Post by tream January 14, 2010 (151 of 183)
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Joseph Ponessa said:
It struck me that, in comparing Solti's with other cycles, that is the place where the comparison should be made.
Solti and the VPO didn't really know each other when the recording project began, and it took a while for them to develop anything near the rapport that Karajan had with the Berliners. While the opening pages of a book are very important ("Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." -- David Copperfield), what makes a work truly great is the climax. So I will listen to the 1964 recordings rather than the earlier ones to make my comparison with other cycles.
Enjoy.
Interesting point. Perhaps Die Walkure would be even better since that was the last recording they did, after Siegfried and Gotterdamerung. I know that Solti started to do a lot of work with the VPO in the late 50's - the Walkure Act III with Flagstad, for example, and some Beethoven symphonies, but he obviously knew them better, later.
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Post by wolfE January 15, 2010 (152 of 183)
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I received my set some days ago and only can report my first impressions. I made some comparison with the first CD release of the Solti Ring (which is better than the second "dehissed" version from 1997). I found improvements in all respects: More analogue-like natural instrument timbre, for example the horns and the strings, more space between the instruments, which have more body, deeper sound stage, so that we can hear what the Decca sound engineers wanted to realize. Most important is the much more natural timbre of the voices. In comparison the CD sound is pale and lifeless, the sound of the newly remastered version is realistic and natural.
In sum this is a great contribution to the SA-CD catalogue, one of the most famous opera recording in the best sound! By the way this is the best Esoteric release so far.
I hope that we will get some more great operas from Esoteric, because this is a desideratum in the SA-CD catalogue, for example the great Kleiber "Freischütz", the Solti "Tannhäuser", the Karajan "Boheme".
This is the reason for my wish, that this release also will be a commercial success despite of the high price.
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Post by feinstei January 17, 2010 (153 of 183)
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More comparison listening between the SACD's and the original first-pressing Decca LP's, some likes and dislikes...
The first act of The Valkerie:
Pro:
1) The record doesn't begin the let you hear the "bow on string" sound of the string basses during the overture and Siegmund's "run through the forest". The SACD really brings out the overtones and undertones of the string bass in a way that the LP cannot begin to duplicate.
2) The "separation" between the instruments in the orchestra continues to be my favorite revelation on the SACD's. The LP's kind of "blur" the orchestra together whereas the SACD allows you to differentiate between each instrument in the brass and woodwind choirs.
3) The imaging continues to be superb on the SACD finally realizing Culshaw's vision of a 3D picture of a performance. Exceeds the LP version's "3D image" by manyfold.
Con:
4) I couldn't take the sound of Siegmund's voice on the SACD. I had to turn the volume down. The LP presents James King's Siegmund as a fine, powerful, but infinitely listenable tenor. The SACD's makes his voice go right through you like fingernails on a chalkboard! The is certainly NOT a comment on James King's wonderful performance as Siegmund, but rather the presentation on the SACD.
Is it possible that the original recording engineers miked him with a shrill-sounding mike that the SACD is revealing? Could the SACD remasterers have equalized the master tape to overemphasize the tenor frequency range in some way? All I know is that it's awful hard to listen to the SACD version of Act I because of the "ringing" of James King's voice. Crespin's soprano Sieglinde and Hotter's powerful performance of Hundig were perfectly captured by the SACD (and you could really hear Hotter growling his hatred and contempt! Much more vivid than on the Decca LP!!!).
Conclusion: The SACD continues to reveal details of Solti's performance that I have never realized before, even though I've been listening to the Solti Ring on Decca LP's for over 35 years. The SACD is a revalation displaying Culshaw's brilliant production and the superb engineering team of Vienna at that time. (Still like the Keilberth 1955 stereo Decca Ring better though!!!).
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Post by Daland January 18, 2010 (154 of 183)
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feinstei said:
Crespin's soprano Sieglinde and Hotter's powerful performance of Hundig were perfectly captured by the SACD (and you could really hear Hotter growling his hatred and contempt! Much more vivid than on the Decca LP!!!).
Just a little correction:
Hunding is sung by Gottlob Frick, a genuine "black" bass. Hans Hotter, a bass-baritone or "Heldenbariton", sings Wotan in Die Walküre and in Siegfried (where Wotan is called the Wanderer).
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Post by feinstei January 18, 2010 (155 of 183)
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Yeah. duh... I had Hotter on my mind from the Act III for some reason when I wrote that! Sorry bout that and thanks for correcting the typo!
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Post by MaxP January 18, 2010 (156 of 183)
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My copy came a few days ago and I've spot-listened to the various operas. I agree with what feinstei had to say above in terms of the clarity of focus and soundstage as well as the slight lack of warmth compared with the LP (I have the original UK LP versions, but for comparison I used the first release of the Decca "full box set" of the "Ring" - "narrow band" light blue label Decca pressings). Overall, in fact, I find that the sonic signature of these SACD's is more like the Ampex/London open-reel releases (except without the hiss).
The clarity and specificity of the sound are astonishing and, in the "Rheingold," feeling so much in the proximity of some of the really magnificent voices - Flagstad, London, Neidlinger - is a thrilling experience. It's a bit less so with Nilsson in the other operas, only because her laser beam sound was that much harder to capture; I recall Gordon Parry saying in an interview that Nilsson's sound tended to be focused toward the microphone nearest her whereas with Flagstad there was as much of her sound coming through the orchestral mikes as through the vocal mikes.
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Post by ramesh January 19, 2010 (157 of 183)
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A British Esoteric vendor has told me that some individual has preordered FOUR copies of the Ring ie 20 to 40% of the entire UK allocation!
It's deplorable that such speculation is already taking place.
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Post by feinstei January 19, 2010 (158 of 183)
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Oh please, they aren't going to get any more money for this set than the retail price. Let 'em speculate, I'm just enjoying my copy and plan to enjoy it for the rest of my life.
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Post by Hedgehog January 22, 2010 (159 of 183)
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I must say it's been pretty frustrating here in the UK seeing all you folks raving over your copies while ours have still been in the pipeline! However, good news at last. I received a call a couple of days ago from Nigel at Symmetry UK saying the sets were in. So not long now before we get them in our hot little hands, too. Interestingly, he said that he has increased his original allocation of 12 sets to 20 and has no concerns about selling them all. Interestingly, information from Esoteric central says that all 1,000 copies have now been allocated to dealers. There will be no more pressings. So if you really want it, get it now. Response world-wide has been interestingly variable, with the UK putting in a good showing, but apparently only one copy has been requested in Scandinavia!? What, no take-up in the lands of the Norsemen?
Esoteric are apparently delighted with this response and will get to work on their next offerings, but Nigel would not give me any hints, I'm afraid.
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Post by feinstei January 22, 2010 (160 of 183)
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Hi Hedgehog,
I'd be very interested in hearing what your impressions are once you get it. I think that there are plenty of copies left in the U.S. since Elusive Disc is still advertising it as available. Is the U.K. allocation already spoken for? I finished Die Walkure last night and am still amazed by the detail that is revealed and the "separation of instruments" in the massed orchestra that even the original Decca (or the early '70's deluxe set) LP pressings are incapable of revealing. That Decca engineering team sure knew their stuff!!!
I've compared pretty closely the new SACD's with the Decca LP pressings. Has anyone done any comparisons with the London LP's or the two CD versions that exist?
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