Reddit reviews Schubert: Winterreise

Ignoring symphonies and other large scale works, which are very different creatures from what we call songs, look at the timings of this song cycle by Schubert from almost 200 years ago. Besides a few really short ones, the length of the songs aren't really much different from what we get nowadays. Same thing with this collection of madrigals by Gesualdo from the renaissance. So I'm not sure I completely buy the technology explanation, there has to be something else, probably as simple as what the top comment says, that it just feels right.

I'll hazard some suggestions:

Mozart: Piano Concerti, Uchida/Tate/English Chamber Orchestra

Bach: Mass in B Minor, Gardiner

Debussy: La Mer/Nocturnes etc., Boulez/Cleveland

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Boulez/Chicago

Beethoven: op. 59 quartets, Tokyo SQ

Webern: Works for String Quartet, Emerson SQ

Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire, Ensemble Intercontemporain

Bach: Orchestral Suites, Neville Marriner

Mahler: 9th Symphony, Karajan/Berlin

Schubert: Winterreise and Goethe Lieder, Fischer-Dieskau

And Karajan doing the Brahms symphonies on DVD.

With Schubert, oh yes I do! The Fischer-Dishkau/Demus recording of Winterreise is a real treasure. Even people who aren't keen on lieder may find it appealing:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Winterreise-Dietrich-Fischer-Dieskau/dp/B000001GQE

Kleiber's rendition of the "Unfinished" symphony is the best I've heard:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Symphonies-Nos-3-8/dp/B000001GXE/

And I love the Takacs Quartet's take on the 13th and 14th string quartets:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-String-Quartets-Death-Maiden/dp/B000I5Y8W8/

Finally, the Emerson Quartet playing with Rostropovich (what a team-up!) for the String Quintet:

http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-String-Quintet-d-956/dp/B000001GFA/

As for Mahler you can't go wrong with Rattle's recording of the 2nd Symphony or Bernstein's recording of the 5th. Bernstein playing Rhapsody in Blue is terrific as well. Hope this helps :-)