You are reinforcing the point that it is so sad that unfamiliar repertoire is often committed to disc by the smaller companies using orchestras totally unaccustomed to the idiom and keen and enthusiastic but not particularly inspired conductors and recorded on the cheap. The result is a recording which may give one some idea of the nature of a work but cannot reveal just how good it could sound if performed with more polish and panache.
It its early days and, to some extent, still today Marco Polo/Naxos used Eastern European/Russian orchestras who struggled with such repertoire-the Havergal Brian 2nd is one example but, most notoriously, in my opinion, the set of Malipiero symphonies recorded by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra
It is a testimony to the rising standards of orchestral playing across the world that this is getting less of an issue these days. There was a time when, again for example, I would have doubted the capacity of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland to play a piece to its full potential but it is now a first-class band. So too all the British orchestras. Give a professional orchestra a score and they can now virtually sight-read it onto disc
It is still however remarkable how a conductor who really believes in a piece can transform it. That was Beecham's great genius..so too Sir Adrian Boult. There are young conductors around who can do that but instead they are asked to conduct yet another performance of a Mahler symphony
Your final point is, of course, also quite correct
I DO have a very wide knowledge of the orchestral music of the last century but-by definition it is "wide" rather than "deep". I cannot discuss comparative versions of a particular composition in the way that others here and elsewhere are capable. I rely on the critics in IRR or reputable reference books for that. That is just the way it is
As I said, I have no regrets
Marco Polo's Adriano Malipiero symphonic cycle has often been berated by many musical critics. Perhaps the axiom holds that if something is repeated often enough, it becomes the accepted view. It would be a tragedy if this discouraged anyone from listening to the music.
If it were not for this cycle, I would never have developed an interest in Malipiero's fine music and he was quite prolific.
While the performances may lack sparkle and pzazz, I think they may have been reflective of Malipiero's personna,he was certainly no Respighi. I wish I could understand what was "wrong" with the cycle other than the "boxed" Marco Polo audio. I hope I am not being snarky by asking for performances/conductors who have done better by comparison?
