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(A half-speed mastered Lp of Boulez conductiong Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, FWIW.)
I was a junior in high school. Raiders of the Lost Ark had just come out. I hadn't. No cell phones, no computers, 13 TV channels, most of which went off the air around 11PM. My parents ordered special box for the top of the TV that played R rated movies (!) called "Showtime." MTV played from 4PM to 9PM.
I'd check the Base library for the latest Stereo Review. They'd review a few Classical releases each month; that was the extent of my pre-purchase research, like it or not. (What was that new Lp label with the incredible bass drum sound?)
Mom, can I borrow the keys to the car and drive 7 miles to Music Land? Or 30 miles to the nearest Wherehouse?
Follow Ups:
If it is the NYP version, I too have a copy of this pressing and find it to be one of BOULEZ' better outings.
I know that the REINER/CO reading is commonly regarded to be the pinnacle - and I'm generally not a BOULEZ fan - but BOULEZ puts in a worthy contender in my estimation.
The Euro pressing is as quiet as a church-mouse...
is a barn burner. Wow.
I'm not a big fan of Reiner's Bartok on RCA, as interpretations or recordings.
REINER/CO gets so much hype - some of which is obviously justified - that I was reluctant to reveal that I far prefer this BOULEZ/NYP version.
Perhaps we need to start a new thread named UNDER-RATED CLASSICAL CONTENDERS! I could literally name dozens as they relate to the 'war-horses' of the repertoire.
We might find ourselves in agreement... Or at very worst, find a fantastic new reading!
:)
True. IMHO, Reiner and his recording engineers turned out two Lp's for the ages: the '54 Ein Heldenleben and Mahler's Das Lied.
As far as Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra goes, the underdog is supposed to be Kubelik with the BSO on DG, but I'm not feeling it.
My favorite Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is Haitink's with the Concertgebouw on Philips. Quite a recording as well.
As for the Miraculous Mandarin Suite, I'd go for the very late Ormandy recording on EMI. Just listen to the trombone/gong/bass drum "beat" before the strings enter in the "Chase Scene." Those who like overly-resonant bass drums front and center will be in heaven here.
Yes indeed; and these many decades after the event was recorded, I also have to say that ORMANDY and his PHILADELPHIANS still provide me with the finest RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, SCHEHERAZADE that these ears have ever heard.Based upon the common consensus, REINER/CO are supposed to win that shootout too, but to my mind even BEECHAM/PO tops the REINER effort for musical involvement.
(A pity about the subway train chugging through the middle of it...)Good luck finding a mint (quiet) Euro pressing of ORMANDY/PO/SCHEHERAZADE!
(I never have; and have had to content myself with SONY ESSENTIAL CLASSICS CD version... Fortunately, the ADD sound is first class!)I guess we all listen for something different?
Edits: 09/29/14
All involved had a good day with Ormandy's Verdi Requiem though. Can even hear deep bass drum!
I should confess that whilst I'm passionate about orchestral classics, I have precious few vocal outings in my collection.
I have tried to love OPERA and the like... But I'm not there yet. (Don't give up on me)
Regarding the COLUMBIA Engineers, I have found that these recordings are simply excellent - except on US-pressed vinyl!
A good example is SZELL/CO/RASKIN Mahler 4... Simply fabulous on English-pressed vinyl. (...and ESSENTIAL CLASSICS Compact Disc, dare I mention it here!)
In my view, it was the US-pressings - and probably the poor quality vinyl - that let the side down; not the recording engineers.
Be encouraged to hunt out some of the old Euro pressings of the (now) SONY Classical catalog... Dutch pressings are also first class!
Szell's Wagner as well.
I hope a special place is reserved in hell for the guys that recorded the Szell/Fleisher Brahms and Beethoven concerti. Not to mention his Brahms Symphonies. Sizzling strings! Ouch.
Musically, I consider it the pinnacle of Emperors. But despite a fair bit of expected tape-hiss, I find the sonics quite acceptable.Or was it the tape hiss downside you were referring to?
(My mind tends to filter it out after a few minutes...)Have you heard this reading on a non-US vinyl pressing?
(Or the SONY ESSENTIAL CLASSICS Compact Disc?)
The sound is pretty good for the era IMHO.I could be wrong, but I wonder if this is another example of poor US vinyl pressing...?
Edits: 09/30/14 09/30/14
...where acoustic Columbias had poorer sound quality and did not "hold up" to multiple playings as well as acoustic Victors. That seemed to follow through in the early electrical era, too. Later (late 30s through the end of production of 78s) Columbias seemed to have improved; I have a few early 50s discs that really are impressive.
Later Gator,
Dave
.
Got a number of such LP's, and older ones.
That sounds like a sealed LP that was well worth opening. I think the oldest sealed LP I have left is from 1969, and I'm probably not going to open it. In fact, since opened copies have recently sold for $122-$272 according popsike, I'll probably sell it if I ever get to a real record show. I got an offer online, but decided that was too much trouble.
Another major sealed find was the Solti/Decca 15-LP box of Mahler symphonies. I opened that one, and played all 15 LPs. It took me over 2 months to get through the set.
Thirty miles to a whorehouse?
...in any case, my Kenwood speaker bass port made the perfect mangina. Until my left channel mysteriously quit working.
Edits: 09/28/14 09/28/14
Closer than here and I live in La Grange!
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
...that was in a gold colored gatefold jacket that was inside a clear plastic outer sleeve with a fold-over flap to seal the record. The sleeve had so stiffened with age that when I tried to open it, it snapped and I literally had to break the rest of the sleeve off to get at the record. The record is from around 1956 and I got it around 2009 or so. It was a weird feeling to realize that I was the first person to touch that record since it was packed in its jacket. All of that for forty-nine cents! It got cleaned and played for the first time at the following RibFest. Now for the bad part: I was only buying Bach and/or organ music at the time and that SA had about a dozen more of those Westminster albums.
In a similar vein, here is a 78 album that was never played or even opened:
The cardboard spacer/protector is still in the album (there is one in the back, also):
And an un-played record from that album:
Later Gator,
Dave
..
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