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From: greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley)
Newsgroups: net.audio,net.music.classical
Subject: More CD Reviews
Message-ID: <284@olivej.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 4-Feb-85 17:12:22 EST
Article-I.D.: olivej.284
Posted: Mon Feb  4 17:12:22 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Feb-85 03:12:58 EST
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Here are my impressions of several more CD's I've been
able to listen to carefully, using an NAD CD-player,
Yamaha C-70 preamp, Threshold power amp, and Magneplanar
MG-IIIB speakers.

(1) Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Ferrier/Patzak/Vienna
	Philharmonic/Bruno Walter, cond. LONDON)
	This is a "classic" performance recorded in 1952.
	For my tastes, it is one of Bruno Walter's few
	great post-WW2 performances, as I find that the
	tendency to linger and sentimentalize in his later
	stereo recordings, with few exceptions, hurt the
	coherence and flow of the music.  Kathleen Ferrier's
	singing is extraordinarily beautiful;  Julius Patzak
	handles the horribly difficult tenor part skillfully,
	but is clearly struggling with an aging voice.  The
	Vienna Philharmonic play superbly for Walter.  The
	CD certainly reveals more detail and presence, as well
	as a sense of "weight" missing from my (English Decca)
	analogue pressing.  There is, unfortunately, also a
	great deal more stridency and shrillness in the louder
	vocal and high string passages.  I found that I preferred
	the CD, given a preamp that will let you comfortably
	reduce the treble without dulling the sound excessively.

(2) Puccini: Manon Lescaut (Freni/Domingo/Sinopoli, cond. DGG)
	This isn't a favorite opera of mine, but those who like
	it should enjoy this performance.  Freni no longer sounds
	youthful, but her voice on this recording is free and
	ample.  Domingo continues to sound amazingly good.  This
	recording seemed free of the excessively close miking that
	marred many earlier DGG releases.

(3) R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Tomowa-Sintow/Baltsa/Perry/
	Moll/Herbert von Karajan, cond. DGG)
	For as strict a conductor as Karajan, there has been
	some ludicrously bad singing on many of his opera sets
	in the last 15 years or so, the exceptions being this
	one and his "Pelleas et Melisande".  There are no real
	weak spots here, however I continue to prefer his 1956
	analogue recording which has been digitally remastered and
	is likely to turn up on CD.  Tomowa-Sintow sings gracefully
	and with considerable richness of tone, but doesn't convey
	anywhere near the detailed inflection or sense of humor
	that Schwarzkopf did on the earlier set.  Baltsa, on the
	other hand, doesn't have the luminous opulence of the
	young Christa Ludwig, nor does Janet Perry match the
	silvery purity of Theresa Stitch-Randall on the old set.
	Except for occasional tempi that I find too slow, the
	set is well-paced, but not, to me, preferable to HVK's
	earlier reading.  The new set has considerably more deep
	bass as well as clarity of detail, but the EMI recording
	actually has greater hall ambience and a more natural
	orchestral perspective.

	- Greg Paley