[spectralman]

I just remebered another good one.  The Planets by Holst conducted by Zubin Mehta/LA Philharmonic on London is a great performance.  It comes in a 2 CD pack for around $17.   The other pieces on this set include Also Sprach Zarathustra (I'm not really a R Strauss fan however), Star Wars excerpts and Close Encounters suite.  Far and away the best performance of Beethovem's 5th is on DG conducted by Carlos Kleiber with the Wiener Philharmonic.  The recording is OK to good.  However, the performance has great emotion and pacing.

[John Casler]

Wow You guys have offered me a great selection to start aquiring.

Some of it actually arrived today and Tyson, I have to say that in doing a very quick "taste" of  Feeney's DRACULA, I am certain this is "reference" material.

The prolog alone had me scarred Sh*tless.

I also picked up the Telarc "1812 Overture" and I won't say I am disappointed, but I will be A-B'ing this and my Arthur Feilder version to see which is the better.  This will be a "shoot out" of the best 1812 O', and it will be a real match.

Although the Telarc has the "BIG" cannon shots, I find that running to the preamp to turn the volume down is kind of a pain and I have only had to do it once.

What is the fascination with blowing out speakers?

Another of my favorites that no one mentioned (a good recording of) is "Pictures at an Exhibition".  Is anything better than the The Great Gate of Kiev????

I have the Telarc Vinyl of Lorin Maazell and it is superlative.  I wonder if I can dub it to CD?  It is pristine.

I also found another Piano piece that has a reasonable soundstage.  It is a Dick Hyman piece on the Stereophile Test CD3.

Again thanks for your suggestions and don't be shy about more.

Lest I remind you, I am looking for accurate image and soundstage recordings, not nessesarily "stellar" musical peices, but stellar sonic engineering.

I want to offer my clients a schematic of a Symphony Orchestra and have suggestions of cuts they can listen to and be able to actually hear where the various horns, woodwinds, strings, percussion and such are placed if they have their systems set up properly.

I have this with my system with great recordings, it is Eargasmic    

[Tyson]

Another VERY excellent recording from a soundstage perspective is Beethoven's 5th symphony conducted by John Eliot Gardiner on the Archiv label.  Placement of instruments across the soundstage and front to back is superb.  Not to mention it is an absolutely killer performance, my 2nd favorite of all time (after Carlos Kleiber's seminal rendition, but the recording quality isn't as pristine as the Gardiner rendition).

Glad you like the Dracula piece - it's interesting music.  I saw the ballet live just 2 days after buying that disk.  The disk does a good job of capturing a lot of what I heard at the live performance (aside from the really hot ballet babes, that is. . .)

[cyounkman]

Tyson - I second the Gardiner/Beethoven. That whole cycle is just sublime (in a kick-ass sort of way). His 7 is in its own class for its languid, intense second movement; and his 9 is the most controlled, best-paced performance out there. (Mr. Gardiner's baton technique is surgical like no one since Reiner; he is also a highly respected academic who doesn't play at all academically.) And don't get me started on his soloists, who blend with all the refinement of a stellar string quartet--in tune, in unison, and completely in the service of the incredible vocal writing instead of their own diva agenda (in stark contrast to most).

Since it's a small, authentic orchestra it's an interesting sonic case:
The smaller forces lend themselves to the sort of point-to-it imaging that's not possible with behemoth ensembles; the instrumental timbres are rather different in some cases than the average listener will expect (ie, the oboe in the 7th). A system that is even a little sterile- or lean-sounding will emaciate the instruments in a most unflattering way.

The overall presentation is a bit studio-ish, which I always find odd in symphonic works; conversely, though, this orchestra would not fill an average hall the way we're used to. And the up-front presentation allows you to immerse yourself, slack-jawed, in the fiendish technical mastery of the performances.

[spectralman]

John,

The all-time greatest performance (note, I did not say best recording) of the 1812 Overture is Dorati's recording with the Minnesota Symphony Band on Mercury Living Presence 434-360-2.  The performance is the most emotional and driven one I have heard.  Plus, the cannon shots, while not of the impact of the Telarc's, are very good.

Bill

[BrunoB]

Another of my favorites that no one mentioned (a good recording of) is "Pictures at an Exhibition". Is anything better than the The Great Gate of Kiev????  

Pentatone has a new M-CH SACD of the "Pictures at an Exhibition". I don't know how good the sound is.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3 "Organ Symphony" featuring pianist Daniel Chorzempa and Mussorgsky's
 Pictures at an Exhibition performed by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edo de Waart
 from PentaTone Classics.

 Musicians: Daniel Chorzempa, organ (Saint-Saëns); Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edo
 De Waart.

 Selections:
 Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78 "Organ Symphony"
 1. Adagio - Allegro moderato
 2. Poco adagio
 3. Allegro moderato - Presto - Allegro moderato
 4. Maestoso - Piu allegro - Molto allegro
 Modest Mussorgsky
 5. Promenade
 6. Gnomus
 7. Promenade
 8. The Tuileries Gardens
 9. Bydlo
 12. Promenade
 13. Ballet of the Chickens in their Shells
 14. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
 15. The Market-place at Limoges
 16. The Catacombs
 17. Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
 18. The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba Yaga)
 19. The Great Gate at Kiev

[Tyson]

Here is another GREAT classical recording.  In a good setup, the Piano has it's own defined "space" in front of and seperate from the orchestra.  Superb playing too!