Lipatti/HvK is head and shoulders above all other recordings I've heard of #21. One of the all time great Schumann piano concerto recordings on the same disc just makes it a no brainer, despite the relatively poor sound.
If you must have a stereo recording, Annie Fischer/Sawallisch/Philharmonia Orchestra is my 2nd favorite.
Regarding violinists, I absolutely concur with Tweekerman on Oistrakh/Cluytens/French N.O. on the Beethoven VC. Incandescent performance and I'm not a big fan of Oistrakh generally. I find his playing too willfull and mannered. I will also second Buxter66's high regard for Szigeti. His 1928 recording of Brahms' VC stopped my search for the perfect recording of my favorite violin concerto. I have over a dozen recordings of this piece and only Heifetz/Koussevitzky/BSO comes close. One caution when you look for Szigeti recordings - he developed an intonation problem as he got older, so I'd stick with his earlier output, with few exceptions.
Oh, and if you've read this far Buxter66, check out Gilels playing Beethoven PC #4 and 5 with Kurt Sanderling conducting Leningrad Phil on Monitor label. His only competitions are Michelangeli and Kovacevich. I agree some of his later recordings, especially with Szell were pretty atrocious, but most of his Beethoven piano sonata recordings on DG are comparable to Schnabel's. His Rachmaninov PC #3 on Testament also belongs with Horowitz's first 2 recordings of it as one of the greatest ever.
If you must have a stereo recording, Annie Fischer/Sawallisch/Philharmonia Orchestra is my 2nd favorite.
Regarding violinists, I absolutely concur with Tweekerman on Oistrakh/Cluytens/French N.O. on the Beethoven VC. Incandescent performance and I'm not a big fan of Oistrakh generally. I find his playing too willfull and mannered. I will also second Buxter66's high regard for Szigeti. His 1928 recording of Brahms' VC stopped my search for the perfect recording of my favorite violin concerto. I have over a dozen recordings of this piece and only Heifetz/Koussevitzky/BSO comes close. One caution when you look for Szigeti recordings - he developed an intonation problem as he got older, so I'd stick with his earlier output, with few exceptions.
Oh, and if you've read this far Buxter66, check out Gilels playing Beethoven PC #4 and 5 with Kurt Sanderling conducting Leningrad Phil on Monitor label. His only competitions are Michelangeli and Kovacevich. I agree some of his later recordings, especially with Szell were pretty atrocious, but most of his Beethoven piano sonata recordings on DG are comparable to Schnabel's. His Rachmaninov PC #3 on Testament also belongs with Horowitz's first 2 recordings of it as one of the greatest ever.