Well Recorded Classical Symphonic Recordings


I enjoy all genres of music but especially large scale Symphonic works. My audiophile journey has been an effort to reproduce that music convincingly. I remember my first Symphonic concert that I attended. It was the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Stokowski as a guest conductor back in the 1960s. At the time I had just purchased a small tube based separates system fromEJ Korvette in NJ. It was $99.00 and had two small book shelf speakers, a Garrard Turntable and a very small10 watt tube amplifier. Sounded great to me at the time. When I attended this concert I was struck by how silken the strings sounded and how warm and burnished the brass sounded. My small system was not anywhere close to this sound.Thus began my journey to get closer to the real thing.

Now that I have finally gotten significantly closer, at the age of 77, I am enjoying my recordings more than ever. I am always searching for well recorded Symphonic music. In my experience it is very difficult to properly record a large orchestra. There are too many variables: microphone placement, types of microphones used, the actual venue which has a significant effect and the tastes of the producer, etc. I find the variability frustrating. There are recordings from the early 60s before multi-track and multi microphones recordings that sound better than those recorded recently.

Anyway I have been able to discover many excellent symphonic recordings that I will share with you. You may disagree but I enjoy these very much and as my system has evolved with better equipment these recordings have revealed more and sound even better.

Tchaikovsky Symphonies - Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra on DG.This cycle offers the best recording I've come across and it gets better as your system does. Plus the performance is spectacular. Try the Capriccio Italian which is included for a sonic spectacular. Actually all of Pletnev's Russian National Orchestra recordings on DG are excellent.

Beethoven Symphonies - These works have been a challenge for me. It's has been very difficult to find an acceptable recording. With Qobuz I've recently surveyed many recordings. Most are either too closely recorded, have the balance off, or a weird interpretation. As an aside I rarely like live recordings as they are miked too close to reduce audience noise and restrict the stereo spread and depth.The exception has been recent live recordings by the Boston Symphony which have moved the perspective back and allowed the Orchestra to breathe. Plus they have an excellent venue. Back to Beethoven. Not surprisingly I found the best recording again to be Pletnev's cycle with the Russian National Orchestra. Perfect balance, perspective and soundstage depth plus another great performance. I think the venue they use for this Orchestra is excellent and it reminds me of those great analog recordings Decca did in Kingsway Hall.

Rachmaninoff Symphonies - Pletnev again for all the same reasons.

Tchaikovsky Ballets (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker). Pavo Jarvi on the BIS label. Very well recorded and a blazingly exciting performance.

Prokofiev - For the Symphonies the cycle on Challenge Classics in HiRes with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic conducted by James Gaffigan ( not the Comedian). Prokofiev deserves a wide dynamic and spacious recording with a deep low end. These recording have it. For the Prokofiev Ballets: Romeo and Juliet with Ashkenazy on Decca and for Cinderella it's Pletnev again on DG. Both excellent recordings.

Finally for Mahler - I'm torn between the Boulez cycle on DG which is very well recorded and the various recordings on Telarc. Mahler needs a really dynamic and spacious approach to recoding his works. Both of these deliver but have different perspectives and sound quality. Both excellent but just different. I think I tend toward Boulez based on performance. His approach is the polar opposite of the classic Bernstein recordings which to me are overly dramatic.

Anyway my search continues.

 

 

jfrmusic

@newbee

Actually the COE doesn't affect my preference.Unlike you I actually prefer larger Orchestras and prefer her recording of the 2nd Chopin over the 1st. I guess I like the larger soundscape that a full orchestra brings to the recording. Also unless the performance is really weird I'm not to sensitive to that. I need a clear and spacious recording that is well balanced or it's difficult for me to enjoy it.

As for just Piano recordings I really enjoy YuJa Wang's recordings on DG. Her most recent recording "The Vienna Recital" is one of the most beautifully recorded solo Classical Piano recordings I've ever heard. What a balanced, warm, and life like recording!

The emphasis in the OP seems to be recording quality primarily so I will limit my recommendations to that.

Beethoven Cycle-the Herrewighe SACD cycle is the most natural sounding digital Beethoven that I know of.  A great sounding cycle from Heyday of Analog (HOA) would be Ormandy/Philly, particularly in Japanese reissue.

  Prokofiev- Andrew Litton/Bergen PO SACD

 Rachmaninov-ditto for above.

Mahler-I actually think the Bernstein first cycle has pretty decent sonics.  Chailly/Concertgebouw and also the Concertgebouw cycle featuring multiple conductors 

  Sibelius-not a complete cycle but the Karajan Blu Ray Audio are outstanding.  I also like Ormandy HOA and Blomstedt/SFSO.

  Shostakovich-Kitaenko/Colgne Gurzenich, originally SACD now High Resolution download 

 

again, these recommendations are based on sonics only

 

Buy Norman Lebrecht's book: "Why Mahler? How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed Our World" He discusses multiple interpretations of each symphony. If you like the Telarc sound, see Zander's Mahler 5 with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Abbado's second recording of the Mahler 6th with the Berlin is one of my favorites. Don't overlook Tennstedt, one of the greatest of all Mahler conductors "the instinct conductor" Lebrecht calls him. I have both complete Bernstein sets, and sound be damned, nobody does the ghostly Mahler Seventh like he does. Buy the book, though, it is unputable downable.

Dvorak Symphonies 7-9, L.A. Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.  Recorded by DG, but only available as download or streaming,  no CD for some reason.  Great sq and balance,  and imo the best interpretation I've yet heard.