Record labels that master, classic vinyl music

He was certainly militaristic in the way he treated his musicians (Szell was worse), but for me, there are several indispensable recordings:

Bartok Concerto for Orchestra
Brahms Violin Concerto with Heifetz
Pictures at an Exhibition
Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky
Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije
Pines of Rome
Scherazade
Zarathustra

Have them all on the original Soundmirror SACDs which are quite good with the bonus of longer playing times (fillers), and Analogue Productions SACDs which sound even better.

Analogue Production releases are also available on LP. I haven’t heard them, but by all accounts, vinyl lovers love them. All SACD’s currently available at 1/2 price with exception of the Brahms.

https://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=results&searchtext=analogue%20productions&categoryid=4&LabelID=4868

BTW, the AP SACD of the Fielder/Wild Rhapsody in Blue & American in Paris is terrific.

Thanks! I forgot to say I also have several of the AP DSD and the Bartok you mentioned is the one I kept on vinyl (I like it). Some of the others you mentioned I still have as DSD but still don’t like them. For me Reiner works with those spectacular pieces because he always does spectacular (imo unfortunately also when it doesn’t fit) and the cymbal sound and implementation he uses always sounds like an army orchestra to me. I’m probably just not made for enjoying most of his work. And I don’t like the digital versions compared to vinyl (just checked the Bartok on both), but that’s not special with pure analog recordings.

But I again recognized that I indeed like the Bartok
at least one :wink:

Lots of good choices for all those works, though LP availability may limit options.

One personal experience. The 1st time I attended a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony was Ormandy & the Philadelphia Orchestra. Forty plus years on I still remember how surprised I was of the sound & visceral impact of the cymbals in the last movement. Every recording I had heard, and have heard since, pales in comparison.

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Yes, it’s certainly not the live impact of cymbals I don’t like, it’s the combination of the vintage sound of those recordings with the musical style of Reiner which reminds me of oompah music.

I see

Great digital as well DMM remastering doesnt sound so great in my system😞

I Always prefer Bernstein i am not fan of Karajan;

byt i wait for a master not a remastering, also i prefer to chose the symfonies i like of Beethoven, not all them are my favorites even when they are very Good.

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True, DMM usually doesn’t sound good. Reference recordings are worth a try, they really sound good. But the old analog sound even better.

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Agree with jazznut; Reference Recordings sound terrific. The good news is that there are so many first class interpretations, beautifully conducted & played. The 10 SACDs in my collection; all 9 Honeck/Pittsburgh Symphony releases & the Kansas City Symphony Saint-SaĂ«ns Symphony No. 3 “Organ”, are worth considering if the music is of interest. More good news, there’s a Honeck/PSO Tchaikovsky 4th coming, for which I have high expectations.

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