 |
ReDiscovery
Catalog Conductors page one |
PLAY |
Rudolf Albert / Cento Soli Orchestra of
Paris Stravinsky: Firebird Suite, Symphony in Three Movements reel tape masters ReDiscovery Mono RD 154 - 43:11 Limited edition, no copies remaining |
 PLAY  |
Antonio de Almeida / New
Philharmonia Orchestra Chausson: Viviane Duparc: Lenore Schmitt: The Tragedy of Salome Louis Fremaux / Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra Dukas: Fanfare and La Peri ReDiscovery Stereo RD 082 - 73:15  Music and sound are excellent. Congratulations and thank you. --MP, Spain I received the disc. What I have heard of it is very good. Duparc deserves to be recorded more. --AA, NM I received the CD from you yesterday of the French works conducted by De Almeida and listened to it today. It is superb! I have never heard these selections more cleanly presented. It did not sound like the source came from the LP. You must have very high quality recording equipment for sure! --PMG, CA I can't tell you how delighted I am to have these wonderful recordings on CD. I have had them on LP since their initial release, and now I am enjoying them all over again! --ML, NY |
 PLAY |
Ataulfo Argenta / Cento Soli Orchestra of
Paris Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole, Mother Goose Suite, Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte, Alborada del Gracioso ReDiscovery RD 171 - 44:22 I just played the Argenta Ravel disc and you did your usual excellent job of removing the noise without in any way compromising the sound. People like Dutton and Andrew Rose should take lessons from you. --EG, NY |
 PLAY |
Carl Bamberger / Frankfurt
Opera Orchestra Beethoven: Symphony 2 in D Major reel tape master Brahms: Symphony 4 in E Minor reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 086 - 73:34 The Bamberger Beethoven/Brahms CD is just what I expected from other Bamberger items in your Supermarket Classics series, namely delivering solid, well-crafted performances that don't reach for the stars but are very satisfying nevertheless. --TB, VA |
 PLAY |
Carl Bamberger / Concert Hall Orchestra
and Chorus, with Marilyn Tyler (s), David Garen (t), Leonardo Wolovsky
(b), Corry Bjister (s), Paolo Gorin (bar), Gerard Holthaus (bar), Henk
Angenent (b) Puccini: La Boheme (concert version) reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 162/163 - 1:30:25 |
 PLAY |
Arturo Basile / Orchestra Stabile del
Teatro Comunale di Bologna Bellini: Norma Overture Donizetti: Don Pasquale Overture Verdi: La Forze del Destino Overture; Macbeth dances; Aida ballet Mascagni: Le Maschere Overture Rossini: L'Assedio di Corinto Overture; William Tell dances Catalani: Loreley dance of the water nymphs Ponchielli: La Gioconda dance of the hours ReDiscovery Stereo RD 170 - 73:38 |
PLAY PLAY |
Sir Adrian Boult
/ London
Philharmonic
Orchestra Haydn: Symphony 104 in D London Mozart: Symphony 35 in D Haffner Schubert: Symphony 4 in C minor Tragic Smetana: Bartered Bride Overture and Dances Maureen Smith / Sir Adrian Boult / London Philharmonic Orchestra Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor reel tape master Hyman Bress / Sir Adrian Boult / London Philharmonic Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 142/143 - 2:24:17 I downloaded the Boult/LPO set of symphonies and violin concertos. The sound quality of the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky violin concertos is particularly good and the performances are excellent. Maureen Smith's version of the Mendelssohn is unaffected, touching and musical. The Tchaikovsky is very unusual in the hands of Hyman Bress. It's very loose--Boult has to earn his money to keep up--but incredibly exciting. The set is worth the money just for the concertos alone but the rest of the programme is well worth having, especially the athletic version of the Haffner. Thanks for a great set. --JW, UK Wonderful set! Purchased your download and really enjoyed this. Thanks! --PM, CA |
 PLAY |
Sir Adrian Boult / London
Philharmonic Orchestra Mendelssohn Overtures: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Fingal's Cave, The Fair Melusina, Ruy Blas Ernst Maerzendorfer / Vienna Chamber Orchestra, with Carroll Glenn, Eugene List Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Orchestra in D Minor* ReDiscovery Mono/Stereo* RD 072 - 77:04 |
 PLAY |
Anshel Brusilow / Chamber
Symphony of Philadelphia Brahms: Serenade 1 in D Tchaikovsky: Suite 4 Mozartiana, Andante Cantabile Arensky: Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky Cherubini: Symphony in D Haydn: Symphony 60 in C Il Distratto ReDiscovery Stereo RD 032/033 I would like to thank you so very much for bringing back these remarkable disks of my recordings with the Chamber Symphony. The reproduction is marvelous, and I am deeply grateful to you for your efforts in bringing this about. Too bad that RCA did not take the opportunity afforded them to do what you have done. It is their loss. An insight to these disks that might be of interest to your admirers, of which I am one: the Haydn 60 was recorded at the end of a session and was an extra that RCA had not asked for. It was recorded without any stops (inserts) until the last four bars, and that was because I was conducting without the score, and I forgot the ending. One retake. Quite an orchestra. Also, the clarinet solos in Tchaikovsky and all the others were played by my brother Nat Brusilow. --Anshel Brusilow, TX THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this recording available. After losing the album, I feared I would never be able to listen to Jim London playing the Brahms again. Thanks for making that possible! --LG The CD is fantastic. I gave your info to a few people in NY and I'm sure you'll be hearing from them. The Brahms Serenade is a very, very special recording and I assumed impossible to find. Thank you for your great work and professionalism! --JA, NY I just received the Anshel Brusilow CD's. Bravo. Once again, great job. --JK, CA I have already listened to both CDs, and they sound absolutely fantastic! I also want to thank you for taking the opportunity and putting all of this incredible music on CD, and making it available to us once again. I was very impressed that my order was processed and in my hands in less than a week. Wow! --JS, GA This was a great idea for a CD set. I had thought about making my own digital transfers of this material, but the RCA "Dynaflop" LPs that I've come across through the years have all been in miserable condition. The Brahms and Tchaikovsky LPs were among the very first additions to my record collection, and I've always regarded them highly, but never had a good pressing of them. Thanks for an excellent new issue. --RS, IL The Haydn sounds magnificent!! It had been a while since I had listened to my own copy; I had almost forgotten with what ferocious enthusiasm the orchestra throws itself into this wonderful piece. I also like the Blum/Esterhazy CD of 60 very much, but Brusilow finds even more excitement in this work. And I think the Brahms came off very well also; the sound seems admirably clean. The Cherubini sounds superb--and Brusilow's performance seems substantially more electric than the much-respected Toscanini version. Brusilow also takes the 3rd movement menuetto at a scherzo-like tempo, which benefits the music in the same way as in the corresponding movements in the early Schubert symphonies. The great little orchestra really shows what it can do in the lickety-split coda in the finale. I find the background noise in the Tchaikovsky Suite is only marginally higher than in the Cherubini to my ears. Arensky is quite listenable, but it might have benefited from a very slightly less forgiving hand on the declicking. But there is not much which the listener would find distracting. Thanks very much for sending the set. I do have versions with other performers of all the contained works, and they are good ones too, but it's a good bet that the ReDiscovery is the one I will be reaching for most of the time. --RO, TX The Brusilow performances are astonishing, much better than I remembered from the old LPs. But then again, as others have pointed out, those old RCA LPs, with their endemic clicks, ticks, and wobble, were almost unlistenable even when brand new. Your restoration verges on the miraculous. Thank you for restoring these gems to the active catalog; the Cherubini and Arensky alone are worth the price of this priceless set. --TB, VA Thank you so much for your effort and time re-releasing these amazing LPs. I grew up with these records through college as my professor James B Caldwell was the CSOP's first oboist. The simple fact that others are interested enough to restore these, amazes me. It is about time people heard what a real ensemble can and should sound like. --BH, IL They sound wonderful! Thanks again for making these remarkable recording available, and also for such a speedy delivery. Thank You! --JS, GA The Brusilow set is truly remarkable and the restoration of this material to availability is noteworthy, indeed. It is full of riches that delight the ear and mind. To me the highlight is the Brahms Serenade, which I felt from its original issuse to be the finest performance of the work, and which has yet to be surpassed. Numerous conductors and orchestras, big-name and small, have since failed to match the turn-on-a-dime virtuosity and precision ensemble of the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia in this work. Maestro Brusilow's tempi feel correct, highlighted by infectiously pointed rhythms throughout the piece. In my experience, only a live broadcast from years ago by Sergiu Comissiona, that I failed to record, has come close. The shortcoming to the Brusilow has been the poor quality of the original RCA Dynaflex pressings, with at least one production run having an annoying pressed-in defect. For years I searched for a good pressing without success; but I need search no further, as ReDiscovery's remaster from LP to CD appears to be done from an RCA in particularly and unusually fine condition. --GP, CA I had these items on RCA's floppy LPs when they first came out. The performances were superb then and they still are. The sound then was mediocre, but you have done a stunning job on this issue. These are truly great performances, especially in the Haydn and Brahms; the humor in both works comes across splendidly. How I wish this short-lived orchestra had made more recordings with their brilliant conductor. I salute you for this reissue! --WW, PA |
 PLAY PLAY |
Colin Davis / Sinfonia of London Beethoven: Fidelio Overture Brahms: Haydn Variations Mendelssohn: Fingal's Cave Overture Anthony Collins / Sinfonia of London Mozart: Symphony 41 in C Jupiter reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 141 - 60:46 |
 PLAY |
Pierre Dervaux / Orchestre
des Concerts Colonne Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole, Daphnis and Chloe Suite 2, La Valse, Alborada del Gracioso reel tape masters ReDiscovery Stereo RD 052 - 53:37 |
PLAY |
Victor Desarzens / Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Weber: Symphony 1 in C, Symphony 2 in C Victor Desarzens / Vienna State Opera Orchestra Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Schubert: Rosamunde Entr'acte 3 ReDiscovery Stereo RD 183 - 65:28 - $15 Just a note to say I pleased I am with your restoration of the Weber Symphonies. The original LP had very poor surfaces - or at least my copy did - and this is a huge improvement. The sound is sparkling and lively, maybe just a touch too forward, but there's a great feeling of spontaneity about the performances. The lack of background noise allows all the details to shine through especially in the quieter passages. Good fillers too in beautiful sound. Many thanks. --JW, UK The recordings of the Weber works were fine--not the best performances that I have heard and the recordings were rather dull and lacklustre. However in contrast the "fillers" with the Vienna Sate Opera Orchestra were superb--vivacious performances full of "joie de vivre" whilst the recordings demonstrate the excellent sound that the Reader's Digest team could obtain in the early 1960s. I wonder if the R/D team was the dream duo of Messrs Gerhardt and Wilkinson recording in either the old Sofiensaal or Konzerthaus--any information about recordings would be appreciated. As always transfers superb. Keep up the excellent work. --DH, UK |
 PLAY |
Dean Dixon / Alexander
Jenner / Vienna
Volksoper Orchestra Brahms: Piano Concerto 2 in B-flat John Frandsen / Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra Brahms: Tragic Overture reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 180 - 61:17 - $15 When I came across a second hand WRC stereo LP of one of my favourite versions of the Brahms 2nd piano concerto I bought it, cleaned it thoroughly and made a meticulous transfer to CD. The result: plenty of pops and clicks, vinyl background noise, and a rather seedy unattractive sound quality. Not good at all. More out of hope rather than expectation I sent my transfer to David Gideon. I knew that this record was on his wish list. I don't know how David has done it but the refurbished transfer he has conjured up is amazing. This is an excellent sounding release and I strongly endorse it both musically and technically. --John Whitmore, UK |
 PLAY |
Dean Dixon / Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra Liszt: Les Preludes, Orpheus, Mazeppa, Battle of the Huns Jean Martinon / Peter Katin / London Philharmonic Orchestra Liszt: Totentanz ReDiscovery RD 041 - 70:20 I just wanted you to know what a superb job I think you did on the Dean Dixon Liszt Tone Poems (and the Katin Totentanz is a great bonus). These sound so much better than my original Westminster LPs (which, as you note, were pressed below correct pitch) and bring out Dixon's talent even more because of the vivid sound. One suggestion--I wish you would give dates, or at least years, of original recordings. It would be a valuable addition to the notes you provide. --HF, IL The Liszt with Martinon/Katin and Dixon is superb. I had forgotten these performances although I was raised on them. Only Fiedler has approached Dixon. I look forward to future releases. --JH, PA How nice to hear the Dixon/Liszt again. I owned the earlier butchered CD issue, but it went astray somehow over the years. The transfer is your usual excellent job. It makes one wonder what the master tapes must sound like. You do us real music lovers a real service. --MS, IL My reason for wanting this was for Les Preludes. A lurid piece, but we all have darksides. Transfers sounded quite good. --BS, TX |
 PLAY |
Dean Dixon / Prague Symphony
Orchestra Mendelssohn: Symphony 3 Scottish John Frandsen / Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture reel tape master ReDiscovery RD 167 -55:38 |
 PLAY |
Dean Dixon / Vienna State Opera
Orchestra, Vienna Akademie Kammerchor, with Hilde Roessel-Majdan (con) Schubert: Rosamunde George Hurst / Royal Danish Philharmonic Orchestra Schubert: Magic Harp Overture* ReDiscovery Mono/Stereo* RD 132 - TT 64:28 |
 PLAY |
Dean Dixon / Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra Schubert: Symphony 4 Tragic, Symphony 5 Dean Dixon / Vienna State Opera Orchestra Schumann: Symphony 3 Rhenish, Symphony 4 ReDiscovery RD 098/099 - 1:57:20 |
 PLAY |
Desire Dondeyne / Musique des
Gardiens de la Paix Marches, Fanfares, and Choruses from the Time of Napoleon Mendelssohn: Overture for Wind Music, Funeral March reel tape masters Wagner: Funeral Symphony in Memory of Carl Maria von Weber, March in Homage to Ludwig II of Bavaria reel tape masters ReDiscovery Stereo RD 085 - 74:42 The Dondeyne CD of marches, choruses and fanfares of the era of Napoleon I is wonderful! Great sound, and as your web site states, a "stereo spectacular." The low percussion transients come through beautifully on my equipment, which is quite modest. Thank you for making this available. My old LP of this material never sounded this good! Also, the Mendelssohn and Wagner items--rare material played so well in great sound, are so nice to have. I have Abbado/LSO's DG recording of the Mendelssohn Overture for Winds, and it's more straight, 'classical" in conception--faster in the allegro than Dondeyne, and D's French woodwinds have a sound all their own, which the LSO does not have. So I am happy to have Dondeyne + the Wagner items and Mendelssohn Funeral march, which I don't have in any form until now. --AM, MI I cannot believe the sound on the Mendelssohn and Wagner items--there is so much warmth and ambience that I could swear that I was listening to a surround SACD. --EG, NY Thank you for the reissue of Military Fanfares from the Time of Napoleon. It sounded great and is a true classic. Keep up the good work you do. --MM, KY The Dondeyene Napoleonic Marches was the way I found myself to your site. Purely by accident, I had copied a tape I made of these onto CD two weeks ago. My tape copy was made about twenty years ago on a Thorens turntable with what was then the best Stanton cartridge, copied by a Nakamichi BX-300 (which, having been constantly serviced is as good today as then) in Dolby C with previous DNR. My copy onto disc probably would serve as a "backup" to your own transfer if you ever had the misfortune to lose it. It plays well. But there are refinements in your remastering that spell all the difference. I have the DNR equipment to re-record them to get out all the hiss, etc. Well, I don't have to do that, really. I can play back in real time DNR. And, let me tell you, when I do, these recordings are terrific. I don't know what other recordings I need, but I sure am going to look over your catalog and see. You are doing good work. --JM, CO |
 PLAY |
Anatole Fistoulari / Philharmonia Orchestra Rimsky-Korsakoff: Snow Maiden Suite, Skazka Tchaikovsky: The Slippers Suite Anatole Fistoulari / London Symphony Orchestra Rimsky-Korsakoff: Ivan the Terrible Suite ReDiscovery RD 121 - 71:56
|
 PLAY |
Alexander Gibson / April
Cantelo / Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra Grieg: Peer Gynt Karl Münchinger / Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra Grieg: Holberg Suite ReDiscovery Stereo RD 144 - 62:13 |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / Winterthur Symphony
Orchestra Reethoven: Creatures of Prometheus ReDiscovery RD 139 - 69:09 |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / Netherlands
Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, with Woudt (s), Hollestelle (bar) Reethoven: Ruins of Athens, Knight's Ballet Witt: Symphony in C Jena ReDiscovery RD 108 - 73:37 |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / Netherlands
Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, with Bijster (s), Pritchard (c),
Garen (t), Wolovsky (b) Beethoven: Symphony 9 in D Minor Choral reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 060 - 66:50 II recently bought your Beethoven's 9th with Goehr. (I got it via Florida because you couldn't ship to Denmark, if you remember). A nice buy, which will certainly not be my last one! My best wishes, and keep up the wonderful work. The world needs more of your kind to preserve just a small part of the musical treasures! --SS, Denmark Why, oh, why did a performance of such outstanding quality ever go unnoticed?!? This is a stunner, elemental in its power yet with a tender slow movement. I recently completed a "listening orgy" for Beethoven's 9th, hearing among others fine performances by Harnoncourt, Bohm, Previn, Mengelberg, and many others. Walter Goehr's performance can stand with the best. Yes, there are more polished performances but for the essence of Beethoven's spirit this recording far outshines so many better-known performers. (No names here!) The intensity of the music-making throughout is a blessing. The joy of the finale is as uplifting as you will ever hear. If this had been on a major label it would have been a 'recording of the century'. Well, thanks to your splendid work we have it now. May it see wide dissemination among lovers of music!! --WW, PA Goehr's Beethoven Ninth starts out a bit shaky (both as to the performance and recording quality), but very quickly develops focus and character to become a memorably dramatic experience. I now own a number of Goehr performances thanks to your noble restoration efforts. I must say I find it amazing that he was able to deliver such consistently thrilling results when recording with second string -- even third string -- orchestras, and with the usual restrictions (limited rehearsals, among others) imposed by Concert Hall. --TB, VA |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / London Handel Society
Orchestra and Chorus, with Dobbs (s), Hoffman (a), Simoneau (t),
Rehfuss (b) Handel: Messiah [Mozart edition] ReDiscovery Stereo RD 114/115 - 2:15:24 I am surprised, looking at your site, that you haven’t gotten any comments on the Messiah recording, yet. So that means I get to raise the questions first. I am wondering if you don’t have another musical mystery on your hands here. I say this because much of this is certainly not a recording of a London-based choir. Listen to the pronunciation in the big part one and two choruses. This is most likely a German choir, maybe Austrian. (Behold the Lamb of God: “Ooo takest avay de sins ov de verld.”) The soloists I know well enough to comment on are Simoneau and Hoffman. Both sound like the attributed soloists, but these are not only different sessions, these sound to me like different orchestras and conductors. There are huge stylistic differences: just listen to the way string figurations are handled in the tenor and soprano arias, as opposed to the other soloists. Not to mention that if the Canadian Encyclopedia is right about the release date (1958) there is no reason for the tenor arias to have been recorded in monaural sound. And Ms. Dobbs sounds like she is recorded with the orchestra and conductor used with Simoneau. Curiouser and curiouser. This isn’t the Handel edition. It may have started with it, but Mozart did not, for instance, score the tuba that is (relatively) clearly audible in several places, especially in the Hallelujah Chorus. And other parts – wind and timpani for instance – sound different to me, as well. I can’t find a reference to a London Handel Society prior to the one founded in the late-‘70’s. I assume there was one. Certainly, the current London Handel Society does not acknowledge this recording, but given their mission to support HIP Handel recordings, that is not a surprise. Maybe their namesake did the sections that sound plausibly English. Finally, very speculatively, neither recording sounds like I would expect Goehr to conduct Handel. Maybe the German ones, with his own orchestration? But who knows. Would be very interested in your thoughts and if anyone else has asked about these issues. One can certainly understand after hearing this and the Scherchen and Klemperer performances – which I listened to again because of Simoneau’s and Hoffman’s involvement – why Shaw and Davis felt compelled to break with tradition when they recorded their Messiah’s at about the same time. And so historically-informed performance was born, for better and for worse. --RG, MO According to Teri Noel Towe, Goehr made an earlier recording of Messiah with a different set of soloists, but also with the "London Handel Society Orchestra and Chorus". But the writer implies that this "London" orchestra was actually the Netherlands Philharmonic, which would be consistent with other Goehr recordings of the time. That would explain the odd phonetics in the choral portions. Beyond that I can only speculate. --dg |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / Netherlands
Philharmonic Orchestra Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition reel tape master Andre Vandernoot / Paris Conservatory Orchestra Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 157 - 62:48 |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / Zurich Radio Orchestra
and Chorus, with Graf (s), Kunz, (t), Heusser (s), Bartsch (t),
Tuescher (ms), Miller (bar), Schmid (bar), Pich (s) Strauss: Die Fledermaus highlights Josef Krips / Vienna Festival Orchestra Strauss: Waldmeister Overture, I-Tipferl Polka ReDiscovery Stereo RD 130 - 69:34 |
 PLAY< |
Walter Goehr / Zurich Radio
Orchestra
and Chorus, with Graf (s), Kunz, (t), Heusser (s), Bartsch (t),
Tuescher (ms), Miller (bar), Schmid (bar), Pich (s), Pistorius (bar),
Kaltenbach (t) Strauss: The Gypsy Baron concert version Josef Krips / Vienna Festival Orchestra Strauss: Emperor Waltz, Bahn Frei Polka Hans Swarowsky / Vienna State Opera Orchestra Strauss: Czardas from Ritter Passman ReDiscovery Stereo RD 145 - 64:38 I wanted to say how much I enjoyed the last order. The Goehr Strauss discs were wonderful (I had never heard his Gypsy Baron before, parts had me close to tears, so beautiful was the singing/conducting), as were all the other items, especially the Malcolm Binns and the Scherchen Gliere. --PH, LA |
 PLAY |
Walter Goehr / Netherlands
Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, with Garen (t), Wolovsky (b),
Bijster (s), Pritchard (c) Verdi: Requiem reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 148/149 - 1:24:21 |
 PLAY |
Sir Eugene Goossens / Grant
Johannesen /
London Symphony Orchestra D'Indy: Symphony on a French Mountain Air Faure: Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra Sir Eugene Goossens / Philharmonia Orchestra Respighi: Fountains of Rome Glinka: Jota Aragonesa Lawrance Collingwood / Grant Johannesen / London Symphony Orchestra Saint-Saens: Wedding Cake ReDiscovery Stereo RD 117 - 70:32 |
 PLAY |
Morton Gould / His Orchestra Rimsky-Korsakoff: Scheherazade Borodin: Polovtsian Dances Tchaikovsky: Elegie ReDiscovery Stereo RD 066 - 63:52 |
 PLAY |
Morton Gould / His Orchestra Beethoven: Wellington's Victory reel tape master Morton Gould / His Orchestra and Band Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 013 - 29:50 |
 PLAY |
Morton Gould / His Orchestra Bach: Air on the G String Boccherini: Minuet Chabrier: Espana Lehar: Gold and Silver Waltz reel tape master Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasy, Folk Song Suite reel tape master Morton Gould / New Philharmonia Orchestra Grieg: Norwegian Dances Grieg: Symphonic Dances [bonus tracks] ReDiscovery Stereo RD 093 - 1:40:01 Thank you so much for finally having received the clearances for the Fantasia. I had been concerned that the Sony/BMG merger would forever push this on the far back burner or obliterate it entirely. As to the recording, the RVW Tallis by Gould is--to this day--unsurpassed by anything on the market. I read with amusement William Flanagan's harsh criticism of the Gould recording, and I could not disagree more. I know this work. It is scored for two string orchestras and a quartet of soloists and all are set to both war with one another (Beethoven's Wellington?) as well to blend together. The harmonies are intentionally thick and the polyphony complex at parts. As for the Gould performance, he is the only conductor that had the courage to pause for the smallest part of a second in the middle of bar 172 giving an effect of such high emotional release that it brings the faintest hint of tears to my eyes. All other conductors hitherto have simply plowed right through that measure as if crashing into a snow bank with a snow plow, giving no apparent heed to the "molto Arlargando largemente" marked right there in the score for all to see! Additionally, Gould brings out the beauty of the broken chord harmony in the second violins at the G-Major change up at bar 37 giving an unmistakable impression of hopeful optimism and heart pounding anticipation that is unparalleled with any other performance. This recording seems to have life of its own. Gould brings a unique animated energy to this work, in spite of its dark tone, and is the definitive pace-setter for all other performances, both concert and recorded. The English Folk Song Suite is a welcome companion and, like the Tallis, is unavailable by Gould anywhere on disc. The intermezzo is especially well done, suggesting an almost erotic English countryside afternoon. Again, thank you for this invaluable recording! --LS, VA I am a bit disappointed with the sonic qualities but I don't want a refund or replacement. The CD is my traveling copy. The first problem is that track 1 is badly distorted. My first action was to check the surface of the disk but all was well. I played it on a different machine and got the same result. None of the other tracks has the problem. It sounds as if an amplification stage was over driven during a step along the way. When I played the CD, my wife commented that something sounded different. I own a Red Seal circa 1964 copy of the Vaughan Williams disk so we did an A/B comparison. Playback was through a Shure V15 pickup to a Sony GX800es in straight through mode (all tone controls and "effects" are bypassed) into Polk LS-90s. While the CD had clearly lower noise, it was overall muddled by comparison to the vinyl disk.The low frequencies were there but weak and the high frequency overtones were not distinct. The dynamic range was identical. Where individual instruments had their voice on the vinyl, the CD was indistinct. I now realize how precious that old disk is. I also have a Camden re-release of Gould's "quiet mood" classics which includes Pavane for a Dead Infant. The CD in this case is clearly superior to the vinyl. I hope you find this report useful. --AE, WA |
 PLAY |
Odd Gruner-Hegge / Oslo
Philharmonic Orchestra Beethoven: Symphony 3 in E-flat Eroica Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 and 2 reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 094 - 79:08 The Eroica I do remember from that Reader's Digest set (which I had at one time four copies of...waaay to much) Great sound as well as the Peer Gynt excerpts which I had never heard. I really recommend this disc for the Grieg with the Beethoven as incredible filler. --SP, OR |
 PLAY |
Odd Gruner-Hegge / Oslo
Philharmonic Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Symphony 5 in e Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 138 - 53:45 |
 PLAY |
Odd Gruner-Hegge / Oslo
Philharmonic Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Symphony 6 in e Pathétique reel tape master Oiven Fjeldstad / Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra Schubert: Symphony 8 in b Unfinished ReDiscovery Stereo RD 158 - 67:50 |
 PLAY |
Vittorio Gui / Florence May
Festival Orchestra Borodin: Polovtsian Dances reel tape master Brahms: Academic Festival Overture reel tape master Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice reel tape master Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite 1 reel tape master Massenet: Under the Linden Trees reel tape master Rossini: William Tell Overture reel tape master Schumann: Manfred Overture reel tape master Sibelius: Finlandia reel tape master Sibelius: Valse Triste Strauss: Rosenkavalier Waltzes [attrib] reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 073/074 - 1:52:42 Rediscovery indeed! Or for many folks a true discovery! A great conductor so sadly forgotten. Gui's approach to the 'chestnuts' here is plain amazing. A few things: the Brahms Academic Festival Overture, which I have now listened to three times, astonishes me with its well-nigh perfect tempo, orchestral detail, and joyful intensity! A truly great recording for the ages! Manfred has power behind it yet a delicacy at times that touches the heartstrings. What fun the Dukas is! Sometimes folks miss out on that, playing it just as an orchestral showpiece, but Gui certainly doesn't! Can't rememeber when I enjoyed it so much. The Rossini is what we'd expect from some one skilled in the opera pit but it can stand with any performance I have ever heard. Is it Gui in the Rosenkavalier suite? I will accept it as such. I really don't like the suite--love the opera--but Gui/Cerny makes as good a case as anyone. One last thought: the tenderness of the Massenet is wonderful. I have heard this music before but Gui touched me like no one else. You have done us a great service with this issues. Many, many thanks. May this issue serve to enlighten many the genius of this man. --WW, PA I just wanted you to know how impressed I was with the two discs I have ordered from you. The Vittorio Gui disc I once owned was not as complete and never sounded this good. Amazing. --TG, CA Vittorio Gui, along with van Beinum, Jochum, Paray, was terribly underestimated--but the Manfred is magnificent. I'm pretty sure the Rosenkavalier Waltzes are Graz. Congrats on beautiful editing. And thanks for making all these superb performances available again. --James Paul, LA |
PLAY PLAY |
Hans Hagen / Mimi Coertse
(s), Friedl Loor (ms), Karl Terkal (t) / Vienna State Opera
Orchestra and Chorus Lehar: The Merry Widow reel tape master Kalman: The Gypsy Princess reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 140 - 77:03 This is just to let you know how pleased I am with the Kalman and Lehar issue. I tried the download option, and in this particular case I converted the mp3 files to wav files and laid them out into a CD with Sony Sounforge software. Although I’ve never had this particular Omegatape, I have Omegatape reels of the same vintage and am familiar with their sound quality. I really can’t imagine that the original tape could sound much better than these downloaded files, which are silky smooth and highly detailed, with vivid tone color. The performances themselves are beautiful, and couldn’t be more idiomatic. I’ve heard many recordings by the Volksoper, even saw them live when they toured my city years ago, and this is as authentic as it gets. A very fine issue, and the download is a good bargain. I dabble in this sort of thing myself as a hobby, but I wish I could do it as well as you guys do. --RS, IL I am extremely impressed with the quality of your transfer on RD140, the Lehar/Kalman disc. It sounds wonderful. It is obvious that you put a great deal of care into this, and you must be using high-quality equipment. Thank you! --JJ, MA |
PLAY |
Robert Irving / New York City
Ballet Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker reel tape master Tchaikovsky: Allegro Brillante (Piano Concerto 3) Gounod: Symphony 1 in D reel tape master Bizet: Symphony in C reel tape master ReDiscovery Stereo RD 067/068 - 2:22:22 Each time I listen to one of his dics (check out, for example, the Glazunov Seasons on EMI) I am taken with what a marvelous conductor--and not just of ballet--Robert Irving was. This Nutcracker is alive and vibrant like few others. His speeds are most akin to the Gergiev/Kirov (also on a single cd and with one additional track, the intrada from the pas de deux, included), which I also like, but whereas Gergiev occasionally tends to sound rushed and brutal, Irving and his New York musicians remain rythmically poised and gracefully light-footed throughout and the performance takes wing in a fashion the Russians' never really does. The somewhat less frequently heard Tchaikovsky Allegro Brillante is a welcome inclusion as played here and the French works fairly crackle with wit and bravura. I've always been a fan of the Bizet and have many versions. but I've never before heard this one and it's right up there with the best--in my view Munch, Beecham, and Martinon. I'd like to hear an Irving Symphonie Fantastique. And it's all in quite marvelous sound (except for somewhat muddy bass drum) to boot. Bravo! --AP, CA I just wanted you to know how impressed I was with the two discs I have ordered from you. The Robert Irving NYC ballet discs I once owned on Kapp LP have been restored with great care. Kudos to you. --TG, CA A couple of strange things caught my ear. One was the extremely fast pace in the Waltz of the Snowflakes. The other was that although Irving added some real loud chimes to the Arrival of Drosselmayer, which I've never heard anyone do before, when he gets to the part where you're supposed to hear the clock strike 12, there are no bells at all! (Plus he uses a popgun to start the battle, like Dorati in his stereo recording, not a real gun. Oh well, they are toy soldiers after all...) Actually, the best thing was the Tchaikovsky Concerto 3 (Allegro Brillante)--I forgot what a good performance it is. --SH, MI |
 PLAY |
Thor Johnson / Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra, Helsinki University
Chorus, with Sulo Saarits (bar) Dvorak: Symphony 8 in G Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter, The Origin of Fire ReDiscovery Stereo RD 127 - 56:13 |
 PLAY |
Rene Leibowitz / Rome Opera
House Orchestra, with Valletti, Elias, Souzay Massenet: Werther: Great Scenes reel tape master Rene Leibowitz / Paris Pasdeloup Orchestra Rossini: La Gazza Ladra Overture, William Tell Overture ReDiscovery Stereo RD 081 - 77:22 |
 PLAY |
Rene Leibowitz / New Symphony Orchestra
of London Boccherini: Minuet Delibes: Intermezzo from Naila Dinicu-Heifetz: Hora Staccato Falla: Ritual Fire Dance Gilbert and Sullivan: HMS Pinafore Overture Waldteufel: Skaters' Waltz Rene Leibowitz / Rome Philharmonic Orchestra Chabrier: Espana Ibert: Escales (Ports of Call) Rene Leibowitz / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Grieg: The Last Spring Saint-Saens: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso [violin: Raymond Cohen] Wagner: Die Meistersinger Prelude ReDiscovery Stereo RD 125 - 70:57 I've given the disc a good listen--it sounds great. Really clean transfers. On the negative, the virtuosity of the NSOL is so much better than the Royal Philharmonic--makes the RPO and the Rome orchestra sound weak. I bet the NSOL was a mini version of the Philharmonia orchestra. All the wind players are exceptionally good, especially the oboist. The horns in the Fitual Fire Dance were also top notch...much better than the RPO. I have never heard this degree of virtuosity from the RPO. --RW, NJ |
