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In Reply to: RE: I'm not as sanguine about Solti - but I don't think it was all his fault posted by robertkeir on May 17, 2017 at 20:42:11
It's funny about what Decca was doing in Chicago during the Solti era. I haven't heard the Brahms set you mention, but I used to have the Solti/CSO and Maazel/Cleveland recordings of La Mer (both recorded by Decca), and the Maazel recording seemed far more natural than the Solti (better performance too - at least IMHO!). Heck, I'd even claim that many (although certainly not all) of the Decca Mehta/LAPO recordings from that era were better engineered than those with Solti and the CSO. In addition, during this same era, EMI made a number of recordings with Giulini and the CSO, and IMHO they got a far more natural sound than Decca was getting at that time for Solti. (OTOH, the Giulini/CSO recordings on DG were to my ears comparable to the Deccas in the audibility of the multi-miking.)
I suppose a lot of this is just personal perception, but I do think that we agree that Solti suffered somewhat from the engineering he received, especially during his earlier years in Chicago.
Follow Ups:
IMO Decca's best audio work in the US. For ex.: Mahler 3, Planets, Ein Heldenleben.
Certainly this is a recording that's under the radar for a lot folks, but I like it too!
As for the Planets, I like the engineering on that one somewhat less well (the 30 microphones always do me in!), although I seem to have acquired enough incarnations of it over the years! ;-)
This is one of a nicer Decca/London Solti/CSO recording @ Medinah Temple in 1979. ( I assume this is still analogue recording )Colin Moorfoot, Kenneth Wilkinson Michael Mailes are listed as engineers.
Natural and large soundstage. Warm midrange with powerful dynamics. Excellent low end reach and transient. Strings retain textures. Low self noise and above average low level details. Performance wise, this is a Wagnerian Brahms. :)
Solti's later digital Decca recordings are pretty painful to my ears.
2, 3 and 4 aren't bad by any means, just not superb, like his First.
Opus 33 1/3
It's essential to remember that Decca is a company, not a recording engineer. Even within a company, especially a very large company, engineers and producers vary widely in their recording approaches and goals, not to forget the acoustics of the space.
:)
Still, I think Solti could have been better served in Chicago.
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