 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
96.37.31.28
Amazed to discover I had never, in over 60 years of listening and playing, heard the Fourth. Almost hard to believe it was Ludwig von. Joins my group of favs, 1, 6, 7, and now 4.
My goodness, Szell can't wait to get the First Movement of the Fifth behind him, con brio and then some! Or perhaps he was anxious to get on to the Second Movement which from the opening bars he makes a Top 5 most beautiful moments in music. I found it hard to pay attention to the rest, I was so taken with it.
These two symphonies continue the class act of the Columbia engineers in presenting a credibly real orchestra in the living room if you have the system for it.
Follow Ups:
I find your comments interesting, especially as I too have both the Epic and Columbia Szell LP sets.
This all started because I clearly preferred the Epic Dvorak "Three Great Symphonies" to the Columbia re-issue but that was years ago with an entirely different system that I felt accurate (the system that is) in tone and timbre but didn't image particularly well.These days I have the system I'll float down the Styx with so today I re-listened to the Beethoven Symphony 5 second movement of both versions in preparation to re-visit the Dvorak. Once again, the Columbia re-issue was a clear favorite; the imaging of the Epic seeming even more vague and shifting whith the tone and timbre not as good. I just love the Flute and Clarinet duets with punctuations of Bassoon and looow plucked Double Basses that Beethoven writes.
I got out both Dvorak sets and chose my favorite Eighth Symphony third movement that I love for it's lush string melodies and country fair flavor. Probably the easiest movement I know for a Trombone player to enjoy while waiting a long time for entrance.
First the Epic. The imaging was even worse than the Beethoven with Woodwinds, Violins, and Cellos randomly changing places. The Violin melody was gorgeous to the point I began to wonder if this really was recorded at Severance Hall.
Right away the Columbia re-issue let me sit back and enjoy the music with the same wide and accurate soundstage of the Beethoven. The interwoven Woodwind phrases that always remind me of Ferris Wheel music and the entrances of Mr. Blooms Horn and Mr. Adelsteins Trumpet were just right in tone. Someone turned up the Brightness Control on the gorgeousness of the Violin melody from the Epic. The Violins most noticeably here have the brighter sheen I recall from many performances I attended at Severance Hall in the Sixties and Seventies. Szell convinced the Board to spend a Million Dollars in 1954 to, among other things, cover the back wall of the stage with a plywood sounding board to brighten and improve the detail he wanted to hear.
What I heard in the Epic was more in line with the major sonic difference that resulted from the complete renovation done in the Nineties which removed the plywood, once more exposing the organ pipes and Art Deco features of the hall. In addition they raised and replaced the seats. I attended a concert featuring Hilary Hahn playing the Dvorak Violin Concerto in 2004 and heard the lusher, 'prettier' sound of the renovation, just as in the Epic version of the Symphonies.
Before, or perhaps more aptly, after Szell:
After:
No question then that in both sets the Columbia re-issue is preferable overall. It would be intersting to hear the Beethoven set in Mono without the annoying imaging issues but the Dvorak is simply too far off in tone to make that worthwhile.
Edits: 02/01/17
...and great pics. Thanks again.
I found I also have the Epic Dvorak set -- I knew I had the Columbia -- and have never made the effort to compare them directly. Many Columbia grey labels and Harmony pressings seem to sound better to me than they used to.
I have not heard the Cleveland live in Severance Hall -- only in Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. I was aware of the hall's history and sonic changes, but not the striking change in appearance.
The sound in renovated Severance Hall is sooo much better than it was with the old plywood shell. Bass is a lot more solid, and reverb time has been lengthened slightly. Also, there is a functional, excellent pipe organ. I wish the orchestra was recording there (there are some videos, including some Bruckner, Mahler, and part of the recently released Brahms cycle).
There are spots with odd acoustical anomalies (e.g., if you sit under the balcony on the sides of the main floor, you get strange echos from the sides and the ceiling). Probably most halls have things like that going on, though.
Karajan and the Berliners take Andante con Moto as sauntering, maybe even plodding.
(9 Symphonies at the Kirche late 1961 into 1962)Bohm (Vienna 9 Symphonies 1969-72), Leinsdorf (1969 Farewell concert with the Boston, wonderful Ninth...is it fair those guys get to perform in Symphony Hall?), and Solti (Chicago) are a little more Moto with occcasional slowing to take in the sights.
Szell seems to have a quicker pace than the rest but my internal metronome tells me it's about the same as the middle three.
I would choose the Bohm/Vienna set for most of the 9 but I really, really like the Leinsdorf/Boston for the Ninth.
Leinsdorf and the BSO, BTW seem to have JHB (John Henry Bonham) on Tympani. The Double Basses, OTOH, are quite buried, surprising with the wonderful acoustic of the hall.
Edits: 02/02/17
Post a Followup:
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
