are excellent.

Praudio: The Dorati Nutracker on Philips is NOT the same as the Mercury one (which I currently prefer): the Mercury is with the London S.O. whereas the in Philips it's the Cenertgebouw.

For the Swan Lake my preference is M Tilson Thomas / London S.O. (Sony Classical). I also like the S Ozawa /Boston S.O. version on DG.

the best "nutcracker" that i've heard is the 1998 recording by the kirov orchestra/valery gergiev.it's a digital recording and the sonics are great.the penguin guide also gave it rave reviews.

perlman,stern and zuckerman made a live,digital cd of vivaldi's 4 seasons.again the sonics and performances are great.these are the best players in the world.it was recorded circa 1983 and is on the ddg label.