I am usually interested to read recommendations that list members offer
when someone writes to ask for advice.  But you know what would be helpful?
Whenever you write to say, "X's performances are fabulous," you should add,
"I've also heard conductors Y, Z, S, T, etc.; these constitute my
comparison class." Often I simply don't know whether I'm getting the advice
of someone who thinks the only recording of these works that he or she has
ever heard is pretty swell, or whether the recommendation is offered
against the background of listening to a wide array of those recordings
generally thought to be standards of this particular repetoire.

For a set of the Wagner Overtures, BTW, I'd recommend the 2-CD set on
EMI by Furtwaengler (EMI 7 649352), if it's still available (perhaps at
Berkshire).  Of the collections I can remember listening to, I've heard
Szell, Klemperer, Levine, and Barry Wordsworth.

Nick
[log in to unmask]