Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #15)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Gary, Aug 23, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    Tony,
    It's a gorgeous photo, isn't it? :)
    Shure/SME/Thorens. The golden combo that has long been very, very popular in Japan! :thumbsup:
     
  2. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Now listening to this single layer SACD:

    [​IMG]
    Bruno Walter's recordings of Mozart from late in his career became my "imprint" version and even though I'm aware that Walter romanticized the music, I'm still in love. Also have Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra's earlier CD remastering of Mozart's last six symphonies. Any guess which sounds better? :winkgrin:
     
  3. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    SONY 35DCs win hands down.
     
  4. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Had to look that up. I guess you're referring to an early remastering program from Japan in the mid-eighties. I've got Mozart's last six symphonies on Sony SM3K 46511 and it sounds rolled off and diffuse compared to the SACD # SS6494. Can't say as I'm a big fan of early remasterings, I've worked with early Sony A/D convertors and can't stand their sound. I know that there are some gifted remastering engineers who managed to get good results with Sony's 1610s and 1630s but the same engineers would get better results with high-rez gear.

    In any case, have you heard the single layer SACD reissues of Bruno Walter and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra?
     
  5. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
    I was thinking about it too, yet I need to find better prices...
     
  6. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    I have one, Beethoven Sixth Symphony SL. It is very good but sounds more "in your face" and less natural to my ears compared with the 35DC.

    I've seen a few Japan for US Walter CDs, which should be quite cheap. :righton:
     
  7. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
    So it should be called "shelf set". And "room set" for the entire Vivaldi output. :D
     
  8. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    I wish I could be more help about that; as with Bruno Walter's account of the Mahler 1st, in accordance with some sort of phonographic Gresham's Law the later stereo recording, although not as satisfying artistically, largely drove it out of circulation. It's not especially easy to find even on LP (my copy is part of a complete vln. sta. box, Victor LVT 5000, in which the pianist for the remaining performances is Emanuel Bay), and offhand I remember seeing only one CD reissue, years ago, which of course I passed by because I already had the LP by that point.

    I just checked WERM; the recording is in the 1951-52 "Second Supplement," which I suppose gives us a good idea of when it was released, and evidently was first issued on LP as Victor LM 1193 or on 45s as WDM 1612.
     
  9. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    Do you have a list of who performs what?

    Schumann has been hard for me to get into. Luckily, Cortot, Richter, Moravec and Natan Brand's piano recordings have been helpful to get me to appreciate his art. Only the Richter could potentially be in that set, though.
     
  10. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    Touche.

    It should also come with a loan application, as the $1600 price tag is steep.
     
  11. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
    Plus an optional girl - carrier and baby sitter. :goodie: :D
     
  12. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
  13. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    If you're familiar with the original vinyl of the Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony then you know that the originals are "in your face." Of course, microphones close to a relatively small orchestra in a reverberant space will be 'in your face', that's just the way it goes. I never liked the SQ of Walter's Pastorale all that much, have the SACD and it seems like an accurate reflection of how the music was recorded. The "Legendary Interpretations" box of Bruno Walter's late period Mozart sounds as if an additional layer of digital reverb was added to alleviate the edginess of the original. I'd rather hear what's on the tape. I'll look for the 35DC issues of Sony's, when I first heard that series my playback gear was nowhere near as good as it is now.
     
  14. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    MDT has it for $88. For 35 CDs, that's a decent price.

    However, looking at the roster of artists (for Schumann), I can't say that I am impressed:

    CD 1 – 5 Orchestral Works, Concertos: Gardiner (Symphonies), Ashkenazy (Piano Concerto), Szeryng (Violin Concerto), Harrell (Cello Concerto) Mutter (Violin Fantasy)

    CD 6 – 10: Choral Works, including Gardiner’s Paradies und die Peri, Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (Britten) and Manfred Incidental Music (Albrecht)

    CD 11 – 19: Lieder, with Mathias, Varady, Schreier, Fischer-Dieskau and Eschenbach

    CD 20 – 26: Chamber Works, with Hagen Quartet, Beaux Arts Trio, Argerich/Kremer, among others

    CD 27 – 35: Piano Works, with Pollini, Ashkenazy, Pogorelich, Eschenbach
     
  15. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Seems odd that the box doesn't include any of Wilhelm Kempff's pellucid Schumann.
     
  16. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I have the Beethoven 5th/Schubert Unfinished SACD, but they are not my favorite performances. I also have the late Mozart symphonies on an Odyssey 2fer - it sounds better than the Szell Odyssey Haydn, but that's not saying much.

    I never bought the Walter 6th, because I was annoyed that Sony did not couple it with another symphony at that price (and I already own the cycle on redbook).
     
  17. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
    Are you surprised that there's some Mutter? Really? Personally, I'm shocked that IT'S KARAJAN-FREE. :eek: :laugh: :angel:

    OTOH, the roster, indeed, is pretty banal, and I've already had the complete symphonies (a classic set by Saint Louis Orchestra under Semkow, originally on Vox), at least 2 adorable versions of Piano Concerto (Richter on LP and Lupu on CD) and some Lieder, so maybe I'll better pass and buy some noteworthy separate discs instead...
     
  18. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Walter's Unfinished is a favorite, his Beethoven's Fifth is bloated. Have the SACD and like it a whole lot more than my Odyssey LP of the same program.

    Sad,isn't it, as Szell's Haydn was so On.

    Lucky for me, I found it years ago, used and cheap enough. And, as a performance, I really like Walter's Pastorale.
     
  19. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    I know what you means. From my experiences with the Columbia 6 eye and 2 eye vinyls, they do sound "in your face" than RCAs or Mercs would. But the SACD has another kind of presentation like "modernization".
     
  20. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    No, I didn't say I was suprised, I said I wasn't impressed.
     
  21. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    My imprint version of the Unfinished was Toscanini - therefore I favor intense interpretations. My current choice is Carlos Kleiber.

    On the other hand, not only is Walter's Beethoven Seventh my imprint version, it was my moment of epiphany when I "discovered" classical music.
     
  22. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
    There's also another set that seems to suit my current needs better (look here for better pricing).
     

    Attached Files:

  23. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Bruno Walter's is intense enough but slow, Love Furtwängler's slow but intense versions on:

    [​IMG]

    . . . but I can get where you're at. I'll have to find Kleiber's version, he's become one of my favorite conductors.

    That's a lovely version. The Seventh is my favorite Beethoven Symphony. I have to say that my go-to version these days is Carlos Kleiber's DGG SACD, go figure.
     
  24. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    I think that comes from providing the resolution of the master tape without the characteristic softening of peaks that most folks experience with LPs. I'm noticing that SACDs in general sound "harder" with hard sounds, like percussion or brass. For me, that sound more accurately reflects the sound of acoustic instruments. It's remarkable how much sound is preserved on these fifty-year old tapes and how much of that sound successfully comes through on SACDs, even on my remarkably cheap system.
     
    layman likes this.
  25. RiRiIII

    RiRiIII Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Greece
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine