Post by akiralx July 4, 2012 (1 of 11)
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I had this on RBCD - the Grieg is powerful if garishly recorded while the Dvorak is very good, at least as fine as his famous EMI recording with Kleiber.
Although in mono the Dvorak actually sounds finer than the EMI as well as the EMI piano sound (on RBCD at least) is rather wooden to my ears.
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akiralx said:
I had this on RBCD - the Grieg is powerful if garishly recorded while the Dvorak is very good, at least as fine as his famous EMI recording with Kleiber.
Although in mono the Dvorak actually sounds finer than the EMI as well as the EMI piano sound (on RBCD at least) is rather wooden to my ears.
So you have the SACD now or are you going to get it?
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akiralx said:
I had this on RBCD - the Grieg is powerful if garishly recorded while the Dvorak is very good, at least as fine as his famous EMI recording with Kleiber.
Although in mono the Dvorak actually sounds finer than the EMI as well as the EMI piano sound (on RBCD at least) is rather wooden to my ears.
I agree: Richter is far more inspired here, caught live, than on those later occasions that EMI recorded, and the sonics are more than fine, too.
But the Grieg "garishly recorded"? I found it much, much more enjoyable than his recording with Matacic ten years later on EMI. The stereo image is very wide, deep, well differentiated, vivid, and impactful, with a very nice piano sound, too. Yes, the strings in especial are a little strident and dry-sounding, the low end is rather weak and undefined, the dynamics aren't what they are in today's recordings, there are problems with the big tutti typical of the time, and the piano is somewhat too spread out in the stereo image and unfocused at times, dominating the picture a bit too much, but Richter's piano sound itself is actually very well captured and realistic, and the sensation of participating in a live concert event unfolding before one's eyes (ears) is quite thrillingly conveyed.
I never heard the RBCD of these, but maybe it's then the case that the Praga engineers did a very good job working on the original tapes. And let's remember that Soviet engineers really knew their trade, and in Moscow the equipment was quite good (the Grieg was recorded there, in 1964). At any rate, it's like a totally different work compared to the rhythmically lackadaisiacal and rather nondescript Matacic-led performance on EMI, which still today I have hard time focusing on at one sitting, or remembering afterwards. Kondrashin, in contrast, was a great conductor and here he seems to have been lit up by the occasion; clearly they had a good evening together. The two of them really keep you on the edge of the seat through their entire performance of this actually not so very interesting but rather derivative work. Try turning up the volume to more realistic levels: the effect is magnificent. Richter at that stage in his career really packed an amazing punch, which comes through from the recording very excitingly, and Kondrashin is with him through and through.
Must-hear Richter on both accounts, in other words (even though purely sonically this Dvorak recording IMHO is not even close to the EMI/Kleiber one -- performancewise it's in a wholly other class, however). It's turning out to be quite a feast for his admirers and lovers these days.
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Apparently still more Richter SACDs coming out from Praga:
* Release date 25 September:
Sonates d.664 & d.960. impromptu d.899 [Super Audio CD]
Franz Schubert (Compositeur), Sviatoslav Richter (Interprète)
Ballades op.23, 38, 47 & 52. études op.10 & 25 nocturnes op. 62 & 72
Frederic Chopin (Compositeur), Sviatoslav Richter (Interprète)
* Release date 9 October:
Sonates pour piano n°24, 28 & 29 Sonates pour piano n°24, 28 & 29 Hammerklavier [Super Audio CD]
[Luwdig van Beethoven] S. Richter
* Release date 23 October:
Sonates d.845 & 850 [Super Audio CD]
[Franz Schubert] Piano S. Richter
* Release date 29 October:
Sonates pour piano n°17 tempête, 18 & 23 appasionata [Super Audio CD]
[Ludwig van Beethoven] S. Richter
List price for all EUR 9,58 at a certain well-known, site-linked seller in Europe.
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Sooooo, polarius, it's over a month now since you emailed Praga asking them to kindly confirm the ACTUAL source used (rip from LP, copy from radio broadcast, or original mastertapes provided by the copyright holder).
What did they reply?
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canonical said:
Sooooo, polarius, it's over a month now since you emailed Praga asking them to kindly confirm the ACTUAL source used (rip from LP, copy from radio broadcast, or original mastertapes provided by the copyright holder).
What did they reply?
Wrong thread. You were keen about the Oistrakh disc so go there, pls. There's nothing to ask about either of these (they're from original broadcast mastertapes).
Or you just want to sow doubts and maybe start another rumour?
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Polarius T said:
There's nothing to ask about either of these (they're from original broadcast mastertapes).
Au contraire, mon petit chou chou ...
The disc states it is from "stereo live analogue broadcast mastertapes". But the Dvorak recording is not stereo ... it is mono. So, their claim is false. And if they can't get that part right, who knows what is correct?
And what does 'broadcast mastertape' mean? What relevance is there as to whether it was broadcast? Do they mean that they recorded it from a live radio, onto tape?
You sent your email to Praga to enquire. So what did they reply? Or did they ignore you?
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canonical said:
What does 'broadcast mastertape' mean?
Recorded for radio broadcast, the mastertape preceding the 1st copy tape.
Recordings for broadcast are done differently than recordings for reproduction through other means, since they have take into account the specific characteristics and limitations of the media used for transmission and diffusion as well as the differing listening situations.
Or so it at least used to be back then.
Is this really news to you?
Praga's booklet notes in English are typically horrendous and littered with glaring errors, oversights, etc., so I don't tend to get very stuck up with little things with them.
Try and listen it, you might like it.
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Post by DSD August 22, 2012 (9 of 11)
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Canonical, perhaps you should email Praga yourself, since Polarius T. either didn't get a response or is unwilling to share Praga's response to his email with you on either of these SACDs. Just a suggestion.
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DSD said:
Canonical, perhaps you should email Praga yourself, since Polarius T. either didn't get a response or is unwilling to share Praga's response to his email with you on either of these SACDs.
Nah. Illogical. If they don't reply to him, why should they reply to me? Plus I can keep on asking Polty.
Status quo wins.
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