[PSmith08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif I trust Bohm with Wagner more than any other conductor (including Furtwangler) because I think his conducting brings out the absolute best in the orchestral writing.......if you compare Bohm's Tristan to any other version, it is really mind-opening.....you may not agree that its the best, but you will agree that it is better than most. His approach seems less weighty than Solti's. Wagner is very easy to weigh down.

I'm not sure that I'll agree with the contention that Böhm's Wagner brings out the absolute best. It's an interpretation and a reasonable one at that, but to say that he trumps Furtwängler, Knappertsbusch, and Keilberth (i.a.) is going a little far for me. That goes for his Tristan as well, but I should note that it doesn't make my top-three list, which Bernstein's set tops, so my position probably isn't normative. There's more to say, but the dedicated Wagner thread seems a better venue.

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSmith08 /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's more to say, but the dedicated Wagner thread seems a better venue.

Indeed, but when discussing Wagner, it's so hard to stay on topic.

Back to the the original topic. As far as I've heard (I only own the second remastering) the first one was quite a bit warmer, probably closer to the original tapes (more or less a direct transfer) and the second one has been through some extensive filtering, rendering the end result somewhat analytical. I've heard people complain about being able to hear too much: all sorts of tape-splices, creaking chairs and even the infamous 'studio cat'. (I haven't discovered this last one yet myself, I guess its time to listen to it with the DT-880.) I know that the second remastering was kind of a hurried job, or at least, that's what it looks like. The small brochure that came with the box says that the second remastering version includes Deryck Cooke's "Introduction to the Ring". Then Solti died and Decca apparently felt they had to release this rightaway and the "Introduction to the Ring" is not included in the actual release.

But I also recently heard the rumour that there would be a third remastering anytime soon. Anyone know if there's any thruth to that?

 

[bigshot]

There really isn't much point to further remasterings. The tapes were in good shape and both of the versions sound pretty much the same. The only difference is that the second set has a little bit of dynamic filtering of the tape hiss. It's a little quieter in the quiet passages. The sound of the music is identical in both releases.

Introduction to the Ring was included with the set back in the LP era. It really belongs with that set.

See ya
Steve

 

[PSmith08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drosera /img/forum/go_quote.gif But I also recently heard the rumour that there would be a third remastering anytime soon. Anyone know if there's any thruth to that?

Amazon has an import disc of Rheingold bearing the Decca Originals colors, so to speak. Whether or not it's a new remastering is kind of hard to tell, since Knappertsbusch's 1962 Parsifal, which came out on Philips Originals, got the 96 kHz, 24-bit treatment when it came out on Philips 50 in (I think) 2001. I doubt it was a new remastering, and I doubt that most of the stuff that got a remastering in the last decade or so (if not longer) has gotten a new one for the Originals release.

In any event, I am not entirely sure that I want a new "remastering" without some advance warning as to what that will entail. There's a difference between flat-transferring the original masters and going back and really nuking everything with CEDAR. Ordinarily, I don't give a hoot, but this set is really one of the pinnacles of the golden age of both records and Wagnerian singing (though I'd quibble over a couple roles), which everyone interested has heard many, many times (even if they prefer other sets). I think 2008-9 marks the 50th of Rheingold, so I have some difficulty imagining that UMG would let that go by without a peep - it's what they'll do that scares me.

They could go classy and do everything first-rate, but they are UMG.

 

[evanft]

Curses!

An Amazon seller listed 3/4 of the Solti cycle. I bought one because they didn't have any feedback yet. I was going to wait for the first part to arrive and then buy the other two. Well, today I checked, and one of them was bought and the seller has some feedback, so I went ahead and got the one that was still left.

So does anyone have a complete original pressing of Solti's Die Walküre they'd like to get rid of at a reasonable price?