Karajan Symphony Edition

[gp1972]

:)The details of the Karajan Symphony edition are now on the DG website (for release in September):

tinyurl.com/5hozvb

I think it is largely as expected - I don't think any of the analogue recordings have been newly remastered, but may be wrong on this...

I'm looking forward to getting the Haydn, and it's nice to have the BPO Brahms Haydn variations - although I already have two versions on EMI!

Brahms, the Berlin Philharmonic and HvK is a bit like driving a Porsche - about as close to perfection as we are likely to get ;-)

[~Linda~]

Thank you for the information

The URL that you have posted does not work due to its length. I hope that you do not mind but using TinyUrl I have shortened it so that it now works:

tinyurl.com/5hozvb

Using tinyurl.com/ also means that the Forum is not distorted by the extra wide postings needed to accommodate these long URLs.

Linda

[craigvanarsdel]

Per email from Moritz Josch of the DG Web Editorial Team received July 30, the Karajan Symphony Edition boxes due in September will NOT be remastered, but only repackaged versions.

It is incredulous that the Karajan Centenary will come and go, and we still will NOT have a quality modern remastering of such recordings as the Bruckner cycle, and his Mahler 'Das Lied von der Erde' etc. The earlier sets circa 1988 sound rather poor and hiss-prone in many spots, and I and others have long wished they would make the DG Originals series or be remastered.

I was very pleased with the remasterings in some of the 'Master Recordings' box earlier this year. But it is shameful that DG cannot do better than this handful of recordings.

[gp1972]

Agreed - it is a bit lazy of them. Hopefully the price will reflect this lack of effort!

Having said that, I think that some of the "Originals" remasterings sound a bit artificial. Perhaps you can interfere too much with the original master. A bit of hiss never bothered me, but plastic violins are bad!!

[Rosy]

Hello gp1972, and welcome craigvanarsdel to the Forum!

Thank you, gp1972 for having taken steps to reduce this page! I was-and I'm- very interested to read your posts to know the intentions of label DG. If I understood correctly, a remastering would have made the sound "false, artificial"; is it so?

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Thanks to both

Rosy

[gp1972]

Rosy,

Tanti saluti!

The subject of sound quality is a complex and frustrating one. I have a reasonably good hi fi system and am quite sensitive to sound quality. However, I am also frequently confused by the subject. Some thoughts...

How much is sound quality affected by our state of mind?

How important is sound quality? It is easy to get obsessed by sound quality, spending more and more money on more sophisticated hi fi equipment - but you run the risk of listening to the hi fi and not the music! Sometimes you can hear a piece of music in poor quality but be profoundly moved by it.

Is the latest technology the best? The Maestro would have said yes, absolutely! But I sometimes get more pleasure from listening to my old LPs than from the latest digital CD. But there is no doubt that for clarity and impact, you can't beat the later digital recordings. And for convenience and the luxury of having the complete repertoire in your pocket, the iPod is pretty good.

So back to the symphony edition and remasters. Any remastering involves the conversion of an original analogue tape to the digital domain, allowing it to be "edited" to remove unwanted noise and imperfections. There is always a risk that remastering can degrade a recording as well as improve it. I think some of the DG original image bit processing discs are very good - but some (I'm thinking of Verklaerte Nacht) have (for me) a slightly "synthetic" character, suggesting that too much processing has been applied. But, this could be a fault of my CD player (good, but 10 years old) so don't take this as being definitive.

I think the original digital transfers are fine - and sometimes it's better just to sit back and enjoy the Maestro's genius! But I'd be really interested to hear what other people (particularly those with seriously high end ears and hi fis) think.

For me, the benefit of these reissues is the opportunity to get missing recordings in a convenient (and probably cheap) format - I'm thinking particularly of the Haydn symphonies here. It is perhaps a pity that the Symphony Edition is a repackaging with no qualitative gain, however.

[Rosy]

Aug 1, 2008 13:11:17 GMT 1 gp1972 said:

Rosy,

Tanti saluti!

The subject of sound quality is a complex and frustrating one.

you run the risk of listening to the hi fi and not the music! Sometimes you can hear a piece of music in poor quality but be profoundly moved by it.

Is the latest technology the best? The Maestro would have said yes, absolutely! But I sometimes get more pleasure from listening to my old LPs than from the latest digital CD.

There is always a risk that remastering can degrade a recording as well as improve it. I think some of the DG original image bit processing discs are very good - but some (I'm thinking of Verklaerte Nacht) have (for me) a slightly "synthetic" character, suggesting that too much processing has been applied. But, this could be a fault of my CD player (good, but 10 years old) so don't take this as being definitive.

I For me, the benefit of these reissues is the opportunity to get missing recordings in a convenient (and probably cheap) format - I'm thinking particularly of the Haydn symphonies here. It is perhaps a pity that the Symphony Edition is a repackaging with no qualitative gain, however.

Hello gp1972!

Many Thanks! From my small question about DG label, you have brought to light all my doubts concerning sound quality . I'm perfectly agree with you on many points, particularly on your phrases that I reported. I think all of us, Karajan's enthusiasts, and then very attentive to the sound quality, perhaps searching impossible of his magical sound live!. Of course, Haydn Symphonies, which I love, need a sound clear and clean, pure, otherwise the string instruments lose their wonderful characteristics. This is not absolutely accepttable! The issue is very complex, as you pointed out, perhaps should be valuated from time to time. One thing is certain: to hear and decide, we must buy and perhaps not make the "best" choice; or as we usually do, rely to the ear and the sensitivity of Forum members! The queston is open, not on recordings of 70 years and beyond, but on old engravings, which in my opinion they are delightful. It would be a big pity not to treat them in the best possible way, namely not ruin the beauty of the original sound, preserve the nuances, details....is it possible? The technology allows this, but there are many other factors.....

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Rosy

[sejacko]

I have just started an online petition to DG to remaster HvK's BPO
Bruckner set.

I hope all the members of this forum will support me and sign it!!

Thanks!
Jack

[sejacko]

Sorry, here is the link to the Petition:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/Bruckner-Karajan?e

Jack

[lee]

Excellent initiative Jack - my name's on the list too !

Lee

[jhgaulard]

Done Jack, well done.