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Classical Music for Aficionados

I would like to start a thread, similar to Orpheus’ jazz site, for lovers of classical music.
I will list some of my favorite recordings, CDs as well as LP’s. While good sound is not a prime requisite, it will be a consideration.
  Classical music lovers please feel free to add to my lists.
Discussion of musical and recording issues will be welcome.

I’ll start with a list of CDs.  Records to follow in a later post.

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique.  Chesky  — Royal Phil. Orch.  Freccia, conductor.
Mahler:  Des Knaben Wunderhorn.  Vanguard Classics — Vienna Festival Orch. Prohaska, conductor.
Prokofiev:  Scythian Suite et. al.  DG  — Chicago Symphony  Abbado, conductor.
Brahms: Symphony #1.  Chesky — London Symph. Orch.  Horenstein, conductor.
Stravinsky: L’Histoire du Soldat. HDTT — Ars Nova.  Mandell, conductor.
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Analogue Productions. — Dallas Symph Orch. Johanos, cond.
Respighi: Roman Festivals et. al. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.

All of the above happen to be great sounding recordings, but, as I said, sonics is not a prerequisite.


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vindanpar
58 posts
 
On a well mastered cd of an excellently produced recording there is air around instruments and in the hall going back to the beginning of the stereo era and even on some mono recordings.

Some of the remastered recordings that have been coming out lately are jaw dropping. You feel like you are in the space with the performers. It's really kind of eerie how much information was captured on those tapes.



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rvpiano OP
2,669 posts
 
I totally agree.  Those remasterings of early stereo recordings on CD are wonderful.  The majority of CDs however don’t have the space that most LPs do.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
The best sounding albums I've ever heard, as in the performance is in my living room, are the Vanguard Classical's from the 50's, 60's . Very close
to live music  The ones with the circle saying"The Bach Guild " are !

I'll have to see if any CD's of them are available .
schubert
7,386 posts
 
There were and I ordered 5 CD’s from Amazon I have on Vinyl .
Somebody must agree with me on "The Late LvB Quartets " by the Yale Qt.
A vinyl box is available for only $214 .
craigl59
307 posts
 
Know nothing of vinyl because I abandoned it in the 80s.
Have found, however, that you can get a significant amount of air with CDs by upsampling them in JRiver to 192/24 then playing them back with a quality converter. Engineers have explained to me that the improvement happens during the playback conversion when the better SN ratio produces a quieter result that has, consequently, more "air."
Have also noticed that higher res digital files (94/24 is the studio standard) have this sense of "air" about them. 
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