KARAJAN GOLD

[lee]

A few years ago, Deutsche Gramophon released a number of Karajan's later Digital recordings on a remastered series called Karajan Gold.

Having already owned these recordings from when they were first issued, it seemed to me to be unnecessary duplication at the time so I neither purchased or investigated them, but one question has always bugged me - are these recordings an improvement sonically over their original releases ?

I wonder if anyone had any opinions on whether I should therefore "upgrade" to Karajan Gold ?

With best regards to all,


Lee

[Rosy]

Hi, Lee!

Only my humble opinion: I've several discs of the beautiful series "Karajan Gold" ( The wonderful Bruckner No 7, for example). The sound is so good that could be the risk of making artficial. But, you know that the ways of technology.....However I'm always curious about the improvements audio-video, at the same times I fear that we might lose something important even if "imperfect"

*******************************************************************************
Ciao
Rosy

[lee]

Thank you for your comments Rosy, as ever appreciated.

Lee

[Dave]

Lee, if I'm not mistaken, Karajan Gold is the way to get pretty much all of Karajan's digital recordings these days. They even did the 83 Beethoven cycle on it. However, I don't actually think any remastering has taken place, particularly since some of them were released only a few years after they were first recorded. I suppose the Original Image-Bit Processing/4DDD might be a form of remastering, but I also think that might be something DG have always done with their digital recordings, but which they also apply to their analogue re-releases...

[lee]

Hi Dave

Appreciate your advice and help. I'm pretty sure that the releases in the Karajan Gold series were subjected to some form of remastering which did result in some improvement over the original issues - the question is really, how much improvement ?

Lee

[David]

Hello Lee,

I can’t really make any useful comments concerning improved sound quality on the Karajan Gold series. I have a few of the original digital LPs and some of the later digital CDs, although none of these are duplicates. In any case I think that a comparison across different mediums would be meaningless.

I just wonder what the Maestro himself would have thought about the name used for this series by DG.

There is an interesting page on the DG web site where the entire Gold series is shown, and there are plenty of extracts to hear, although there again this doesn’t address the issue you raised.

www2.deutschegrammophon.com/series/?ID=KRNGLD

Best Wishes -
David

[Dave]

Fair enough, Lee. I never owned any of the originals myself, so I can't say for sure. I'm simply looking at CD boxes and guessing. I have all the Gold edition Strauss CDs, among others, and they are, quite simply, astounding. If you haven't got them already, I cannot recommend them enough.

[stuartg]

Dear all

My only experience here is that of owning both the earlier digital CD of The Planets and the later Karajan Gold re-master.

I must say that the earlier issue is superior. By comparison, the Karajan Gold version sounds artificial and one could be forgiven for believing that the strings were plastic!

Although I have many digital HvK CDs, I don't have any other duplications, so I can't comment further.

Stuart

[lee]

Hi Stuart

Thank you for your comments. I think that Karajan's recording of The Planets was the first CD I ever bought, way back on a wet afternoon in January 1985. The sound on the original issue was perhaps not the greatest and so was hoping for an improvement on the Karajan Gold remastering, perhaps in vain.... It would appear that Karajan doesn't always have the best of luck with regards to this - those large Karajan boxsets reissued by EMI this year contain the original glassy sounding issues from the 1980's, rather than the remastered issues from the Great Recordings of the Century series. Oh well, at least they are available !

Best regards, Lee

[stuartg]

Lee,

I can't remember when I bought my Planets CD, but it was after '85 - probably around 90/91. I agree, the sound is a disappointment, but I think it's better than the re-master.

Thanks for your observations on the EMI box-set from this year. I bought the orchestral set and assumed that it would contain the most up to date masterings (e.g. Great Recordings of the Century). I am surprised and disappointed, even though I did not realise this fact!

I don't think I'll add the opera & choral box-set, especially as I've already got a few on GRotC, e.g. Pelleas & melisande, Salome, Verdi and lots of Wagner operas.

I've several duplications of earlier EMI issues with GRotC and the GRotC seem generally better to my ears.

Regards

SGQ

[Deleted]

I once had 5 versions of his Shostakovich:

1. Digital, non-Gold initial release
2. Galleria
3. Gold
4. "Originals"
5. "Originals" (from another vendor)

#1 is the best. The first timpani stroke gives it away - it's definitely clearer. Hi and low strings come out more in tuttis, and to my ears the frequency range somehow is wider in #1. In mvt 3 as well, the percussions are crisp in #1, more muffled in the others.

Another comparison I did was on his last recording (Bruckner 7).
The initial release again sounded sharper, brighter, and more defined than the "Gold".

[lee]

Hi Tjh

Many thanks for your detailed response - it would appear that updating my original CDs to the Gold series would probably not result in any discernable benefit, so I will hold fire until one day, they get properly remastered. If ever, that is !

Best regards, Lee

[prahcello]

Oct 22, 2008 9:05:39 GMT 1 @tjh212 said:

I once had 5 versions of his Shostakovich:

1. Digital, non-Gold initial release
2. Galleria
3. Gold
4. "Originals"
5. "Originals" (from another vendor)

#1 is the best. The first timpani stroke gives it away - it's definitely clearer. Hi and low strings come out more in tuttis, and to my ears the frequency range somehow is wider in #1. In mvt 3 as well, the percussions are crisp in #1, more muffled in the others.

Another comparison I did was on his last recording (Bruckner 7).
The initial release again sounded sharper, brighter, and more defined than the "Gold".

Thanks for this! I have 3 pressings of the Shostakovich 10, including the original pre-Gold DDD release on CD (with the "Made in West Germany" stamp at the back of the CD). It is unfortunately with me in Europe but at my parents' home in New Zealand. But still, I am happy to know that the sound is clearer on that pressing.

The Gold remastering is smoother, but not necessarily muffled, in my opinion. Early digital recordings tended to sound VERY bright and sometimes too sharp.

Paul

[Rosy]

Hello Alexander!

Thanks for the detailed article. It's great pleasure to see that you're back here, so I hope other "historical" members!!!

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

Regarding the various methods of remastering more or less sophisticated, oh how I would still have all my vinyl!

Very Best Wishes
Rosy

[Rosy]

Hi Alexander,

I'm completely agree. Talking with you is always great pleasure! The vinyl's sound is beautiful because it's natural, many other member think so, for example gp1972.

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

Ciao
Rosy