BaL 21.04.12 - Prokofiev's Symphony no. 5

[Bryn]

Good example from the other end of the sonic telescope occurred last night: finding the Rozh Leningrad PO Legends of the Prok.5 at ClassicalShop, I listened to the excerpts and found it more impressive than it sounded on the BaL - yet both should have been at 320kbps, the AAC of the BaL should favour that... and no, I wasn't bothered by the coughing at all.

I have that Rozhdestvensky/Leningrad PO Prom recording of the 5th in its 1995 BBC Radio Classics manifestation. That was remastered by Floating Earth. Any idea whether the later Legends issue is a different transfer?

[Oh, and many thanks for the Rattle recommendation. It arrived yesterday and though I have so far only listened to it in the car, I am much taken with it.]

[jayne lee wilson]

I have that Rozhdestvensky/Leningrad PO Prom recording of the 5th in its 1995 BBC Radio Classics manifestation. That was remastered by Floating Earth. Any idea whether the later Legends issue is a different transfer?

[Oh, and many thanks for the Rattle recommendation. It arrived yesterday and though I have so far only listened to it in the car, I am much taken with it.]

Bryn - you can download the Legends issue booklet of the Rozh. at theclassicalshop - remastering is credited to Tony Faulkner...
reason enough, no wonder, etc. etc...

But I haven't yet heard the CD or lossless download myself.

[Bryn]

Bryn - you can download the Legends issue booklet of the Rozh. at theclassicalshop - remastering is credited to Tony Faulkner...
reason enough, no wonder, etc. etc...

But I haven't yet heard the CD or lossless download myself.

So that would make it Mike Hatch v. Tony Faulkner. Hmm, difficult. Might try the Faulkner if I see it at a suitably competitive price, though I am pretty happy with what I have.

[Charles_Smith]

Haven't heard the studio Rozh Melodiya in a while... I wonder...

I gave it an outing yesterday and it sounds very well - tight cohesive performance, good (1965) sound. Certainly deserved a mention on BAL.

[Brassbandmaestro]

That's why I thought that the Neeme Jaarvi recording was not mentioned or rather just a cursoiry one. It deserves to be in the front runner. I have the Karajan one to, and imo that is becoming slighjly dated now?

[Panjandrum]

Just got round to listening to this. GN really seemed to have it in for the Mitropoulos. Is there some history here we weren't told about? In fact, given how many recordings were passed over without a mention (including, laughably, his previous BaL recommendation for this work) why on earth did this warrant several extracts, given it was bad as made out. I'm also getting annoyed about the fact that the "winning" recording is often barely featured in any musical extract until the last movement. Not just this week, but regularly, lengthy passages are played of recordings which don't make the final eliminator when it would have been far more useful to have heard the winning recording in these extracts, otherwise how can one be expected to concur with the reviewer's judgement?

This whole business of eliminating contenders on a movement by movement basis really doesn't sit too well with me. Are we supposed to deduce that unless the final movement is outstanding the rest of the performance is irrelevant? Does a "great" finale compensate for shoddiness elsewhere? I'm sure this isn't the case, but the way the programme is put together one could be forgiven for thinking so.

[silvestrione]

Just got round to listening to this. I'm also getting annoyed about the fact that the "winning" recording is often barely featured in any musical extract until the last movement. Not just this week, but regularly, lengthy passages are played of recordings which don't make the final eliminator when it would have been far more useful to have heard the winning recording in these extracts, otherwise how can one be expected to concur with the reviewer's judgement?

.

Did you hear a shortened version? There were at least three substantial extracts from the Karajan, carefully contratsed with others, e.g. Juowski/RNO

[Panjandrum]

Did you hear a shortened version? There were at least three substantial extracts from the Karajan, carefully contratsed with others, e.g. Juowski/RNO

Listening on my bike AIH. Trying not to get mashed by HGVs, or fall down a pothole on our wonderfully maintained public highways meant that my attention wasnt always 100%. However, I still think we should hear more from the winning recording, but accept in a 45 minute slot exigencies of space are against it.

[Dave2002]

Oh dear, D2002! It was the Svetlanov Glazunov Symphonies on the Russian Venezia label I was recommending from HMV Tokyo, not the Fedoseyev, which I've never even heard! Very sorry if my post wasn't clear and I misled you into a purchase! Still recommend the Svetlanov, FWIW...

Jayne
I owe you an apology. You did indeed recommend the Svetlanov. Not sure if it's the same as the one I got though more recently from Classical Selections - part of the Svetlanov series. It's this set from Warner - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Sym...5186514&sr=1-2

Another member mentioned the Fedoseyev CDs from Japan.

Re sound quality - it's a bit odd. It's not always the case that SQ is improved by playing a recording back on good equipment. I have (somewhere) some tapes of Mackerras conducting Messiah recorded in the USA off public radio, which were made using a Sony boom box type recorder. Played back on that recorder/player or a very similar one they sound fine, but play them on a decent recorder and they sound dreadful. All the faults show up, and they are very distracting.

Re coughing - it can be a pain, both at live concerts and on recordings. I have a recording of Mravinsky conducting Tchaikovsky 5 which is very good indeed (Olympia, IIRC) but which came with a review and a health warning about the state of Muscovites' throats in the year that it was recorded. I'm guessing that not everyone can cope with that degree of coughing to disturb their listening.

There was once a complete cycle of Robert Simpson string quartets, which was recorded by the BBC. Unfortunately I believe they had to remake virtually all of them, as at each concert a gentleman started to unpack his sandwiches and eat them while the music was playing. I think there may have been sweets involved as well, though whether they were cough sweets or not I can't say. There were certainly sandwiches, though. Maybe also bags of crisps!

[jayne lee wilson]

Thanks D2002...

The Svetlanov Glazunov set I have here is a 2006 Venezia remastering (CDVE 04259), of the complete cycle, mostly from 1989 (No.1 was recorded in 1993). In a smart red, black and white box.
The sound is, truly, outstanding. Audiophile class! But most of the documentation is in Russian, so...

I actually sent one or two of those Warners Svetlanov Edition releases back, of the Rachmaninov Symphonies, and replaced them with Pony Canyon HDCD efforts (probably nla). Big leap in quality. I think Warners just took too much on, and deprived purchasers of HDCD too! Though I think other listeners were more pleased with the Myaskovsky.

Sorry, off-topic. Now got the lossless download of the Rozhdestvensky 1971 Prom of Prokky 5 (Faulkner Legends one), hope to attend later...