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Thu 29 Apr 201011:30
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Pristine
News:
Friday
24th
April, 2010
 Willem Mengelberg
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A Beginner's Guide to Downloading - Five ways to find recordings at Pristine Classical - Full printable Pristine Audio catalogue New release today: BEETHOVEN & BRAHMS First Symphonies Pristine Audio PASC 221 Recorded
in
October
1940 at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam by AVRO Radio Total
duration:
73:28 For
more
download
and
CD
options,
see
our
website
In almost unbelievably good XR-remastered sound quality
Notes
on
the
recordings:
Willem
Mengelberg
and
the Concertgebouw Orchestra were recorded on a number of
occasions by AVRO using the Philips-Miller film system, an optical
system which produced considerably higher quality recordings than just
about all of the other methods then available to recording engineers.
The majority of commercial recordings were of course made straight to
disc, ready for pressing into 78rpm shellac records, but these radio
transcriptions were not intended for release at the time, and thus the
engineers were free to utilise this alternate system for recording. With
a
frequency
range was that much wider than usual, and a dynamic range
also greater than that of shellac discs, many of Mengelberg's AVRO
recordings have long been available on LP and, later, CD, and the sonic
advantages of the Philips system have been immediately clear to
listeners for decades. However,
using
standard
flat replay systems for these film recordings to produce
those LPs and CDs has only told perhaps half of the story. In fact the
frequency response captured by those Philips-Miller recorders was far
in excess of the 50-7000Hz (+/- 2.5dB) generally quoted. Although the
system did gently roll off higher and lower frequencies, these
essential details are often still intact, buried in the recordings as
if awaiting a remastering method capable of extracting them and
restoring their original levels. This
is,
of
course, precisely what Pristine's XR remastering system excels
at. There are extended sections in both 1940 concert recordings present
here where we've been able to present a true full-frequency, 20-20,000
Hz frequency response, coupled with a dynamic range more befitting of a
1960s or 1970s analogue recording - sound quality which is quite
astonishing for its age. Of
course
the
recording system was by no means perfect, and trying to go
"the extra mile" in restoring it to modern standards is fraught with
difficulties. Modulation distortion abounds in the original - basically
whenever the music gets louder, so does the hiss and noise levels,
especially at the higher frequencies which were previously largely
inaudible. The majority of the restoration effort has then been
involved in trying to ameliorate this problem, though sharper ears may
still hear its effect from time to time. There is at times also very
slightly higher general background hiss than one might expect of a more
recent recording. Elsewhere
the
bottom
end has seen considerable improvement, with a much fuller
and richer sound than originally heard in the flat transfers. The use
of multiple references for the remastering of the recordings has
ensured that the tonal balance is as natural and realistic as possible,
and that the two recordings resulted in an orchestral sound which was
consistent for both recordings. Ultimately
we
have
two concert recordings which rarely divulge their antiquity,
drawn from mint pressings of transfers made by the company which
designed and built the original recording equipment. One will rarely
get closer to hearing a 1940 concert than this.
New release today: BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 "Choral" Pristine Audio PASC 222 Concert
broadcast
from
Carnegie Hall, 22nd November, 1958 Total
duration:
66:35 For
more
download
and
CD
options,
see
our
website
First of three volumes chronicling his only appearances with the orchestra
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
Notes on the recordings:
Despite his lengthy and varied career, Karajan was predominantly a Europe-based conductor and rarely conducted American orchestras - in 169 concerts in the USA he conducted only three orchestras: the Los Angeles Philharmonic once (1959), the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra fifteen times (1967-69), and the New York Philharmonic eight times in November, 1958. His only other engagements with an American orchestra were two concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra in Salzburg and Lucerne during August 1967. The New York Philharmonic concerts were split into two groups of four: The first concerts, of 13-16 November 1958, consisted of three works: Webern's Five Pieces for String Orchestra, Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony, No. 41, and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. A week later, between 20th and 23rd November, Karajan played an all-Beethoven programme, beginning with the First Symphony and ending with the Ninth - in the case of the Ninth "Choral" Symphony these constituted four of ten performances the conductor gave of this work in 1958 alone - three with the Berlin and three with the Vienna Philharmonics complete the total. Transfer notes Each group of four New York Philharmonic concerts received a radio broadcast - in each case it was the third of the four concerts, held on Saturday evenings, which was broadcast on the CBS radio network. At the present time the only surviving recordings of these concerts appear to have been taken from AM broadcasts. Although the quality, both of the recordings and the transmissions themselves is very good, they are inevitably diminished by the limited bandwidth and dynamic range of this broadcast medium.
As a result there is no recorded signal above about 6kHz, and at times some of the very loudest passages sound somewhat compressed in volume. However, with such obvious interest in these rare recordings, made by such top rank musicians, it was clear that they could not be ignored, and we were delighted to be sent excellent source copies by an American collector. Restoration has revolved around minimising hiss, dealing with very occasional light drop-out, the odd click and crackle, and one short instance of line whistle. Thereafter the XR remastering process has been used in order to ty and extract the very best sound quality possible from this compromised source material. Although the results would be considered fine for a recording of earlier years it's clearly not up to the standards one normally expects of 1958 technology, hence the designation "Special Interest" for this release.
Andrew
Rose
Next week on BBC Radio Four (available online), the following documentary, featuring interview material with Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio. This is from the BBC's website:
Download or stream this recording and many others from only One Euro a week! Hundreds
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From Audiophile Audition  Pierre
Monteux: Early RecordingsSTRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps; RAVEL: Le petit poucet from Ma Mere l’oye; La Valse; COPPOLA: Interlude dramatique; CHABRIER: Fete Polonaise Orchestre Symphonique de Paris/Pierre Monteux Pristine Audio PASC219, 62:27 [avail. in different format downloads at www.pristineclassical.com] **** Pierre Monteux (1875-1964) inscribed a series of 78 rpm performances, of which those assembled here prove the most elusive, since his Berlioz and the several works with violinist Yehudi Menuhin have remained relatively current in the collectors’ catalogue. The feral Stravinsky Rite of Spring (23-25 January 1929) made in the Salle Pleyel (as are all the recordings) elicits an electrical energy quite startling even by today’s standards. The Jeu de rapt punches and shrieks with elemental fury. The Rondes printanieres conveys a menace whose primal power at first groans with the weight of contained volcanic alchemy: when it does erupt, the orchestral definition screeches--quite a sonic feat--given that editor Mark Obert-Thorn often had to work with dubbings made from French shellac originals. Listen to the marvelous mix between pizzicato strings and tympani in the Jeux des cites rivales, the metrics labyrinthine in their own right. The momentum carries into the Cortege du sage, fiendish and excruciating in its ferocity. A lull, and then the pregnant tympani riff that unleashes the last convulsive wrench to the Danse de la terre, whose savage tremolos threaten to shake our world apart. Part II opens with a palpable sense of mystical unworthiness, as though we had penetrated deeply into the chthonian. Harmonies that might have belonged to Debussy become stretched and distorted into modal insinuations of dark eroticism. The transition from the Mysterious Circle of Adolescents to the Glorification of the Elected One resonates with fiendish power, quite uncivilized, Monteux’s moving his orchestral masses with quick precision. With the Action rituelle des ancetres we enter the sacred precinct of dance and death, the antique relation of festival and sacrifice. The various layerings of string and brass stretti, given their inexorable rhythmic arch, becomes mesmeric and shattering at once, culminating in the self-immolating Danse sacral: The Elected One. This performance well qualifies as the best Stravinsky you have heard in a long time. The Ravel, Coppola, and Chabrier inscriptions date from 29, 31 January-3 February 1930. No greater contrast could follow the wicked Le Sacre than Le petit poucet from Mother Goose, all tender innocence and childhood devotion. The clarity of orchestral line and the resonance of the woodwind timbres testify to Monteux’s keen ear for shimmering aural alchemy. The music of Piero Coppola (1888-1971) has not survived in the same way that his repute as a conductor endures. The opening surge of his Interlude domatium (3 February 1930)--with its jazzy horn syncopations--conveys a kind of Hollywood sensibility, a raw energy that bustles with the aura the big city. The secondary theme, rather lyrical, blares forth, its large canvas reminiscent of moments from Walton or Moeran. The frequent explosions of sound are quite huge, a large orchestra making its bold claims. A violin solo emerges from the tumult in concert with horns, soft winds, harp, and strings. The music becomes exquisitely bucolic, a lullaby of Broadway--the “Boul Mich”--if you prefer. Coppola applies his own definition of Stravinsky’s rhythmic energy to the last pages, which achieve a kind of luminous apotheosis. The Chabrier Fete Polonaise (29 January 1930) enjoys a splashy grandeur that might befit a Ronald Colman or Abel Gance epic. The rhythmic pulse remains quite heavy for a French dance, Massenet rather in frenzied parody. The waltz theme emerges from a gaudy mix, with the thump of the polonaise in counterpoint. Perhaps this is balletic mix that would have highlighted the Capulets’ ball when Romeo gate-crashed for love. Monteux urges a superheated account, buoyantly irreverent, almost tinged with Richard Strauss. The constant, interrupted metrics manage to gain an inexorable acceleration, sailing into a rarified paroxysm of jubilation. Finally, the Ravel La Valse (31 January 1930), which did not share a general international repute that it deserves. Monteux brings a manic wealth of orchestral detail to the score, a wringing conviction that adds considerable drama to the colors with which the score already luxuriates. Controlled abandon marks every turn, every chromatic nuance. The sense of fin-de-siecle, over-ripe energies ultimately in a state of spasmodic collapse permeates this vivid rendition. --Gary Lemco
 Flonzaley Quartet Bedrich SMETANA (1824-1884) String Quartet in E Minor, “From My Life” (1876) [24:47] rec. 19 - 20 March, 1929 in Victor Studio No. 1, Camden Ernst von DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960) String Quartet No. 2 in D Flat Major, Op. 15 (1906)[25:12] rec. 20 - 21 October, 1927 in Victor Studio No. 1, Camden SPIRITUALS Go down, Moses; Swing low, sweet chariot (arr. Alfred Pochon) [4:40] rec. 11 February, 1926 in the Victor Studios, Camden Deep River (arr. Alfred Pochon) [3:45] rec. 4 January, 1927 in Victor Studio No. 3, Camden Alfred POCHON (1878-1959) Irish Cradle Song [3:21] rec. 10 February, 1926 in the Victor Studios, Camden TRADITIONAL Irish Reel (arr. Alfred Pochon) [2:30] rec. 4 January, 1927 in Victor Studio No. 3, Camden Sally in our alley (Old English Tune) (arr. Alfred Pochon) [3:34] rec. 3 May, 1929 in Victor Studio No. 1, Camden Turkey in the straw (arr. Alfred Pochon) [2:36] rec. 30 April, 1929 in Victor Studio No. 1, Camden Flonzaley Quartet (Adolfo Betti, (violin I): Alfred Pochon, (violin II): Nicolas Moldavan, (viola): Iwan d’Archambeau, (cello)) rec. 1926-1929 PRISTINE AUDIO PACM 068 [70:20] Collectors will know - and transfer engineer Mark Obert-Thorn reiterates the point in his jewel-case notes - that many of the Flonzaley Quartet’s electrical recordings were issued by Biddulph in the 1990s. He has recently transferred the quartet’s Christmas Carol sides for Pristine Audio - which I reviewed The focal points are the Smetana and Dohnányi quartets, but the lighter side of things should on no account be overlooked. The London’s abridged acoustic recording may be earlier and the Bohemian’s may be more famous, but the Flonzaley’s 1929 recording of the Smetana E minor possesses wonderful and salient qualities of its own. Foremost among them is the light, wristy, subtle approach which, allied to the sparing use of vibrato, adds a Gallic patina to the music making. This is, to be sure, very different to the modernity of the London Quartet, or to the echt-Czech qualities of the Bohemian, but no less exciting. It exudes, in short, French lyricism, artistry of delightful lightness and also fine intonation. The recording was a good one and the Victor ‘Gold’ used to transfer was evidently in fine heart; we can hear the inner voices perfectly and thus appreciate the old adage of a quartet only being as good as its second violin (the Bohemian Quartet’s second violin for example was the composer Josef Suk). The unison playing in the slow movement is sonorous without becoming inflated or over-saturated in the Russian way, and the scherzo has requisite rhythmic brio. The tremolandi and sense of drama in the finale are well conveyed. The companion work is Dohnányi’s Second Quartet of 1906. This was recorded a little earlier, in October 1927 in the same venue, Victor’s Camden studio No.1. It’s a resonant and attractive three movement work that is a fine vehicle for the Flonzaley. Its lissom freedoms are attractively explored and the marvellously rapid articulation of the central movement attests to the technical adroitness of the foursome. They play the hymnal-leaning melodic lines with great finesse and care over bow weight and tonal matching. Similarly the finale’s counterpoint and return to hymnal seriousness are compellingly presented. It’s no wonder that the upper voices remained so strong; by this point Adolfo Betti and Alfred Pochon had been performing together in the quartet for over twenty years. The ‘fillers’ are delightful. The spirituals perhaps remind one of violinist Maud Powell’s pioneering transcriptions in this arena. Refinement and elegance are the watchwords, and a certain nobility of utterance too. Pochon’s Irish Cradle Song possesses an elfin artfulness and prefaces the traditional Irish Reel - recorded a year apart. Both this and Sally in our alley were without question London String Quartet territory, the Flonzaley’s friendly rivals who recorded for Columbia. The Victor riposte is highly engaging. There is some inherent mechanical noise on some tracks but it’s pretty insignificant stuff. Treble frequencies have been retained and room ambience is very much audible. Splendid work all round, and a fitting conclusion to the run of the Flonzaley’s electric discs. Jonathan Woolf
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