Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

I had the 4th, 5th and 6th symphonies of Tchaikovsky on CD by DG. One of the pieces (I confess that I can't remember which one now) sounded like the trumpets were recorded in a studio and poorly mixed in. It just sounded unnatural and improperly balanced. Despite Ted Libbey recommending this CD, I was more than happy to give it away and find something else.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like a DG CD.

Brownsfan, to refresh your memory, Josef Krips studied with Felix Weingartner in Vienna and became principle conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic before he was exiled out of Austria.
I'm guessing that may have been around 1948 when that Krips Schubert symphony was recorded. Also, the unfinished Mozart Requiem is beautiful, possibly my favorite. His Don Giovanni with the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra is possibly thought to be his greatest recording achievement. Cesare Siepe is Don Giovanni and a young Lisa Della Casa plays Donna Elvira.

Now I am very curious about that Krips Don Giovanni recording. Krips is an interesting conductor. I have Siepe singing the Don on the Leinsdorf recording, which is nice, and I also like that they recorded all of the opera, even the numbers that are almost always cut in the last act. The best Don Giovanni, though, is Giulini's. Absolutely fantastic, as is his Figaro. By the way, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra are one and the same ensemble - always have been.

Learsfool, I apologize but I made an error, I meant to say the Vienna State Opera Chorus. I have the Josef Krips, Don Giovanni on vinyl. It's an 8 sided London mono box set which was given to me. I just wish that I had a better mono cartridge since all of the vinyl that I own is in mono. The other complete Don Giovanni that I have is the Glyndebourne Festival Opera Company with Fritz Busch as conductor on RCA Victor but admittedly its condition is somewhat sketchy so it sits in the misfit bin. I would certainly recommend the Josef Krips recording. I have a Rene Jacobs Le Nozze di Figaro on Harmonia Mundi which is a period performance and I would way recommend that also.

Hi Goofyfoot - I used to have a copy of that Glyndebourne one, but I didn't care for it as much as those others I mentioned, so I sold it. Haven't heard the Rene Jacobs. For the period instrument Mozart, I really like Gardiner, though I think I only have a copy of his Magic Flute, not any of the other operas.