Recommendations for a few high SQ classical CDs
Solti's Beethoven #9 from 1972 on London Records (remastered) is a masterpiece. The sound quality is very good for a recording from that era, but the performance is unlike any other 9th...and superior to his later digital release. I usually prefer a quicker tempo for Beethoven, but Solti's interpretation with the Chicago Symphony is something very special. |
I would label Mahler's 1st as an introduction to Mahler, or "Mahler 101." It's a very good composition, but doesn't show the genius of his later works. A very good quality 1st is Riccardo Muti with the Philadelphia Orchestra on EMI. I like symphonies that were recorded on analogue tape, then mastered for CD. I can highly recommend James Levine's Maher #4 and the rest of his series with the Chicago and Philadelphia Orch. from the late 70s on RCA Red Seal. You'll find that the best quality classical recordings to be found are produced by a handful of record labels who specialized in this area. They employed top engineers and used recording techniques specific to this genre. |
I'd like to comment on SQ of some of the CD's listed. The Karajan New Years Concert was mentioned. First some history; Deutsche Grammophon's digital recordings from the 1980's are far from good sound quality. Sound was dry, harsh, and their technique of multi-mic'ing resulted in a closed-in and flat presentation. DG was far behind other record labels during the early years of the CD. My point is to steer clear of the early DG DDD recordings, as most were remastered later in an attempt to make them listenable. Now, I would assume the Japanese K2 CD would be superior to the DG issues for sale from US vendors. One last comment; The San Francisco Symphony's recordings from their record label are some of the best I've heard. It's true the SQ and performances are top class. Other major symphonies have created their own record labels and sell very high quality CD's. One that comes to mind is The London Symphony Orchestra. |
@glupson, First of all, I'll try to control my anger and disappointment at DG for screwing up the sound on such a vast catalogue of wonderful performances from many of the greatest artists, orchestras, and conductors who ever graced the stage. I usually watch the Vienna New Year's Concerts on PBS. I haven't heard the Karajan performance in its entirety, but there are several positives. It takes place in the Musikverein with its unique and unsurpassed sonics, and it has Karajan (albeit near the end of his life) leading the VPO in which they shared an amazing chemistry. IMO, live recordings from the Vienna "Great Hall" seem to sound a bit better than many of the other venues recorded by DG engineers. The ambience of that concert hall adds so much to the recording. The audio mix on the live TV broadcast usually sounds pretty good. Live TV broadcasting takes priority over music recording companies, so maybe the DG engineers are not allowed to use their standard over-mic'd recording techniques. Even so, they record and mix their own audio feed for a later release. I've never heard K2HD, but I own some Japanese SHM-CD's and Blu-spec and since they are simply remasters made from the original digital masters, to my ears they just sound like a cleaner CD with tipped-up highs. |
@n80, check out Anton Bruckner, one of the masters of the symphonic form. Symphony No. 7, 8 and 9 were written at the peak of his creativity. Symphony No. 4 "Romantic" is a good introduction to Bruckner since it is very melodic. Gunter Wand/ Berlin Philharmonic on RCA Red Seal has outstanding SQ with terrific performances. RCA Red Seal is one of the great classical labels known for high quality recordings. https://www.amazon.com/Symphony-7-Anton-Bruckner/dp/B00004YMJ0/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qi... https://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Symphony-No-8-Anton/dp/B00005Q66Y/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&... https://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Symphony-No-4-Anton/dp/B0000247D1/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&... ... and don't buy any remastered versions. |
