Classical lp dilemma - recommendations, please

thanks, but *dinosaur*?!? i'm only 23.

:)

Hello 23yr old dinosaur -- which of course, relates to vinyl, not your age; by the same token I'm a double dinosaur :). Furtwangler & Klemperer (conductors) for Beethoven's 9th, for his piano works (incl. Elise) I recommend the following pianists: Brendel / Gieseking or Backhaus, for Mussorgski try 2nd piano concerto with Richter or Arrau on the piano. These should be reasonably easy to find on LP.
I too find the Virgin Guide more consistent than Gramophone or Penguin. If you read french, the Diapason old guide is IMO one of the best guides. Cheers!

Didn't Beethoven composed "Fur Elise"??
A-must for Mussorgski to have Shekharazada. I cannot specify the label since I didn't listen to this piece for years.

Without going into the specific records you are looking or, I have been most impressed with the following re-issues in classical music (on LP--for us that aren't dinasour's too)
1. Classic Records (particularly the 45 RPM versions)
2. Klavier
3. King Analog
Classic Records sells direct (and has a decent sale going on now) The other 2 are available through Cisco. There are of course the usual outlets for many of these such as Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, and Red Trumpet but they may not stock the full catalog at all times.

...Yes, he did Mara. For a student called Elise, it seems. I don't know if anything else ensued. But, it ain't bad to have Beethoven compose s/thing for you!