Great Performances that also Sound Great

[George]

I have become more and more tolerant of older recordings, especially historical ones. As a result, I've heard some incredible performances. However, sometimes, I just want to hear a great performance that also sounds great.

So, I'd like to hear some of your favorite performances that also sound great.

I'll start:

Gilels's incomplete Beethoven Piano Sonata set, DG

Rudy/Jansons: Rachmaninov PC set, EMI/Brilliant

Ashkenazy: Sibelius Symphonies, Decca   

Uchida: Debussy Etudes

Zimerman: Debussy Preludes

[dtwilbanks]

But I like the crackles, hisses and pops! 

[Todd]

Some I'd include:

Grieg, Piano Concerto – Andsnes / Jansons
Schubert, D850 – Andsnes
Schumann, Symphonies – Barenboim (Warner)
Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra - Fischer
Bartok, String Quartets – Takacs Quartet
Bartok, Piano Concertos – Schiff / Fischer
Beethoven, Piano Concertos – Sherman / Neumann
Beethoven, Piano Sonatas – Sherman (though sound does vary a bit)
Mahler 7 – Barenboim
Mahler 9 – Chailly
Debussy, Preludes – Beroff (Denon)
Szymanowski, Mazurkas – Kijanowska
Szymanowski, Piano Works – Anderszewski
Bach, B Minor Mass – Celibidache (maybe not SOTA, but fits the conception.  Not to everyone's taste.)
Mozart, Requiem – Harnoncourt
Chopin, Mazurkas (selection) – Block
Shostakovich, String Quartets – Danel Quartet

[George]

Thanks Todd:

I take it the Schumann coupled with the Grieg by Andsnes also sounds great?

I agree about the Danel DSCH SQ, nice stuff! 

[Todd]

I take it the Schumann coupled with the Grieg by Andsnes also sounds great?

Yes, but it doesn't meet the first criterion of your thread.

[George]

Yes, but it doesn't meet the first criterion of your thread.

Gotcha! 

[BorisG]

There are too many to list, but to be sociable, here are a few.

JS Bach  The Art of Fugue  Emerson String Quartet (DG)
CPE Bach  Cello Concerti   Bach Collegeum Japan (BIS)
Scarlatti  Sonatas  Sudbin (BIS)
Saint-Saens  Organ Symphony  Dutoit (Decca)
Resphigi  Roman Poems  Dutoit (Decca)
Berio  Sequenzas  (Naxos)
Britten  Cello Suites  Wispelwey (Channel Classics)
Hovhaness Symphonies 22 & 50  Schwarz (Delos)
Martin  Orchestral  Bamert (Chandos)
Schoenberg/Webern/Berg  Dorati (Mercury)
Scriabin  Pletnev (Virgin)
Shostakovich Symphony 8  Haitink (Decca)
Walton Symphony 2  Szell (Sony)

[George]

Thanks for the list, Boris! 

[Iago]

Dvorak - New World Symphony- Toscanini/NBC on RCA
Schubert - Symphony #8 (Unfinished) Sinopoli/Philharmonia Orch on DG

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

In terms of both musicality and sonics, probably the most astounding recording ever made:

Janos Starker playing Kodaly's Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello Op. 8
on a Period LP from the early 50s. (Period SPL 510)

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Dvorak - New World Symphony- Toscanini/NBC on RCA

A bit out of its element, here, I would think.

Then again, aural gold is certainly in the ear of the beholder!

[Dancing Divertimentian]

The Ravel thread on the opera board got me to thinking of these splendid discs:

[George]

Two great performances that also sound great AND look great too! 

[lukeottevanger]

You think so? I must admit, the cover art has always put me off buying these two discs. I shouldn't be so petty, I know, but Disney-stylings are resolutely not what these operas are all about IMO.

[George]

You think so? I must admit, the cover art has always put me off buying these two discs. I shouldn't be so petty, I know, but Disney-stylings are resolutely not what these operas are all about IMO.

I agree, I just think that they are fun and bring back nostalgia of the old WB cartoons.

Professional and even appropriate, no. Fun, yes. 

[lukeottevanger]

OK, I can go with that! Still, I'm not buying them till they're reissued with covers which emphasize the full expressionist angst which lurks beneath the surface of these unremittingly dour works. I'm a barrel of laughs, aren't I?

[karlhenning]

Pardon me, Luke, while I clear a bit of floor to roll on 

[DavidW]

Some of the best sounding recordings in terms of sound stage, vibrancy, clarity etc were done in the fifties!

[Don]

You think so? I must admit, the cover art has always put me off buying these two discs. I shouldn't be so petty, I know, but Disney-stylings are resolutely not what these operas are all about IMO.

I wouldn't buy them either, and I don't mind being petty.

[George]

Some of the best sounding recordings in terms of sound stage, vibrancy, clarity etc were done in the fifties!

Indeed.

Lets hear about them!