Post by emaidel December 2, 2009 (21 of 27)
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pgmdir said:
I'd be more inclined to buy some of these if the performances had been better received.
These performances were all quite well received when released during the early 80's. I consider myself quite picky as to how well a classical piece is performed, and I can state quite categorically that each and every one of the DSD-remastered Soundstream SACD's is first rate, not only sonically, but artistically. Almost anything the late Robert Shaw did was excellent; ditto for the late Eric Kunzel; and performances by Leonard Slatkin are nothing to sneer at either. His recording of Mahler's 2nd, with the stunningly beautiful Kathleen Battle performing the soprano part is simply outstanding.
That which made Telarc such a great label from the very start was the fact that it had some of the best sounding recordings anywhere, as well as some of the very finest performances too. The newer Telarc SACD's are a different story, with reviews all over the place for much of Paavo Jarvi's works, as well as Robert Spano's performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Fortunately, the super deals (those priced $2.99 to $6.99) are primarily the remastered Soundstream recordings, so not only can you get some exceptional sounding recordings with equally fine performances, but you can get them for a song. Certainly the best of both worlds.
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Post by pgmdir December 2, 2009 (23 of 27)
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emaidel said:
These performances were all quite well received when released during the early 80's. I consider myself quite picky as to how well a classical piece is performed, and I can state quite categorically that each and every one of the DSD-remastered Soundstream SACD's is first rate, not only sonically, but artistically. Almost anything the late Robert Shaw did was excellent; ditto for the late Eric Kunzel; and performances by Leonard Slatkin are nothing to sneer at either. His recording of Mahler's 2nd, with the stunningly beautiful Kathleen Battle performing the soprano part is simply outstanding.
That which made Telarc such a great label from the very start was the fact that it had some of the best sounding recordings anywhere, as well as some of the very finest performances too. The newer Telarc SACD's are a different story, with reviews all over the place for much of Paavo Jarvi's works, as well as Robert Spano's performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Fortunately, the super deals (those priced $2.99 to $6.99) are primarily the remastered Soundstream recordings, so not only can you get some exceptional sounding recordings with equally fine performances, but you can get them for a song. Certainly the best of both worlds.
You are corrrect about Shaw's and Slatkin's, and I agree that those would be great to snag at these prices. I was disappointed by the three Kunzels I bought over the years, and--- other than his Beethoven, Pavel's work hasn't set the world on fire, and Spano's Vaughan Williams reminded me more of Mantovani--- Although Jared says he's a great guy and a solid musician after his recording session in Atlanta. I've written many times that I've traded back at least half of the SACD's I've purchased because of so-so music-making, and while I was ready to jump in and get as many of these at 3.99 and 5.99 as I could, my wiser parts reminded me that beautiful sound does not make beautiful music.
Nonetheless, I will miss Telarc. It's a shame what Concord has done to this label. Even if you didn't like what they did, they forced the other labels to do better.
Bill
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I just ordered and received four more fantasy titles.
It sure beats driving from Newbury comics to Newbury comics to find the different selections. Although the stores do have some titles not listed.
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I ordered Slatkin's Mahler 2 SACD from the Amazon marketseller newbury_comics. But what I received today is a RBCD! I just sent email to him/her. Arrrr
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Post by steviev March 30, 2010 (27 of 27)
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sunnydaler said:
I ordered Slatkin's Mahler 2 SACD from the Amazon marketseller newbury_comics. But what I received today is a RBCD! I just sent email to him/her. Arrrr
Sorry to hear that. I bought a brand new unopened York Bowen disc from newbury_comics a year ago and was happy with their service.
It seems that a lot of retailers/resellers don't know the difference between SACD and RBCD. But then again, I've never met anyone outside of the folks at Classical Millenium (in Portland, OR) who are even aware of SACD. When I explain SACD to the laity, they nod politely as their eyes glaze over. Virtually nobody cares about our hobby.
Long live mp3!
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