I recently commented that out of about 13,000 high-res digital discs, about at least 8,000 are classical. It's not surprising that the Beethoven symphonies - the apex of the repertoire - are disproportionately represented, but it's kind of fascinating just how many such cycles we've had. Pentatone is inaugurating another cycle, this one a remastered quad set led by Rafael Kubelik and assorted other orchestras from the early 1970s. Also note that this list doesn't include stereo-only releases, like the Karajan 1963 cycle (on SACD or BD). Let me know if I've missed anything, sets are listed by conductor.
In addition to these, there are a number of conductors who have recorded a substantial part of a cycle on SACD, and may complete it, including Fischer, Antonini, de Billy, and more.
Do people have any favorites? One could probably create a similar list for the Shostakovich, Mahler, or Bruckner symphonies, which are all also overrepresented on SACD.
- Jaap van Zweden (Philips SACD) - early DSD recording and a bit of a demonstration of the format's potential - considered a bit of a dark horse among those who have heard it
- Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon DVD-Audio) - considered a failure by many including the conductor, who would prefer live recordings he made for video to these.
- Daniel Barenboim (Teldec DVD-Audio) - Probably the best non-SACD option
- Frans Bruggen (Glossa SACD) - period performances, divides opinions sharply
- Bernard Haitink (LSO Live SACD) - probably the go-to, and he throws in the Triple Concerto
- Jan Willem de Vriend (Challenge SACD) - a recent competitor for the top spot
- Ruben Gazarian (Bayer SACD) - 4.0 sound, lacking spark
- Philippe Herreweghe (Pentatone SACD) - Originally started by the Talent label, historically informed performances
- Kurt Masur (Pentatone SACD) - quad recording by Philips from the 1970s - extremely solid and extremely German
- Paavo Jarvi (RCA SACD) - a strong contender from a smaller orchestra
- Herbert Kegel (Capriccio SACD / Crystal BD-Audio) - Strongly suspect the audio is an artificial upmix.
- Osmo Vänskä (BIS SACD) - another contender for the top spot, with some dissenters. Probably the most reasonably priced.
- Wojciech Rajski (TACET BD-Audio) - if you want active use of the surrounds, this is your go-to
- Simon Rattle (Berlin Philharmonic BD-Audio) - luxury boxset with video and more. Mixed views on the performances
- Barry Wordsworth and others (Membran SACD) - artificial upmix of recordings made in the 1990s by Tring - this used to be really cheap for 7 SACDs (I paid $17) and was a fair deal at that price.
- Stefan Blunier (MDG SACD) - 2+2+2 sound, never compiled into one set
In addition to these, there are a number of conductors who have recorded a substantial part of a cycle on SACD, and may complete it, including Fischer, Antonini, de Billy, and more.
Do people have any favorites? One could probably create a similar list for the Shostakovich, Mahler, or Bruckner symphonies, which are all also overrepresented on SACD.