OTHER GOOD RECORDS:

This is the Tino's second list which contains very good records, but not my very best audiophile records, which you can find here. In any case I like very much also these records. So, may be, you can find some good idea for your next Christmas self-present!

MERCURY SR90310 (Classic Rec. reissue) Balalaika Favorites Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart This is a very good record. The music is something unusual, but the strange instruments used recreate a true slavish atmosphere. Do not miss the Rimski-Korsakov bumble-bee. Also in this record you can find the true MERCURY fast speed.	MERCURY SR90144 (Classic Rec. reissue) AA.VV. “Hi-Fi a la Espanola” and others Frederick Fennel Eastman-Rochester Pops Orch. Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart This is probably one of the most wanted “Golden-Age” records, even if I don't like so much the musical program. But it is spectacular. I also have the feeling that the Classic Records reissue of the best Mercury have a superior sound with respect to the Speakers Corner ones.
MERCURY SR3-9016 (Speakers Corner reissue) J.S. Bach 6 cello suites Janos Starker Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart This is not my preferred interpretation of the Bach masterpiece (for me, one of the best music ever made) but it is a good one and it also has an audiophile sound. If you are more romantic listen the Fournier interpretation (DGG). If you are more filologic, have you tried the Wispelwey one (on CHANNEL)?	MERCURY SR90303 (Speakers Corner reissue) Dvorak cello concerto + Bruch “Kol Nidrei” Antal Dorati London Symphony Orchestra Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart This is probably the best version of this very beautiful concert. Great sound! Of course, also the Kol Nidrei is a wonderful piece...
RCA LSC2225 (Classic Rec. reissue) Arnold “Tam O'Shanter” (overture) + Mussorgsky “Night on Bare mountain” + Saint-Saens “Dance Macabre” + etc. Alexander Gibson New Symphony Orchestra Sound eng. A. Reeve & J. Walker (+Wilkinson help?) This is one of the most famous audiophile record, in particular because of its “explosive” program.	RCA LSC2313 (Classic Rec. reissue) Verdi “Traviata” + Ponchielli “Dance of the hours” + etc. Sir Georg Solti Royal Opera House Orch. Sound eng. K. J. Wilkinson The very impressive “DECCA” soul in a RCA elegant body. Try to listen to the London metro toward the end of the first side... Trick: the Decca “The World of” SPA347 will give you 80% of the sound quality at a fraction of the RCA cost.
RCA LSC2183 (Classic Rec. Reissue) Ravel “Rapsodie Espagnole” + Rachmaninoff “Isle of Dead” Fritz Reiner Royal Chicago Symphony Orch. Sound eng. ? Another strong performance of Reiner very well recorded.	RCA LSC2456 (Classic Rec. Reissue) Lalo Symphonie Espagnole Henryk Szeryng Walter Hendl Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sound eng. ? The sound of the orchestra is not recorded at its best but the Szeryng violin is someway magical. Listen carefully the second side and... enjoy!
HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE HM1057 Haydn “Zingarese-Landler-Nocturnes” Michael Dittrich Bella Musica de Vienne Sound eng. J.-F. Pontefract I like very much the Zingarese sound!	HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE HMU1015 Musique de la Grèce Antique G. Paniagua Atrium Musicae Sound eng. A. Paulin Another very famous HM record. OK, the program is not exactly what you are expecting from “folk music”, but the sound is extraordinary and Paniagua hit another very original work.
DECCA SXL6426 Schubert Arpeggione and Bridge Sonata Mitislav Rostropovich and Benjamin Britten Sound eng. ? That is probably my most expensive record, since it is the WB first edition. In any case it is a true delight, in particular for Schubert.	DECCA SXL2266 (Speakers Corner reissue) Rossini Overtures Pierino Gamba London Philharmonic Orch. Sound eng. ? I will be honest: I'm biassed with this record because it was one of my preferred when I was a child who played his father's records. Listen the William Tell overture and let me know!
DECCA SXL6088 (Speakers Corner reissue) Mozart Sinfonia Concertante + Duo KV423 David & Igor Oistrakh Kyril Kondrashin Moscow Philharmonic Sound eng. ? Nice record! The Duo is very useful to understand if your system is able to distinguish between the violin and the viola sound.	DECCA SXL6632 NB Beethoven sonata “Kreutzer” Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy Sound eng. K. J. Wilkinson This is not a famous record, but -honestly- I can't find any good reason why it should not be included in this list!
DECCA Oiseau Lyre SOL325 Renaissance Duets Anthony Rooley and James Tyler Sound eng. ? I always prefer Decca L'oiseau Lyre to DGG Archiv records. This is a nice example of very well recorded lutes (1972).	DECCA-Telefunken 6.35045-2 Monteverdi “Vespri della Beata Vergine” Jurgen Jurgens Nikolaus Harnoncourt Concentus Musicus Wien Sound eng. ? This is a very nice box. A very good performance (on original instruments) well recorded.
DECCA-Telefunken SAWT 9541 B Telemann “La Lyra” Frans Bruggen Concerto Amsterdam Sound eng. ? This is a wonderful old record. Some interpreters: Jaap Schroeder, Paul Doctor, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Bruggen. I have found it NOS!	DECCA-Telefunken 6.35045-2 J. S. Bach cantate Peasant and Coffee Nikolaus Harnoncourt Concentus Musicus Wien Sound eng. ? This is a enjoyable record.
DGG Archiv 198318 Vivaldi concertoes Wolfgang Hofmann Kammerorcheste Emil Seiler Sound eng. H. Baudis This is probably the best sounding Archiv that I have. The violin concerto “per eco lontano” is impressive.	DGG MG1030 (Japan pressing) Beethoven symphony n7 Carlos Kleiber Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra Sound eng. K. Scheibe Who said that DGG never did an audiophile-grade recording? Try to find the Japan pressing of this famous record (I have found it in a Frisco's used-records shop) and let me know. BTW, Carlos Kleiber is my favoured director (yes, I think he his the best one!). If you like this work try to listen also the Guido Cantelli (EMI) interpretation: the second movement will make you cry!
CAPITOL SP8382 (CISCO reissue) Dvorak and Glazunov violin concertoes Natain Milstein Steinberg Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra Sound eng. ? A great performance of Milstein, well reissued by Cisco.	EMI ASD331-3 Bizet Carmen (complete) Victoria de Los Angeles and Nicolai Gedda Sir Thomas Beecham Orch. National de la Radiodifussion Francaise Sound eng. ? This Carmen has a really audiophile sound!
PHILIPS 9500323 Stravisnky “Le sacre du Printemps” Colin Davis Concertgebow Orkest Amsterdam Sound eng. ? This recording is very well done, even if the instruments appear to be very large, like if you are in the middle of the orchestra. Great dynamic!	PHILIPS 6575043 J.S. Bach Musikalisches Opfer Gustav Leonhardt Sound eng. ? The SEON records are the original instruments line of Philips. Usually they are recorded very well.
ASTREE AS4 Marin Marais“Pieces de Viole du second Livre” Jordi Savall, Anne Gallet and Hopkinson Smith Sound eng. G. Kisselhoff Yes, this is another “Follia”! This one was recorded some years before the Paniagua's more famous HMF record. But all the record is very nice, like all the Savall records made for the french Astreé label.	ASTREE AS37 Music de Ioye Hesperion XX Jordi Savall Sound eng. T. Gallia Thomas Gallia was a great sound engineer. He also pioneered the “sphere” microphone. He made a lot of EMI and Deutche Harmonia Mundi records, but I think his best results can be found in the Astreé catalogue. Here you can find an example of how well recorded are the Savall, Coin and Maurette violas, not to mention the other performers.
Sheffield LAB10 J. S. Bach, Albeniz, Turina, de la Maza Michael Newman: Classical Guitarist Sound eng. Doug Sax Maybe the Chaconne interpretation is not the best one, but the sound of this guitar is tremendously realistic! That is a Direct-to-Disc record.	Vanguard - Analogue Production APC 005 Gottschalk A night in the Tropics, Gould Latin-American Symphonette MauriceAbravanel Utah Symphony Orchestra Sound eng. Marc Aubert (?) - Doug Sax The Rumba at the beginning of side B is really stunning.
HARMONIA MUNDI - EMI 7496141 Digital DMM J. S. Bach Johannes Passion BWV245 Sigiswald Kuijken La Petite Band Sound eng. K. L. Neumann and T. Gallia Who is scared by the digital wolf? One of his heir told me that this is one of the best recording ever made by Thomas Gallia and -actually- it is digital! The sound is really great, even if different from a great analogue sound. Most impressive are the soloists which simply “apparate” in my room.	HUNGARATON SLPD12684 Digital Vivaldi 5 violin concertos Jaap Schroder Capella Savaria Sound eng. F. Pécsi Another very good digital record, this time from Hungaraton, who can believe? Schroder was one of the Telefunken star.
REFERENCE RECORDING RR25 Liszt sonata in B min, Mephisto Waltz, La Campanella,... Minoru Nojima Sound eng. K. O. Johnson Another great hit of RR, which obtained a true piano sound.	RCA - CHESKY CR1 Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique Massimo Freccia Royal Philharmonic Sound eng. K. G. Wilkinson Another great Wilkinson recording, the first reissued by the Chesky brothers.
Pierre VERANY 8222 Soler, Albero, Ferrer, De Nebra Jean-Marie Puli Sound eng. ? The most audiophile cembalo I have ever heard. Note that the cembalo is quite a difficult instrument to be listened from an audio system, while it is not when you listen it in live concertos. So a good cembalo record is also a very useful audio test.	TACET L74 Corelli, Biber, Vivaldi, Boccherini and Sammartini Stuttgarter Kammerorchester Sound eng. A. Spreer, R. Kistner Impressive sound. I like very much the Boccherini “Ritirata per le vie di Madrid”.
Updated October 2011	To be continued?

MERCURY SR90310 (Classic Rec. reissue)

Balalaika Favorites

Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra

Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart

This is a very good record. The music is something unusual, but the strange instruments used recreate a true slavish atmosphere. Do not miss the Rimski-Korsakov bumble-bee. Also in this record you can find the true MERCURY fast speed.

MERCURY SR90144 (Classic Rec. reissue)

AA.VV. “Hi-Fi a la Espanola” and others

Frederick Fennel Eastman-Rochester Pops Orch.

Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart

This is probably one of the most wanted “Golden-Age” records, even if I don't like so much the musical program. But it is spectacular. I also have the feeling that the Classic Records reissue of the best Mercury have a superior sound with respect to the Speakers Corner ones.

MERCURY SR3-9016 (Speakers Corner reissue)

J.S. Bach 6 cello suites

Janos Starker

Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart

This is not my preferred interpretation of the Bach masterpiece (for me, one of the best music ever made) but it is a good one and it also has an audiophile sound. If you are more romantic listen the Fournier interpretation (DGG). If you are more filologic, have you tried the Wispelwey one (on CHANNEL)?

MERCURY SR90303 (Speakers Corner reissue)

Dvorak cello concerto +

Bruch “Kol Nidrei”

Antal Dorati London Symphony Orchestra

Sound eng. C.R. Fine & W.Cozart

This is probably the best version of this very beautiful concert. Great sound! Of course, also the Kol Nidrei is a wonderful piece...

RCA LSC2225 (Classic Rec. reissue)

Arnold “Tam O'Shanter” (overture) +

Mussorgsky “Night on Bare mountain” +

Saint-Saens “Dance Macabre” + etc.

Alexander Gibson New Symphony Orchestra

Sound eng. A. Reeve & J. Walker (+Wilkinson help?)

This is one of the most famous audiophile record, in particular because of its “explosive” program.

RCA LSC2313 (Classic Rec. reissue)

Verdi “Traviata” +

Ponchielli “Dance of the hours” + etc.

Sir Georg Solti Royal Opera House Orch.

Sound eng. K. J. Wilkinson

The very impressive “DECCA” soul in a RCA elegant body. Try to listen to the London metro toward the end of the first side... Trick: the Decca “The World of” SPA347 will give you 80% of the sound quality at a fraction of the RCA cost.

RCA LSC2183 (Classic Rec. Reissue)

Ravel “Rapsodie Espagnole” + Rachmaninoff “Isle of Dead”

Fritz Reiner Royal Chicago Symphony Orch.

Sound eng. ?

Another strong performance of Reiner very well recorded.

RCA LSC2456 (Classic Rec. Reissue)

Lalo Symphonie Espagnole

Henryk Szeryng

Walter Hendl Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Sound eng. ?

The sound of the orchestra is not recorded at its best but the Szeryng violin is someway magical. Listen carefully the second side and... enjoy!

HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE HM1057

Haydn “Zingarese-Landler-Nocturnes”

Michael Dittrich Bella Musica de Vienne

Sound eng. J.-F. Pontefract

I like very much the Zingarese sound!

HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE HMU1015

Musique de la Grèce Antique

G. Paniagua Atrium Musicae

Sound eng. A. Paulin

Another very famous HM record. OK, the program is not exactly what you are expecting from “folk music”, but the sound is extraordinary and Paniagua hit another very original work.

DECCA SXL6426

Schubert Arpeggione and Bridge Sonata

Mitislav Rostropovich and Benjamin Britten

Sound eng. ?

That is probably my most expensive record, since it is the WB first edition. In any case it is a true delight, in particular for Schubert.

DECCA SXL2266 (Speakers Corner reissue)

Rossini Overtures

Pierino Gamba London Philharmonic Orch.

Sound eng. ?

I will be honest: I'm biassed with this record because it was one of my preferred when I was a child who played his father's records. Listen the William Tell overture and let me know!

DECCA SXL6088 (Speakers Corner reissue)

Mozart Sinfonia Concertante + Duo KV423

David & Igor Oistrakh

Kyril Kondrashin Moscow Philharmonic

Sound eng. ?

Nice record! The Duo is very useful to understand if your system is able to distinguish between the violin and the viola sound.

DECCA SXL6632 NB

Beethoven sonata “Kreutzer”

Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy

Sound eng. K. J. Wilkinson

This is not a famous record, but -honestly- I can't find any good reason why it should not be included in this list!

DECCA Oiseau Lyre SOL325

Renaissance Duets

Anthony Rooley and James Tyler

Sound eng. ?

I always prefer Decca L'oiseau Lyre to DGG Archiv records. This is a nice example of very well recorded lutes (1972).

DECCA-Telefunken 6.35045-2

Monteverdi “Vespri della Beata Vergine”

Jurgen Jurgens Nikolaus Harnoncourt Concentus Musicus Wien

Sound eng. ?

This is a very nice box. A very good performance (on original instruments) well recorded.

DECCA-Telefunken SAWT 9541 B

Telemann “La Lyra”

Frans Bruggen Concerto Amsterdam

Sound eng. ?

This is a wonderful old record. Some interpreters: Jaap Schroeder, Paul Doctor, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Bruggen. I have found it NOS!

DECCA-Telefunken 6.35045-2

J. S. Bach cantate Peasant and Coffee

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Concentus Musicus Wien

Sound eng. ?

This is a enjoyable record.

DGG Archiv 198318

Vivaldi concertoes

Wolfgang Hofmann Kammerorcheste Emil Seiler

Sound eng. H. Baudis

This is probably the best sounding Archiv that I have. The violin concerto “per eco lontano” is impressive.

DGG MG1030 (Japan pressing)

Beethoven symphony n7

Carlos Kleiber Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra

Sound eng. K. Scheibe

Who said that DGG never did an audiophile-grade recording? Try to find the Japan pressing of this famous record (I have found it in a Frisco's used-records shop) and let me know. BTW, Carlos Kleiber is my favoured director (yes, I think he his the best one!). If you like this work try to listen also the Guido Cantelli (EMI) interpretation: the second movement will make you cry!

CAPITOL SP8382 (CISCO reissue)

Dvorak and Glazunov violin concertoes

Natain Milstein

Steinberg Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra

Sound eng. ?

A great performance of Milstein, well reissued by Cisco.

EMI ASD331-3

Bizet Carmen (complete)

Victoria de Los Angeles and Nicolai Gedda

Sir Thomas Beecham Orch. National de la Radiodifussion Francaise

Sound eng. ?

This Carmen has a really audiophile sound!

PHILIPS 9500323

Stravisnky “Le sacre du Printemps”

Colin Davis Concertgebow Orkest Amsterdam

Sound eng. ?

This recording is very well done, even if the instruments appear to be very large, like if you are in the middle of the orchestra. Great dynamic!

PHILIPS 6575043

J.S. Bach Musikalisches Opfer

Gustav Leonhardt

Sound eng. ?

The SEON records are the original instruments line of Philips. Usually they are recorded very well.

ASTREE AS4

Marin Marais“Pieces de Viole du second Livre”

Jordi Savall, Anne Gallet and Hopkinson Smith

Sound eng. G. Kisselhoff

Yes, this is another “Follia”! This one was recorded some years before the Paniagua's more famous HMF record. But all the record is very nice, like all the Savall records made for the french Astreé label.

ASTREE AS37

Music de Ioye

Hesperion XX Jordi Savall

Sound eng. T. Gallia

Thomas Gallia was a great sound engineer. He also pioneered the “sphere” microphone. He made a lot of EMI and Deutche Harmonia Mundi records, but I think his best results can be found in the Astreé catalogue. Here you can find an example of how well recorded are the Savall, Coin and Maurette violas, not to mention the other performers.

Sheffield LAB10

J. S. Bach, Albeniz, Turina, de la Maza

Michael Newman: Classical Guitarist

Sound eng. Doug Sax

Maybe the Chaconne interpretation is not the best one, but the sound of this guitar is tremendously realistic! That is a Direct-to-Disc record.

Vanguard - Analogue Production APC 005

Gottschalk A night in the Tropics, Gould Latin-American Symphonette

MauriceAbravanel Utah Symphony Orchestra

Sound eng. Marc Aubert (?) - Doug Sax

The Rumba at the beginning of side B is really stunning.

HARMONIA MUNDI - EMI 7496141 Digital DMM

J. S. Bach Johannes Passion BWV245

Sigiswald Kuijken La Petite Band

Sound eng. K. L. Neumann and T. Gallia

Who is scared by the digital wolf? One of his heir told me that this is one of the best recording ever made by Thomas Gallia and -actually- it is digital! The sound is really great, even if different from a great analogue sound. Most impressive are the soloists which simply “apparate” in my room.

HUNGARATON SLPD12684 Digital

Vivaldi 5 violin concertos

Jaap Schroder Capella Savaria

Sound eng. F. Pécsi

Another very good digital record, this time from Hungaraton, who can believe? Schroder was one of the Telefunken star.

REFERENCE RECORDING RR25

Liszt sonata in B min, Mephisto Waltz, La Campanella,...

Minoru Nojima

Sound eng. K. O. Johnson

Another great hit of RR, which obtained a true piano sound.

RCA - CHESKY CR1

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

Massimo Freccia Royal Philharmonic

Sound eng. K. G. Wilkinson

Another great Wilkinson recording, the first reissued by the Chesky brothers.

Pierre VERANY 8222

Soler, Albero, Ferrer, De Nebra

Jean-Marie Puli

Sound eng. ?

The most audiophile cembalo I have ever heard. Note that the cembalo is quite a difficult instrument to be listened from an audio system, while it is not when you listen it in live concertos. So a good cembalo record is also a very useful audio test.

TACET L74

Corelli, Biber, Vivaldi, Boccherini and Sammartini

Stuttgarter Kammerorchester

Sound eng. A. Spreer, R. Kistner

Impressive sound. I like very much the Boccherini “Ritirata per le vie di Madrid”.

Updated October 2011

To be continued?