Richard Strauss/Rudolf Kempe Reissue

[richardfinegold]

Agreed!! Some of those early multitrack CBS issues were pretty poor, especially noisy with constricted dynamics. Some of them have been "done over" in the past to better effect. Some that come to mind are Szell's Beethoven symphony set and his Haydn and Mozart and some Chicago/Cleveland/Philadelphia brass too. Mind you Lenny's NYPO Mahler hasn't done so well. The old Hall was very reverberant.

Some of these CBS recordings are getting out of copyright so perhaps Andrew Rose et al can have a go at them but he'll not necessarily get at the tapes just some clean vinyl.

I bought the reisued Bernstein/NYPO Mahler set and thought the sonics were a huge improvement over the lps. Haven't heard the Japanese SACDs.

[richardfinegold]

Amazon was offering a 2 disc version of the Warner remastering of the Kempe series for $11, so I bought it. It had most of the "greatest hits" tone poems. i'll do a comparison to the previous CD listing after it arrives.

[Petrushka]

I bought the reisued Bernstein/NYPO Mahler set and thought the sonics were a huge improvement over the lps. Haven't heard the Japanese SACDs.

I agree that the improvement in the Bernstein/Mahler set is astonishing even over the Bernstein Century mastering never mind the LPs. It was this as well as the astonishing improvement in sound in the latest Shostakovich/Kondrashin remastering that had me hoping for something similar with the Kempe set.

[Ferretfancy]

Agreed!! Some of those early multitrack CBS issues were pretty poor, especially noisy with constricted dynamics. Some of them have been "done over" in the past to better effect. Some that come to mind are Szell's Beethoven symphony set and his Haydn and Mozart and some Chicago/Cleveland/Philadelphia brass too. Mind you Lenny's NYPO Mahler hasn't done so well. The old Hall was very reverberant.

Some of these CBS recordings are getting out of copyright so perhaps Andrew Rose et al can have a go at them but he'll not necessarily get at the tapes just some clean vinyl.

Over the last few months I've bought several Sony / CBS sets, including the 10disc Stokowski box and the more recent Leon Fleisher collection. Although I think they are well worth owning, they do have their shortcomings. The performances that Stokey recorded in London suffer from a very splashy acoustic, and unfortunately these include his Mendelssohn Italian Symphony and Sibelius 1st.

Some of the Fleisher performances are in mono, and oddly enough one of the best of these is his 1956 Cleveland disc of Franck's Symphonic Variations , the sound here is full and well balanced. By comparison his Grieg and Schumann Concertos sound very hard and brittle. It's a pity, because there are fine performances in both boxes, the Sibelius for example, or the two Brahms concertos. I haven't yet had the opportunity to compare the Beethoven performances with the Szell to my earlier CD copies, which I remember as being excellent.

[richardfinegold]

Over the last few months I've bought several Sony / CBS sets, including the 10disc Stokowski box and the more recent Leon Fleisher collection. Although I think they are well worth owning, they do have their shortcomings. The performances that Stokey recorded in London suffer from a very splashy acoustic, and unfortunately these include his Mendelssohn Italian Symphony and Sibelius 1st.

Some of the Fleisher performances are in mono, and oddly enough one of the best of these is his 1956 Cleveland disc of Franck's Symphonic Variations , the sound here is full and well balanced. By comparison his Grieg and Schumann Concertos sound very hard and brittle. It's a pity, because there are fine performances in both boxes, the Sibelius for example, or the two Brahms concertos. I haven't yet had the opportunity to compare the Beethoven performances with the Szell to my earlier CD copies, which I remember as being excellent.

I also bought the Stokey set, and I didn't buy the big Fleisher box, but the smaller one that has the Beethoven/Brahms Concertos and Mozart's 25th.
I didn't find the acoustic that bothersome in the Stokey, but the two that you mention (Italian Symphony and Sibelius 1) are recordings that I already had been listening to for years; I only listened to those parts of the box set once and spent more time on the unfamiliar recordings.
I thought the Fleisher was a noticeable improvement over their previous CD incarnations, in general having a bit more ambience. The biggest improvement was in the Emperor Concerto which is less boxy, (the previous CD incarnation always left me wanting to hear the lp, one of the few reasons that I never abandoned vinyl).
I really appreciate this thread, because it spurred me on to listening to the Kempe recordings after a prolonged absence. Whatever sonic issues, these are great recordings. Kempe just seems so inside of Strauss, with the right amounts of rubato, the right ideas about flow, shaping of climaxes, etc. He doesn't miss the forest for the trees, which is a trap that many Strauss conductors tend to fall into, because the byways can be so interesting in their own right.
I don't think that I have any other Kempe in my collection. What other composers did he excel at?

[richardfinegold]

The Warner set arrived today. I had just been listening to my original CD issue yesterday. The sound is clearly an improvement. It still isn't the most "audiophile experience" but the opaqueness that plagued the mid range is definitely improved. The Organ on Zarathustra definitely rattles the floorboards better.

[Acavus]

That's good news Richard.

I think Kempe is still an underrated conductor. He recorded two wonderful Wagner opera sets for EMI - Lohengrin and Die Meistersinger. The Testament catalogue boasts numerous worthwhile recordings, and I particularly value his Brahms symphony cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic and a great recording of Scheherazade with the RPO and Alan Loveday, who incidentally also played solo violin on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!

[BBMmk2]

Really, i didn't know that! It's worth buying the Warner remix then?

[cloughie]

I also bought the Stokey set, and I didn't buy the big Fleisher box, but the smaller one that has the Beethoven/Brahms Concertos and Mozart's 25th.
I didn't find the acoustic that bothersome in the Stokey, but the two that you mention (Italian Symphony and Sibelius 1) are recordings that I already had been listening to for years; I only listened to those parts of the box set once and spent more time on the unfamiliar recordings.
I thought the Fleisher was a noticeable improvement over their previous CD incarnations, in general having a bit more ambience. The biggest improvement was in the Emperor Concerto which is less boxy, (the previous CD incarnation always left me wanting to hear the lp, one of the few reasons that I never abandoned vinyl).
I really appreciate this thread, because it spurred me on to listening to the Kempe recordings after a prolonged absence. Whatever sonic issues, these are great recordings. Kempe just seems so inside of Strauss, with the right amounts of rubato, the right ideas about flow, shaping of climaxes, etc. He doesn't miss the forest for the trees, which is a trap that many Strauss conductors tend to fall into, because the byways can be so interesting in their own right.
I don't think that I have any other Kempe in my collection. What other composers did he excel at?

rf
This is one of my all time Kempe favourites.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Orchestral-Highlights-Lohengrin-Parsifal/dp/B00000DO2K/ref=sr_1_36?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387388887&sr=1-36&keywords=kempe

Included in this Icon box which I think is a good buy - though it will duplicate some of the R Strauss. If you like the MunPO Beethoven Syms they are available separately at good prices.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rudolf-Kempe-Shy-Genius-Podium/dp/B003D0ZNL0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387389175&sr=1-1&keywords=kempe+icon

[Black Swan]

I am seriously thinking of buying this set. I have very little Richard Strauss. I can't decide between the 2007 set on Amazon or the 2013 set which is remastered. The 2007 set has rave reviews. The 2013 has mixed reviews as there is disagreement on the remastering. Any insights? I know they have long been highly recommended recordings.

[Beef Oven!]

I am seriously thinking of buying this set. I have very little Richard Strauss. I can't decide between the 2007 set on Amazon or the 2013 set which is remastered. The 2007 set has rave reviews. The 2013 has mixed reviews as there is disagreement on the remastering. Any insights? I know they have long been highly recommended recordings.

Had the EMI set for about 8 years, came across it in the bargain bin in the HMV. Can't see a problem with it.

[amateur51]

Had the EMI set for about 8 years, came across it in the bargain bin in the HMV. Can't see a problem with it.

[visualnickmos]

Had the EMI set for about 8 years, came across it in the bargain bin in the HMV. Can't see a problem with it.

Quite! Got mine 11 or 12 years ago; £9,99 for 9 CDs - can't get a better bargain than that... Oxford St HMV

[Roehre]

Quite! Got mine 11 or 12 years ago; £9,99 for 9 CDs - can't get a better bargain than that... ..

The same applies to me (and I still have got the four original 3LP sets as well - with excellent documentation, lacking in the CD re-issues)

[pastoralguy]

?..and a great recording of Scheherazade with the RPO and Alan Loveday...

I had the CfP Lp of this when I was starting out as a 12 year old and that violin solo is still one of my favourite pieces of fiddle playing!