Deutsche Grammophon.

[pastoralguy]

When I was an impecunious teenager, my greatest delight was going to my local classical record shop and perusing the completely unobtainable Deutsche Grammophon discs. These were, for me, the pinnacle of classical recordings which were only to be purchased for birthdays and Christmas. (I remember my mother suffering my agonised deliberations on my 16th birthday as I chose FOUR discs from the DG catalogue! Karajan/Schwalbe Vivaldi Four Seasons, Karajan Berliner Philharmoniker Tchaikovsky 5 and Shostakovich Symphony 10 & the 1977 Beethoven 'Pastotal' symphony!)

The question I have is am I the only person who still has a slight shiver when I see a new release from Deutsche Grammophon? Or, for that matter, coming across a DG disc in a charity shop?

[Parry1912]

No, you're not alone, but it must have the cartouche.

[cloughie]

When I was an impecunious teenager, my greatest delight was going to my local classical record shop and perusing the completely unobtainable Deutsche Grammophon discs. These were, for me, the pinnacle of classical recordings which were only to be purchased for birthdays and Christmas. (I remember my mother suffering my agonised deliberations on my 16th birthday as I chose FOUR discs from the DG catalogue! Karajan/Schwalbe Vivaldi Four Seasons, Karajan Berliner Philharmoniker Tchaikovsky 5 and Shostakovich Symphony 10 & the 1977 Beethoven 'Pastotal' symphony!)

The question I have is am I the only person who still has a slight shiver when I see a new release from Deutsche Grammophon? Or, for that matter, coming across a DG disc in a charity shop?

I know what you mean it was a beacon of quality, although for me Decca sound was tops! Being, I think somewhere around 14 years your senior, however, I remember the unique gatefold sleeves with the sewn-in polythene lined inner sleeve, and the standard yellow band adorning the front sleeve.

[vinteuil]

.

... no, for me the yellow DG label was not the magical one. The silver Archiv one, yes : for a time, when it represented the best thoughts in early / historically informed performance - but it was soon eclipsed for me by the much more exciting productions of Seon, l'oiseau-lyre, harmonia mundi, hyperion, cpo - and more recently glossa, aparte, alpha and the like. For me DG remained - remains - stuck in a rather smug, slick, and over-plush time-warp.

.

[Beef Oven!]

For me it was Ronco, although their travel hairdryers were shit.

[Bryn]

.

... no, for me the yellow DG label was not the magical one. The silver Archiv one, yes : for a time, when it represented the best thoughts in early / historically informed performance - but it was soon eclipsed for me by the much more exciting productions of Seon, l'oiseau-lyre, harmonia mundi, hyperion, cpo - and more recently glossa, aparte, alpha and the like. For me DG remained - remains - stuck in a rather smug, slick, and over-plush time-warp.

.

To me, what DGG (not the same without the Gesellschaft) has become is personified by:

[Ein Heldenleben]

The DG labels were very classy and the discs produced to a very high standard . In fact I can't remember ever buying a technically duff one. Still have 1976 Beethoven Edition Piano Edition ( largely Kempff ) , Symphones (Karajan ) and countless operas and bits and bobs...

[pastoralguy]

Many thanks for the replies.

I don't deny that DG's output has become somewhat... diluted since the halcyon days of the 70's and 80's, BUT, at their best, they still turn out some pretty damn good recordings.

There's just, for me, a real frisson when I see that yellow banner.

[pastoralguy]

I know what you mean it was a beacon of quality, although for me Decca sound was tops! Being, I think somewhere around 14 years your senior, however, I remember the unique gatefold sleeves with the sewn-in polythene lined inner sleeve, and the standard yellow band adorning the front sleeve.

I'm 55 although 56 is hurtling towards me at a terrifying rate...!

[Beef Oven!]

The DG labels were very classy and the discs produced to a very high standard . In fact I can't remember ever buying a technically duff one. Still have 1976 Beethoven Edition Piano Edition ( largely Kempff ) , Symphones (Karajan ) and countless operas and bits and bobs...

I'm with you on this, despite what so many say about DG issues, I don't think any of my DG recordings are duff. Including the highly disputed recording of HvK's 'Eine Alpensinfonie', which is aural delight!

[cloughie]

I'm 55 although 56 is hurtling towards me at a terrifying rate...!

Probably 16 years difference then! The DG sound of the late 60s and 70s was Abbado, Bohm, Jochum, Karajan, Kubelik, with apologies to any I've missed - yes Bernstein, Ozawa, Barenboim, Levine came on board.

[Dave2002]

In the days of LPs companies did various things to "improve" the sound. Some perhaps did so out of "genuine" beliefs, and others (even then) were aware of what would sell. Thus some companies would mellow down the high frequencies, to give a "smoother" effect, while others would deliberately emphasise certain aspects - such as bass notes. Stereo complicated things a bit, for various reasons. One factor was due to the way stereo LPs were made - and heavy bass on the left or right would give distortion due to tracking problems, so this was avoided by some producers. Stereo also complicated things as different theories were exploited by various companies, tempered by the experiences of those actually making the records.

It was also the case the companies were aware of the reproducing equipment likely to be used by buyers, and there were definite attempts to modify the sound to match the equipment. Arguably this was to give a better end user experience, but by then feedback from marketing was beginning to identify which techniques gave better financial rewards.

I was never particularly fond of DG recordings, with a few exceptions - one being Fricsay's recording of the New World symphony. Although I like Mravinsky's Tchaikovsky symphonies, I often felt that was despite rather than because of the recordings.

Since the development of CD and digital music, some of the "tricks" from the LP era have become unnecessary - such as modifying the sound towards the end of each record because of tracking issues, though there are some newer ones to do with digital recording. Some of the tricks were really helpful, and probably still are, but some have less to do with musical quality or "realism" (whatever that is) and quite a lot to do with increasing profits.

[mikealdren]

My old mono Quad II pre-amp had optional plug in cans at the rear to alter the frequency balance for different recording curves and even on LPs, it sometimes seemed to help. I should be easy to reverse the LP fiddling before committing them to CD if only there was a wish to do so. We could (and should?), for instance, get rid of Karajan's boosting of extreme frequencies.

[LMcD]

I'm 55 although 56 is hurtling towards me at a terrifying rate...!

Can anybody please suggest a suitable verb for what happens between 74 and 75? And why do Fridays always recur so quickly?
(I very rarely find DG recordings in charity shops, which may indicate that people are more likely to treasure them)

[cloughie]

Can anybody please suggest a suitable verb for what happens between 74 and 75? And why do Fridays always recur so quickly?
(I very rarely find DG recordings in charity shops, which may indicate that people are more likely to treasure them)

Hopefully 74-75 happily you’ll ‘trundle on’! I don’t the answer to your Friday question but how on earth has 2018 already got to November?