BaL 4.01.14 - Schumann's Symphony no. 1 in B flat "Spring"

[Karafan]

Most of my Japanese discs came direct from HMV Japan, and most are what I tend to think of as "classic" Toshiba-EMI remasters by the aforementioned Okazaki, with 5-figure serial nos. starting 13 or 14, issued after about 2005. You see them on Amazon occasionally for a bizarre range of prices. Blu-spec, SHMs and "HI-Quality" CDs may well have been remastered too, but unless your Japanese is better than mine it's hard to know from the disc itself. They do often sound as if they have, but I've very few of them.
The UK rule for Customs, btw, is to charge you VAT for anything over £18 - but they don't always bother for smaller packages. The wicked bit is the Parcelforce admin charge of a further £14 or more! If you see "awaiting presentation to customs commissioner" on the tracking page your heart sinks as they sit on it for 5 days... then you have to phone and pay. Tokyo - Coventry, 2 days; Coventry - Liverpool, 7 at least... restricting orders to 2 CDs usually gets away with it.

The current Sawallisch issues 1/2, 3/4 are described as "Hi-Quality CD" on HMV Japan now with those different numbers, so maybe Caliban can say more when his arrive...

I played Dausgaard's Rhenish early this morning (CD layer) - it's utterly fresh and really wonderful!

In point of fact, JLW, I think the import duty threshold was dropped further, to a mere £15 last year, so be careful you folks out there!! Very interesting to read your views on the Japanese remasterings Jayne - thanks!

K.

[richardfinegold]

So the SHMCD of Kubelik's Schumann 1 and 2 arrived. Starting with 2(ii), I was very pleased at the DG Originals sound. Fresh and lively, belying it's 50 years. Switching to the SHM showed a smoother upper range and a "calmer" sound generally: a little more 3D space and better differentiated detail in woodwinds etc. In the adagio, there was a little more acoustic atmosphere perceivable, strings a little smoother and richer. But it was a small difference on a highly resolved system and the mastering sounds the same - you feel you're seeing the same picture through a slightly bigger clearer window. If you're happy with the DG Originals there's no need to rush off to HMV Japan or wherever.

But I didn't find the performances terribly engaging. After the more individualised, characterful and flexibly expressive readings from Harnoncourt, Dausgaard et al, there's a homogenised, standard-classical orchestral sound to this Berlin Phil vintage "63/64 which sounds too predictable to me as the symphony progresses. I always feel I know what's coming next. To hear this orchestra playing Brahms or Beethoven won't sound identical, no, but if won't be very differentiated either.

Trying the Larghetto of NO.1 in Zinman's recording, you're immediately aware of a greater range of expression in mood, pace and orchestral colour. More nuanced, much more engaging. The Kubelik is beautifully balanced (no problems with the orchestration there...) and well-recorded, but for me, later conductors have connected more keenly with the essence of Schumann - those ever-changing moods.

By all accounts, Kubelik had a special feeling for the Rhenish. When the Japanese versions of 3&4 with the BRSO get here maybe that will give me a more positive view of Kubelik's approach.
As I read around Gramophone Schumann reviews going back to the 1950s, I was amused at how I found writers "complaining about those who complain about" Schumann's orchestration rather than complaining about it themselves... "Who are The Great Invisible Complainers?" I wondered...
Evidently before my time...

I had just played the Kubelik cycle over the last two days (DG 'Originals') and was driven back to reread this thread. I used to have a special fondness for the Kubelik. It was the first recording of the symphonies that I came to know after my indoctrination into the music via Szell/Cleveland, and it had really increased my appreciation for the music by providing a more relaxed and better recorded alternative. After having been immersed recently in Karajan, Barenboim (Berlin Staatkapelle), Szell again (remastered--what a difference from the old Columbia lps) and most radically, Dausgaard, I now find the Kubelik to be to genial and
homogenized.
I am intrigued by your mention of Zinman. I find him to be a polarizing figure; I either am greatly stimulated by his work or else massively annoyed, and rarely find myself somewhere in between. His Beethoven cycle is a perfect case in point; I really enjoyed 4,5,6 & 8 and can't abide the rest.