In Classical music the effect of SQ on appreciation

Hard to go wrong with Brendel on Phillips. Either his recordings with Neville Marriner, a tad more relaxed than his later re-makes with Mackerras which have a more spot-lit piano, but for me both are enjoyable. BTW, if you are interested in the Goldbergs, as it seems you are, you should hear Beatrice Rana's recent recording - outstanding I think and I easily enjoy it more than the others which preceeded it. 

Good recommendations from Newbee.

Also, for great sound and good performances try Mitsuko Uchida/Jeffrey Tate cond. the great English Chamber Orchestra on Phillips.

Still, I have to mention the fantastic interpretations with decent overall sound (if one can tolerate a little tape hiss and digititis from the Sony remastering) and typically exquisite piano tone from Murray Perahia with the same orchestra. Of note, and adding to the incredible cohesion between pianist and orchestra is the fact that Perahia himself conducts from the keyboard.

What newbee sez...

I feel I need to make one caveat.
As I mentioned in my opening post, the symphonies of Mahler are a special case.
They were really the impetus for my starting this conversation.
The orchestration is so rich, varied and complex in these works that the physical sound has more bearing on the final product than on most other composers’ works
Thusly, SQ becomes of paramount importance. A really fine performance which obscures the instrumentation can have a very deleterious affect on our judgement.
Conversely, a not so great but beautifully recorded account can be very seductive by the very nature of its sound.

In Mahler the orchestral pallet is all important.

One could make a similar argument for the impressionists.

One should attend at least one live performance of a Mahler Symphony. The last I attended was one of his 5th. I got to sit in the 'audiophile' section, Isle F (as I recall) and dead center. I was treating a couple of other concert goers who had not yet experienced Mahler except for a few CD's I'd lent them. They were wilted when we left. Oh my.....

Talk about being blown away. If you could get 10 percent of this experience in your home you'd be lucky. RV's last comment on this is correct but it is still, for me anyway, going to be no more than a pale reminder of the live event. 

Thanks for the MTT info. Is his 8th worthwhile? If so I'll get it - I really don't have many and still enjoy/prefer Solti's.