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Some great sounding classical "warhorses" ??

When I changed over from LPs to CDs some years ago I intended to replace pretty much everything in my LP collection over time. Here are a handful of pieces that I still need. I'm hoping to find excellent sounding versions---natural, ungimmicked, good imaging, little or no digital artefacts, etc.---for these:

Espagna - Chabrier
Carmen Suite No. 1 - Bizet
Enigma Variations - Elgar
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - Britten
Capriccio Espagnol - Rimsky-Korsakov
Candide/Suite - Bernstein
Carmina Burana - Orff

Thanks!
beemerrider
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Telarc is a good label for excellent sound.
steveott
54 posts
 
For Elgar and Britten, check out this review of a new release by Paavo Jarvi and Cincinnati:

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/review.asp?reviewnumber=11818933

The review of the performance is favorable, and talks about the recorded sound a lot. But read the caveats about the two-channel sound.

I saw these forces do Mahler's 9th in Cincy Sat. night. 'twas very nice.

Steve O.
gawdbless's avatar
gawdbless
1,235 posts
 
You also try the 'Naxos' label for cheap but good recordings.
beemerrider OP
63 posts
 
Guys, I knew I would get some fine responses to this query and my "cart" on Amazon is starting to fill up! So good of y'all to help out.
texasdave
144 posts
 
I’m a long-time, heavy-duty, classical-music audiophile with a large classical CD collection (over 2,000 classical CDs), including multiple versions of all the “warhorses” on your list. Here are my recommendations for your choices, based on a balanced consideration of excellent performance and excellent sound.

1. Chabrier, Espagna. Dutoit, Montreal, Decca/London.
2. Bizet, Carmen Suites. Dutoit, Montreal, Decca/London.
3. Elgar, Enigma Variations. Andrew Davis, BBC, Teldec. A stunning recording, engineered by the great Tony Faulkner. May be hard to find, but well worth seeking out.
4. Britten, Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. The famous conductor-led performance on Decca/London is very fine but is not captured in the very best sound, even for its day. The Andrew Davis, BBC version on Teldec is terrific, engineered by the great Tony Faulkner. Again, it might be hard to find, but it’s well worth the search. My second choice is Previn, Royal Philharmonic, Telarc. Both of these have much better sound than the Britten-led performance.
5. Bernstein, Candide Suite. No recommendation.
6. Orff, Carmina Burana. Three good choices: Blomstedt, San Francisco, Decca/London (Grammy winner). Slatkin, St. Louis, RCA. Dutoit, Montreal, Decca/London. All three of these have excellent sound.
Happy listening.
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