Essential recordings of classical music

Hello,

I want to get some Claude Debussy and some Erik Satie but I don't know a lot about classical music... I realize both of these composers predate any decent recording technology but I wonder if there are 'classic' recordings you could point me to. I would imagine someone puts out a rendition of 'claire de lune', for example, every year, but surely there is an 'iconic' recording that is most famous... I wouldn't know what it is, though.

Thanks in advance.

For Satie piano music you might seek out Aldo Ciccolini. De Leeuw is also considered an "essential" interpreter of Satie although I find his renditions a bit slow.

For Debussy I'd look for performances conducted by Pierre Boulez. Generally a good way to go when you're starting out in a composer is to look for stuff on the best labels, like Deutsche Gramophon and Sony Classical, and also to look for the great conductors and great orchestras. I also find I particularly like the sound of remastered works from the late 50s to early 70s much more than anything from the 80s or 90s, but that might just be taste.

The only classical music I had around when I was a kid was Brahms' Piano Concerto #2, the mid-60s recording of the Cleveland Orchestra; Rudolf Serkin, piano, George Szell conducting. When I mentioned it on ILM a few years ago everybody said "yeah, that's the one to have."

Aldo Ciccolini seconded. You can get a 4CD set of his Satie piano work for fuckall and it has pretty much everything you'd want.

If you want 'Vexations', I highly recommend
http://www.brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7850:erik-satie-q42-vexations-1893q&catid=13:albums-and-singles&Itemid=96

strongly recommend Mitsuko Uchida on Debussy's Etudes but I am a super-Uchido stan so grain of salt but that record is seriously stunning.

This Royal Concertgebouw / Bernard Haitink conducted compilation of Debussy's orchestral music wouldn't be a bad place to start.
http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Orchestral-Music-Claude/dp/B00000417P

And the Fritz Reiner / Chicago SO edition of Bartok's 'Concerto for Orchestra' is generally considered one of the best.