i was just wondering if anybody has a list or a link to high quality CD recordings. I know that Telarc and Chandos are up there. any more brands you would recommend for jazz/classical?
Deutsche Grammophon ofcourse (recordings with Boulez in particuarly sound great and are great: brilliant conductor!) Philips Decca Although many recordings from these brands are multi-miked and can sound unnatural
Harmonia Mundi cd's however sound very natural, the same with Auvidis Astree (old music label, just like Harmonia Mundi)
Thanks guys. I have to disagree with you, nout. DG recordings are not great. They are not the worst either. But I have some Telarc and Chandos CDs and, in my opinion, they are just a totally different thing. The problem is that, as you noted, DG stands behind many great artists so if you want a piece performed by that artist, you're kinda stuck. It seems like "smaller" labels like Chandos, Telarc, Chesky, do not have a wide selection and tend to record only very few artists or orchestras. Do you have any particular webites where you look for these high-end recordings?
nout
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The problem is that, as you noted, DG stands behind many great artists so if you want a piece performed by that artist, you're kinda stuck.
I don't think I understand what you mean. As I noted? I noted that many recordings are multi-miked, with that I meant many microphones are used to record the performance, which tend to sound unnatural, I didn't comment on big names.
Soundwise and performance-wise DG has many great records, I don't care if those great records are performed by big names (with a huge marketing compaign behind it) or not, if the performance is great, that is all that matters to me.
Do you have any particular webites where you look for these high-end recordings?
Not really, I go to record shops or to the library to check new recordings...good sound comes second, performance is more important to me. I recently bought Mahler's 1st 2nd 4th and 6th by Rafeall Kubelik, one of the performances I ever heard...the sound is a bit shrill at times, but who cares?
"Do you have any particular webites where you look for these high-end recordings?"
I go to my favorite classical music store the Music Gourmet in Eugene or Classical Millinium in Portland. Borders carries some of this stuff which means you can get some of it on Amazon.
I wrote "as you noted" referring to your comment about Boulez. I assumed that's what you meant. So, I say that DG stands behind many great artists and offers a great selection.
"good sound comes second, performance is more important to me"
it is partly true to me, but how can you appreciate a performance if the sound quality is low (like some of the older performances that have been transferred on Cds?) They are very interesting to listen to for an "analytical approach" (I'm a musician, so that's what I do) but if I want to enjoy something, the sound quality needs to be really really good.
nout
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You have a point, I like a brilliant performance with good sound even better, but why would I prefer a crap performance with good sound over a good performance with crap sound?
Compare Beethoven's 3rd by Ozawa and the Saito Kinen Orchestra on Philips, excellent sound (both recording and orchestral playing) with David Zinman on Arte Nova and Jordi Savall on Auvidis Astree, both recordings (Zinman and Savall) are straight forward, good sounding but not any near the excellent sound of Ozawa's Philips recording.
But the performances by Savall and Zinman are way better than Ozawa's performance which only excells in beauty of tone, but is ultimately safe and dull, where Zinman and Savall are very exciting.
nout
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Another comparison:
Bernsteins West Side Story: the movie score sounds pretty crap, but I like that performance much better than Bernstein's own better sounding recording with Jose Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa, whenever I want to listen to the West Side Story I therfore play the (1960) soundtrack and not Bernstein's version.
Strauss' Don Quichotte by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (1959 recording) is so beautiful, I never heard a recent (better sounding) recording that matches this one, performance wise