thanks for the comment John; i take note of your recommendations too, but i must say that buying classical music recordings has been, for many years now, secondary to listening to what i already have.

what i most probably will buy in the near future are these two:
Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d'Or on Blu-ray (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Rimsky-Korsakov-Le-Coq-DOr-Blu-ray/39234/

R. Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie on Blu-ray too (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Renee-Fleming-In-Concert-Blu-ray/44973/

the main reason i'm buying these is for the music itself but more so for the accompanying images.
i haven't been to a concert for a long time, so this will act as a placebo.

here's something you might enjoy:
in the 70's i lived in Iceland and one time Pierre Rampal was giving a concert. for the duration of his stay in the country he was living at a french univ. professor's house. there was a parrot in the house.
Mr. Rampal starts playing his instrument for the benefit of the household and after a few tries he has to give up playing as the parrot goes crazy every time he hears the music.
they told Mr. Rampal that maybe that was the best and most honest critique he ever had.

i should have written Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Jacques, of course you should listen to what you have, but should also explore gaps in your collection.

Those Blu-rays look like they'll provide you with a lot of enjoyment. Incidentally, it was amusing to see the comment of the reviewer on the Strauss disc, who apparently considered that Strauss, as the composer of all the music, was given undue prominence over "mere performers"(as if they were anything else).