Amazing - a lot you have such great music collections that you don't need any of these box sets, but I'm hearing 99% of this stuff for the first time.
It was conducted by the first performer and is the second stereo recording ever. And it is still the very best interpretation.
I thought you have many recordings by Hogwood and other L'Oiseau-Lyre recoridngs? I am also not a believer of big boxes.
And yet I did buy quite a few of those big boxes (performers and conductors only), which leaves me with a lot of duplicate CDs that no one wants to take off my hands…
The Szell big box will not lead to many duplicates for me since I only have a few of his Philips recordings and probably one Columbia recording on LP ... I actually have his small Beethoven Symphonies box. I rarely bought Columbia or RCA LP's back in the day.
Yes I do, but I mean recordings from the 50s and 60s - all the old musicians that so many here are fans of. Edit: I started really listening to classical music in the mid-80s so everything before that I'm catching up on.
A lot of the recordings are from the 1950s; some sound better than others (CD sound-I don't have any RCA SACDs).
I think I have made up for the deficiency in earlier artists by adding some 50 Naxos Historical titles to my collection. I just refuse to deal with any additional LP's, a format I am no longer willing to spend money on.
I opted for the DSD download rather than the LPs, but their image shows the tracks. Anyway, this is beautifully played and recorded. In fact, it's one of the most realistic and transparent recordings I've heard. (Since they used Sennheiser HD800s headphones during the recordings, I used the same for listening!) It's live, but there is very little noise except for applause between works. Highly recommended.
I was just joking on some word play, ie he was catching up on classical music composed before the 80s. Classical composed in the last few decades falls into that avant-garde realm (though sort of a meaningless description as all classical would have been avant-garde at one point in history) I mentioned.
Issued 1976. The back cover has a Demonstration-Not For Sale stamp. Recorded 4/25/72 & 2/8/73 (Meistersinger) and 5/17/73 (Tannhäuser). Producer: Max Wilcox. Engineer: Paul Goodman.
A lot of the newer classical music, at least that which gets programmed & recorded by full-size orchestras, is actually somewhat conservative. Composers may use some "avant-garde" techniques mixed with more traditional sounds, but they are again actively seeking an audience & have abandoned the uncompromising avant-garde stance.
I was blind as a bat and did not even notice the difference between RCA and Columbia, though they are both owned by Sony now ...
I think it depends on the genre as to which period of recordings are valued. For standard orchestral and opera the pre 1980 recordings are highly valued. The repertoire was narrower and musicians grew up with these works and played them often. The singers also were doing fewer roles but studying them more intensely. But for Baroque or Early music or some avant garde music the situation is more complex or the post 1985 recordings are more valued. The important variable is stylistic understanding combined with excellent performances. I find it hard to listen to many Baroque or Early Music recordings from the 50s and 60s even though the musicians are good. It was only in the 70s that more period sensitive performances gained traction and became the norm. Conversely more recent Mozart to Stravinsky opera or orchestral performances are played well technically but lack stylistic nuance to my ears.
Recorded 3/1-4/8, 1968, Sofiensaal. Producer: Erik Smith. Engineer: James Lock. The Decca discography says this was issued 6/72, but the label gives the sound copyright year as 1971.
