Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

Goofyfoot, you are correct that there is plenty of high quality music today, but look at the labels u have listed; they are all indies or niche labels.
I was referring to a time when the mega-labels were buying up the quality labels and their studios; Polygram buys Decca and DG, Universal buys Polygram, Sony buys Columbia, EMI, RCA and all it's classical entities, etc. There were budget cuts and elimination of classical labels and studios. Teldec is no more; it is Warner Music, who at least is still recording classical.
My point is that in the 40s, 50s to 60s, music was a craft with many technical advances and the engineer was the most important person in the room.
The labels you list are what I look for when buying new music and they have a commitment to excellence and have contributed to further advances in technology. So u are absolutely correct that there is high-end music being produced. My point is the business went thru a period of instability and I realize I was also sounding very nostalgic for the pioneers of music recording.

"Plus the remastering and restoration releases from Andante, d'Orfeo, Testament, Music and Arts of America, and Pearl."

and I'm glad we have companies like these (also the Cheskys) to preserve the great music of the past. The major record labels either cut the classical budgets or shut down operations worldwide. That's one reason a company like Naxos is thriving.
I hope this makes sense of the earlier posts.

OK, thanks for clarifying Lowrider, now I see your point. Also, these smaller niche labels like Harmonia Mundi are able to rise from the ashes and become a major player in the recording industry. Even though they have been around for a fairly long time, it wasn't until the affordability of the compact disk that they could be taken seriously. In a way, I view this as an improvement but there is nothing to be gained from RCA Victor's lack of involvement by comparison to its past and no, that's not being overly nostalgic. I just wish there could be more of an emphasis put on live recordings and damn the mistakes, that's just part of the process.

It certainly seems that the Japanese remasters, especially sacds (e.g. HvK LvB 3), are superior to most others. After all, they have the largest per capita classical music audience of any country, and the technology as well.

Hi Goofyfoot. For Mahler, the DG remastering of Bernstein's cycle is superb. I have Boxes I and II, and not III, because the eighth is my least favorite and it is an older recording, and this version of the ninth is awful.

I purchased Lenny's ninth with the BPO separately, which is wonderful.