Inspiring and Classic Classical/Symphonic Music with Amazing Sound?

[Musicfirst]

Guys, like John Snow, I know nothing... beyond Holst's Planets and Soltis Beethoven Symphony 9. What do you love, preferably available on digital...

[Mr Peabody]

Most anything on the Reference Label. Their site has soundbites. Once of my favorites is called Pipe & Organ, various artists.

Many of the Mercury Living Presence is good.
1812 Overture. Rodrigo

I also like the Ancient Music Society, Hogwood recordings. Mozart violin Concertos 1 - 5, Vivaldi Four Seasons

I like all of what I hear from Tchaicovski , Russian composers in general.

Claude Boling is fun where he mixes orchestral and Jazz

[astrotoy]

If you have the capability for hirez digital playback, then I would recommend a great source of some of the best classical recordings of the golden analogue era transferred from tape (mostly 15ips 2 track) to digital. That is High Definition Tape Transfers (google HDTT or https://www.highdeftapetransfers.com/) run by Bob Witrak. He does the transfers at either DSD256 or DXD352 and also has available lower resolution versions of the albums. There are hundreds of albums available. Here are a few wonderful albums. Ansermet conducts Ballet Music (two volumes) which contain the contents of the famed Royal Ballet album from RCA. Nice introduction into the wonderful world of ballet music (like Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.) Others are the great Mravinsky version of the Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony, Oistrakh's Beethoven Violin Concerto.

Classical music is richer and more varied than one can explore in a lifetime, so this can get you started. In some ways your question would be like me asking for recommendations for non-classical music. BTW, that is how I categorized my mammoth (15,000 album) record collection. I have classical divided by composers, genres, labels and catalogue numbers and everything else is alphabetical by artist in one big non-classical category.

Happy listening,

Larry

[bart]

Modern recordings from:
Challenge Records, Channel Classics are almost all very good (SACD stereo & 5.0/5.1 and downloads up to DXD/DSD256).
Quite a few BIS albums.
Alpha.
Agogique (fantastic!).
trptk.
Etc.

[astrotoy]

The OP has set out a difficult question. So far the answers have focused on the labels which have excellent (amazing!) sound. The problem is what repertoire is best for the beginner. For example, the Ivan Fischer recordings of Mahler symphonies on Channel Classics and the Bach Japan Collegium recordings of the Bach Cantatas on BIS are both outstanding, but I would be hesitant to recommend them as the first classical music pieces to choose. And, unlike pop/rock music, almost all great classical pieces have many interpretations on different labels, so piece, interpretation and sonic quality all fit into the equation. Not an easy answer.

Larry

[still-one]

For myself I find newer composers (that is a relative term for classical) much more accessible that Mozart and Bach et al. For me that would include Debussy, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Sibelius, and some Wagner.