Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 44?


I had the privilege of hearing the Minnesota Orchestra perform this last evening. I know precious little about how to select an audiophile quality recording of this work. Can any of you classical buffs out there give me some suggestions? In advance...very much appreciated. Thanks.
128x128mdrummer01
This is great. I'm getting goose bumps and I haven't even set foot in the record store yet. Thanks again.
In addition to those mentioned above:
Van Cliburn version with the Symphony of the Air
conducted by Kiril Kondrashin.
It is a live performance at Carnegie Hall in 1958. While having sort of passed him off for some years as over hyped have been listening to his recordings again and there is a subtlety that only now comes through that makes them sound so much better to me, then again it could be just age.
The Previn and Askenazy are both tops, but you might also want to check out Andrew Litton's cycle with the Royal Philharmonic on Virgin.
Second bite at the apple - I mentioned in passing Symphony #1. After posting I sat down and listened to it. This symphony should be far more highly regarded by audiophiles, IMHO. It is big! It is dynamic! It is engaging! and, even though it was his first symphony it resembles Symphonic Dances, his last symphony (in everything but name) quite a bit. Don't miss it. :-)

FWIW, by way of analogy only, comparing Rachmininoff's 1 and 2(3) is like comparing Beethovens 5 and 6, or Mahlers 1 and 4. A big difference in mood/drama.
I second Newbee's enthusiasm for Symphony No. 1, very underrated, as different from the others as he says, and the last movement is one of those audiophile spectaculars. Another of those works I would not have bought had I not heard it live in concert. The Ashkenazy is excellent, as is the EMI Previn, and Naxos has a version, coupled with his Capriccio Bohemienne (sounds a lot like Dvorak when you hear it at first, due to the melodies), which is also quite good.

I agree also that Litton should be pretty good, I have seen and heard him conduct Rachmaninoff and he too has a special feeling for this music.