greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (01/21/85)
More impressions of CD's I've had chance to hear:
Schubert - Symphony No. 9 (Solti/Vienna Philharmonic - London)
Although the performance is, in many ways, a fine
one, I can't recommend this. The sound is of the sort
that anyone who wants to condemn digital recordings
could point to - harsh, metallic, shallow and nothing
like the actual sound I've heard in concert halls and
on record from the Vienna Philharmonic.
Stravinsky - Petrouchka (Michael Tilson Thomas/Philharmonia - CBS)
This was an unusually good vinyl LP, for CBS. The CD
differs very little, since my LP copy had negligible
surface noise. In either format, it's a superb
performance, rhythmically clean and precise, beautifully
played, and balanced in a way that illuminates the
individual strands of the music without losing the
cohesiveness.
Debussy - Jeux/Nocturnes (Haitink/Concertgebouw - Philips)
This is from an analogue master. I preferred the
sound of the LP (even better is the open-reel
tape from Barclay-Crocker), which, even after
multiple playings is remarkably free of surface noise.
The CD is by no means bad, but fails to reproduce the
opulence of the Concertgebouw string section (audible
in live performance, and, therefore, not the product
of analogue distortions) as well as the LP.
The performances are excellent.
Stravinsky - Firebird (Colin Davis/Concertgebouw - Philips)
Although also derived from an analogue master with
the same orchestra and hall as the Debussy record,
this time I preferred the CD. The LP is superb with
very silent surfaces and a wide dynamic range, but
the CD, on a good player, has a slightly greater
clarity and focus. This is also an excellent
performance, but I prefer the austere clarity of
Stravinsky's own (much less beautifully reproduced)
recording on CBS.
So far my experiences with CD had been purely of classical music.
I've since had a chance to hear two jazz vocal CD's, both of which
were derived from analogue masters:
Billie Holiday - Songs for Distingue Lovers. The LP version
of this has been out of print for years, only recently
resurfacing as a French import. Those who bought the
British Verve (Polydor) series of 10 LP's which was
available in the late 70's will have all of the
selections on this album split between Vol. 8 and
Vol. 9. The CD is no better than the superbly
silent British Verve LP pressing, which gave much
more for the money, containing significantly more
selections per LP. The selections on this album
are also all contained on an American Verve 2-record
set reissue which I haven't heard, the 2-record set
being considerably less expensive than this single CD.
These selections were recorded in 1957 in genuine
stereo and the sound is very clean, closely miked
(as with the stereo Ella Fitzgerald recordings also
made by Verve at the time) but free of the blasting
and distortion that marred many early stereo Columbia
pop/jazz recordings. By 1957 Holiday was a physical
wreck and the voice is frail, tremulous, and very
limited in useable range. I found this, however,
much more listenable than the later recordings made
with a large orchestra under Ray Ellis ("Lady in
Satin" for Columbia, and an album simply titled
"Billie Holiday" originally on MGM), since the
superb, small group backing her allowed her a
lightness and relaxation that the heavy Ellis scorings
didn't. Those who like Billie Holiday in her later
recordings will, like those who like the later
operatic recordings of Maria Callas, have learned to
listen through the ravages of the actual instrument
to the still-active musical imagination and flashes
of insight into the lyrics. Those who know Holiday
only by name should be warned that this is definitely
NOT the voice that originally established her
reputation.
Sarah Vaughan - Sassy Swings Again. In this case the CD
is a marked improvement over previous LP transfers.
Vaughan is in good voice (when isn't she?) and
more relaxed and "herself" than in many of the
other Mercury recordings made at the same time.
The conclusion I'm gradually reaching is that, where the master
recording is digital, the CD is likely to be preferable to the
vinyl LP. Where the master recording is analogue, the situation
is much more variable and seems mostly dependent on the quality
of mastering and pressing done on the original LP issue. A
first-rate mastering/pressing job, as used to be done by Philips
through the 70's, will often sound as good as, or better than,
the CD issue. The rarity of such quality, however, in the mastering and
pressing of domestic LP's, and the deterioration in the last several
years in the quality of many European LP's indicates a preference
for the CD.
- Greg Paleygreg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (02/05/85)
Here are my impressions of several more CD's I've been able to listen to carefully, using an NAD CD-player, Yamaha C-70 preamp, Threshold power amp, and Magneplanar MG-IIIB speakers. (1) Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Ferrier/Patzak/Vienna Philharmonic/Bruno Walter, cond. LONDON) This is a "classic" performance recorded in 1952. For my tastes, it is one of Bruno Walter's few great post-WW2 performances, as I find that the tendency to linger and sentimentalize in his later stereo recordings, with few exceptions, hurt the coherence and flow of the music. Kathleen Ferrier's singing is extraordinarily beautiful; Julius Patzak handles the horribly difficult tenor part skillfully, but is clearly struggling with an aging voice. The Vienna Philharmonic play superbly for Walter. The CD certainly reveals more detail and presence, as well as a sense of "weight" missing from my (English Decca) analogue pressing. There is, unfortunately, also a great deal more stridency and shrillness in the louder vocal and high string passages. I found that I preferred the CD, given a preamp that will let you comfortably reduce the treble without dulling the sound excessively. (2) Puccini: Manon Lescaut (Freni/Domingo/Sinopoli, cond. DGG) This isn't a favorite opera of mine, but those who like it should enjoy this performance. Freni no longer sounds youthful, but her voice on this recording is free and ample. Domingo continues to sound amazingly good. This recording seemed free of the excessively close miking that marred many earlier DGG releases. (3) R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Tomowa-Sintow/Baltsa/Perry/ Moll/Herbert von Karajan, cond. DGG) For as strict a conductor as Karajan, there has been some ludicrously bad singing on many of his opera sets in the last 15 years or so, the exceptions being this one and his "Pelleas et Melisande". There are no real weak spots here, however I continue to prefer his 1956 analogue recording which has been digitally remastered and is likely to turn up on CD. Tomowa-Sintow sings gracefully and with considerable richness of tone, but doesn't convey anywhere near the detailed inflection or sense of humor that Schwarzkopf did on the earlier set. Baltsa, on the other hand, doesn't have the luminous opulence of the young Christa Ludwig, nor does Janet Perry match the silvery purity of Theresa Stitch-Randall on the old set. Except for occasional tempi that I find too slow, the set is well-paced, but not, to me, preferable to HVK's earlier reading. The new set has considerably more deep bass as well as clarity of detail, but the EMI recording actually has greater hall ambience and a more natural orchestral perspective. - Greg Paley
greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (04/12/85)
Here are my impressions of several CD's I've had chance to listen to carefully lately. I listened to these on my home system, which consists of Magnavox 3040 player, Hafler 110 preamp, Hafler 220 power amp, Vandersteen 2C speakers. Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man; Appalachian Spring; Rodeo Atlanta Symphony/Louis Lane, cond. TELARC I had no idea that Atlanta had an orchestra of this caliber. The exposed brass is particularly impressive. I found these to be lovely performances. The sound makes a good case for CD - a sense of effortlessness in the climaxes and complete lack of breakup or distortion in the mixed brass and percussion sections. I am pleased and impressed by the natural, "un-hyped" quality of the sound, although the spectacular element in terms of frequency and dynamic extremes is all there. Good depth and reproduction of ambient information. Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) Philadelphia Orchestra/Riccardo Muti, cond. EMI Although spectacular in terms of frequency response and dynamic range, I found this very fatiguing to listen to. I love hearing the brass snarls so clearly, but found the strings unbearably steely. In general, the sound is very "close up" with little depth or spaciousness. It's certainly a long way from the turgid, whipped-cream sonorities to be heard from this orchestra on CBS under the late Eugene Ormandy. Part of the "fierceness" of the sound is undoubtedly due to Muti's interpretation which is "whipped up" for surface excitement at the expense of the beauty and lyricism that are also in this score. My first recommendation, for sound and performance, is of the complete ballet by the Cleveland Symphony under Lorin Maazel, preferably on English Decca pressings (although now that they are all being pressed by Polygram in Holland, the newest batch of U.S. London pressings may be the same). Debussy: La Mer; Nocturnes London Symphony Orchestra/Andre Previn, cond. The London Symphony lives up to its reputation as one of the very finest orchestras in the world. There is a palpable sense of inner communication between the individual players and sections that allows a seamless continuity of line. Previn's direction is well-balanced and technically secure - the fact that he "lets" the orchestra play this will says more for him than would appear on the surface. The performance does not have the incandescent quality of the old Toscanini/NBC, nor the extraordinary clarity of the inner musical strands that Michael Tilsson Thomas' with the Philharmonia (available on a CBS CD). The sound has good depth and clarity, and the quietness of CD is marvelous in the many quiet passages (particularly with playing of such beauty as is heard here). However, tape hiss and surface noise notwithstanding, the sound does not eclipse or even fully approach that heard with the same orchestra, conductor, producer and hall in the 1977 recording of Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" from "Peter Grimes" on an EMI analogue LP. Mozart: Requiem Margaret Price/Trudeliese Schmidt/Francesco Araiza/ Theo Adam/Dresden Staatskapelle/Peter Schreier, cond. PHILIPS An excellent performance of the "traditional" (with Sussmayr additions) form of the work. Schreier paces the work effectively, and his direction brings out the individual lines of the choral parts with an unsurpassed clarity, without sacrificing the necessary unanaimity and coherence. The soloists are, with the possible exception of Theo Adam (worn voice, but still very expressive), as good as any I've ever heard. Solo voices and much of the choir are beautifully reproduced (it's particularly a joy to hear the strength and solidity of the tenor section). The orchestra sounds somewhat dull and recessed by comparison, although it's by no means poorly reproduced. There is the kind of depth and naturalness that resembles what I've heard on many Telarc recordings, indicating that Philips has probably used a relatively simple mike setup. I read a "joke" in the West German "Audio" magazine that recordings made in East Germany are all the better because they can't afford the hundred mikes often used in the west. - Greg Paley