Best Classical Music Conductor

Carlos Klieber has very few recordings, but the ones in the catalog are extremely good. Dutoit is probably the best in French and ballet music today, curiously he avoids the main symphonic repertoire. Karajan was extemely verseatile, massive body of work including opera, he has 3 or 4 versions of most works recorded, hard to beat when you look at his entire legacy.

I also agree with the Klieber nomination. I agree that there are too few recordings by Klieber out there. Rattle was amazing by putting the City of Birmingham on the map. I believe Rattle was just hired by Berlin to replace Abaddo who is also quite good. As far as what instruments they play there are a lot of pianists also; Bernstein, Wolfgang Sawal... how ever you spell it in Philadelphia. I have a Bach laser disc where Karajan plays the harpsichord; Daniel Barenboim also. Yes that was Zander on 60 minutes. He give a talk before every perforance of the Boston Philharmonic very much like what is on the Mahler 9th CD. He loves to prepare the audience so they get the most out of the concert. Ben's concerts are one thing I miss after I moved south.

Micheal Tilson Thomas and Eiji Oue.

I will also nominate Marin Alsop, music director of the Colorado Symphony, especially since there are so few female conductors at this level.

Since the thread is favorite conductor, may I forego recording quality? Carl Bohm (sorry for the missing umlaut). Try his reading on Beethoven 9th or Bach St. Matthew Passion. Wilhelm Furtwangler and his reading on Bach, Wagner, and Beethoven. Otto Klemperer on Beethoven. He did a wonderful Brahms 4th. Evgeny Mravinsky on Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky -- it will hit you like a blizzard; you will get frozen still til the end, taking massive storm hits without any defense. Eugene Ormandy, so underappreciated because he lacked the grandeur and power associated with legenday conductors. But, he excelled on lyrical readings, especially with strings. Among many good readings (Orff, Offenbach, Rachmaninoff, etc.) of his, Tchaikovsky 6th is my favorite -- quite different from Mravinsky's. Szell's reading on Smetana and Wagner. Bruno Walter on Mahler (not that many on CD). As recommended by the Penguin publication, his reading of Bruckner 9th is truly impressive. Hans Knappertbusch on Bruckner. Willem Mengelberg. Leopold Stokowski. But, some of their recordings are not up to par with sound quality; so, you may need a lot of imaginations to truly enjoy them. Nonetheless, reference performances to me (you may get different opinions from Penguin, Grammophon, etc.). Erich and Carlos Kleiber. Karajan. Temirkanov with big potential. Rattle on Mahler (literally every Mahler he did though not many :)). I wish he would try the whole Bruckner cycle. Too many still left unmentioned. Yet, wanna include John Williams -- easy on your ears :). Happy listening.