Joshua
BEST SOUNDING RECORDINGS
The AS list which you sent me, seems to be targeted at audiophiles wanting to buy vinyl/digital recordings at a premium price, because of their (presumably) better sound quality. Like all lists, this one too has some universally acclaimed recordings and others which are highly personal or obscure recommendations. For many years I was buying classical recordings with the single minded purpose of collecting all the major works by well known composers. This method no longer works for me. Because, even though western classical music is based on fixed notations, conductors and musicians do take some liberty with how they interpret the music. Some composers like Mahler (who was a great conductor before he became a great composer) have left fairly detailed instructions about how their work should be performed. Even then a Mahler symphony conducted by Bernstein sounds quite different from the same symphony conducted by Boulez. Therefore it is essential to read reviews and listen to various recordings on internet radio/you tube, in order to discover which recordings are worth acquiring. The same composition acquires varying colors and hues in the hands of different conductors and musicians. Some of these colors and hues would probably be incomprehensible to the original composers
My method for buying classical music is as follows:
First: choose the conductor/musicians conducting/performing the work
Second: check if the orchestra they are performing with is a good one.
Third: check which works of a composer are on the recording
Fourth: check the label and the price
Audio quality only comes into the picture after all the above selections have been made. The best music is obviously owned by labels like - DG, EMI, Decca, Philips, Sony, BIS, Harmonia Mundi, Telarc, Chandos etc. I have never bought an audiophile recording from a niche label, because (in most cases) the musicians are advanced/enthusiastic/lowly paid amateurs, rather than top notch pros. Niche labels rely on small volumes and huge mark ups. Some funds
may be going into improving the sound quality. But generally the musicians are unknown, or relatively lesser known artistes who would be charging considerably less than established artistes. If niche audiophile labels ever release 'sonically superior' recordings of David Oistrakh, Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels, Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Boulez, Carlos Kleiber, Royal Concertgebouw, Berliner Philharmoniker, Weiner Philharmoniker etc, then I would consider paying a minor premium for audiophile sound quality.
