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What a fresh and exciting romp. Solti conducts the music very enthusiastically, but please, don't interpret that as a back-hand slight on this occasion! IMHO, nothing sounds hard-driven and none of the "mysterious" moments feel as though they've been passed-over. Solti is plenty sensual, stately or reflective when the music calls for it.
I can best describe the recorded sound as crisp, but explosive and weighty when it needs to be. The passages with deep, ultra-soft organ fundamentals (end of Saturn, mid-Neptune) are remarkable and are "felt" as much as heard. I dare say the best Organ before Dutoit's digital version came along.
Interpretively, I find Solti's "crisp" take more captivating than either Metha's famous, darkly cinematic LA version (a snoozer, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise) or Boult's raved-about final EMI/KEF Lp, (also shockingly low key).
I humbly believe the Solti surpasses Previn's as well, both in sound and caffeination.
Boult's '67 EMI with the Philharmonia is probably the most "poetic" and "probing" of performances I've heard, but the recorded sound--although very good--doesn't do the piece justice.
The MFSL sports some very deep, widely-spaced grooves. I'd love to compare with the original London/Decca from '79, which would have been pressed in Holland at the time, but mastered in UK. The Decca might be just as dynamic and can be had for a quite a few bucks less.
Anyone have both?
Follow Ups:
I like it, it's OK but just not my thing. The last time it was spun was to create the 24/192 PCM copies of the LP for before and after comparison of the main bearing job that Tubsey did on my DP-62L.
I collected the UHQRs (and MFSL in general) when they were new. Unfortunately the UHQR series didn't last very long.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
I can't help it, I keep coming back to the Stokowski/LA Phil on Capitol. There's nothing wrong, per se, with the Solti, it just seems a bit too "polite", for lack of a better word. The recording is very nice, but it has a more set back perspective than a lot of earlier Kingsway Hall Deccas, which reduces the dynamic immediacy a bit. Mastered at a relatively low level to accomodate the huge dynamic swings (as are most LPs of The Planets). This, of course, raises the level of surface noise, so you do need a really clean copy, as there are so many extended very soft passages. Not a problem on my Decca copy, which has very quiet surfaces.
The Stokie is recorded with a closer perspective. Sound may not be reference quality, but it is not bad at all, with excellent dynamic impact. I have a British EMI pressing, which is much better than the US Capitol. Quite a bit more weight in the bottom end, which is obviously crucial in this piece. Also issued by Capitol on 2 track tape, which I am told is great. Still trying to find one of those.
The performance is what gets me, though. A couple examples: IMHO, Mars should not sound ominous, it should sound frightening and merciless, and that is what you get with Stokie. Right out of the chute, it is the most driven, intense performance of this that I have heard on record. It is as though it is saying "I am Mars, I am coming, and I am bringing some damned war with me!"
The Solti Venus is a gorgeous pastiche of color, but Stokowski pays more attention to molding the individual phrases and emphasizing the harmonic textures. The two recordings are like two completely different pieces, neither one wrong or right, it's just that I like the Stokowski better.
The Mehta/LAPO is probably the best recorded Planets, but it bores me to tears. The Previn is a better performance, very well recorded, but somehow, it's just never the one that I pull out and play.
Copies of the UK Capitol Stokowski are hard to find, but EMI also issued it in stereo on Music For Pleasure MFP 2134 (mono has a different number, MFP 2014). This seems to be quite common in the UK, and reasonably priced. With a little hunting, US buyers should be able to find a copy from a US dealer to save the shipping. I'm sure it was pressed from the same stampers as the UK Capitol, and it would be a much better sounding alternative to the US Capitol. The best of the US Capitols is the early one, with the logo on the side of the label rather than at the top. The Seraphim is awful
I guess this was more than 2 cent's worth. I'm just trying not to think about tonight's Nationals game.
Edits: 07/28/14
for the Stokowski on the MFP UK label.
HIs Elgar Enigma Variations--of all pieces--if a favorite of mine so I look forward to hearing what he does with Holst.
on the Mars track, never heard it played so slow!
A guy came by on Friday looking to borrow an LP to play in his room and that's the one I gave to him.
original London, MFSL, UHQR. Couple of performances by other orchestras/conductors, but I also prefer the Solti.
BTW, the original pressing was mastered by Ted Burkett, London/Decca's ace lathe man.
___
The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
Quite a difference in market cost between the 3 - the UHQRs are a fortune, the MFSLs pricey, and the Londons reasonable.
The biggest jump IMO is between the original London and the MFSL.
The MFSL is good enough that I don't play the UHQR that often.
In terms of spectacular sonics--deepest bass, etc.--none of the three can compete with London's digital release from the 1980's, but the performance isn't as good as the Solti.
Since I got the London and MFSL locally, the London was $3 and the MFSL $8. Both were purchased over the last few years. The UHQR was free, part of a collection I was given.
___
The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
From my handful of choices of the work, the Solti MFSL is my go-to for Planets fun and sound, too.
I don't have the London/Decca of this, but I have both the MFSL and London/Decca of my Pines/Fountains of Rome (Maazel) and if those pressings are indicators I think the London/Decca of the Solti Planets might be worth checking out.
"Never look at the trombones...it only encourages them." Richard Wagner
I an glad you think that. When I worked in audio, I bought the UHQR and still have it. Records were "on there way out" and they were practically giving Mofi's away. I tracked down a sealed store copy of it and snatched it up. It was my first and only recording of the Planets. I really liked both the performance and the sound, so I did not try to improve upon it. I have a lot of Solti, and he is at his best on this recording. I agree that it is a fun recording.
Dave
Solti can be cold and sterile, but given the right piece - planets and Brahm's First Symphony come to mind - his approach can hit the bulls-eye.
Opus 33 1/3
Edits: 07/28/14
I wish I could get a UHQR quality record of Walter! But I wouldn't know what to choose! I love what I have. That goes for Previn too.
Dave
it's sublimely-played 2nd mov't.
Brahms Third to be anything but "chalky." Of course, the one I have is on CD, not vinyl. I'd describe the string tone as "sweet" but not too sweet. I'd love to have a mint or NM copy of the original vinyl pressing to compare. The Third is certainly the plum of Walter's Brahms cycle with the Columbia Symphony. His Second and Fourth are quite nice, too, but his First doesn't do the power of the piece justice, compared to the Solti.
And if there is a more beautiful adagio than the one in Rach 2, I've not heard it. Previn nails that Symphony, allowing the piece to fully breathe.
Opus 33 1/3
For Previn a no-brainer, Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony with the London Philharmonic.
For Solti, Brahm's First with the Chicago Symphony, the performance in Medinah Temple.
UHQR quality discs of those would be killer.
Opus 33 1/3
I haven't heard the Solti, btw. In general I am more of a Solti fan than not. Great Mozart for example - his first Magic Flute is my desert island version, and his Figaro would be if not for the wretched digital sound.
I like MTT's Tchaikovsky 1st and Ozawa's Respighi Trilogy.
Info is from Philip Stewart's massive Decca Classical discography/history. Available at the link below. It's a large PDF file and it takes a while to download, but it's a great reference about all things Decca. I wrote to him a while back about an omission in the list and we ended up having an enjoyable dialogue. A very nice guy. He has a similarly comprehensive London SO discography project that he is working on as well.
Engineered by Wilkinson in Kingsway Hall. Hard to go wrong there.
Pr: James Mallinson Eng: Kenneth Wilkinson & Andrew Pinder
14-15 Feb 1978 Kingsway Hall
London Philharmonic Choir (John Alldis),
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
HOLST The Planets Op.32 H125
(Mar79) SET628; (Aug79) CS7110, (Oct85) 414 567.2DH.
Looks extremely useful.
Jim
http://jimtranr.com
Thanks for the link. Lyrita entries of particular interest for me.
The Decca is pictured, and I have a London copy around somewhere that was also pressed in England. It is a little hard to locate on Decca because they didn't give it an SXL number, but rather it is SET 628. Kind of silly, as no one thinks of The Planets as a vocal piece, which is what SET numbers were designated for. I haven't listened to it in a long time, I'll have to throw it on and get back to you.
Mars? : )
I showed the whole movement, to put it in perspective. I think this will show what you are looking for.
This is rather scarce on Decca, but the London was a big seller, a very common record. Most of the copies that I have seen on London are British pressings. This has to be one of the last UK pressings, but it's a little hard to tell because of the numbering. I don't have any SXLs from this late that were pressed in the UK.
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nt
Des
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