Recommendations for close miked classical recordin


Anyone have any recommendations for excellent sounding close-miked classical recordings? Perhaps I spent too much of my formative years listening to rock and jazz, but what I'm looking for are orchestral works recorded as if one were sitting right in the middle of the orchestra alongside the musicians. So many classical cds I hear sound dull and lifeless, like you're sitting half way back in an empty auditorium. I want it to sound like the conductor is standing right between my speakers! (Of course the performance has to be top-notch too, or else it's a pointless exercise.) I'd appreciate any pointers anyone can provide.
warrensomebody
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.
As soon as I saw your question, I thought of the Mercury Living Presence recordings---but Rushton beat me to the punch.