Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #41)

Thanks, I'll check it out. I'm a musician too, and off key performances can bother me as well (albeit I'm "only" a drummer, so off key playing is my privilege ).

 

These are the main reasons why I buy CDs based on performance, not label.

FWIW, he recorded the Dvorak earlier (late forties) with Ormandy (I have and enjoy this CD, transferred by Seth Winner):



http://www.amazon.com/Gregor-Piatig...90&sr=8-1&keywords=piatigorsky+dvorak+Ormandy

 

Me too, almost always. OTOH, having the SACD/DVD-A playback capabilities it's pretty hard to resist to some higher resolution temptations which scream "If I'm not a bargain, what else is?!"

 

Thanks for the tip, I may buy this CD since it has all-new music for me. The pricing isn't too bad either (albeit it's a bit more expensive than the SACD but it also offers 3 concertos instead of 2).

 

Sure, but it's only a bargain if you actually listen to the disc, right?

I often have to remind myself that there's likely going to be a new release/reissue that I am going to really want just around the corner, so keeping some extra money in the bank usually seems like the wisest move for me.

 

BTW, speaking of performance-over-recording preferences, currently I'm listening to a mono recording of the Liszt 1st Piano Concerto played by Lazar Berman. And I so strongly prefer it to the Emanuel Ax stereo version (which is a common "standard recommendation") that it's not even funny...

 

The Ax gets the axe.

 

Yeah, give it a listen and see.

Great disc, I have it also, too bad that is oop. You can also compare the two performances via youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG2C4nOxlJk&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWm6PRw7xkY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13wYKQNpS4M&feature=relmfu

The difference is night and day IMO.

 

No - I think Robin has commented on this extensively. Unlike the Mercury SACDs, the Living Stereo remastering was done for the redbook as well as SACD layers. And there is a consensus that it was an audiophile quality job. I do not challenge the fact that improved remastering will often result in a greater improvement in SQ than a HiRez format. All you need to do is listen to compare the Blue Note remastering done by Hoffman and Yoshida against Rudy van Gelder.

 

Agree with your points. I love these discs.

I think it's worth reading Steve Hoffman's initial post on the thread he started about these if anyone is unsure. Basically brilliant mastering, SACD's at a bargain price and played by some of the greats. You can't go wrong.

 

I prefer the original for clarinet.

 

Edit - referring to Starker/Bach

I know Stuart likes the RCA cycle. I have not heard it. However the MLP set is legendary. The SACD goes for big bucks.

http://www.sa-cd.net/showreviews/1542

 

The Mercury set is more collectible both in the original vinyl and in SACD, which is oop BTW.

I like the RCA set more, Starker's phrasing is better and the sound of the cello is also more tonally accurate in the RCA set, warmer and with more presence. (*no pun intended lol)

 

Were the RCAs three track recordings? Thought they were two track. The Mercuries were three track but I thought that was one of their many unique qualities.

 

Now listening to Murray Perahia's Beethoven from the new box set. The box set is beautifully made, and I'm glad I took a chance on it, since I have not heard most of MP's output.

 

Yes many -not all- Living Stereos were also three track recordings. When that was the case it was also very prominently stated in the LP's backcover.

Like I said, not all are three track. For instance Reiner's famous Zarathustra from 1954 is two track only.

 

Envious - I don't believe it's out over here.

 

Most of the "Living Stereo" series of RCA was recorded for three-track, though a couple of my favorite Fritz Reiner/CSO recordings—'Zarathrustra' and the Brahms V. C. with Heifetz—are strictly 2 track. I would say that the things that made the Living Stereo series great, in addition to a very high batting average performance-wise, are the right microphones in the right spaces in the right positions. They got it right, everybody else more or less gets it wrong. And the ensembles on these recordings, particularly the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, have a sound and style that is pretty much gone now.

 

Does anyone know why MDT's "exclusive of VAT" price shows no reduction?

 

Some were and some weren't. Some of the issues mix three- and two-track. Here's what I have:

3-track:

Berlioz Requiem--Munch
Mendelssohn Syms. 4 and 5, Octet Scherzo--Munch
Saint-Saens Sym. 3, Debussy La Mer, Ibert Escales--Munch
Mussorgsky-Ravel Pictures etc.--Reiner
Rimsky-K. Scheherazade; Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale--Reiner
Franck Sym.; Stravinsky Petrouchka--Monteux
Puccini Turandot--Leinsdorf (and a bunch of singers )
Beethoven "name" Sonatas--Rubinstein
Chopin Ballades and Scherzi--Rubinstein


2-track:

Beethoven Syms. 5 and 6--Munch
Tchaikowsky Sym. 6--Monteux
Offenbach-Rosenthal Gaite Parisienne, Rossini-Respighi Boutique--A. Fiedler

Mixed:

Brahms (2) and Tchaikowsky (3) Violin Concerti--Heifetz
Beethoven (2) and Mendelssohn (3) Violin Concerti--Heifetz
Dvorak Sym. 9 (3) and various fillers (2)--Reiner

 

It shows a reduction on my computer:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/bach-cantatas-vol-51-bach-japan-masaaki-suzuki-bis-sacd.html

 

Copied from the page you reference:

£8.29
Ex VAT: £8.29

or in dollars

$13.27
Ex VAT: $13.27

 

Weird.

That price is the w/o VAT price, for what it's worth.

 

John - I thought it might be because you are logged in and they knew you wouldn't need the with VAT price, but I just logged in and still see two prices.

 

I think it's worth reading Steve Hoffman's initial post on the thread he started about these if anyone is unsure. Basically brilliant mastering, SACD's at a bargain price and played by some of the greats. You can't go wrong.[/QUOTE]

Whenever I see the Living Stereo titles that have not been remastered I pick these up too. I know the remasters are heavily favored but, I've found some nice titles that were not included in the Hybrid SACD format. I found this one used for $2.00 and it sounds nice. I"m not sure if this was done in the SACD format.