Mining classical music gold.

I never succeeded to replace Fournier and Starker in Bach ...

I tried many great cellists have done very good albums...

But sometimes a musician touch spiritual flows and it is no more just performance...

 In the violin sonatas and partitas the same is true...

The mono version by Szering  52 version  transcend everyone, the same  pulse is the wind of spirit , it is no more sound... ... Even  sensual Grumiaux cannot compare (which is my favorite version of the violin concertos or Mozart quintet) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFjpvZefMpA&list=RDYFjpvZefMpA&start_radio=1&t=585s 

No violonist seems to play like a prayer with not an ounce of academism, or showmanship. The younger Szering did. His other version dont even compare in 67...He did not pray just play perfectly...

The other version i admired is  not spiritual as Szering . It is by Joseph Szigeti, his interpretation is like the demonstration of a theorem... i never heard something purely intellectual but not cold but crystalline as exploring a diamond face one face at a time... No one has ever played like this Bach with so much intensity like Szering....

I cannot really listen more than one times any other version than Szering. But Szigeti is so intense and intelligent i cannot be tired of him. not much people can rival Szering "samadhi" playing Bach as if it was God behind each note speaking and as if it was Bach himself playing... But Szigeti play like a mathematician exploring geometry...fabulous as my second choice...

In the two case we forget the violonist virtusosity for music, we forget the sound for a deep meaning shining through it...Mathematics with Szigeti or God with Szering... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DetT2bkJEyI&list=PLQ6HaFRXeVYCEwnqdJSnJ6eP4uWzXZzwQ&index=1

There is -plenty of other great musician who played Bach violin partita as supreme master...

Heifetz as usual with absolute perfection, or Milstein also perfection on all count,  or the young Menuhin playing as if it was his own improvisation . Many others whose list will be long ... 

As my final word, i think if Szering did not exist nor Szigeti, Milstein will be my first choice...His playing is a refined poetry, (not God as Szering  or a chain of intense and beautiful geometry theorems as Szigeti ) , over all others version i knew pure poetry singing and speaking...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SwF2gLZPkQ&list=RD7SwF2gLZPkQ&start_radio=1

I too am a major fan of the Milstein, of recent violinists Hilary Hahn is impressive.

For me Heifetz is the God for music of the Romantic era.  As someone said "he doesn't just play the notes".  He also said that the major reason he plays modern composers is that it makes him realize how truly great Beethoven was.

After seeing the incredible array of cello suite offerings on Presto I had to sample a bunch, many of the artists unknown to me.  I decided on one movement to sample, the Prelude of the 6th.  There were some truly dreadful plodding offerings but Tatjana Vassiljeva found something very special - I felt my foot tapping, her approach seems to recognize that the suites originate as dances.  Her playing is almost spiccato in the opening bars; that prelude raised the hairs on the back of my neck and some passages brought tears to my eyes.  It is playing for sheer, transcendent JOY!  I'll be listening to the rest of her recording today, I have no idea how it will be but that one movement is amazing.

My wife is a very occasional listener to classical music and came over to say "That is wonderful".

The album is available on Qobuz, or you can sample on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/track/7j39emMdcRMTugzytInB7F

Don't say gold under this administration... 

I don't have all the composers you mentioned. One or two, maybe.

You have gotten me re-interested in my classical music collection by bringing up some real gems, thank you rvpiano!

Since we’re generally off the main topic here, I’d like to recommend a string quartet I discovered on IDAGIO : Quator Arod.  Incredible rendering of the Haydn Op.  76  String Quartets and Debussy Quartet. 
Interestingly, the recorded sound on IDAGIO in standard resolution is better than hi res file on Qobuz.

My favorite Version on Tacet  (Tubes only recording ) of Haydn quatuors: 

The sound is gorgeous and the interpretation is top notch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plmy7D4myes&list=RDplmy7D4myes&start_radio=1

I am not alone thinking this way about them :

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-16009/