jas@proteon.com (John A. Shriver) (09/28/90)
I've bought a pair of the CD's, and have found it an interesting experience. First of all, the list of what they have released, along with original LP numbers (from memory, may not be right): 432 000-2 Balalaika Favorites (SR90310) 432 001-2 Dvorak: Cello Concerto (SR90303) Bruch: Kol Nidrei Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations (SR90409) Janos Starker, cello Antal Dorati/LSO 432 002-2 Liszt: Piano Concertos #1, #2 Bryon Janis, piano Kondrashin/Moscow Philharmonic (#1) Rozhdestvensky/Moscow Radio Symphony (#2) 432 003-2 Ibert: Escales Ravel: Rhapsodie Epsagnole, Alborado del gracioso, La Valse, Pavane pour une infante defunte, Le Tombeau de Couperin (SR90313, SR90213) Paul Paray/Detroit Symphony Orchestra 432 004-2 Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Suites 1 & 2 Skrowaczewski/Minneapolis Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain Dorati/LSO 432 005-2 Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite Bartok: Hungarian Sketches, Roumanian Dances Dorati/Minneaspolis (SR90132) Kodaly: Dances of Galanta and Marosszek Dorati:Philharmonica Hungarica (SR90179?) 432 006-2 Vienna Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra Webern: Five Pieces for Orchestra Berg: Three Pieces for Orchestra (SR90316), Lulu Suite (SR90125) Dorati/LSO 432 007-2 Resphigi: The Birds, Brazilian Impressions (SR90153) Dorati/LSO Resphigi: The Pines of Rome, The Fountains of Rome Dorati/Minneapolis 432 008-2 Hanson: Symphony #1 "Nordic" Symphony #2 "Romantic (SR90192) Song of Democracy (SR90150) Hanson/ERO 432 009-2 British and American Band Classis Fennell/EWE (The only repertory choice I found surprising here is the Prokofiev/Mussorgsky. The LP's of these don't have the same demand as the others. Of course, the music sells well to the general public.) I got mine last week at Tower Records, where they were on sale for $8.99. It looks like they are heading for a sellout of the first shipment. The stock in the "New Releases" bins was nearly depleted, I had to use the list on the package to check for the others in the "Composer" bins. So far as I could tell, the Hanson was already sold out. (No surprise there.) Technical details: They restored the orignal Ampex 350-3 and the Western Electric film decks and tube electronics. (Probably the orignal Everest/Mercury film machine.) The A/D is "128 times oversampling with proprietary noise-shaping technicques". They give full recording dates, equipment, and personnel. They use the orignal cover art and liner notes. Playing times 65 to 70 minutes. A class act all around. The sheet listing the releases says" America's most valuable recordings just became better..." We'll see about better, but the orignal LP's are damn expensive (up to $150 each in Boston). I bought the Dvorak and Ravel CD's. I've never found copies of the Ravel LP's (even the Golden Imports), so I can't compare. However, I have much experience with the Dvorak. I have SR90303 in RFR3 and RFR4 (the compressed one) pressings. I have had the Golden Imports (and will borrow it back from the current owner for ruther comparisons). I have the orignal Philips Silver Line CD reissue, 420 873-2, which I bought in England (it was never released in the US). This is the one of the series done by the reissue engineer who wrote the flame letter to TAS for tarring his work with the same brush that has been applied to the Golden Imports, and bragged about his "Swiss Kili film transport". The worst of all, by far, is the Silver Line CD. It was obviously inferior to the Golden Imports. The tone is not good, the horns sound like they were noise gated. Altogether unpleasant. Too bad it's not readily available, it shows how imperfect first generation CD's will prove to be. As I remember, the Golden Imports just had a lot of haze and compression, but still had decent low level resolution. It was a decent record, so long as you did not compare it to the stunning orignal LP. The new CD is not bad at all. Tonally, it is a dead on match to the orignal LP. Starkers cello tone is a dead match. The dynamics seem fine, too. There are spatial problems, a lack of depth, the body of the cello, but I could well blame this on my Magnavox CDB473 (only mode is to bypass the remote volume control). I would not condemn this disk without using a CD player which is of high quality, which the CBD473 isn't without modifications. (Rest of system: Grado MCX/MCZ, Sumiko MMT, Walker CJ55 Turntable, Curcio Daniel preamp, Dynaco Stereo 70 [Wonder Caps], Theil CS2, mundane Monster interconnects. Ears: at least 6 BSO concerts a year, threshold of hearing -5 dBA.) I'd say go buy them for the music, sound, and performance. Don't expect them to better the original LP, but they are close. Do replace the Golden Imports with them. They won't hurt your ears. Encourage Philips, make them happy, hopefully that will speed up the LP reissue program. (If the LP reissues don't happen soon, there will be no place to press them!) For information on future releases in this series, write to: Mercury Living Presence PolyGram Classics 825 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10019 Thank you, Wilma Cozart.