Rafael Kubelik - Dvorak: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 'From the New World' (1995)

Rafael Kubelik recorded Dvorak's Ninth Symphony something like four times, but it's never sounded better than it does here. In fact, when these performances were first released, they set new standards in symphonic cogency and beauty of orchestral execution. On this disc they have been carefully remastered and paired on a single midpriced CD. What a deal! One of the biggest problems in collecting classical music is that you're often faced with an embarrassment of riches--so many really fine performances of the great works. Some of these, however, stand out as classic recordings of classical music, and Kubelik's Dvorak recordings clearly belong in this elite category. --David Hurwitz