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Just got my Dudamel/Vienna Philharmonic DGG vinyl issue (their first in over 20 years!). I wasn't sure what to expect, but it really is quite good. The 180g pressing is beautiful, dead quiet, flat, centered. The sound is very good, a bit on the dark side overall, and the woodwinds are set a bit further back that I would prefer. Lots of bottom end, even a bit too much here and there, which has always been typical of recordings in that hall. I'm nit-picking here, it really is very good sound, and quite an enjoyable listen.It's a live performance, Dudamel's first with the orchestra. I like it, but it's not exactly what I expected from Dudamel. It's rather reserved, with the second movement especially not having the abandon that other performances have (e.g. Maag/LSO). It is a welcome addition, however, and how cool is it to have a brand new DGG recording?
This recording is being issued only on vinyl (to Norman Lebrecht's dismay, no doubt). It's a charity endeavor, with all the proceeds going to purchase new instruments for a new orchestra which is part of El Sistema in Venezuela. It apparently was intended to be released in conjunction with Record Store Day, but didn't quite make it in time. This was to be the first time that a major classical label had participated.
I assume that it's a digital recording, although I can find no specific info about that. I'm sure that if it was analog they would have made a big point of that. If anyone knows more about that, I would be happy to hear it. It appears that it was recorded for broadcast, and that maybe the vinyl idea came after, but there's no way to tell from anything I've seen.
At any rate, I recommend it highly. Fine sound, great orchestra, great conductor. What could be wrong with that? The price, at $25.95, isn't bad either, for something of this quality. Link to Amazon below.
Edits: 05/24/12 05/24/12 05/24/12Follow Ups:
Great reviews from both you and kuma. Thanks- this helps alot in deciding whether to buy . Keep 'em coming.
My copy showed up last week. I wasn't particularly expecting much out of the performance but more curious about current DG record production. On the record, it's indicated manufactured and marketed by DG and Decca Classics, US ( division of Universal Music Group Recordings ).
Nice that they brought back the large tulip rim on the label albeit record catalogue numbers and the nice *gold* & blue accents are gone. For Thorens or Phonosophie table owners, the spindle hole needs to be enlarged as the diameter is too small to accommodate this record.
Here's the original DGG tulip label design from '55 pressing for comparison. Wearing a pedantic hat, this is a better graphic design and typography. A 57 year old record looking better than current one! As far as the packaging goes, nothing classier than the original DG letter press folder with hand-stitched style inner.
On to the sound & performance.
I haven't listened to too many No.3 but my favourite Scottish is Maag/LSO ('60 version ). All I have is a STS reissue (STS 15091 )
Dudamel's is probably a digital recording so the noise floor is extremely low and generally very quiet record surface all the way through. There was no serious production flaw on my copy and pretty much sounding similar to later DG digital pressings. i.e. neutral balance, clean and tidy presentaitonn with no apparent distortion. Massed strings are thin but there is no peaky congestions. Brass also stays civilised. So I guess the sound quality of current DG is just 'ok'. Not bad, but not what I call 'outstanding'.
London pressing sounds much warmer and inviting and spacious. Better dynamic contrast, too.
Performance wise, compared to Magg's, I felt that Dudamel's set does not have the same level of sophistication or expressiveness. The whole performance is dynamically complaisant and a bit of 'sameness' going on. Each instruments have no colour or expressions. Particularly the fiddle section has no feelings/textures. The first half is pretty enough, reading more like an epic soundtrack ( Maurice Jarre-esq), but the second half just have no drama nor build up with no texture or interests to the finale. It all ended up sounding like a big puréed soup. Comparatively, Maag's soup has more chunks left in the soup to chew on.
Very odd finale as Dudamel slightly hesitates at the end. Not sure what's that about either making the ending rather anti-climactic.I'm glad that I didn't pay much for the copy ( 20$ shipped using B&N coupons) and still curious of what those new Clearaudio DG reissues are like but those are dearer at 50$ per record.
Edits: 05/24/12
I think it's a little unfair to go too far comparing this to the Maag, which is an edited recording, made in a better hall under controlled circumstances. SXL 2246 is among the best sounding of the golden age Deccas, and for that matter, among the best orchestral recordings ever made by anyone. This was a one-shot live performance, produced and engineered by ORF (Austrian Radio), not by DGG. I am certain that the recording setup was their usual one, likely designed to be more fail-safe than anything else. There would be no chance to alter the setup if there were balance problems, and ORF's recordings are intended to be broadcast on the radio, with its inherent dynamic limitations. A somewhat more distant perspective is much less of a high-wire act than miking more closely, but it does dull the dynamic impact. Given all of this, I think it's amazing that the sound is as good as it is.It is obviously a live performance, as there small issues here and there, normal with any live performance, which would have been re-taken in a studio setting. I'm sure the horn section would have liked another crack at the end of the second movement, but taken in the context of a contiguous live performance, it's no big deal.
As far as the performance, you seem to have heard more or less what I did, but it bothered you more than it did me. I love this piece, but to me its weakest part is the ending, which comes off rather anti-climactic in any conductor's hands (even Maag). I respect your opinion, but I think that if you consider all the circumstances, it's still pretty damn good. It was Dudamel's first time conducting the orchestra, there's no way to know how much rehearsal they had, and I'm sure Dudamel was swamped with PR duties leading up to the gig. It's neither sound nor a performance for the ages, but it is very good, and the vinyl issue benefits a worthy cause.
I have a Thorens TD124 MKII, and the spindle hole presented no problems for me. I wish the tulips had been blue, but the label is still a nice throwback. It reminds me of early DGG promo labels, which were printed in black and white. Maybe since it isn't a full-blown DGG recording, they didn't want to put it on a full-blown DGG label. Hopefully that is yet to come!
Edits: 05/24/12 05/24/12
So the Dudamel LP wasn't the first. I am not sure who produced and manufactured Wunder's vinyl. I just YouTubed his Grande Polonaise and sounds kind of interesting so I might give it shot.As for the Dudamel's performance, you are right in that I am pretty much black & white when it comes to what I like and I don't like. It's subjective as Hifi selection.
One can argue, suppose, that the Mendelssohn's tunes should be played out light and even as they are more about the subtleties and elegance. Certainly not as anguished and heavy as Russian composers or Beethoven's pieces even.
I've read that it was a live performance and it's usually you hear more daring interesting performance than a highly engineered *canned* studio recording. But obviously Dudamel decided to take a safer route.
I didn't realise how great Maag's reading is till I start hearing other renditions. :)
Keep in mind that I am not a hardcore classical listener or scholar.
Edits: 05/25/12 05/25/12 05/25/12
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Short’s the best position they is. Bullet in the Brain
at CD Trader in Tarzana, CA. You beat me and posted.
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