This ain't easy--I'll give a starter set, then move on:
Baroque--I'm a fan of the Harmonia Mundi recordings of the Philharmonia Baroque with Nicholas McGegan. The Corelli Concerti Grossi and Handel Water Music are both excellent on LP and CD, as are the CDs of Handel arias for soprano, bass and countertenor (Arias for Cuzzoni, Montanagna and Sensino--I'm sure my spelling stinks). Very spacious and lifelike recordings, very spirited playing. If you compare the Cuzzoni and Montanagna discs, you'll get a pretty good lesson in how miking techniques can change the sonic picture on the disc, as it's the same orchestra in the same space (I'm advised), but one disc is a Peter McGrath spaced omni recording, the other a Tony Faulkner coincident pair job. Very noticable differences, very good results in each case.
Classical--I think the 1962 DG Von Karajan Beethoven cycle is still the best overall, performance-wise, and sonically it seems better than DG's multi-miked later efforts. Prefer the LP. I also like the Decca recording of the Schubert 9th with Krips conducting; re-released on vinyl and still a fine record of a great symphony.
Romantic--I'll try to add some new recordings here and nominate Benjamin Zander's Telarc CD of the Mahler 9th, a breathtaking performance (and live concert recording--you know my preference lies there), as well as his Mahler 5th SACD on Telarc and the SF Symphony's recently released SACD (on its own label) of the Mahler 6th, another live performance with astonishing dynamics on the SACD version.
20th Century--Sonically, the Reference Recordings CDs of Bernstein pieces and the Copland Third Symphony are very impressive, and I like the performances a lot. I also like an older Argo CD with Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony of works by Samuel Barber, including his Essays for Orchestra and First Symphony--tremendous dynamics, overcoming a slight bit of digititis in the strings. Sugarbrie, does the bass drum really resonate like that in the Baltimore concert hall? In this and the Telarc recordings, on my system it has a tremendous impact, followed by a sort of rolling bass wave, sort of like what you hear in a cathedral when they hit the 32 foot stops. Flaps the old pants legs. Finally, I'll add the EMI recording of John Barbarolli conducting English string music, another LP reissue (of which I think Classic Records has a few still in stock), which has a beautiful Vaughn-Williams Tallis Fantasia. And then of course there's the classic Reiner/Chicago Scheherazade on RCA, Classic vinyl reissue (that's 20th century, technically).
Solo Piano--I keep returning to Nojima Plays Liszt on Reference Recordings-- an excellent recording and my favorite reading of the B-minor sonata.
Plenty of others, particularly the old RCAs and Mercs, but I gotta draft some documents.
Baroque--I'm a fan of the Harmonia Mundi recordings of the Philharmonia Baroque with Nicholas McGegan. The Corelli Concerti Grossi and Handel Water Music are both excellent on LP and CD, as are the CDs of Handel arias for soprano, bass and countertenor (Arias for Cuzzoni, Montanagna and Sensino--I'm sure my spelling stinks). Very spacious and lifelike recordings, very spirited playing. If you compare the Cuzzoni and Montanagna discs, you'll get a pretty good lesson in how miking techniques can change the sonic picture on the disc, as it's the same orchestra in the same space (I'm advised), but one disc is a Peter McGrath spaced omni recording, the other a Tony Faulkner coincident pair job. Very noticable differences, very good results in each case.
Classical--I think the 1962 DG Von Karajan Beethoven cycle is still the best overall, performance-wise, and sonically it seems better than DG's multi-miked later efforts. Prefer the LP. I also like the Decca recording of the Schubert 9th with Krips conducting; re-released on vinyl and still a fine record of a great symphony.
Romantic--I'll try to add some new recordings here and nominate Benjamin Zander's Telarc CD of the Mahler 9th, a breathtaking performance (and live concert recording--you know my preference lies there), as well as his Mahler 5th SACD on Telarc and the SF Symphony's recently released SACD (on its own label) of the Mahler 6th, another live performance with astonishing dynamics on the SACD version.
20th Century--Sonically, the Reference Recordings CDs of Bernstein pieces and the Copland Third Symphony are very impressive, and I like the performances a lot. I also like an older Argo CD with Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony of works by Samuel Barber, including his Essays for Orchestra and First Symphony--tremendous dynamics, overcoming a slight bit of digititis in the strings. Sugarbrie, does the bass drum really resonate like that in the Baltimore concert hall? In this and the Telarc recordings, on my system it has a tremendous impact, followed by a sort of rolling bass wave, sort of like what you hear in a cathedral when they hit the 32 foot stops. Flaps the old pants legs. Finally, I'll add the EMI recording of John Barbarolli conducting English string music, another LP reissue (of which I think Classic Records has a few still in stock), which has a beautiful Vaughn-Williams Tallis Fantasia. And then of course there's the classic Reiner/Chicago Scheherazade on RCA, Classic vinyl reissue (that's 20th century, technically).
Solo Piano--I keep returning to Nojima Plays Liszt on Reference Recordings-- an excellent recording and my favorite reading of the B-minor sonata.
Plenty of others, particularly the old RCAs and Mercs, but I gotta draft some documents.