Brahms and Tchaikovsky

Hard to recommend something that is not at least a good performance. What good is great sound if the performance is mediocre?

For the Tchaikovsky try Santiago Rodriguez with the Sofia Philharmonic, conducted by Emil Tabakov. It is an Elan CD #2228. It is a 1996 recording. Also comes with the Grieg and Liszt

Libor
You make many points I also will make, don't get hung up on audiophile quality sound, all these sound good enough, seek the stellar performances.

TCHAIKOVSKY Piano 1 - must agree with Libor here, the Argerich/Phillips live recording conducted by Kondrashin is 1st choice for me, Argerich gives defining performance with tremendous energy and passion, explosive finale.

Also like the Wild/Chesky version conducted by Fistoulari. For budget price CD the Glemser/Naxos is preferred by me over many full priced versions and offers tremendous value.

You can try Kleiber's version of Brahms 4th recently reissued under the DG Originals label. The performance is exemplary (my other versions are/were Walter/Sony, Abbado/DG and Bernstein/DG) and makes up for only having 40 minutes of music on a CD. Sound is "good" -- I can't say for sure I take performance over sonic qualities all the time -- but I'm sure it will be quite sufficient.

Good luck.

Ahh, this is good stuff to know. One of my favorite pieces is Tchaikowsky's Piano Concerto No.1. I also enjoy Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Mussorgsky as well. Thanks.

For an offbeat rendition of Brahms 3rd and 4th Symphonies, which is actually quite good, is The Transylvania Philharmonic conducted by Erich Bengel.