Post by krisjan September 23, 2010 (1 of 19)
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Another Dvorak 9 from Pentatone? Really? Sheesh...
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Post by seth September 23, 2010 (2 of 19)
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krisjan said:
Another Dvorak 9 from Pentatone? Really? Sheesh...
It certainly feels like they're scraping the bottom of Philips' vault.
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Post by Jonalogic September 24, 2010 (3 of 19)
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krisjan said:
Another Dvorak 9 from Pentatone? Really? Sheesh...
krisjan Hi
Agreed, a total waste of plastic and production capability. What were they thinking of?
What with around 17 versions available already on SACD, this is kinda obscene, as well as stupid.
Who on earth would buy this when we already have so many fine choices available, including:
Szell on CBS/Sony
Kertesz on Decca/Esoteric
Fischer on Channel and - you guessed it - Philips.
Geez, Pentatone, why not fill some blatant SACD repertoire gaps such as the Prokofiev and Nielsen symphonies ...?
Marketing executives sometime passeth understanding.
Jon
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Post by jdaniel September 24, 2010 (4 of 19)
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Jonalogic said:
krisjan Hi
Agreed, a total waste of plastic and production capability. What were they thinking of?
What with around 17 versions available already on SACD, this is kinda obscene, as well as stupid.
Who on earth would buy this when we already have so many fine choices available, including:
Szell on CBS/Sony
Kertesz on Decca/Esoteric
Fischer on Channel and - you guessed it - Philips.
Geez, Pentatone, why not fill some blatant SACD repertoire gaps such as the Prokofiev and Nielsen symphonies ...?
Marketing executives sometime passeth understanding.
Jon
As I've mentioned, I did a stint as a manager of the Classical music section of an Indie CD store at one time and I can tell you--sadly--that those bean counters know exactly what they're doing. Stock Orff, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Dvorak and Grieg--no matter who's performing and no matter what the production standards-- and the casual shoppers will buy. And man, did they.
Use too much of the owner's capital to stock what **you're** interested in, and the game's over.
Most consumers are not interested in education or expanding their tastes.
The sad irony is that this particular Pentatone will sell because is says "New World," and people recognize that. No one will buy it because it's SACD, nor because it's Multi-channel, nor because Ozawa is conducting.
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Post by Jonalogic September 24, 2010 (5 of 19)
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jdaniel said:
As I've mentioned, I did a stint as a manager of the Classical music section of an Indie CD store at one time and I can tell you--sadly--that those bean counters know exactly what they're doing. Stock Orff, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Dvorak and Grieg--no matter who's performing and no matter what the production standards-- and the casual shoppers will buy. And man, did they.
Most consumers are not interested in education or expanding their tastes.
The sad irony is that this particular Pentatone will sell because is says "New World," and people recognize that. No one will buy it because it's SACD, nor because it's Multi-channel, nor because Ozawa is conducting.
jdsniel Hi
Regretfully, your logic is impeccable.
I once had an extended vacation job in HMV Oxford Street, and saw ample first- hand evidence of what you mean, when I observed that 90% of folk appear to buy garbage.
There we go - back to Sturgeon's 90% law!
Even so, it is chastening to think that there are enough drones around to buy 17 or so versions of Dvorak 9 on SACD, not to mention the (?) versions still extant on CD.
Cheers
Jon
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Post by stvnharr September 24, 2010 (6 of 19)
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Jonalogic said:
krisjan Hi
Agreed, a total waste of plastic and production capability. What were they thinking of?
Jon
Jon,
Are you aware of Pentatone's licensing agreement with Philips to reissue the quad recordings? I'm not sure if Pentatone is required to reissue all the quad recordings. But I think Pentaman has mentioned that they are down to the end of the available quad recordings.
Does seem a curious choice however.
Steve
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Post by Jonalogic September 24, 2010 (7 of 19)
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stvnharr said:
Jon,
Are you aware of Pentatone's licensing agreement with Philips to reissue the quad recordings? I'm not sure if Pentatone is required to reissue all the quad recordings. But I think Pentaman has mentioned that they are down to the end of the available quad recordings.
Does seem a curious choice however.
Steve
stvnharr Hi
Thanks. I don't know the details of that agreement. But even if that's the case, scraping the bottom of the barrel because the lawyers say you have to seems an even poorer rationale for ths particular release!
Whatever repertoire gems will they come up with next, I wonder?
Maybe we should tell 'Pentaman' what we think?
Cheers
Jon
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Post by Claude September 24, 2010 (8 of 19)
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jdaniel said:
The sad irony is that this particular Pentatone will sell because is says "New World," and people recognize that. No one will buy it because it's SACD, nor because it's Multi-channel, nor because Ozawa is conducting.
That's too harsh. Those people will buy a Naxos CD for $5.99, not a full price reissue.
If the classical music market was really as limited as you say, 90% of the current releases and reissues would not exist, because they are not popular warhorses.
Even if there are already 20 recordings of the Dvorak 9 on SACD, I currently only have one (and two others on CD), and if this Ozawa recording is a good one, I might buy it.
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Post by seth September 25, 2010 (9 of 19)
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Jonalogic said:
stvnharr Hi
Thanks. I don't know the details of that agreement. But even if that's the case, scraping the bottom of the barrel because the lawyers say you have to seems an even poorer rationale for ths particular release!
Whatever repertoire gems will they come up with next, I wonder?
Maybe we should tell 'Pentaman' what we think?
Cheers
Jon
Posters here have made it pretty clear that they're more interested in EMI and RCA quad recordings than what's left in the Philips vaults. Whether Pentatone has the money or intererst to release these recordings is unknown.
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Post by Jonalogic September 25, 2010 (10 of 19)
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seth said:
Posters here have made it pretty clear that they're more interested in EMI and RCA quad recordings than what's left in the Philips vaults. Whether Pentatone has the money or intererst to release these recordings is unknown.
Seth Hi
Amen to that. But I would also gently delete the word 'quad' as a prerequisite, especially in the case of EMI.
C'mon, wouldn't we all like to hear - say - the Previn/RCA VW cycle or his Walton 1 on SACD? To name but the first that spring to mind.
I grant you, his EMI 'Planets' - in stereo or quad - would still raise the roof.
However, does anyone - apart from the holding company and lawyers that happen to own EMI this week - have the rights to their magical archives?
The non-appearence on EMI back-catalogue creates a large black hole in the historic SACD classical repertoire. (And, no, I don't count 2 over-priced Esoterics!)
Maybe a petition to Pentaman would .... get us precisely nowhere, I suspect.
Cheers
Jon
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