Recommendations for close miked classical recordin

Warrensomebody: If you want some Webern in close-miked bliss, get the Robert Craft Columbia recording of the complete Webern. It has exactly the sound you are looking for. However, for the trios and quartets it is not my favorite. That would be the Arditti quartet recording, out of print, CD only. It also has a close-miked sound, but not a severe as the Craft. If you can find a '6-eye' pressing (original) on Columbia as a box set GRAB IT!

As a couple of people have mentioned, close-miking an orchestra does not result in the best sounding recording - it all has to be mixed later, which always ends up sounding totally different than it does in the hall. This is not even to mention the problem of instruments bleeding over into the wrong mikes, which will always happen, even using directional mikes. The very best sounding orchestral recordings that the previous posters have mentioned were without exception miked from farther out in the hall, or far above the orchestra, using far fewer microphones than are used in today's digital world.

I guess I'm not so much interested in multi-miked / mixed recordings as simply ones that are recorded close up, with minimal hall ambiance. I think that just tends to dull the impact of the transients, string resonances, etc. I'd also like the drums to have a little more impact. I mean a kettle drum is all about drama, so why is it so often recorded in such a polite and aloof manner?

So maybe I should ask what you guys look for to ensure the best recordings sonically? Is there a reliable reference guide, some particular recording technique mentioned in the liner notes (natural soundstaging -- is that formally defined, or simply a casual term?), a particular recording company you look for? BTW, I just picked up Julia Fischer / Kreizberg "Russian Violin Concertos" on PentaTone SACD, recorded by Polyhymnia (former Philips Classics Recording Center people), and it meets my criteria.

My 2 cents: screw the sound quality and go for the best performances. Then get the best equipment you can to maximize what you love. It would be a real shame to select performances based on audiophile criteria. In general, audiophiles do NOT know diddley about music, with rare exceptions. Don't listen to the engineer's work, listen to the performers! My 2 cents.

Chashmal, I couldn't agree with you more! Excellent advice!