Horatio -
Telarc presents itself as an audiophile label, but I've found their recordings to be satisfying sometimes, and not so satisfying sometimes. After you buy yourself a recording of Bolero, I would rush out and buy the Robert Shaw recording of Stravinsky's Firebird on Telarc. I think all of us would agree that's a super recording of a super performance of some very colorful and thrilling music.
Decca does not really bill itself as an audiophile label, but very often produces superb recordings, and Decca has for decades had access to some of the great orchestras and conductors. Dutoit with Montreal is a great combination for either Ravel or Debussy, and there have been some excellent budget multi-CD issues of Dutoit's Ravel and Debussy. Again, if you like Bolero, you'll probably like most of what you hear by Ravel and Debussy.
Most of us were brought up thinking that Deutsche Grammaphon was THE elegant, premier imported record label (and I'm talking about us folks who are busting past 50 years old). Nowdays, DG has a spottier reputation among audiophiles. For example, vinyl collectors will go after Decca and EMI on a "foaming at the mouth" basis, but will often enough yawn at DG titles. There are many fine recordings in DG's vaults, but some say that DG overdid it with multi-miking, such that the sound of recordings DG made 20 - 30 years ago does not hold up as well as recordings some of the other labels made that were handled more simply.
I hope you enjoy your exploration of classical music. If it works for you, it will open up a lifetime of wonder and depth of expression. I will pass on this comment about Haydn from an old music teacher I had: "You will not really understand Haydn until you learn the language. And you will not learn the language until you spend time listening. Once you learn the language, you can then hear the subtleties and nuance of what he is saying." He said that in response to a comment somebody made about finding Haydn boring. (And that somebody may have been me. Within a few years, though, Haydn became--and still is--one of my favorite composers. It just took some real listening.) That comment applies to much in the classical music world.
Telarc presents itself as an audiophile label, but I've found their recordings to be satisfying sometimes, and not so satisfying sometimes. After you buy yourself a recording of Bolero, I would rush out and buy the Robert Shaw recording of Stravinsky's Firebird on Telarc. I think all of us would agree that's a super recording of a super performance of some very colorful and thrilling music.
Decca does not really bill itself as an audiophile label, but very often produces superb recordings, and Decca has for decades had access to some of the great orchestras and conductors. Dutoit with Montreal is a great combination for either Ravel or Debussy, and there have been some excellent budget multi-CD issues of Dutoit's Ravel and Debussy. Again, if you like Bolero, you'll probably like most of what you hear by Ravel and Debussy.
Most of us were brought up thinking that Deutsche Grammaphon was THE elegant, premier imported record label (and I'm talking about us folks who are busting past 50 years old). Nowdays, DG has a spottier reputation among audiophiles. For example, vinyl collectors will go after Decca and EMI on a "foaming at the mouth" basis, but will often enough yawn at DG titles. There are many fine recordings in DG's vaults, but some say that DG overdid it with multi-miking, such that the sound of recordings DG made 20 - 30 years ago does not hold up as well as recordings some of the other labels made that were handled more simply.
I hope you enjoy your exploration of classical music. If it works for you, it will open up a lifetime of wonder and depth of expression. I will pass on this comment about Haydn from an old music teacher I had: "You will not really understand Haydn until you learn the language. And you will not learn the language until you spend time listening. Once you learn the language, you can then hear the subtleties and nuance of what he is saying." He said that in response to a comment somebody made about finding Haydn boring. (And that somebody may have been me. Within a few years, though, Haydn became--and still is--one of my favorite composers. It just took some real listening.) That comment applies to much in the classical music world.