BaL 13.11.21 - Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

That's three times that the Karajan recording has come out top on BaL. This can't be a coincidence and perhaps Karajan's detractors in this work need to consider that they might be wrong.

Believe me, I’ve asked myself that very question many times. I had the original 1983 CD and gave it away because the audio quality was so awful. I now have the remastered version Pet mentioned, and it’s definitely an improvement. The oppressive string sound is much less of an issue, but towards the end of Ausklang, the balance is still awkward in my view. As an interpretation, it’s almost faultless, apart from the weird decision to invite the off-stage band into the main auditorium. (And hearing FW-M’s trite Summit interpretation immediately after Karajan’s certainly made me think better of HvK’s.

[Alison]

Only Haitink/LSO was featured today.

I agree the Concertgebouw version represents the best of a truly special orchestra-conductor partnership.

[Alison]

Was it clear if the reviewer(s) like the Welser-Most Summit extract?

[Parry1912]

That's three times that the Karajan recording has come out top on BaL.

It was also the Gramophone Collection winner in 2017 and a favourite with the Penguin Guide. Not often that there is such critical agreement concerning the best recording of a piece.

[Keraulophone]

Does anyone know how the EMI DVD-Audio of Kempe’s Dresden ASZ and EA compares in sound quality with the 2013 remastering for CD?

[Bryn]

Does anyone know how the EMI DVD-Audio of Kempe’s Dresden ASZ and EA compares in sound quality with the 2013 remastering for CD?

Kempe's association with Strauss's music being such as it is, I would hope that Warner might, at some point, issue a Bly-ray Audio disc of his Strauss recordings, in surround where applicable.

[LHC]

Kempe's association with Strauss's music being such as it is, I would hope that Warner might, at some point, issue a Bly-ray Audio disc of his Strauss recordings, in surround where applicable.

Have EMI or Warner issued any Blu-Ray Audio discs of anything? My recollection is that they’ve mainly come from the Universal labels (DG, Decca), or from labels like LSO Live. I remember that EMI were the last company to start issuing CDs, so I always expect them to be very slow on adopting new formats.

[Bryn]

Have EMI or Warner issued any Blu-Ray Audio discs of anything? My recollection is that they’ve mainly come from the Universal labels (DG, Decca), or from labels like LSO Live. I remember that EMI were the last company to start issuing CDs, so I always expect them to be very slow on adopting new formats.

Not in the 'classical' genre but https://store.warnermusic.com/chicag...ray-audio.html

[Goon525]

I only managed to catch up with this later yesterday. I’m amazed no one has commented on Mark Simpson’s appalling vocal tics - literally dozens of ‘kind ofs’ and plenty of ‘ummms’. However talented a musician he may be, I don’t think he’s a suitable broadcaster, and I think it’s why we heard so much of AMcG on this occasion.

[gurnemanz]

I only managed to catch up with this later yesterday. I’m amazed no one has commented on Mark Simpson’s appalling vocal tics - literally dozens of ‘kind ofs’ and plenty of ‘ummms’. However talented a musician he may be, I don’t think he’s a suitable broadcaster, and I think it’s why we heard so much of AMcG on this occasion.

Agree, alas, but in the speaker's defence the fault must lie at least partly in the decision to move to the twofer format which is more like a chat than a more formal scripted essay. I suspect most of us have vocal tics when let loose to chat informally.

[visualnickmos]

Just an observation; there isn't much actual discussion about the piece in question, on this thread, the winner, others in the running - or not, etc, etc.
It seems to be going off on all sorts of tangents.

[Goon525]

OK, well back on track, I was surprised the excellent recent Jurowski didn’t get a look in. I wonder whether the Kempe (perhaps never the best recording quality) is a bit long in the tooth. As a confessed audiophile, I think sound quality matters a lot in a work like this. The LSO/Haitink, even though recorded in the unhelpful acoustic of the Barbican, doesn’t sound bad.

[richardfinegold]

The blu-ray disc of the first six CDs in the ‘Deluxe’ DG set of Strauss/Karajan provides the best sound available of these recordings dating back to 1959. Disappointingly, the Alpine Symphony is on CD7 and therefore missing from the blu-ray disc. Did DG think that they had remastered the much-criticised original sonics to the extent that inclusion on the blu-ray wasn’t necessary? A bit of a lost opportunity, given that this recording apparently has its admirers.

Not only no Kempe/DS, but no Haitink/RCO either - his offstage horns are marvellous, as is the rest. [Someone mentioned he was included… I must have nodded off having to listen to AMG.]

I wish I knew what you were referring to. I can’t find any Karajan Blu Ray for Strauss. I own the Bruckner, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky sets as well as his Mahler5 and would be interested.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Just an observation; there isn't much actual discussion about the piece in question, on this thread, the winner, others in the running - or not, etc, etc.
It seems to be going off on all sorts of tangents.

That’s partly because most of the discussion took place before the BAL went out, partly because there aren’t many ( public ) fans of the “winning “ Karajan performance and the knot of Kempe fans are shaking their heads in disbelief . I’ve listened to the following in the last two weeks - Kempe , Karajan, Jurowski and Jansons and still think Kempe head and shoulders the best in performance terms and ahead in sound balance terms though not in overall audio quality.

[visualnickmos]

That’s partly because most of the discussion took place before the BAL went out, partly because there aren’t many ( public ) fans of the “winning “ Karajan performance and the knot of Kempe fans are shaking their heads in disbelief . I’ve listened to the following in the last two weeks - Kempe , Karajan, Jurowski and Jansons and still think Kempe head and shoulders the best in performance terms and ahead in sound balance terms though not in overall audio quality.

Absolutely agree.