Excellent thread idea, RVPiano.
Thought about this a while as I have been collecting since the 70s and have too many favorites to list.
So here are three "fives" that are extraordinary for both their performances and recording quality (for their day, of course):
1. Karajan’s 1963 recording of the Beethoven 5th for DG and recently issued in HD digital formats. The third and fourth movements (played without pause) are a test for the bass and dynamics of any audiophile system. The orchestral playing defines the nature of "kick-@@@" performance.
2. Chailly’s 2013 recording of Mahler’s 5th with the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Sometimes cited by engineers as the best orchestral recording ever made (from a technical standpoint) its extreme transparency mirrors Chailly’s performance style of adherence to the composer’s score. And speaking of scores, the Blue-ray visual is so accurate you can read the scores of the performers in front of them...
3. Davis’s 2014 of Nielsen’s 5th with the London Symphony Orchestra. This hybrid issue has multiple recording formats presented and I find the 96/24 FLAC the best for my stereo system and the DTS-HD MA 192/24 best for a 5.1 system. If you enjoy locating instruments as they sit in an orchestral soundstage, this should be one of your friends.
Might also be interesting to consider the reverse: the best recording ruined by terrible fidelity...
...and I suggest one candidate would be the Furtwangler Brahms Symphonic recordings ranging from 1947-51 and released by Major Classics. The first disc (and symphony) is fine and shows how well radio broadcasts can be presented in modern digital form. It also shows the personable and innovative style of Furtwangler, which is very enjoyable and hints at why he was such an influence on Karajan and others.
Then the rest of the discs (and symphonies) are laughably bad as regards fidelity. But the performances are just as good. So there is this huge tension between trying to like the performance while being disgusted with the sound. Worth trying once for the laughs...
Thought about this a while as I have been collecting since the 70s and have too many favorites to list.
So here are three "fives" that are extraordinary for both their performances and recording quality (for their day, of course):
1. Karajan’s 1963 recording of the Beethoven 5th for DG and recently issued in HD digital formats. The third and fourth movements (played without pause) are a test for the bass and dynamics of any audiophile system. The orchestral playing defines the nature of "kick-@@@" performance.
2. Chailly’s 2013 recording of Mahler’s 5th with the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Sometimes cited by engineers as the best orchestral recording ever made (from a technical standpoint) its extreme transparency mirrors Chailly’s performance style of adherence to the composer’s score. And speaking of scores, the Blue-ray visual is so accurate you can read the scores of the performers in front of them...
3. Davis’s 2014 of Nielsen’s 5th with the London Symphony Orchestra. This hybrid issue has multiple recording formats presented and I find the 96/24 FLAC the best for my stereo system and the DTS-HD MA 192/24 best for a 5.1 system. If you enjoy locating instruments as they sit in an orchestral soundstage, this should be one of your friends.
Might also be interesting to consider the reverse: the best recording ruined by terrible fidelity...
...and I suggest one candidate would be the Furtwangler Brahms Symphonic recordings ranging from 1947-51 and released by Major Classics. The first disc (and symphony) is fine and shows how well radio broadcasts can be presented in modern digital form. It also shows the personable and innovative style of Furtwangler, which is very enjoyable and hints at why he was such an influence on Karajan and others.
Then the rest of the discs (and symphonies) are laughably bad as regards fidelity. But the performances are just as good. So there is this huge tension between trying to like the performance while being disgusted with the sound. Worth trying once for the laughs...