Outstanding Recordings of Near Great Orchestral Music

This is a list of works of genius that are just below the very greatest, and widely held in high esteem. Clearly there are
thousands of other noteworthy compositions.

When some works on a recording are not in the Near Great category, they are shown in parentheses. When works are
also popular, they are so identified. This should help the beginner pick works that they are most likely to enjoy.

The listings from the Medieval and Renaissance periods are not actually orchestral works, but it was felt that even a brief
guide to classical music should give some notice to early music.

You can purchase any CD listed by clicking on the recording which will link you to that item on ArkivMusic.com. If a link does
not work, please let us know. Record companies have a despicable practice of dropping even the best recordings.

The letters G, P, or I indicate that this recording has been recommended by Gramophone, Penguin Guide to Compact Discs,
or The Insiders Guide to Classical Recordings.

Period	Composer	Work	G	P	I	Recording	Performers
Medieval	Anonymous	Gregorian Chant		P		Penguin Classics 460641	Carmelite Priory Choir, John McCarthy
Medieval	Anonymous	Play of Daniel				Hungaraton HCD 12457	Schola Hungarica conducted by Janka Szendrei
Renais-sance	Various	Dances of the Renaissance & Middle Ages				Harmonia Mundi 90610	Clemencic Consort, René Clemencic
Renais-sance	Dufay	Missa "L'homme armé", Supremum est mortalibus bonum		P	I	Naxos 553087	Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly
Renais-sance	Gabrieli	Gabrieli in San Marco (various works)			I	Sony 62426	E Power Biggs, Gregg Smith Singers, Texas Boy's Choir Fort Worth, La Fenice, Edward Tarr Brass Ensemble, Vittorio Negri
Renais-sance	Allegri Byrd Cardoso Gesualdo Des Préz Lassus Lobo Palestrina Tallis Taverner	Miserere mei Deus Mass for 5 Voices Magnificat primi toni Responsories (9), Sabbato Sancto Missa "Pange lingua", Ave Maria Osculeteur me osculo, Salve regina Versa est in luctum Missa "Papae Marcelli" Spem in alium Dum transisset Sabbatum I				Philips 462862 (2 CDs)	The Tallis Scholars - The Best Of The Renaissance
Baroque	Handel	Concertos for Organ and Orchestra		P		CBS 45825 (3 CDs)	E Power Biggs, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Baroque	Handel Bach Holst	Music for the Royal Fireworks Fantasie in G major: Gravement (Suite for Military Band No. 1 & 2) [Popular]	G	P		Telarc 80038	Cleveland Symphony Winds, Fennell
Baroque	Vivaldi	Four Seasons [Popular]		P	I	Penguin Classics 460613	Loveday, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Marriner
Baroque	Vivaldi Boccherini	Cello Concertos Cello Concertos				DG 447022	Mischa Maisky, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Baroque	Vivaldi	Guitar Concertos (arrangements)				RCA 68291	Romero, Acadamy of St. Martin in the Fields
Baroque	Vivaldi	"La Stravaganza" 12 Violin Concertos		P	I	London/Decca 444821 (2 CDs)	Carmel Kaine, Alan Loveday, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Baroque	Vivaldi	L'estro armonico 12 Violin Concertos, Concerto for Oboe in F major, Concerto for Bassoon in A minor, Concerto for Recorder in C minor, Concerto for 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Horns and Violin in F major		P		London/Decca 443476 (2 CDs)	Various performers, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical	Haydn	Symphony No. 82-87 "Paris"			I	Sony 47550 (2 CDs)	New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernstein
Classical	Haydn Leopold Mozart Hummel	Trumpet Concerto [Popular] (Trumpet Concerto) (Trumpet Concerto)	G	P	I	CBS 37846	Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra London, Raymond Leppard
Classical	Mozart	Flute & Harp Concerto (plus 2 Flute Concertos)			I	RCA 68256	Galway, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical	Mozart	Horn Concertos, Clarinet Concerto, (plus Bassoon, Oboe, and Flute Concertos)		P	I	London/Decca 466247 (2 CDs)	Barry Tuckwell, London Symphony Orchestra, Peter Maag 2CDs (excellent performances with better sound quality than the Brain, but the Brain is still the best performance ever recorded)
Classical	Mozart	Horn Concertos	G	P	I	EMI 66950 (mono)	Dennis Brain, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (1953 mono recording, though sound is quite good)
Classical	Mozart	Mass in C minor "Great"			I	EMI 47385	Te Kanawa, etc., New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leppard
Classical	Mozart	Seranades No. 6, 7, 9, 13	G	P		Philips 464022 (2 CDs)	Acadamy of St. Martin in the Fields, Marriner
Classical	Mozart	Seranade for Winds No. 10			I	ASV 804	Chamber Orchestra of Europe Winds, Alexander Schneider
Classical	Mozart	Seranades No. 11, 12 plus 3 Overtures		P		Helios 55092	English Concert Winds
Classical	Mozart	Seranade No. 13 Eine kleine Nachtmusik plus Albinoni, Boccherini, (Pachelbel, Hoffstetter, Beethoven) [Popular]		P		Philips 410606	I Musici (excellent performance with better sound quality than the Walter, but the Walter is still the best reading)
Classical	Mozart	Seranade No. 13 Eine kleine Nachtmusik, (Così fan tutte Overture, Le nozze di Figaro Overture, The Magic Flute Overture {Greatest}), (plus Masonic Funeral Music, Der Schauspieldirektor Overture) [Popular]			I	CBS 37774	Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter (1961 stereo, but dated sound quality)
Classical	Mozart	Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola, Concertone for 2 Violins [Popular]		P		DG 415486	Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Classical	Mozart	Violin Concertos	G	P		Philips 438323 (2 CDs)	Arthur Grumiaux, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical	Rossini	Overtures [Popular]		P	I	DG 431653	London Symphony, Abbado
Romantic	Beethoven	Overtures		P	I	Philips 438706 (2 CDs)	Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Masur
Romantic	Beethoven	Symphonies No. 1 & 2	G	P		RCA 66458	North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wand
Romantic	Beethoven Brahms	Triple Concerto Double Concerto	G	P	I	EMI 66954	Mstislav Rostropovich, David Oistrakh, Cleveland Orchestra, Szell
Romantic	Berlioz	La Damnation de Faust		P		LSO Live 8 (2 CDs)	Giuseppe Sabbatini, Enkelejda Shkosa, David Wilson-Johnson, Michele Pertusi, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Davis
Romantic	Berlioz	Harold in Italy, Tristia, Les troyens: Act 2 Prelude		P	I	Philips 416431	Nobuko Imai, London Symphony Orchestra, Davis
Romantic	Berlioz	Overtures: Les francs-juges, Waverley, Le roi Lear, Le carnaval romain Overture, Béatrice et Bénédict, Le corsaire, Benvenuto Cellini		P		RCA 68790	Dresden Staatskapelle, Davis
Romantic	Bizet	L'Arlesienne Suite, Carman Suite [Popular]		P		Decca 466421	Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Dutiot
Romantic	Bizet Mendelssohn Smetana	Symphony in C Midsummer Night's Dream Moldau [Popular]		P		Sony 48264	Cleveland Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, George Szell, Leopold Stokowski
Romantic	Borodin	Symphony No. 2, In the steppes of central Asia, Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances [Popular]			I	RCA 60535	National Philharmonic Orchestra, Loris Tjeknavorian
Romantic	Brahms	Variations on Theme by Haydn, Academic Festival Overture, (Symphony No. 1 {Greatest}) [Popular]				Sony 64470	Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Romantic	Bruckner	Symphony No. 9		P		Sony 64483	Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Romantic	Debussy	Clair de Lune, Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra, Première Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Orchestra, Danse sacrée et danse profane, Rhapsodie for Saxophone and Orchestra, and more			I	Chandos 7018	Ulster Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Romantic	Dvorák	Symphony No. 8, 9 [Popular]	G	P		Philips 464640	Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Romantic	Dvorák	Violin Concerto and Romance [Popular]	G	P	I	EMI 47168	Itzhak Perlman, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Romantic	Elgar	Cello Concerto (& Sea Pictures)	G	P	I	EMI 56219	Jacqueline Du Pré, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Romantic	Falla Rodrigo	El amor brujo, Nights in the gardens of Spain Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar [Popular]		P		Jubilee 430703	Carlos Bonell, Alicia De Larrocha, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, R. Frühbeck de Burgos
Romantic	Falla Albeniz	Three-cornered Hat Iberia [Popular]		P	I	Chandos 8904	Jill Gomez, Philharmonia Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Romantic	Faure	Requiem, (Cantique de Jean Racine, Messe basse, Ave Verum, Ave Maria, Maria Mater gratiae, Tantum Ergo)		P	I	Collegium 109	Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia members, John Rutter
Romantic	Franck Stravinsky	Symphony in D Minor [Popular] Petrushka		P	I	RCA 63303	Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux
Romantic	Greig	Peer Gynt [Popular]		P	I	EMI 66966	Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Beecham
Romantic	Holst Grainger	Planets (Warriors)	G	P	I	DG 445860	Philharmonia Orchestra, Monteverdi Choir members, Gardiner
Romantic	Lalo Vieuxtemps	Symphonie espagnole [Popular] (Violin Concerto)		P		EMI 55292	Sarah Chang, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Romantic	Liszt	Piano Concerto No. 1, 2	G	P	I	Philips 446200	Sviatoslav Richter, London Symphony Orchestra, Kiril Kondrashin
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 1 [Popular]			I	DG 427303	Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 2 [Popular]	G	P	I	EMI 47962 (2 CDs)	Auger, Baker, City of Birmingham Symphony and Chorus, Rattle
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 4, Songs of a Wayfarer [Popular]	G	P	I	Sony 46535	Raskin, Cleveland Orchestra, Szell
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 5	G	P		EMI 66962	New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 6, Kindertotenlieder			I	DG 427697 (2 CDs)	Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 8	G	P	I	London/Decca 460972	Yvonne Minton, Arleen Augér, Martti Talvela, René Kollo, Heather Watts, Lucia Popp, Heather Harper, John Shirley-Quirk, Vienna Boys Choir, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Singverein, Sir Georg Solti
Romantic	Mahler	Symphony No. 9	G	P		DG 453040 (2 CDs)	Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Romantic	Mendelssohn	Symphony No. 1, 5 [Popular]			I	RCA 60391	Bamberg Symphony, Claus Peter Flor
Romantic	Mendelssohn	Midsummer Night's Dream (incidental music - complete) [Popular]		P	I	EMI 47163	Lillian Watson, Delia Wallis, London Symphony Orchestra, Finchley Children's Music Group, André Previn
Romantic	Mendelssohn	Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2		P	I	CBS 42401	Murray Perahia, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Romantic	Mussorgsky	Pictures at an Exhibition (Orchestrated: Maurice Ravel), Night on the Bare Mountain [Popular]		P		DG 429785	New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Romantic	Neilson	Symphony No. 3, (1-2)	G	P		London/Decca 460985 (2 CDs)	San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt
Romantic	Neilson	Symphony No. 4-6	G	P		London/Decca 460988 (2 CDs)	San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt
Romantic	Rachmaninoff	Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Dances		P	I	London/Decca 430733	Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Romantic	Rachmaninoff	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Piano Concerto No. 2 [Popular]	G	P		Penguin Classics 460632	Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Romantic	Rachmaninoff	Symphony No. 2, (Vocalise, Aleko: Intermezzo & Women's Dance)		P	I	EMI 66997	London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Romantic	Ravel	La Valse, Bolero, (Pavane for a Dead Princess, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Rapsodie espagnole, Valse nobles et sentimantales) [Popular]		P	I	London/Decca 460214	Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Romantic	Ravel	Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2			I	RCA 60985	Alicia De Larrocha, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Slatkin
Romantic	Rimsky-Korsakov	Scheherazade & Capriccio Espagnol [Popular]		P		Telarc 80208	London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Romantic	Saint-Saens Lalo	Cello Concerto (Cello Concerto)		P	I	CBS 35848	Ma, ORTF National Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Romantic	Saint-Saens Falla Franck Prokofiev	Piano Concerto No. 2 Nights in the gardens of Spain, "Ritual Fire Dance" Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra Love for Three Oranges: March		P		RCA 63070	Artur Rubinstein, Philadelphia Orchestra, Symphony of the Air, Eugene Ormandy, Alfred Wallenstein
Romantic	Saint-Saens	Symphony No. 3, Phaéton, Danse macabre, Samson et Dalila: Bacchanale			I	Sony 53979	Anthony Newman, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Romantic	Schuman	Cello Concerto & (3 works for Cello and Piano)		P		CBS 42663	Yo-Yo Ma, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Romantic	Sibelius	Sympony No. 2, (Romance in C)		P		Bis 252	Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
Romantic	Sibelius	Symponies No. 4 & 6		P		EMI 64121	City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
Romantic	Sibelius	Symponies No. 5 & 7		P		EMI 64122	City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
Romantic	Sibelius Nielsen	Violin Concerto (Violin Concerto)		P		CBS 44548	Cho-Liang Lin, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Romantic	Strauss, Johann II	Waltzes [Popular]	G	P	I	London/Decca 443473 (2 CDs)	Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Willi Boskovsky
Romantic	Strauss, Richard	Also sprach Zarathhustra, Ein Heldenleben [Popular]		P	I	RCA 61494	Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Romantic	Strauss, Richard	Don Quixote, Horn Concerto No. 2		P		DG 457725	Pierre Fournier, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Romantic	Strauss, Richard	Don Juan, Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Ein Heldenleben [Popular]	G		I	Sony 48272	Cleveland Orchestra, Szell
Romantic	Strauss, Richard	2 Horn Concertos, Oboe Concerto, Duet Concertino for Clarinet & Basoon, Wind Seranade		P		DG 453483	Martin Gabriel, Lars Michael Stransky, Ronald Janezic, Peter Schmidl, Michael Werba, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn (excellent performances with better sound quality than the Brain, but the Brain is still the best performance ever recorded)
Romantic	Strauss, R. Hindemith	2 Horn Concertos Horn Concerto	G	P	I	EMI 67783 (mono)	Dennis Brain, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch (1956 mono recording, though sound is quite good)
Romantic	Strauss, R. Tchaikovsky	Metamorphosen for 23 solo Strings Sextet for Strings "Souvenir de Florence"		P		Chandos 9708	Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown
Romantic	Tchaikovsky	Romeo and Juliet, (Marche slave, The tempest, 1812 Overture) [Popular]		P		DG 453496	Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Romantic	Tchaikovsky	Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Nutcracker Suites [Popular]		P		DG 449726	Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich
Romantic	Tchaikovsky	Symphony No. 5 [Popular]		P	I	Chandos 8351	Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Romantic	Weber	Clarinet Concertos No. 1 & 2, (Concertino for Clarinet, Grand Duo concertante)		P		Asv 747	Emma Johnson, English Chamber Orchestra
Modern	Barber Copland Gershwin	Adagio for Strings Appalachian Spring Rhapsody in Blue [Popular]	G	P	I	DG 439528	Los Angeles Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein
Modern	Bartok	Miraculous Mandarin, (Hungarian Peasant Songs, Romanian Folkdances for String Orchestra, Hungarian Sketches, Transylvanian Dances, Romanian Dance)		P		Philips 454430	Hungarian Radio Chorus, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Modern	Copland	Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Fanfare for the common man, Danzón Cubano, El salón México, Red Pony: Suite, Dance Symphony [Popular]		P	I	EMI 73653	Dallas Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Eduardo Mata, Leonard Slatkin, Enrique Bátiz
Modern	Gershwin Grofe	An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue (Grand Canyon Suite) [Popular]	G	P		Sony 63086	Columbia Symphony Orchestra; New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Modern	Gershwin	Concerto for Piano in F major , An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue [Popular] This ia almost as good as the Bernstein and is best for the Piano Concerto.		P		EMI 66943	André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Modern	Ives	Symphony No. 3, "Three Places in New England", The Unanswered Question, Set for Theatre or Chamber Orchestra, Set No. 1 for Small Orchestra		P		DG 457911	Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Modern	Ives	Symphony No. 4, Central Park in the Dark, "Three Places in New England"				DG 423243	Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Tilson Thomas
Modern	Orff	Carmina Burana [Popular]		P		EMI 555392	Thomas Hampson, Gérard Lesne, Natalie Dessay, Malcolm Stewart, Toulouse Capitole Orchestra, Orféon Donostiarra, Michel Plasson
Modern	Poulenc Milhaud Ibert	Les Biches (La création du monde, Le boeuf sur le toit) (Divertissement)		P	I	Chandos 9023	Ulster Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Modern	Poulenc	Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani, Gloria in G major, (Concerto Champêtre for Harpsichord, Concerto for 2 Pianos, Sonata for 2 Pianos, Sextet for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn, Concerto for Piano)			I	London/Decca 448270 (2 CDs)	Various performers
Modern	Prokofiev	Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, The Bells