Originals
Legendary Recordings generally originally released on vinyl.
In addition to the huge number of releases Deutsche Grammophon have re-issued onto this series, Decca and Philips have recently joined in.
There are now over 200 classic reordings available at very reasonable prices.
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an essential recommendation for any collection. These are performances which seem to present a Beethoven 'for the ages', a distillation of a long interpretative tradition, without concern for... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Building a Library, October 1999, First Choice
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Building a Library, October 2007, First Choice
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Building a Library, January 2016, First Choice
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66
RecommendedGalina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Peter Pears (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) & Simon Preston (organ)
London Symphony Orchestra, Melos Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Highgate School Choir & The Bach Choir, Benjamin Britten
Britten was writing personally for three muses who had all shared the wartime experience...His incandescent commitment to pacificism and horror at the failure of humanism blazes forth...As you... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, November 2009, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Choral Performance
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Contemporary Classical Composition
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Contemporary Classical Composition
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A real meeting of minds, these CDs capture perfectly the insight and poetry that de Larrocha brings to this quintessentially Hispanic music, and Decca's warm but not oppressively close recording... —
Awards:
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1980s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Grammy Awards, 31st Awards (1988), Best Classical Instrumental Solo Recording
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Special offer. Richard Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder and Other Lieder
RecommendedJessye Norman (soprano)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
[Norman is] grand, impassioned, noble, dignified, unmannered in this unforgettable interpretation —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 1984, Winner - Solo vocal
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1980s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Building a Library, July 2019, Also Recommended
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Mravinsky's legendary stereo London recordings now remastered, at half the price they used to be. Great performances makes this essential for every library. —
Awards:
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Building a Library, April 2007, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Building a Library, January 2017, Also Recommended
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These accounts are quite magnificent, and their claims on the allegiance of collectors remain strong. Their freshness and vigour remind one of what it was like to hear these symphonies for the... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
Purchase product
CD
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Régine Crespin: Shéhérazade
RecommendedRégine Crespin (soprano)
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Sumptuous of tone, supremely sensitive, Crespin was born to illuminate the art of French song. Whether floating the seductive allure of Ravel or revelling in the wit of Poulenc these recordings... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, September 2007, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
Purchase product
Downloads
Audio formats guide -
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Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand'
RecommendedHeather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Auger (sopranos), Yvonne Minton (mezzo), Helen Watts (contralto), Rene Kollo (tenor), John Shirley-Quirk (baritone), Martti Talvela (bass)
Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Singverein, Wiener Sängerknaben & Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Now at last Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand can be heard on record at something approaching its full, expansive stature. Here is a version from Solti which ... conveys the feeling of a great... —
Awards:
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Grammy Awards, 15th Awards (1972), Best Choral Performance
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Grammy Awards, 15th Awards (1972), Classical Album of the Year
Purchase product
Downloads
Audio formats guide -
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Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3
RecommendedGaston Litaize (organ)
Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Awards:
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Building a Library, February 2015, First Choice
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Dvorak & Tchaikovsky: Works for Cello & Orchestra
RecommendedMstislav Rostropovich (cello)
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
There have been a number of outstanding recordings of the Dvorák Concerto since this DG record was made, but none to match it for the warmth of lyrical feeling, the sheer strength of personality... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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