There are clashing opinions about the new Telarc, and they are probably irresolvable, since psychoacoustics is far from an exact science. To get out of that rut (and others as well), I have a prescription: Write About What You Love. (Isn't that the raison d'etre for this Forum, anyway?) There's a tendency that we all fall into from time. We want to be the first to spot the misprint, the wrong note, the faulty choice. Yes, it's human. But it's also tiresome when everybody piles on. I'm much more interested in hearing what people have to commend.
So, then, can we agree on the exemplars of excellence among the recordings we cherish? Here are my nominations. This is totally unscientific, by the way. I haven't dragged these discs out for blind comparisons. My judgments are based on auditions on different systems over many years. Certain auditory experiences linger fondly in my memory. But I'm open to suggestions.
Film Track. Lust for Life (FMC) is from the early stereo era, but it still sounds amazingly clear and brilliant -- yet somehow not inappropriate for the softer colorations of Rozsa's quasi-impressionist style for this film. A remarkable achievement for 1956.
Film "Original Score" Album. King of Kings (MGM open reel tape edition) has the most spectacular bass drum combined with razor sharp highs from the brass. But the midrange is muddy in spots, especially when the choral scoring thickens the mix. Time After Time (Entr'acte) is an admirably clear re-creation across the entire sound spectrum. The two seventies Decca re-creations are frequently spectacular, though I find Quo Vadis bloated in spots. And of course the chorus on that one was far from adequate. Ben-Hur is the better exemplar
Film Anthology. RCA's Classic Film Scores, recorded in Kingsway Hall by the great K. E. Wilkerson (who engineered the Decca Ring in Vienna) [Oops, that was actually Gordon Parry.] is a universally acknowledged triumph. The Rozsa disc is one of the best of the series. It's a bigger, "lusher" sound than Rozsa's own ideal, but it's perfect for Gerhardt's looser and more romantic interpretations. I'd nominate this as the best-sounding film music disc of them all. I do consider the new Telarc to be a fine achievement, however, and maybe I'll change my mind when I hear the multichannel version someday.
Concert Music: Orchestral. Rozsa loved Italy and the Italians, so it's ironic that his music so often suffered at the hands of second-rate Italian players in lousy studios. To prove that they could get it right, we are fortunate to have the 1964 Rozsa Conducts Rozsa with a fine pickup group here called the RCA Italiana Orchestra. However, pride of place still must go to the magnificent Violin Concerto/ Cello Concerto on Telarc. That is as close to a definitive recording as we are likely to get -- a welcome respite for ears that had to endure the thin-sounding Heifetz disc from RCA for so many years.
Concert Music: Chamber. The Quartets disc on Laurel (the late Herschel Burke Gilbert's label) had an appropriately aggressive presence and clarity. I still don't know the ASV version very well. Need to make a comparison there.
Solo Instrument. I'll need to study this one. The four recordings of the Violin Sonata all have different characteristics. It would make for a fascinating comparison. Rozsa especially enjoyed the Lippi performance on Koch during his last years. Likewise the two modern piano albums (Buechner and Parkin) have very different acoustical signatures. And right now I''ve finally acquired the Ludwig Quandt version of the Toccata Capricciosa on Campanela. It really draws you into the huge cello sound and makes the old Entr'acte sound dry and brittle by comparison. There's a world of exploration here, and I hope some readers will take up the challenge.
So, then, can we agree on the exemplars of excellence among the recordings we cherish? Here are my nominations. This is totally unscientific, by the way. I haven't dragged these discs out for blind comparisons. My judgments are based on auditions on different systems over many years. Certain auditory experiences linger fondly in my memory. But I'm open to suggestions.
Film Track. Lust for Life (FMC) is from the early stereo era, but it still sounds amazingly clear and brilliant -- yet somehow not inappropriate for the softer colorations of Rozsa's quasi-impressionist style for this film. A remarkable achievement for 1956.
Film "Original Score" Album. King of Kings (MGM open reel tape edition) has the most spectacular bass drum combined with razor sharp highs from the brass. But the midrange is muddy in spots, especially when the choral scoring thickens the mix. Time After Time (Entr'acte) is an admirably clear re-creation across the entire sound spectrum. The two seventies Decca re-creations are frequently spectacular, though I find Quo Vadis bloated in spots. And of course the chorus on that one was far from adequate. Ben-Hur is the better exemplar
Film Anthology. RCA's Classic Film Scores, recorded in Kingsway Hall by the great K. E. Wilkerson (who engineered the Decca Ring in Vienna) [Oops, that was actually Gordon Parry.] is a universally acknowledged triumph. The Rozsa disc is one of the best of the series. It's a bigger, "lusher" sound than Rozsa's own ideal, but it's perfect for Gerhardt's looser and more romantic interpretations. I'd nominate this as the best-sounding film music disc of them all. I do consider the new Telarc to be a fine achievement, however, and maybe I'll change my mind when I hear the multichannel version someday.
Concert Music: Orchestral. Rozsa loved Italy and the Italians, so it's ironic that his music so often suffered at the hands of second-rate Italian players in lousy studios. To prove that they could get it right, we are fortunate to have the 1964 Rozsa Conducts Rozsa with a fine pickup group here called the RCA Italiana Orchestra. However, pride of place still must go to the magnificent Violin Concerto/ Cello Concerto on Telarc. That is as close to a definitive recording as we are likely to get -- a welcome respite for ears that had to endure the thin-sounding Heifetz disc from RCA for so many years.
Concert Music: Chamber. The Quartets disc on Laurel (the late Herschel Burke Gilbert's label) had an appropriately aggressive presence and clarity. I still don't know the ASV version very well. Need to make a comparison there.
Solo Instrument. I'll need to study this one. The four recordings of the Violin Sonata all have different characteristics. It would make for a fascinating comparison. Rozsa especially enjoyed the Lippi performance on Koch during his last years. Likewise the two modern piano albums (Buechner and Parkin) have very different acoustical signatures. And right now I''ve finally acquired the Ludwig Quandt version of the Toccata Capricciosa on Campanela. It really draws you into the huge cello sound and makes the old Entr'acte sound dry and brittle by comparison. There's a world of exploration here, and I hope some readers will take up the challenge.
