I have to second Bob Stumpf's opinion of the Andrew Davis VW set. The
only one really worth having is 6, and it's excellent. Forget about sets.
There are no currently recommendable sets of VW---unless the EMI Boult is
available in England---and even Boult has been superseded for the most
part, although his readings still provide a dependable standard. Try
these:
1) EMI Haitink
2) RCA Previn
3) RCA Previn
4) EMI Handley
5) EMI Previn (Curtis Institute)
6) Teldec A. Davis
7) Naxos Bakels
8) IMP (BBC) Stokowski
9) EMI Boult
Or if you're really on a super budget, get the Naxos recordings by
Kees Bakels. They are all excellent so far (though 2 is a bit below the
others). Soon we'll see how Bakels' 5 and 9 come out. No word of 1 yet.
Bakels finds new things to say in 6 and 7.
Phil Haldeman
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