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Pristine News: Friday 11th September, 2009
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Recordings by Artist - Recordings by Composer - Full printable Pristine Audio catalogue New release today: SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 Pristine Audio PASC 186
Taken from Capitol LP 18009 in the collection of John J. Davis Total duration: 44:07
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One of the finest recorded performances of Sibelius' Second Superb XR-remastered sound from this John Culshaw production for Capitol
Sibelius' Second Symphony has long been a favourite here at Pristine, and this superlative recording, produced by the legendary John Culshaw in 1956 for Capitol, has long cried out for remastering and reissue in digital form. This excellent transfer has really opened out sonically thanks to Pristine Audio's unique XR remastering system, bringing greater richness to the broad lines of Sibelius' fabulous creation than was heard in the original vinyl release, something which only serves to add to the enjoyment of a really excellent performance. Long absent from the current catalogue, this is a vital and long-overdue release for all Sibelius fans! Download listening sample: (1st movement - Allegretto, 224kbps ambient stereo)
This is one of the great recordings of the Second Symphony of Sibelius, and it's something of a mystery as to why it's not been reissued before. We are grateful to ardent Sibelius enthusiast John J Davis for the loan of his LP for this transfer - of his collection 37 recordings of the work this is the only one he rates amongst his personal favourites which has remained stuck in the LP era. It was excellently received at the time - its UK issue (on Parlophone) was reviewed in The Gramophone in May 1958:
I'm pleased to report that, with XR remastering and the judicious use of Ambient Stereo processing (optional) this 'exceptionally good' sound quality is further improved - although the original production by legendary Decca producer John Culshaw (who worked on a series of recordings for Capitol in 1956-7) was certainly of the highest quality for its day, a certain constriction in the broad strings of this work is clearly evident when played alongside this newly remastered version, and overall the orchestral sound is more fully rounded throughout. The Second Symphony was one of my first introductions to the music of Sibelius in my early teens and made a great impression on me then. The present recording serves as an excellent reminder of why I enjoy this work so much - highly recommended in every respect. It also persuaded me to listen again to what is currently the only other recording offered by Pristine that was conducted by Schmidt-Isserstedt - the 1937 Kulenkampff/BPO world première recording of Schumann's Violin Concerto (PASC004) which was among the twelve recordings that constituted our entire catalogue when we launched in February 2005 - if you've not heard it I'd strongly recommend giving it a listen!
Available as 320kbps MP3, 16-bit FLAC, 24-bit FLAC, Ambient Stereo FLAC, CD
or listen on demand with Pristine Audio Direct Access (PADA) New release today: MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 3 & 5; MORTON GOULD Philharmonic Waltzes Pristine Audio PASC 187
Transfers by Edward Johnson Total duration: 68:59
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Vibrant Mendelssohn Symphonies and a very rare Gould Excellent, well-recorded performances from Mitropoulos' New York Philharmonic
Mitropoulos's 1953 Mendelssohn symphony recordings demonstrate how hit-and-miss studio technology could be in the early LP era. The sound, squeezed somehow onto a single LP, of these two recordings was not likely to enamour many to these performances. Yet here is a perfect example of how the tonal rebalancing of our XR remastering can utterly transform a recording from something of a curiosity into a thing of wonder and vitality. Check out our before-and-after sample and you'd almost believe you were hearing two entirely different recordings, perhaps decades apart. The rarely-recorded 1950 recording of Morton Gould's Philharmonic Waltzes (written for Mitropoulos and the NY Phil) was far more successful - it's a delightful work that cries out to be heard again.
Download listening sample:
(Mendelssohn 3rd Symphony, 1st mvt., 224kbps ambient stereo)Notes on the recording: These fine recordings came to me from the collection of Edward Johnson, who seems to have not only a superb collection but also an unerring touch when it comes to selecting fine recordings in need of XR remastering and full reissue. Although the Mendelssohn symphonies have resurfaced elsewhere in the digital era, it is unlikely that other transfers will have dealt with the harsh, boxy, unpleasant sound of the originals. This is one of those occasions when XR remastering has made a huge difference, so much so that I've prepared a before-and-after sample which takes a 45-second section from the first movement first in its raw, straight-from-the-LP version, and then in its final, XR-remastered Ambient Stereo form - the difference in indeed dramatic! It's replayed from a 320kbps MP3 file, which can be streamed online or downloaded here. The release was unusual in its day - Mitropoulos's brisk reading of the Symphonies (his first movement is a full four minutes shorter than a more recent release conducted by Sir Colin Davis, for example, despite there being no cuts) allowed Capitol to squeeze both recordings onto a single LP whereas other contemporary issues required two sides per work. For some this may be too brisk, or the gaps between movements too short (I've not lengthened them), but others may find them to be, in the words of Edward Johnson, "great, panache-laden" performances. The additional work here - three contrasting waltzes in one short piece - is a real treat and genuine rarity. It was commissioned in the late 1940s for the New York Philharmonic from American composer Morton Gould and premièred that year with Mitropoulos conducting. A review by Steve Schwartz at Classical Net of a Gould recording gives more background to this rarely-heard but delightful 9-minute work:
[*Though dated 1948, the year it received its première, the commission itself would most likely have been received in 1947.]
Available as 320kbps MP3, 16-bit FLAC, 24-bit FLAC, Ambient Stereo FLAC, CD
or listen on demand with Pristine Audio Direct Access (PADA)
New MP3 transfers at PADA Exclusives
Download or stream this recording and many others from only One Euro a week! Hundreds of historic recordings are available for listening and free MP3 download Other subscription offers give you full access to our entire online catalogue
New review at MusicWeb International
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano Concerto No 4 in G major, Op. 58 (1808) Arthur Rubinstein (piano) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham rec. 30 September 1947, Abbey Road Studio No 1, London PRISTINE PASC 165[30:41] As I write this review in August 2009 this recording is just under two months short of being sixty-two years old. Had I listened to this amazing transfer by Andrew Rose without knowing that I would never have believed it possible. The recording sounds as if it had been set down perhaps in the 1960s. This is, quite simply, one of the best transfers of an historical issue - which I define as being over fifty years old - that I can ever recall hearing. The sound is bright and clear, without ever being harsh. There's a satisfying degree of front-to-back perspective. The piano is truthfully reported, quite well forward in the aural picture, though not excessively so. Only very occasionally - say in the slightly thin oboe tone - does the recording betray its age. The dynamic range of the recording is good and there's no distortion. I presume some filtering of surface noise has taken place - there's almost no hiss, even when listening through headphones - but any such intervention has not been to the detriment of the music or its sonic reproduction. All in all, this is a significant achievement. In praising the transfer one must not overlook the skilled work of the post-War HMV engineers who captured the original recording. This recording was originally issued by HMV on 78s but I don't know if it has made it onto CD - or even LP - before. I read on the Pristine website that the transfer has been made from 'a good, clean near-mint set of 78s'. The same note very honestly says that 'side joins are seamless - the only possible giveaway is an occasional hint of end-of-side distortion and treble roll-off.' Well, you'll have to have more acute hearing than I possess to spot those instances. I'm not sure I can be quite so enthusiastic about the performance, good though it is in many ways. Pristine reproduce an enthusiastic review from the October 1949 issue of Gramophone by LS (Lionel Salter?) which concludes thus: 'So far as I am concerned, nobody need bother to record this concerto again: this performance is it!' Fortunately other pianists did record the concerto subsequently and, in my humble opinion, have offered different perspectives to that of Rubinstein and Beecham. I think I'd describe the performance overall as direct. That's certainly how Rubinstein's delivery of the opening piano solo sounds to me. There's not the same degree of poetry and thoughtfulness in this short phrase that one finds with, say, Solomon in 1952 (EMI 7243 5 65503 2) or Gilels in 1957 (Testament SBT 1095). The more philosophical and lyrical view taken by these two pianists - and their respective conductors - and emulated by other artists since, is more to my taste in this, my favourite among the Beethoven piano concertos. Rubinstein's way with the opening solo is a fair harbinger of his style throughout the movement. He plays with clarity, objectivity and no little energy. Beecham echoes his soloist's direct, even urgent approach throughout this movement - conducting very well and obtaining playing of great vitality from his recently established orchestra. Though I prefer a more reflective approach in this movement and in the work as a whole, the freshness of the performance by both soloist and orchestra is undeniably appealing. The very directness of the music-making is something that may well attract many collectors. The noble slow movement is very well handled, Rubinstein's limpid playing subduing the orchestra. The finale is excellent. The reading has verve and drive. Occasionally I feared Rubinstein's fingers might run away with him but all is well and a feeling of exhilaration pervades the proceedings. Beecham conducts with élan and the movement ends, with great brio, in an exultant dash for the finishing line. I should mention the cadenzas used by Rubinstein. I'd never heard them before though I noted while listening that they sounded very romantic and anachronistic. It was only subsequently that I learned from the Pristine website that the cadenzas are by Saint-Saëns. The one used in the finale need not detain us long; it's short and quite succinct. The first movement cadenza is another matter, however. It's a fairly extended examination of the movement's thematic material, which lasts for just over three minutes (from 12:55 to 16:00) but seems rather longer. To be honest it's out of scale, both in terms of length and style. Personally I regret Rubinstein's choice of what is something of a curiosity. So I have some reservations about the performance but I'm glad to have added it to my collection. Rubinstein's legion of admirers will most certainly want to hear it. And though technological advances will no doubt continue it seems inconceivable that we will ever hear it in better sound than this splendid Pristine Audio offering.
New MP3 transfers at PADA Exclusives
Download or stream this recording and many others from only One Euro a week! Hundreds of historic recordings are available for listening and free MP3 download Other subscription offers give you full access to our entire online catalogue
New review in Fanfare Magazine
Arturo Toscanini, cond; Rudolf Serkin (pn); New York P-SO;1 NBC SO2 PRISTINE 164, mono (47:34) Broadcast: New York 2/23/1936;1 9/3/1944.2 Available at www.pristineclassical.com Neither of these performances is new to CD, the Symphony having been issued in a now probably scarce Grammophono disc, the concerto in a two-CD Guild set (sold only outside the U.S.) that preserved the entire concert of February, 23, 1936, from which this Serkin performance was drawn. It marked his debut in the U.S. as soloist with symphony orchestra and also featured him in the Beethoven G-Major Concerto. This transfer of the Mozart derives from the same air-check used by Guild, and thus is missing part of the first movement—a loss that begins shortly before the tutti that precedes the cadenza and extends into part of the cadenza itself. The sound of this transfer, in its presence and impact, is slightly superior to Guild’s. But, though thoroughly listenable, it remains markedly inferior to the studio norm for the period. That said, the performance should prove fascinating for anyone interested in the artists, especially Toscanini. It is certainly unlike the conductor’s 1943 NBC performance of the work with Horszowski (once available from Naxos). Sometimes that later one even approaches glibness. By contrast, this 1936 collaboration with Serkin boasts greater breadth and flexibility from both conductor and soloist. But, unlike the 1943 performance, it does not contain an addition of seven measures in the opening tutti that Toscanini inferred to be missing in what was then the standard (but corrupt) edition. Ultimately, Serkin, who gained access to Mozart’s manuscript, confirmed what had been only a suspicion on Toscanini’s part. Today, these seven measures have become standard. Clearly, several limitations, sonic and textual, limit the appeal of this release. Nevertheless, it is a significant document of a memorable collaboration in a work that was Toscanini’s favorite Mozart concerto. The Symphony No. 29 is another matter. In his notes for this release, producer Andrew Rose cites my Arturo Toscanini: the NBC Years, where I noted that the performance is a “revelation for its time” when compared to the recorded accounts of the work made by Koussevitzky and Beecham. This is certainly true in terms of its lean sonority and freedom from overly broad tempos. But on hearing it again, it also sounds under rehearsed and graceless. It is certainly interesting as Toscanini’s only surviving account of the work (I suspect it may be his only performance of it), but it falls short in terms of projecting the music’s elegance, buoyancy, and charm. The sound, if certainly superior to that of the Concerto, is rather shrill and raucous. Reservations aside, for those who want a fascinating walk into history, this is a welcome release. A few of the CBS broadcast announcements frame the concerto. Mortimer H. Frank This article originally appeared in Issue 33:1 (Sept/Oct 2009) of Fanfare Magazine.
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