EMI's Karajan 100th Anniversary site

[henry]

Thank you Rosy, happy Easter to you too!
Think I'll play Parsifal!

[~Linda~]

This morning I received a letter from Karajan's discographer John Hunt with the following review of the EMI boxed sets. I have now typed it out and I post his review below:

Herbert von Karajan: the EMI Recordings 1946-1984

Assembled here on compact disc, in two convenient and space-saving volumes of 88 (Orchestral) and 71 discs (Opera and Choral) respectively, are almost all the recordings ever published by EMI.

Whilst feeling incredibly grateful to EMI for making the sets available, even more so at such a bargain price, the completist in me immediately sets to work to see if anything is actually missing. We are given the live Lucia di Lammermoor with Callas and Vier letzte Lieder with Schwarzkopf, so why not the live Missa Solemnis, Deutsches Requiem, Verdi Requiem and Bruckner Te Deum from the Salzburg Festival (1957-1960) ?; the Ponchielli Dance of the Hours, mono version of which your correspondent Jacques-Henri Gaulard claims is missing, is actually tucked away with miscellaneous opera intermezzi and arias in the Opera and Choral volume; Meistersinger Wahnmonolog with Hotter is, as far as I can ascertain, an unpublished recording which was never actually completed (Hotter’s name inadvertently appears in the booklet’s track listing for the Wach auf chorus; his published version of the Wahnmonolog from 1949 was made with the conductor Meinhard von Zallinger). Ironically Kodaly Hary Janos Intermezzo appears twice, first in a mono Bartok programme and later grouped with other intermezzi on CD 46. Various unpublished items from EMI’s archives which could have been included but are not, must be the subject of a separate discussion later: all we are given here is a very brief Bartok rehearsal extract (1949) and the two piano concerti by Kurt Leimer.

Where possible EMI has drawn on its previous CD masterings in volumes devoted to Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics and to the Philharmonia, re-mastering for this issue only those items which are being re-coupled. A little unfortunate, therefore, that those early CD editions of mono Philharmonia recordings in particular had a glassy brilliance which was quite alien to the original LP records. The Beethoven Symphonies suffer in this respect, so we must still hope that another editor will present them faithfully (maybe Naxos?). Similarly, if you already possess Great Recordings of the Century CD issues of the mono Philharmonia opera recordings (Ariadne auf Naxos, Cosi fan tutte, Hansel und Gretel, Die Fledermaus), do not discard them, because the masterings now presented in the new edition are the earlier inferior transfers, and also lack the informative booklets (we are told that track listings and libretti for the new edition are to be found online).

Special highlights of the early Columbia catalogue were those LP collections like Ballet Music from the Operas (33CX1327), Opera Intermezzi (33CX1265) and Philharmona Promenade Concert (33CX1335), so it is a pity that in order to maximise the full playing time of the compact disc, many of those items are extracted to provide fill-ups rather than being presented in their original permutations.

Now if Universal was to bring together all the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca material into a similar edition, we would have a comprehensive monument indeed to an artist who is arguably the most accomplished and consistent in classical recording history.

John Hunt

[Rosy]

Linda,

right now, I'm writing some my observations on the old engravings of the Maestro ( I just created a Thread), because I'm very passionate of the peculiar style predominantly Classic of the 1950/60 years. Many of those record I heard on the Radio Rai or "filodiffusione", many years ago.
It would be a great joy can hear again!

****************************************************************************


Rosy

[Rosy]

I'm very passionate of the peculiar style predominantly Classic of the 1950/60 years.

As I explained in the previous article, doesn't mean that I consider less important or beautiful the work of the Maestro in the years 1970/80!!!!!! ( 1970, is perhaps the apex)

The previous years have their own fascination: reading of the Score proposal is remarkably crystalline. There isn't space for emphasis or other "temptations". But I love the '50s and 60s, precisely because they are a prelude to a Romanticism that resembles more of a Karajan" mature".
An evolution ?
I don't like to call it in this way!

Karajan, at the beginning of his career ,he was already into the high peaks. Let natural predisposition. With this, I don't want to diminish his enormous studio!!!!

I like to say well: Not really evolution, but diversity exposure.

What is still...becoming, develop, mature.

****************************************************************************

In short, Herbert von Karajan had a divine gift, which he has been able to honour the deal possible way!

And fortunately, he thought to leave us, his legacy.

*****************************************************************************
Rosy

[francochef]

>:(I'm sad!
I just end to listen the Vol 1 of the legacy on Emi.
The cd n. 36 has a different program, a compilation that has nothing of HvK, instead of the Sibelius 2nd and 5th (the 1960 recording with the PO)
cds 45 and 46 has the opposite programs of Mozart concertos.
It appear that this celebration from EMI had been done with a lack of care in the transfers and details.

Franco

[jhgaulard]

I just wanted to say "thank you" to Linda for the very detailed answer from Mr. John Hunt. It was very nice of you to mention my queries and even nicer to transcribe the letter in the forum.
I am extremely grateful and I owe you one.
Enjoy the rest of your week-end!

Jacques-Henri

[prahcello]

lee said:

Hi Darkehmen. Thank you for bring this to our attention; however, it has sadly confirmed my worst fears. At a time when EMI as a company is clearly struggling, their decision to release these recordings in such huge boxes is quite frankly bizarre. For example, who would want to purchase a box which included 2 recordings of the Missa Solemnis and Die Meistersingers in it? Likewise, who is going to purchase the 88 cd box of orchestral works ? Surely not the novice collector, who in any case would be more inclined to get the later Berlin recordings in more manageable chunks ? It's hardly an impulse purchase either. And surely not the Karajan completist - according to my reckoning the only recordings that have not appeared on CD in the West are the Leimer piano concerti, the Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4 (Berlin 1971), the mono 1955 Philharmonia Promenade Concert (1955) as well as the Peter and The Wolf and Mozart Toy Symphony. So you would need to purchase 84 cds of duplications to complete your collection - surely the answer would be to wait for them to hopefully appear individually, which is surely what should have happened in the first place ?

In any case, the release is incomplete. Missing are the Sousa marches that were taped in London in 1953, as well as the Bayreuth Ring Cycle from 1951 (they've only released Act III from Die Walkure) and the arias taped from Turandot with Schwarzkopf in Vienna 1948.
Likewise EMI have the film of the Schwarzkpof Rosenkavalier and (I'm pretty sure) the Mozart Concerto for 3 Pianos from Paris in 1970 in their vaults too - so why no DVD release ?

I'm sorry to sound so grumpy, but I can't help feeling that there is a massive missed opportunity here. I wonder what others think ? Lee

I've entered this thread pretty late-almost 3 months after it was created!

Lee, you may not believe this, but it is PRECISELY because the classical recording industry is in a crisis that they put out huge bulky box sets of reissues. For a record company, it is much more economical to repackage and sell recordings in such a way, than to sell them individually.

And for such a box set, record companies are not aiming at the novice collector, necessarily. They know that there are many completists out there and it's for such collectors that these sets are made.

As darknehmen mentioned, the Schwarzkopf Rosenkavalier film was remastered and reissued by SonyBMG (by the RCA Classics label). And the Mozart 3 piano concerto (I'm guessing it's the one with Justus Frantz, Christoph Eschenbach and Karajan on pianos?), that has nothing to with EMI or Unitel. The Mozart film, like the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique which was released on EMI Classics' Classic Archives series, is in the archives of INA (Institut national de l'audiovisuel Français). And at the time of Karajan's time at EMI in the late 1960s and 1970s, the company was debating whether they should have control over an artist's activities with musical film, but that remained in limbo. So EMI had no rights to films of their artists, except when they produced a film themselves.

It also will have something to do with the estate of Karajan. If they don't want a particular recording to be released, then no company has the right to release it. Which is a pity.

Paul

[john]

Jan 29, 2008 14:31:52 GMT 1 lee said:

I guess I need to eat some humble pie here. I've just noticed that the 88 CD boxed set (Vol 1) is set to be sold at about £80 - less than £1 per disc. A true bargain if ever there was one. And there was I expecting it to sell at around £5 per disc !!

Yours most apologetically, Lee

Some time ago Lee and others mentioned the 2 EMI boxed sets of the Karajan recordings.

I purchased the 88 disc orchestral set for £62 and the 72 CD Opera set for £59.

I have decided to play all of the discs in order starting at number one, but without checking what is on each disc, so far I have reached 13.
It's a bit like a box of quality street, you never know what flavour will come out next.

A fantastic voyage of discovery and in many cases re-discovery.
Worth every penny.

John