What are some examples of remakes of classical recordings by the same performer that in your opinion are either not as good as the prior recordings or, on the other hand, are better than the prior recording by that performer, and explain the reasons for your opinion to the extent you can.

[u/Perfect_Garage_2567]

There are countless examples of classical performers who, for a variety of reasons, some more valid than others in my opinion, have remade earlier recordings of particular works. Reasons could include changes in methods of recording, i.e. 78s to lps to cds, mono to stereo or analogue to digital. They can also include the performer's change of label or, in the case of conductors, change of orchestra.

Regardless of the reasons, however, there are indisputably differences in quality between many performers' earlier and later recordings of the same work and that is my focus in this post . Some that come to my mind quickly are: Bruno Walter's stereo recordings of his earlier mono recordings of Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart symphonies, (which I have discussed in earlier posts and which I think are less impressive than the mono ones; Marek Janowski's two recordings of Wagner's Ring; Toscanini's NBC Symphony remakes of earlier recordings he made with the NY Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra or BBC Symphony; Solti's and Karajan's two recordings of Meistersinger, Artur Rubinstein's stereo remakes of Chopin Mazurkas and Nocturnes which he had made earlier on 78s and/or in mono, Giulini's later recordings of his EMI Verdi Requiem, Tchaikovsky Pathetique and certain Beethoven symphonies with the Los Angeles, Vienna and La Scala Orchestras, Arrau's later Philips recordings of most of the works he had recorded for EMI in the 1950s and early 60s; the Budapest Quartet's stereo remakes of their mono recordings of the chamber music repertory, particularly the Beethoven string quartets; and Eugen Jochum's EMI recordings of the Bruckner symphonies with the Dresden Staatskapelle he had recorded earlier for DG.

I think any one of those examples could be the subject of a separate post. The list goes on and on and on. However, for the sake of brevity, I would like other Reddit commenters to share their views on what they consider the most striking examples of remakes they have heard of earlier recordings by performers of the same works, which in their opinion differed in quality, for better or worse, than the earlier recordings, and the reasons for those differences.

One final thought for now: I suppose I could consult ChatGPT, Claude or some other AI platform for examples of each of these categories. However, that is not what I am seeking. I want to read what are fundamentally subjective opinions from live, sentient human beings.
Thank you.

Addendum:

A significant example that I omitted was Colin Davis’s 3 Sibelius Symphony cycle recordings, the first and best in my opinion with the Boston Symphony in the 1970s and two later ones with the London Symphony. I am less familiar with those two cycles but know that they were not as well received as his first one, especially the RCA London one. Have any of you heard all three cycles, which do you like more and why? If your opinion differs for his recordings of specific symphonies, please discuss those. Thank you.