I have but one comment, please do more of these. My knowledge and experience with classical recordings is somewhat limited and your comments and reviews are extremely valuable. Thank you.

Thx Michael. Spectacular run through these. Your knowledge of the performances and recordings is always tremendously educational. Thank you.

I barely understood a thing 😂 but your passion, knowledge and confidence made it a thoroughly enjoyable watch. Fingers crossed that one day you’ll do ‘an intro to classical’ video. Keep up the great work Michael.

Great video.. it’s like a master class in Classical recordings, so interesting and educational

Thanks for keeping us updated on the classical world. I was worried you were hanging out too much with those jazz guys.

Seeing all these DG titles reminds me of the Tower Records Classical store on South St in Philadelphia. Even then I thought it was wild that there was a whole store dedicated to classical music, let alone one that was just a few streets down from their giant 3-story location...which also had a well stocked classical section. Great coverage. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these new releases, Michael! It's nice to have another video from you...we miss you when you're "away"!

Thank you for your honest and in depth appraisal. Too many are promoting this series without attention to the details that we audiophiles crave. I hope DG will reissue Kleiber's Beethoven 5 and Schneiderhan's Beethoven violin concerto with Paul van Kempen

Thank for making this and your other videos, they are very informative & greatly appreciated. The music is paramount but if I may make a couple of comments about the sound you are hearing? In addition to your musical training and all this brings to your work, I notice you use Harbeth Speakers, which are predominantly monitor speakers and extremely revealing. I use the Monitor 30s. I live in the UK and it’s interesting how many of the customers who purchased Harbeth speakers from the retailer where I purchased mine from are classically trained musicians and how many of these play in one of our leading orchestras. If you have the facilities and the time you might like to listen to the Brahms piano concertos with say an Audio Technica AT33PTG / II., which uses a micro line stylus and has something of a reputation for good tracking. I have one in mounted in a Rega RB 3000 tone arm, which comes pre installed with the Rega P10 and I don’t appear to experience the issues to which refer. However, I am much older then yourself and my hearing is not what it once was. Also, you are more aware of what it is you are listening for anyway. This said, I find this turntable retrieves more information and tracks my records better then my previous turntables, which I bought in the 1990s and which was regularly serviced. Enough of my rambling. Thank you again and here’s to there being more releases in this series for us to contemplate purchasing and enjoying in the comfort of our homes.

What a thoughtful analysis! Having bought all except the Verdi, I agree with every observation. My ranking would place the Debussy/Ravel in first place, probably because I was so smitten with the ravishing performance and (as you noted) the fact that little details peek out of the background in a way I've not heard on recordings before. The Stravinsky made my hair flutter, so that one makes my #2. Kleiber/Beethoven is wonderful as well. The Gilels/Brahms didn't live up to my expectations, as they were set by the high sonic remastering standards of the first three. It's only marginally better than the original, which I also have. I've already pre-ordered the next three. DG has finally atoned for all the miserable, bright pressings that they issued in the 70's and 80's, and I forgive them. I wondered why CFP pressings were often so good ... didn't know they used the same stampers as the collectible SAX pressings. Thanks again.

Great review. Picked all of them already, but just listened to your top two. Abbado's Rite of Spring blew out my mind. But the one I enjoyed the most, cause I've listened to this version a lot, was Kleiber's 7th. I own a Spanish 70's pressing, a 2013 reissue pressing and this one. Damn! Played the three of them to compare and the Original Source Reissue is quite another world in terms of dynamics and stage presence. Astonishing work here. I was reluctant at first when this series was released, but now I'm sold.

Thx Micheal. Looking forward for more classical music & other recommendations. I got my copies of classical enjoying every single notes now…

I just watched this for the second time, and again, thanks for this, Michael. I now have them all except the Verdi, Brahms, and Debussy/Ravel. I had the original of the later back in the day, and I greatly look forward to hearing new release. I certainly agree about the Le Sacre and the Beethoven. Yowza!

Thanks for the heads up about these DG pressings. I have been curious. Major jazz fan and audiophile snob here! Ha! Been wanting to grab some Classical. Got the Beethoven and the Stravinsky... WOW! A-mazing! Instant Classical music fan.

Great review and it's good to see you back again. It's good to see someone mentioning the Classics For Pleasure series as they are records I tend to buy when I see them in charity shops over here. Generally they are priced at £1 to £2 and I'm glad that more people don't appear to be seeking them out as the majority of ones I've bought do sound wonderful. The Ravel is one that I don't have so I'll be looking out for that one now.

Great guidance. I was wondering with one to get. I was so excited to hear that they were rebooting the old Deutsche Grammophone records I think it will be the Abaddo and Kleiber. Thanks!

Hi Dr Poetry 😀 I am not a classical guy at all but I was interested in this series and took a stab at ordering 2 albums. After hearing them I ordered another 2 so now I'm interested in your ranking and to see how I did with my "shot in the dark" guesses! The two I have are your #7 and #1, while I have #2 and #3 on order! Not too bad! As for Requiem, I think it sounds fabulous and the quality of these albums are top notch. Classical neophytes like myself may not be aware of a lack of bass and therefore it would not inhibit the listening experience. Amazon Canada was temporarily out of stock for the Brahms title so I might have picked that one, and the Mahler was over $100 CAD so I passed on that. Cheers

Well done for giving kudos to those CFP releases. They were, for many of us, the entry point into classical music. Fantastic value for money, and recordings that have stood the test of time (on release, and still today). I have so many but not that Daphnis and Chloe one. It's now on my wants list.

Thanks for this, Michael. Just ordered that 1980 Haitink, Trois Nocturnes on Phillips per your recommendation. Looking forward to it! -- Mike

Great reviews thank you for making this and looking forward to your views on the next 7 ie 8 to 14 … I think it would be a great video series if you kept going in batches of 7 in ranking

Another great video from Michael. Another bunch of composers / conductors / and song titles I discover I pronounce incorrectly...😄

You mentioned about the Rite of spring by Stravinsky I have that on a HDCD disc and HRX with EIJI OUE with the Minnesota orchestra .It is a great piece.

So glad you did this. I thought the same about the Verdi and I assumed it was my very neutral headphones. I have sung chorale on this and it should be the most visceral piece of music when recorded properly. Love the work you do, thank you

Spot on, astute analysis. i don't disagree with any of the pros and cons but I would rank Stravinsky no 1 of the 7-astounding dynamics. I'm by no means an expert-just going off of "feel". Verdi and Brahms are still well worth it, in spite of noted flaws. I've never heard a solo vocal (Verdi) or piano (Brahms) sound better, ever. And as mentioned in the video, SPECTACULAR performance of the Brahms Piano Concertos. I have middle-brow set ups-the Ortofon Blue, factory mounted on a Fluance (with felt blankets under the feet-curing vibration issues) and the Hana MC MH on an old Yamaha YP-D6 - both seem to handle the end of side 3 of the Brahms set okay-but as pointed out, the record is a little *too* dynamic. Great video for anyone considering these. I think they're all worth getting, demand serious listening.

Hi Micheal, This is a great overview for me, as I have only purchased the Stravinsky so far and wanted another opinion on my next title. Hopefully I can still find your favorite! Scott

Great video! I waited too long on these. The Carlos Kleiber appears to be sold out, I can’t find a copy for retail price anywhere.

Thanks, terrific reviews. I'm hoping that my favorite recoding of Mozart's 19 & 23 Piano Concertos w/ Pollini and Karl Bohm and the VPO will make it on to this series. My other favorite Piano Concerto recording would be Emil Gilels's Chopin's 1st E minor with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra originally a Columbia recording now owned by Sony.

Thanks for the video. Six years ago you mentioned that Deutch Gramaphone has never disappointed you but at the same time has never impressed you when compared to the sound quality of the first presses from DECCA, RCA or Mercury. I wonder what is your opinion when comparing these new gramaphone pressings?

I did enjoy this video. After watching a video with the young lady that cut these I ordered 2 of these. You ranked the 2 I ordered at #2 & #4. The Mahler is supposed to arrive today, the Stravinsky still has not shipped. keep up the good work

Sehr gut! I agree with you for ranks 1 - 3. Good job. Greetings from Germany. 👍🇩🇪🎶

Thanks Michael for great insights. I think one and two are pretty much all gone at sensible prices. I absolutely loved the OS Brahms PC1 which almost literally blew me away! A fine classics for pleasure release to look out for is the Kogan Silvestri Beethoven VC repressing the main downside it was released in a cheapo rough paper inner sleeve but despite that sounds super tubey.

Nice video I am not a big classical guy I have a few records but no expert on the subject. When I saw the reviews on how these new DG sounded I thought I had ordered one. So I just picked Beethoven at random probably because for nothing else I know the name and to see you ranked it #1 was great it sure does sound good. I am looking forward to their future releases to add more to my collection.

THX for your great classical videos.

A huge thanks for this great video, Michael. For those of us planning to purchase most of these recordings, your feedback and views are really priceless! A quick question on gear. I suppose that, in order to fully enjoy the high quality you should have a very good set up. Any suggestions (for info, I have a Rega Planar 3 TT with Exact cartridge. Planning to upgrade to a Planar 8 but not in the short term)? Best regards from Brussels, Ignacio

Great video Michael. 😊

Carlos Kleiber is great. I have his recording of the New Years concert in Vienna. He was able to keep the J. Strauss works interesting, which is hard to do since they're played to death everywhere.

I would say the Trout is one of most improved, I don't hear the hard string sound. Just a wish about upcoming releases, Mahler 1 with Kubelik. This is one of the most transparent recordings and wonderful performance.

This is the video I’ve been looking forward to! Btw bro, what speakers do you use?

Thank your for this very good Video. I enjoyed it so much. Well done. Cheers from germany.

I found a CFP 40323 for 5 euros in great condition. Thanks for you suggestion 👍🏻

Nicely done Michael ❤️‍🔥

The Gilies Brahms concertos has a been digitally remastered in high resolution in 2015. It would be interesting to hear your take on those versions.

How about a follow up video about which future Original Source releases you are looking forward to?

Great review!

I have enjoyed your work on KZfaq for a while. I ordered two of the DG Original Source recordings: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique and Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 25 and 27. Is it correct that they came out after you made your recording. They say "New" on the DG page. Based on what you said, I also ordered Ma vlást. A heads up to people that buy these. I ordered the first two on October 12th and they cleared customs in the US just a day or so ago. I expect another week to wait before I get them. I look forward to more of your reviews.

You’ve got the best channel when it comes to audiophile LPs on KZfaq. Much better than the Mikes

Excellent video. I agree with the top 3, in that same order. Also with place 7. About places 4, 5 and 6, I don't know, I just received Brahms's yesterday and I haven't been able to listen to it carefully.

It's not surprising the Abbado/BSO recording of Debussy/Ravel is this fine. The orchestra has a long history of excellence in French music. Pierre Monteux and Charles Munch spent a lot of time with the orchestra in the mid-20th century.

I have the Mahler 5 original source ; it's great. I'm waiting for the Stravinsky

1- The young friend's prose/poetry sounded Nietzsche-like downcast on his first One album for nothing is lacking , all is complete on that Original Resource re-issue. 2- But he might want to again listen deeper this time with an emphasis on the meaning of the words/ lyrics and how well Verdi set them to music, without feeling hopeless for after all like they say across the pond in Spain (as roughly translates into English) : Hope was once Green UNtil a goat ate it (''La esperanza era Verde hasta que se la comio un chivo''. Google translate it if need to). 3- Kid you not, pun intended of course...Shema!!!.

Thanks! Do you know the (newly re-pressed) 2014 box of Orfeo, Kleiber conducting Beethoven's 4, 6, and 7 with the Bavarian State Orchestra, all live! Phenomenal! 🎉 (Vinyl, of course, but digitally recorded)

Amazing video! Tks

Geelels. Not a French name. (And “s” is not silent ) Very helpful video in choosing the right title to pick

This series is sold out on a popular on-line retailer.

Great review👏

Awesome Video! thank you

The Abbado/LSO was the first recording of the "Rite" I owned back in the day, and it's still one of my absolute favourites. Here's hoping they get around to Abbado's other superb LSO Stravinsky recordings soon.

As a subscriber and an orchestral music enthusiast, I'm asking this question on this site (rather than my many 'audiophile' channels). While I'm a avid audiophile, my passion is the music - not the equipment per se. I've been wondering if I might hear substantial benefit by upgrading my turntable. I'm currently using a Fluance RT-83 with an Ortofon Blue cartridge. When I upgraded from the Red to the Blue, I could hear the improvement - especially detail and resolution. If I were to upgrade my turntable, with even the Ortofon Blue as the cartridge, would I get noticeable improvement? If so, any suggestions? (I don't have an unlimited budget.) Thanks!

I wonder if any others have, like me, missed the point of this video by adding some of the recordings to their streaming service of choice. The Karajan Mahler 5 sounds great, even through Bluetooth headphones. I was over-familiar with the famous Barbirolli recording which I’ve had on CD since the late 80s.

Excellent video as usual Michael! I was too slow and lost the opportunity to get the Stravinsky, I hope I can get the Ravel/Debussy. BTW, what do you think about the Daphnis er Chloe version by Dutoit/Montreal/Decca? I think it's great!!. Also, do you recommend the Analogue Productions Munch/Boston/RCA versión of that ballet?. Personally, I would love to see the Mahler cycle by Riccardo Chailly released on vinyl, great playing, great sound. Same for the Michael Tilson Thomas Mahler cycle. Best wishes from Chile!

I have the UK Ace of Diamonds reissue of the Curzon Trout Quintet, sounds pretty good to my ears. I have not heard either the original Decca or original London. Am I missing something by not having one of the original pressings?

I loved my SACRE. I also bought the Ravel/Debussy and that's spectacular. I wonder if you've had time to listen to the Dorati MONO Eloquence boxset (CD) - if you're looking for an amazing performance of Le Sacre, do check that one out. It blew me away!

Fantastic video. Can you recommend a Mahler vinyl box set outside of Bernstein?, -which I already have on cd

A linear tracking turntable will fix the distortion close to the run out groove.

But your knowledge is well appreciated

Thank you very very much for your reviews! Your channel is so interesting. But please remember, that Emil Gilels was a russian citizen...so there is no place for a french pronunciation of his name:) Эмиль Гилельс. Please copy and paste to translator. Greetings 🍀🍀🍀 BTW...yes, this version of Brahms by Gilels is a cosmic performance!!!

I really like the Verdi on streaming and must be missing what you mentioned, just can't pick it up on lofi tho :)

I would love having the Rite of Spring but it’s sold out everywhere in Europe. 😢

Great that you review classical recordings such as these. I'm just dipping my toes into the Archiv Produktion releases. Any recommendations in particular to seek out?

Sadly most of these are already sold out ! Maybe they will do a repress. Thanks for the video

Wish you compared it to the Reiner/CSO which I have on Victrola and JVC XRCD.

I got the Kleiber and the Mahler, both are great listens. Not sure about a favorite, probably the Kleiber. Unfortunately the Rite was sold out just the day before i ordered 😞

I have 80 or so different recordings of ""Le Sacre". I know that Goossen's recording; it's the slowest I own and it's just...not good. The CBS Boulez from '69 and Markevitch from '59 are my favorites.

DG was never known as an audiophile label. (I read) the L.P.s were equalized for cheap European record players and so sounded "tinny" and bass shy when exported to the U.S. and played on more expensive playback equipment. Note I'm talking about DG L.P.s from the 1960s--70s. Whether they were later equalized for U.S. playback I have no idea. I have no complaints about DG from any decade; but I'm not an audiophile.

Hi Michael great video. I’ve really enjoyed the Abbado and Amadeus Quartett releases so far. You mentioned there are better version of the Verdi Requiem available, which would you recommend? Cheers Graham 🙏

Swietne ciekawe odcinki i plyty bardzo dobrze omówione👌 . Pozdrawiam serdecznie prowadzacego ten kanal .👍

DG try to reissue their masterpiese vinyl by themself not to give licence to any analog label of so long. So as they make the new vinyl reissue scheme to the next level which that's good for DG's own or customers

What's that speaker, kinda looks like a Harbeth?

Gratuluję rowniez duzej kolecji plyt 👏👏👍

Excellent video Michael! Which recording would you recommend to grab on vinyl for Beethoven Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 9? Thanks!

Most of them are sold out at the DG site.

Pretty good review. Gilels = hard G. He's not French. Eugen = "oy-gen" No big accent in the middle of Debussy. I was surprised by the reissue of the Abbado Sacre. That recording sounds harsh in digital, with a really weird soundstage. But might have to check it out. Love the deep dive on the BSO disc. All good recs.

Hi! Newbie question here and definetly off topic. Why does the double bass placement changes from the usual left side place to the right in Brahms symphonies? I've noticed this after listening to Klemperer set and then Wand's both for EMI. Do the players actually move to the other side or they mix tjat way? Thanks

Haven't bought any because I've never been a fan of DG vinyl sound as a rule. Just ordered the Beethoven off your review.

Do you have the Debussy and Ravel recordings that Fonè did with Salvatore Accardo and Laura Manzini? I thought those sounded amazing.

I'd love to know what your vinyl system is, turntable, amplification and speakers ?

i am waiting for kleiber/wagner tristan and karajan mahler 6.

well you can track your nº6 with a linear tracker ... my LP's that really go to 28mins I use my tehcnics SL-15 .. perfect.

Hello. Great looking Harbeth speakers . Is this the XD version ?

Michael, I’m ready to invest in my Classical collection.. would you recommend picking up the box set for Analogue Productions Series 2 Living Stereo collection, or spend the $ just selecting some specific titles? Just wondering if the Series 2 is really good across the board, or there are some weak spots.. it seams like a great mix to me.. I’m sure you haven’t heard all of them, but any guidance would be appreciated

Do any Tracking Angle have a modern linear tracking arm to compare the finale distortion?

I hope they release Martha Argerich classic recordings.

Hello love your reviews of viny s but as I collect cds Sorry about that I buy your recommended recordings on cd format so Thankyou

Amazing

Thank you for your ideas. I think your ideas would have greater credibility if you were more "scientific" in your analysis. Perhaps, if we cleaned both versions, and your were blind to which record I played, your bias would be revealed (potentially). Also, if you actually examined the sound quality in your actual videos (and not just give your opinion), you would have greater success in influencing the listener. Take some time and play the recordings as you speak on them.

Would you know of a strong pressing for Tchaikovsky's 5th?

Thx so much! Where do you purchase your copies from? 🙏🏻

Do u think it would distort on the Brahms 2 with a linear tracker ?

Nice Fred Perry Tee. ❤

Sir Georg Solti's Mahler cycles?