High-Resolution Downloads to die for…

[acousticsguru]

Here's a new mystery -- since, apparently, this is now only available from HDTracks, I checked out the samples from their website...and it sounds like everything on Volume 2 is in mono. I assume the Qobuz download was in proper stereo? Of this is the case (that only a mono version is now available for download), that would seem to be cause for some concern.

 

Turns out Nick is right and Volume 2 is in MONO!

 

Can hardly express how miffed I am. As to my recommendation of both volumes (the whole concert), I have nothing more to say in my defense than that I was suffering from a lumbar disk herniation earlier this year, thus may not have managed to sit (upright, that is) through all the tracks from both volumes, preferring to lie flat on my back most of the time.

 

After all, I didn't notice the following at the time either (paying full price, truly not in my best shape...):

 

Strange. The Modern Jazz Quartet European Concert, Volumes 1 & 2 (24/192) are available form Qobuz for €20.98 each (€41.96 for the two albums), but the tracks are available for individual download for €1.49 each, which comes to €22.35 for the 15 tracks on the two albums.

 

In the meantime, Qobuz appears to have retracted their downloads of both volumes. I've contacted them about it, and will report back when I know more.

 

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[acousticsguru]

Qobuz offers great customer service!! Got an immediate answer that they noticed this "anomaly" (apparently the reason they retracted the download) and that they'll get back to me as soon as their technical department has it figured out. For something else that can't possibly be their fault either (a faulty redbook download of a CD I've already bought twice and am unable to get an accurate rip of with XLD - the download stops short in exactly the same place), they've given me a free album to choose - "for my patience"/to soothe/sweeten the wait.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[acousticsguru]

Available as 24/96 Studio Master download.

 

The sonic difference to the DG Originals release (presumably downsampled from the 24/96 master I'm reviewing) may seem a bit less dramatic than this is normally the case, but try going back to the redbook afterwards…

 

This is of course a famous recording. My family has already it since my childhood in form of a 45 rpm vinyl single. It has remained my favourite interpretation/recording of the piece in all these years. We're talking about Smetana's Moldau here, a version that simply doesn't wear off - seemingly impossible, right? For once a grand, noble river, but with a swagger and cheerfulness that's missing in so many interpretations, and with just enough of the bustling nervous energy of a mountain creek. Very good sound quality and transfer.

 

Note this can be downloaded individually from e.g. Qobuz. It's coupled to one of the finest recordings of Dvorák's "From the New World" Symphony (1959), but ironically that is a recording that has started to wear off on me somewhat. While it picks up in intensity in the latter two movements, and thus always leaves me convinced it's one of the top four or so recordings, the added weight and breadth of the first two movements seems out of place compared to e.g. István Kertész's celebrated, dynamic and idiomatic earlier (1961) Vienna recording (of which the recommended version is the Esoteric SACD, since there's no earlier digitized version in which the first movement is transferred at the correct tape speed and thus pitch - having said that, it's likely that the redbook CD included in the 50-CD box "The Decca Sound" is based on the same digital transfer). The other coupling, Liszt's Les Préludes (1959) with the Radio-Symphony-Orchester Berlin, another benchmark recording interpretatively, again stems from different recording sessions, and comes in slightly lesser sound quality than either of the BPO recordings - again, if you must have it, it's unlikely to ever become available in better sound than via this download (or presumably identical blu-ray release).

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[acousticsguru]

Available as 176.4 kS/s download, taken from the LSC SACD's DSD layer.

 

As mentioned earlier, high-resolution audio has done wonders for my appreciation of Jascha Heifetz's art. I'd always thought this the most impressive recording of Bruch's 1st Violin Concerto, but in some ways I used to admire Heifetz's playing here more than that I truly loved it. Now, with so much more of the subtlety and tonal shadings, and sheer humanity of his playing being audible, it's as if I rediscovered Heifetz's music-making. Like every classical music collector, I have multiple recordings of the piece, but more so than ever, this is my favourite.

 

The same isn't necessarily true of the couplings. As great a recording as Heifetz's is of Bruch's Scottish Fantasia (why this once-popular piece isn't being performed anymore, at least here, is a mystery to me - it's gorgeous!), my proverbial desert island recording would David Oistrakh's (1962 Decca, Jascha Horenstein conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, finest sonic incarnation thus far being the LIM XRCD). In the Vieuxtemps, Heifetz's strongest competition comes from his younger self (1935 HMV, John Barbirolli conducting the London Philharmonic) as well as Arthur Grumiaux (1966 Philips, Manuel Rosenthal conducting the Lamoureux Orchestra), but I'm fairly confident that if one owns this download (or the SACD it was taken from), most won't ever need another version.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[Snowmonkey]

David, I got all excited when I read your post. I too cut my teeth on the Fricsay Dvorak #9 and I would love to get a high res version. Unfortunately, it only seems to be available through HIGHRESAUDIO (Germany) and they seem to be a lot less flexible (dare I say Teutonic) about regional restrictions than those devil-may-care Gallic types at Qobuz.

[acousticsguru]

Available as 176.4 kS/s download, taken from the LSC SACD's DSD layer.

 

An exceptional download in that it couples one of my favourite recordings each of the Brahms and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos.

 

Having said that, the fact remains that for me, no version of the Tchaikovsky, and I've heard many, can match Leonid Kogan's (1959 EMI, Constantin Silvestri conducting the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra - finest sonic incarnation being the beautiful early-90s remastering as part of the "Artist Profile" double-CD, the new redbook CD sounds comparatively thin and bloodless in comparison). Even so, Heifetz's artistry is absolutely stupendous, and the high-resolution format tops the slightly wiry tone of earlier releases.

 

When it comes to the Brahms Violin Concerto, I have a number of favourite recordings, as with e.g. Beethoven too many to enumerate. Perhaps the performance I'm most in awe of is Ginette Neveu's (out of a very good studio recording and several great live performances, my favourite among the latter is the one from Hamburg, 3 May 1948, with Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt conducting the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Symponie-Orchester, most recommended transfer on Scribendum), another indispensable recording of incredible lyricism and beauty would be Arthur Grumiaux's (1958 Philips, Eduard van Beinum conducting the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orkest. Most audiophiles will want to add Henryk Szeryng (1958 RCA LSC, Pierre Monteux conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, best sonic incarnation thus far being the JVC XRCD) to the list, of course interpretatively, there would be many more. Having said all this, in its combination of interpretation, (now high-resolution) sound quality, conducting and orchestral playing, the Heifetz/Reiner/Chicago Symphony partnership remains unsurpassed.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[acousticsguru]

David, I got all excited when I read your post. I too cut my teeth on the Fricsay Dvorak #9 and I would love to get a high res version. Unfortunately, it only seems to be available through HIGHRESAUDIO (Germany) and they seem to be a lot less flexible (dare I say Teutonic) about regional restrictions than those devil-may-care Gallic types at Qobuz.

 

It's also available on Qobuz, as well as on Blu-Ray disc, from which you'd need to extract the files.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[Snowmonkey]

It's also available on Qobuz, as well as on Blu-Ray disc, from which you'd need to extract the files.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

I'm having trouble locating it in other than Redbook on Qobuz. You wouldn't have a link would you?

[acousticsguru]

I'm having trouble locating it in other than Redbook on Qobuz. You wouldn't have a link would you?

 

Of course! Once you click on "TÉLÉCHARGER", you need to choose "Qualité Studio Masters":

 

Dvorák: Symphony No.9 / Smetana: The Moldau / Liszt: Les Préludes - Télécharger et écouter l'album

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[acousticsguru]

Available as 176.4 kS/s download, taken from the LSC SACD's DSD layer.

 

I have this suspicion that audiophiles with perhaps not so deep an interest in classical music are bound to look at this last when it comes to Jascha Heifetz LSCs. It's really the most ideally coupled download of all of them, though. Awesome music-making from beginning to end. Three benchmark Violin Concerto recordings packed onto a single SACD hybrid (or, for that matter, audiophile download). And more heart-wrenching melodiousness than a superficial glance at the composers might suggest.

 

The Siblius has gotten some critical heat due to the fact that Walter Hendl replaced (if memory serves right) a sick Fritz Reiner for the recording sessions. Whether or not justifiably so, I'll leave to others. When the violinist knows what he or she is doing (alternative reference recordings include, among other, the legendary 1951 Camilla Wicks/Sixten Ehrling on Capitol and 1945 Ginette Neveu/Walter Susskind on HMV, as well as the 1959 David Oistrakh/Eugene Ormandy on Columbia, as well as, of course, the 1935 Jascha Heifetz/Thomas Beecham on HMV - there are at least three good modern recordings, although none "better" than the venerable old ones), it's awfully hard to concentrate on the orchestral contribution. Unsurpassed in its combination of performance and sound quality.

 

The Prokofiev's (1959, with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra) most obvious competition stems from Heifetz's younger self (1937 HMV, Serge Koussevitzky & BSO), no matter in view of the combination of performance and sound quality here.

 

The Glazunov (1963, with - now look here - Walter Hendl conducting the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra) is again my favourite recording of the piece (Milstein, Morini et al. notwithstanding).

 

Sounds all so much warmer and more humane in high-resolution format, it's hard to believe. Love it!!

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[Snowmonkey]

Of course! Once you click on "TÉLÉCHARGER", you need to choose "Qualité Studio Masters":

 

Dvorák: Symphony No.9 / Smetana: The Moldau / Liszt: Les Préludes - Télécharger et écouter l'album

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

That's great - thanks. It's weird - if I search on "Fricsay", I get 3 pages of results which do not include that one, but I just tried searching on "Moldau" and it came up.

[Robert Hutton]

Available as 176.4 kS/s download, taken from the LSC SACD's DSD layer.

 

I have this suspicion that audiophiles with perhaps not so deep an interest in classical music are bound to look at this last when it comes to Jascha Heifetz LSCs. It's really the most ideally coupled download of all of them, though. Awesome music-making from beginning to end. Three benchmark Violin Concerto recordings packed onto a single SACD hybrid (or, for that matter, audiophile download). And more heart-wrenching melodiousness than a superficial glance at the composers might suggest.

 

The Siblius has gotten some critical heat due to the fact that Walter Hendl replaced (if memory serves right) a sick Fritz Reiner for the recording sessions. Whether or not justifiably so, I'll leave to others. When the violinist knows what he or she is doing (alternative reference recordings include, among other, the legendary 1951 Camilla Wicks/Sixten Ehrling on Capitol and 1945 Ginette Neveu/Walter Susskind on HMV, as well as the 1959 David Oistrakh/Eugene Ormandy on Columbia, as well as, of course, the 1935 Jascha Heifetz/Thomas Beecham on HMV - there are at least three good modern recordings, although none "better" than the venerable old ones), it's awfully hard to concentrate on the orchestral contribution. Unsurpassed in its combination of performance and sound quality.

 

The Prokofiev's (1959, with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra) most obvious competition stems from Heifetz's younger self (1937 HMV, Serge Koussevitzky & BSO), no matter in view of the combination of performance and sound quality here.

 

The Glazunov (1963, with - now look here - Walter Hendl conducting the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra) is again my favourite recording of the piece (Milstein, Morini et al. notwithstanding).

 

Sounds all so much warmer and more humane in high-resolution format, it's hard to believe. Love it!!

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

 

Regrettably, I find almost all Heifetz too "showman-like" - Heiftez focused too much on Heiftez IMO. The RCA Red Seal recordings have a legendary status, and I do find them to have some charm, but rarely do I consider one a first choice.

 

In the Sibelius, I find the whole thing lacking in Sibelius, it is just too un-idiomatic. Better by far in my view is the Everest Spivakovsky, very idiomatic with Hannikainen conducting. There is an outstanding hi-res transfer available. Not available hi-res yet, but on an excellent piece of Speakers Corner vinyl is the also superb Fjelstad/Ricci version which blows the socks off Heifetz.

[acousticsguru]

Available as 24/96 download from High Definition Tape Transfers. "Transferred from Live Radio Broadcast Tapes August 27, 1975" - according to the blurb.

 

Not entirely sure what the latter means (maybe it's just me, but I happen to find the description of the source ambiguous), but the sound quality surely justifies the effort (the sound has all the immediacy of a transfer directly from an analogue master tape).

 

Herbert von Karajan, despite his popularity (it would be fair to say, at least in my neck of the woods, that we all grew up with his interpretations of and views on classical music), doesn't figure high on my list of favourite conductors. Not for political reasons - I only learnt about the gory details later in (my) life. Because he made, despite his insistence that musicians "serve the composer", everything sound like Karajan, that's why.

 

It's always been said that to hear Karajan in concert was more (even more - depending on one's perspective…) exciting than on record. It's true. This download, if anything, bears testimony. I heartily recommend it to those who find that his many video-taped performances reveal little beyond what to me comes across as a control-freaky obsession with aestheticism (of e.g. his gestures, if not indeed his hairdo). Part of the problem may be that Karajan was a fanatic about recording technology: he loved the process and everything that has to do with it, so much so he could never leave the poor engineers alone - a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth resulting in artificiality? Now here, a few seconds into the "Sunrise" (the introduction) of Also Sprach Zarathustra, what do we hear: a flub reminiscent of a hooting car horn?! LOL! For once we truly get an audience's perspective here, the sense of being there, a testimony of collective artistry, beyond what the man wanted us to hear.

 

In spite of my caveat above, Karajan's had an undeniable affinity with the musical world of Richard Strauss, particularly the heroism therein (note e.g. the special affection for the hero themes in Ein Heldenleben). Maybe that's why Also Sprach Zarathustra comes out especially well. It is, in many respects, a flashy showoff piece. Even if an occasionally graceful one. In short, the composition plays right to Karajan's strengths.

 

The performance of Don Quixote (a favourite tone poem of mine) is no less well-played. Note this is from the same year Rostropovich and Karajan made their acclaimed studio recording of it (touted a "Great Recording of the Century"). Live, caught on the wing, at his beloved Salzburg Music Festival - it can't get much better than this, can it? It's just, to me at least, that both soloist (no surprise there) and conductor fall a bit short in the humour department (compared to e.g. my favourite studio recording, the witty 1958 EMI Paul Tortelier with Rudolf Kempe conducting the - then already Karajan's - Berlin Philharmonic). They may also bring out the knight-errant's (errant knight's?) craziness, as well as the inherent paradox of bitterness and grandeur (not just the delusion thereof) of the tale "better" in the studio recording - although upon repeated listening, the differences may be ones of insistence, that is, of interpretive point-making. Another problem, to which performances of another of Karajan's (and mine!) Strauss favourites, Till Eulenspiegel's Lustige Streiche ("Merry Pranks") attest, albeit to a lesser extent, may be that he honed and polished the Berlin Philharmonic to never produce a single ugly sound - however much in keeping with the spirit of the score it may be (having said that, the brass section in particular manages to walk the fine line between elegance and the portrayal of a mentally distraught character admirably well). Ultimately, the immediacy and spontaneity of a live performance captured in high-resolution sound wins the day.

 

There's a typo (virtually every HDTT release seems to boast at least a couple) in that different years (but the same date) are given for either performance: according to the online Karajan/BPO chronology, they took place on the same night.

 

A rarity, then, highly enjoyable (and in some ways, instructive)!

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[acousticsguru]

Regrettably, I find almost all Heifetz too "showman-like" - Heiftez focused too much on Heiftez IMO. The RCA Red Seal recordings have a legendary status, and I do find them to have some charm, but rarely do I consider one a first choice.

 

Yes, but have you heard the high-resolution versions of these recordings? I used to think much alike, and now find myself listening to the same Heifetz records with renewed interest and curiosity.

 

The chilly, steely, wiry quality of his playing, which all contribute to the "showman-like" character of his playing ("a pure mechanicus" is what Mozart would have called such a musician) appears to have a whole lot to do with what transfers (ultimately perhaps already the microphones) couldn't fully capture.

 

His playing is too impeccably fuss-free and technically economical to deserve being called "showman-like", by the way. The only reason it's drawing attention to itself is because it's such a model of perfection. True showoffs invariably "add" something where it doesn't belong.

 

The spelling is (Øivin) Fjeldstad, by the way (only pointing this out because the misspelling is becoming traditional). Perhaps my favourite conductor of music by northern composers.

 

By the way, the Sibelius is a concerto that simply lends itself to different interpretations (thanks to its quasi-"improvisatory" character). None of the ones I like best are very similar to each other.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[Snowmonkey]

The RCA Red Seal recordings have a legendary status, and I do find them to have some charm, but rarely do I consider one a first choice.

Is it just me, or do some of these Red Seal and Living Stereo recordings sound a bit too dynamic? I mean they sound great, but more "in your face" than I have experienced at a live orchestral concert. Of course, they are 50 and more years old. Personally, I find a lot of the modern high res recordings from the BIS label and Channel Classics more understated and closer to my perception of acoustic reality.

That said, I still grab nearly all those old recordings when they come available in high res.

[acousticsguru]

Is it just me, or do some of these Red Seal and Living Stereo recordings sound a bit too dynamic? I mean they sound great, but more "in your face" than I have experienced at a live orchestral concert. Of course, they are 50 and more years old. Personally, I find a lot of the modern high res recordings from the BIS label and Channel Classics more understated and closer to my perception of acoustic reality.

That said, I still grab nearly all those old recordings when they come available in high res.

 

I personally prefer a more ambient, concert-hall-like perspective as in e.g. Kenneth E. Wilkinson's recordings for Decca. I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean by "too dynamic" (I'm assuming not the dynamic range in terms of measurable sound pressure, but simply that there's literally no seat in the house, not even the conductor's stand, where one would hear what we hear in these recordings), but have always found that there's much unnatural/unrealistic "spotlighting" in the early RCAs, probably done with the intention to "sell" stereo when mono was still the norm. When it comes to legendary soloists from the past, however, it can be so revealing of their artistry that in hindsight we must be grateful we get to hear them in close-up sound, no matter the (e.g. orchestral) balances. This may seem ironic, but some of these recordings sound better than live - so much so that attending a concert performance may be disappointing in comparison.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[Snowmonkey]

I personally prefer a more ambient, concert-hall-like perspective as in e.g. Kenneth E. Wilkinson's recordings for Decca. I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean by "too dynamic" (I'm assuming not the dynamic range in terms of measurable sound pressure, but simply that there's literally no seat in the house, not even the conductor's stand, where one would hear what we hear in these recordings), but have always found that there's much unnatural/unrealistic "spotlighting" in the early RCAs, probably done with the intention to "sell" stereo when mono was still the norm. When it comes to legendary soloists from the past, however, it can be so revealing of their artistry that in hindsight we must be grateful we get to hear them in close-up sound, no matter the (e.g. orchestral) balances. This may seem ironic, but some of these recordings sound better than live - so much so that attending a concert performance may sound disappointing in comparison.

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

Sure, perhaps the term "dynamic" was a bad choice. You're right, "spotlighting" is a more descriptive term. As if you are sitting right next to every instrument in the orchestra.

I have no such issue with soloists. Love hearing Heifetz in full HiFi.

[acousticsguru]

As if you are sitting right next to every instrument in the orchestra.

 

It's actually happened to me during live concert performances that I absentmindedly "muttered" to myself (silently, of course) that the orchestral sound "lacks transparency" - LOL!

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

[Snowmonkey]

It's actually happened to me during live concert performances that I absentmindedly "muttered" to myself (silently, of course) that the orchestral sound "lacks transparency" - LOL!

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

I agree that recorded performances can often be preferable to live ones, unless the hall has exceptional acoustics, but I have a bit of a problem with some high-end HiFi systems. When I listen to the 8 foot high Magnepans at my local dealer, the imaging and resolution are incredible, but it often sounds like there is too much air between the players in orchestral performances. Orchestras are, after all, meant to present as an integrated whole, with interplay between the textures of the individual instruments. Of course, there's no such problem with small jazz ensembles and the like.

[Robert Hutton]

Available as 24/96 download from High Definition Tape Transfers. "Transferred from Live Radio Broadcast Tapes August 27, 1975" - according to the blurb.

 

Not entirely sure what the latter means (maybe it's just me, but I happen to find the description of the source ambiguous), but the sound quality surely justifies the effort (the sound has all the immediacy of a transfer directly from an analogue master tape).

 

Herbert von Karajan, despite his popularity (it would be fair to say, at least in my neck of the woods, that we all grew up with his interpretations of and views on classical music), doesn't figure high on my list of favourite conductors. Not for political reasons - I only learnt about the gory details later in (my) life. Because he made, despite his insistence that musicians "serve the composer", everything sound like Karajan, that's why.

 

It's always been said that to hear Karajan in concert was more (even more - depending on one's perspective…) exciting than on record. It's true. This download, if anything, bears testimony. I heartily recommend it to those who find that his many video-taped performances reveal little beyond what to me comes across as a control-freaky obsession with aestheticism (of e.g. his gestures, if not indeed his hairdo). Part of the problem may be that Karajan was a fanatic about recording technology: he loved the process and everything that has to do with it, so much so he could never leave the poor engineers alone - a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth resulting in artificiality? Now here, a few seconds into the "Sunrise" (the introduction) of Also Sprach Zarathustra, what do we hear: a flub reminiscent of a hooting car horn?! LOL! For once we truly get an audience's perspective here, the sense of being there, a testimony of collective artistry, beyond what the man wanted us to hear.

 

In spite of my caveat above, Karajan's had an undeniable affinity with the musical world of Richard Strauss, particularly the heroism therein (note e.g. the special affection for the hero themes in Ein Heldenleben). Maybe that's why Also Sprach Zarathustra comes out especially well. It is, in many respects, a flashy showoff piece. Even if an occasionally graceful one. In short, the composition plays right to Karajan's strengths.

 

The performance of Don Quixote (a favourite tone poem of mine) is no less well-played. Note this is from the same year Rostropovich and Karajan made their acclaimed studio recording of it (touted a "Great Recording of the Century"). Live, caught on the wing, at his beloved Salzburg Music Festival - it can't get much better than this, can it? It's just, to me at least, that both soloist (no surprise there) and conductor fall a bit short in the humour department (compared to e.g. my favourite studio recording, the witty 1958 EMI Paul Tortelier with Rudolf Kempe conducting the - then already Karajan's - Berlin Philharmonic). They may also bring out the knight-errant's (errant knight's?) craziness, as well as the inherent paradox of bitterness and grandeur (not just the delusion thereof) of the tale "better" in the studio recording - although upon repeated listening, the differences may be ones of insistence, that is, of interpretive point-making. Another problem, to which performances of another of Karajan's (and mine!) Strauss favourites, Till Eulenspiegel's Lustige Streiche ("Merry Pranks") attest, albeit to a lesser extent, may be that he honed and polished the Berlin Philharmonic to never produce a single ugly sound - however much in keeping with the spirit of the score it may be (having said that, the brass section in particular manages to walk the fine line between elegance and the portrayal of a mentally distraught character admirably well). Ultimately, the immediacy and spontaneity of a live performance captured in high-resolution sound wins the day.

 

There's a typo (virtually every HDTT release seems to boast at least a couple) in that different years (but the same date) are given for either performance: according to the online Karajan/BPO chronology, they took place on the same night.

 

A rarity, then, highly enjoyable (and in some ways, instructive)!

 

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

 

I agree that this Salzburg recording is magnificent. Karajan is to me one of the greatest of all time, unfortunately, he is not well served by the sound DG gave him - his EMI recordings are more representative, particularly the Philharmonia ones.

 

It is fantastic to hear Karajan recorded this way.

 

I did indeed see Karajan live, very near the end. Life altering.

 

There is a set of Beethoven symphonies with Karajan and the BPO recorded in Tokyo in 1977. It is so completely different sonically from the DG recordings it sounds like a different orchestra - much more like the one I heard live - and the performances just might be the best Karajan ever did - and since his 1961 cycle remains at the top of many peoples list and has not been out of print really in 50 years, that is saying a lot. It is only on SACD and I have the DSD rips.

[regnaD kciN]

Turns out Nick is right and Volume 2 is in MONO!

 

Can hardly express how miffed I am. As to my recommendation of both volumes (the whole concert), I have nothing more to say in my defense than that I was suffering from a lumbar disk herniation earlier this year, thus may not have managed to sit (upright, that is) through all the tracks from both volumes, preferring to lie flat on my back most of the time.

 

After all, I didn't notice the following at the time either (paying full price, truly not in my best shape...):

 

In the meantime, Qobuz appears to have retracted their downloads of both volumes. I've contacted them about it, and will report back when I know more.

 

As a further "data point" -- when you reported that the Qobuz version was also in mono, it occurred to me that maybe the stereo master of volume 2 had either deteriorated or been lost over the years, and the mono simply might be all they had left. However, I checked the audio sample at Amazon for their MP3 download of the first track of volume 2, which appears to be a recent addition to Amazon, and the sample is in full stereo. So we can probably rule out tape damage or loss as an explanation. The mystery continues...

[regnaD kciN]

Is it just me, or do some of these Red Seal and Living Stereo recordings sound a bit too dynamic? I mean they sound great, but more "in your face" than I have experienced at a live orchestral concert. Of course, they are 50 and more years old. Personally, I find a lot of the modern high res recordings from the BIS label and Channel Classics more understated and closer to my perception of acoustic reality.

That said, I still grab nearly all those old recordings when they come available in high res.

 

By comparison to most Mercury Living Presence recordings, the RCAs sound positively laid-back!

[regnaD kciN]

I agree that this Salzburg recording is magnificent. Karajan is to me one of the greatest of all time, unfortunately, he is not well served by the sound DG gave him - his EMI recordings are more representative, particularly the Philharmonia ones.

 

The irony, as I understand it, is that Karajan, as time went on, exerted more and more control over the way he was recorded by DG, to the extent of being able to order miking approaches and direct the mixdown from the multi-track...and, the more involved he became, the worse his records sounded.

 

There is a set of Beethoven symphonies with Karajan and the BPO recorded in Tokyo in 1977. It is so completely different sonically from the DG recordings it sounds like a different orchestra - much more like the one I heard live - and the performances just might be the best Karajan ever did - and since his 1961 cycle remains at the top of many peoples list and has not been out of print really in 50 years, that is saying a lot. It is only on SACD and I have the DSD rips.

 

Where can one find this set? I've always found HvK's 1977 cycle to be his best interpetation, but the recorded sound is so muffled and cavernous, I generally find myself seeking out other recordings. To have a '77 cycle of his in good -- all right, even in average -- sound would be a revelation!

[regnaD kciN]

Like Ernest Ansermet, Antal Dorati was a symphonic conducter who began his career conducting ballet, and, in both cases, it can safely be said that the latter remained close to each's heart. Some of Dorati's most prized recordings were of the major ballets of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, with his rendition of The Firebird possibly the most famous of them all (due not the least to its status as an audiophile cult item). I have a number of version of The Firebird, but none succeed as well in conveying a sense of the story and drama of the work as well. Under Dorati, it becomes a true ballet, not just a concert work or extended tone-poem.

 

Mercury Living Presence, of course, is legendary among audiophiles, but I find I have to qualify my admiration for the label a bit more than many audiophilic zealots. Wilma Cozart and Robert Fine were known for miking that was both minimalist and very close to the orchestra, much more so than, say, their rivals Richard Mohr and Lewis Layton at RCA. On the positive side, this resulted in a sound-picture that was both vivid and strikingly layered in depth; on the negative side, it meant that a session in a less-than-perfect hall (which happened more often than not in Minneapolis, Rochester, and at Detroit's Ford Auditorium) with a less-than-perfect orchestra (true of both Rochester and Detroit) could provide a close-up look at mediocre playing in a muffled acoustic. (There are more than a few highly-regarded Mercurys that struck me as having what I call "old-movie audio," a claustrophobic effect generally caused by an over-dominance of direct to reflected sound.) Fortunately, this was NOT the case here, as Dorati leads the world-class London Symphony in sessions captured in the lush acoustic of Watford Town Hall. The recording does a marvelous job of isolating instruments in real space, meaning that the many moments of near-chamber ensemble scoring as well as the great orchestral outbursts are rendered in vivid detail, for one of the most satisfying recordings I've yet encountered.

 

Incidentally, it's a telling sign of the "democratizing" effect of high-definition downloads that, while the LP of this was among the most sought-after and pricey of all Mercurys, and the SACD from which this download is sourced rose quickly into the hundreds of dollars on the used market after going out-of-print, the same recording can now be obtained in high-res by anyone for $20-$25, depending on desired resolution. (Sonic) power to the people, indeed.

[Snowmonkey]

25. Smetana / Ferenc Fricsay, Berliner Philharmoniker: „Vltava“ / „The Moldau“ from Má Vlast / My Fatherland (1960) – Deutsche Grammophon

 

Available as 24/96 Studio Master download.

 

The sonic difference to the DG Originals release (presumably downsampled from the 24/96 master I'm reviewing) may seem a bit less dramatic than this is normally the case, but try going back to the redbook afterwards…

David, are you sure this is not a re-master? I am sure it is the same performance as my Redbook - every note, every nuance is identical, but the sound quality! It's like chalk and cheese. The dynamic range sounds far greater (using dynamic in the audio sense of the word this time). Much as I love this performance, I have tended to crank the volume up quite a bit to "milk" the drama from it. Not with this version - I felt like I needed to keep the volume down to avoid rattling the windows on the highs. I like a lot of high res material, but had half convinced myself most of the improvement was due to better mastering, but if this and the Redbook are from the same master, I'm now a true believer. I'll take a double blind test on these anytime.