The recordings date from 1963 and 1967 but could have been made yesterday, so clean are the 24-bit digital transfers. A best buy on Decca's new historic line, Legends. 8. Bach's toccatas can seem rather monotonous in less sensitive hands. No danger of that with Vinikour, who plays them with a stylish, quasi-improvisatory feeling, clarity and tonal refinement that reveal how astonishingly varied this music really is. Symphony No. 4.
Every detail is considered and rehearsed with great care, and, yes, nothing is rushed.
Abbado's keen ear misses no glowing detail of Mahler's colorful scoring, and the orchestra plays beautifully for him, while both singers are as idiomatic and responsive to words and music as you could wish. While I'm at it, allow me to round out this list with some honorable mentions.